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By redneckgirl
Mix a little peppermint soap with water and spray;kills fleas, flies, mosquitoes. Just remember, this is a soap. Let it dry after spraying. It is non toxic and safe. I have used it for years because I hate poisons. Good luck
Putting cedar chips in and/or around the kennel helps. It is a natural bug repelent. Of course I keep Advantage or Frontline on my gang as well since they do come in the house at night. I haven't had a problem with fleas in years.
What I've found for the dog & chicken pen (or in the house!) is food-grade diatamaceous earth. I get mine in a large bag at the health food store. Just make sure it's food grade. It's a powder & you can sprinkle it anywhere you have unwanted pests. Google it & you can find out lots of info about it. I've used it in the garden as well.
I feel for you, I really do. We have the 'Battle of the fleas' every summer. This summer hasn't been near as bad as the past years.
One thing you can try is using Ivory Liquid Soap. Use a garden sprayer attachment. Fill it with Ivory and set the dilution dial to about 2 tablespoons. Really saturate the area, then let it dry real good before letting the dogs or anyone into the area. Soap suffocates the fleas.
Last year my husband added a little diesel to some flea killer insecticide he had and used it in the kennel and the tobacco barn. The oil in the diesel sticks to the flea. He made sure he sprayed after it rained when the ground was hard and packed and made it harder for the fleas to bury themselves in the soft sand or dirt.
He actually took a hose to the barn and saturated the floor with water before spraying with his concoction. We kept the dogs away from the area until we felt it was safe to put them back out.
The main thing is being consistent during the flea season. You can't spray a few times a week for a couple of weeks and then stop, thinking you've taken care of the problem. When it comes to fleas, we will never 'take care of the problem' indefinitely. You have to get on a schedule and stay on it faithfully.