We found a food grade diatomaceous earth at the health food store that is intended for applying directly to your dog

I ran across some info on Diatomaceous Earth earlier today as a mostly non-toxic way to kill off critters. It's apparently fossilized remains crushed down to tiny pieces. These in turn give the critters tiny cuts and they dehydrate in a way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00030CC1M

I'd be curious to hear personal stories of people using it though.

We used the non food grade to get rid of a flea infestation our backyard. It worked very well. I always recommend it to any friends with bug problems. I will say that is recommended that you wear a mask when applying to because the dust is very abrasive.

We've had this exact same issue, Rachael and have successfully treated it with neem oil.

I used neem oil every day for 2 weeks and along with daily vacuuming it solved the issue.

yes it's intensive and takes much longer than a toxic chemical bomb, but at least it's natural and safe and your fish will be ok.

I've written all about the methods we used on my site:
http://littlegreenblog.com/green-home/gardening-and-pest-control/get-rid-of-fleas-the-green-and-natural-way/

Good luck!

Just one little thing: diatomaceous earth isn't crushed fossilized remains, it's the skeletons of diatoms, plankton sized critters with a silica based exoskeleton, no crushing needed. Inhaling too much of it can cause silicosis, but how much counts as "too much" I don't know.

If your pets are indoor/outdoor, you're going to need to constantly be ridding yourself of fleas since the pets pick up more outdoors. My folks use something like frontline that kills ticks, fleas and heartworms, I think and don't have any problems despite living in a wooded area with lots of deer. I used Frontline on my cats for about six months and then stopped since they're indoor only.

If you do choose the more chemical-ly flea prevention (Revolution/Advantage/etc) that you apply directly to your pet, keep in mind that unless you live in a heavily infested area, you don't have to apply it every month. My Uncle (who is a vet) says you really only need it once every 6 - 8 week in the summer, and if it gets below freezing skip Nov - Feb.

Good luck!

We used borax (detergent) mixed with kosher salt. It seems crazy...but we mixed the 2 and sprinkled it everywhere...furniture, carpet, floors, etc. then let it sit for 15 minutes. Then vacuum the heck out of everything. Make sure when you change the vacuum bag (empty it) that you do it outdoors and it goes directly into the trash. As for the cats, we did use frontline to get them under control, but stopped after a few months and didnt have a problem after that.

good luck! fleas SUCK!!

chef215 Borax is poisonous to pets.. Please don't use that alternative!

If you use Diatomaceous Earth or Borax, then you really should wear a mask and not let the animals near it until it is thoroughly vacuumed up and even then you should use a very strong suction vacuum with a bag. But, that is just if you are a little paranoid like me ;). I just use plain old salt, so I don't have to worry about fine particle inhalants. If you live in an area that gets below freezing, then remember to leave windows open for a few minutes a day to kill off any fleas left behind.
Good luck, because I totally understand what a pain fleas can be.