Has anyone had issues with thier vacuumn overloading, too much fine powder? I am emptying frequently, washing the filter and all but I only get a few minutes of real strong power before I have to stop and overhaul the filter system and clean out the hoses. I am using a brand new vacuumn. Just purchased last week.

I would imagine an older vacuumn wouldnt have a chance with this kind of heavy duty chore. Any thoughts from those who are doing this?

I did a DE treatment on only my room, a few days ago. I was relentless, covered and scrubbed it into the matresses. But get this folks: I left it there. I washed all linens and re-made the bed. So in actuallity I slept with the stuff all over my room, determined to let it sit for several days. Well, I vaccumned after four days (Saturday night) By sunday, I was lying awake counting the intervals of how soon the pests were biting at me. Nearly constant.

what is this??

No adult fleas so far (did this early in the afternoon) and now I am only seeing the smaller ones that are trying to crawl up my foot. The jury is still out for me, but I have no plans on vacuuming any of this up for another few more days

How do I apply it to my pets? I was thinking of putting it in a sock and dusting them with it. But Im wondering if that will be enough for fleas to die. I am of course concerned about them breathing it. My cat has been ill ever since this began, she is frail and frightened of everything now. About all I can do is make sure she eats to keep her weight on and see that shes using her litter box.

Tell me if I had it right when i did it:
I used a plastic one pound coffee container. I poked holes in the top for a shaker. I sprinkled it down heavy and tamped it down with a oval shaped dust mop. I squished, I swept I tried to cover every square inch. I waited 10 hours, only because I had to restore the house because my daughter was retuning from her weekend away. I had massive powder over load in the vaccumn, and of course emptied it frequently….and sadly, saw live fleas each time.
My question is this: Until I can have the house to myself again (child away) can I do spot treatments on the trouble areas? You know, areas more hidden that arent in human contact? Lets say, baseboards, under my mattress, dogs bed…and just leave it there for days, until I can do total treatment again? Will DE ruin my vaccumn in any way?

Between Saturday and now it has escalated, I do not want to give up on DE…it makes sense, I feel it can work. I think I am doing something wrong. Any help?

After a couple of busy weekends I was finally able to get down to “DE -ing” my house on Saturday. I was eager to see the contents of vacuumn cannister after a thourough cleaning.
Sadly, there were several live fleas. Unfortunately, both pets are scratching like crazy, and I am seeing live fleas near them, as well as watching jump off my arms and legs as I watch TV. They are everywhere, and this was only one day after the treatment. Not a good sign. I cannot do another Frontline on them, I just did one two weeks ago. Dont know where to go from here. I WOULD MOVE IF I COULD.

Any Suggestions?

Just as you are concerned, so am I…with my dog who has fleas. I have tried so many things (vet recommended) and they are not working. After doing some research, I have read several articles on using DE to rid fleas. It sounds promising. But, I would love some positive feedback on someone who has used it, and had good results. Anyway, can you please let us know how it is working for you?

Cant wait to try this Biological Warfare against the pests !!
I am fascinated by the simplicity behind how this works, simple, elegant and natural…makes so much sense. Ill let you know how it turns out !!

When you return vacuum thoroughly. You really shouldn’t leave it around with animals or children in the house — it is best to vacuum it up. Give it 2 – 3 days and see if you notice dead fleas. Then vacuum again.

DE isn’t perfect — it will cause dust, and you should test it on a small portion of dark fabric first. However, it is safer than chemical flea bombs, so using DE is by far the lesser of two evils.

Controlling fleas is an ongoing process that requires vigilance and patience. Typically a number of different techniques in combination, i.e., treating the animals, treating the exterior, and treating the interior of a home are most effective in the battle.