Prevent Fleas and Ticks
We protect ourselves and our cat by spreading Ortho Bug-B-Gon MAX Insect Killer granules on our lawn to kill fleas and ticks hiding in the grass. (This is in addition to the flea and tick treatment our cat gets.) The extra bonus is that this single lawn treatment not only kills fleas and ticks for up to 3 months, but also knocks out ants, chiggers and 100 other insects, many of which can cause our lawn to thin and turn brown in summer.
When I have written about this in the past, there are two questions readers ask:
Will this flea and tick killer harm my pets or kids?
Answer: We keep Dudley, our cat, inside while I spread the granules. I then gave the lawn a good watering of ¼ to a half inch to activate the kill. Once the lawn is dry we let Dudley back outside.
Will this flea and tick killer harm earthworms?
Answer: According to my friend Walter Reeves “The Georgia Gardener” the ingredient in Ortho Bug B Gon MAX (bifenthrin) is classified as “low toxicity to earthworms with 0 to 25% reduction in population”. Here is a link to an article posted by Walter on the subject of pesticides and earthworms from a 3 year study at Univ of Kentucky.
As you can see, our cat Dudley is not worried about fleas and ticks!
Very helpful site and blog, thanks. I have a question about timing of spreading Scott’s summerguard versus broadleaf weed and feed. I spread the crabgrass preventative with feed in mid April and grubex in late May. I’m seeing a lot of chickweed but not many dandelions. Also seeing moths come up when I’m mowing lawn. What applicant would you suggest I spread?
Hi PJM
Apply Turf Builder SummerGuard now and spot treat your weeds with Ortho WeedBGon.