Fleas are the nightmare of every person with a furred companion. These pesky pests carry diseases and leave our friends with itchy skin. Topical flea treatments and flea collars can help prevent an infestation, but if your pet has caught an infestation, killing off the fleas in your yard can bring peace of mind to any owner.
Whether you’re letting your cat out to play or trying out a new catio, making sure you get the right flea killer will help you sleep better at night. We hope our reviews will help you find a suitable yard flea killer for your needs.
Vet’s Best has been serving the pet community for over 30 years, bringing cutting-edge all-natural and plant-based solutions to the industry. Their Yard and Kennel Spray features a garden hose spray application and 13,000 reviews averaging into a neat 4-star package.
The spray doesn’t have any information about residual protection and says to reapply the spray if it rains. Still, when it comes to all-natural products, you can’t go wrong with Vet’s Best!
Pros
Long history of high quality product
All-natural and plant-based
Kills mosquitos and ticks
Cons
No information about residual protection
2. Ortho BugClear Insect Killer Spray – Best Value
Ortho BugClear is a great flea killer that also kills hundreds of other pest insects that you might want to keep out of your yard. Unfortunately, Ortho BugClear doesn’t kill flea larvae and eggs, so it might not be the best option for someone with a stubborn infestation. For other cases, it’s hard to argue with six months of protection at this price point.
Wondercide is an excellent choice for people who want to kill off pests while preserving the safety of their backyard for beneficial bugs like bees and butterflies. Wondercide uses cedar oil to block neuroreceptors in pests and repel them from your yard but doesn’t harm bees, butterflies, or dragonflies who don’t have this receptor.
Pros
All-natural and plant-based
Safe for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial bugs
Advantage Yard Premise Spray packs a huge protection radius and EPA registration under a name that most pet parents can recognize. Advantage makes some of the most potent topical flea and tick treatments on the market and is a name that pet parents can feel safe and secure using around their pets. Its biggest downfall is that it can take up to 30 days for the yard spray to take full effect, which is longer than many other sprays on this list.
Black Flag’s Flea & Tick Killer features a QuickFlip Garden Hose attachment and will protect up to 5,000 sq ft of land for up to 12 weeks. In addition to fleas and ticks, Black Flag Flea & Tick Killer kills mosquitos and other insects listed in its manual.
The biggest downfall of Sentry’s Home and Yard Premise Spray is its low protection radius. The low protection radius means that, even though it comes from a highly trusted pet care brand, it’s not as cost-efficient as the other options on the list.
Roundup is a famous and well-trusted pesticide company, and their granule lawn treatment is one of many pesticide treatments in their catalog. It’s safe for lawns and all types of gardens.
The most significant issues with Roundup’s lawn treatment are the need to purchase a granule spreader to use it and the fact that it doesn’t target flea eggs or larvae.
Zoecon’s Precor 2000 is an aerosol spray for use outdoors. In addition to fleas, Precor 2000 kills ticks, cockroaches, and ants. Reviews for the product are stellar and show that people are happy with its efficacy, and it boasts seven months of residual protection. Still, its low protection radius and the environmental impact of using an aerosol spray could be a turn-off for many pet parents.
Ticks, Mosquitos, Carpenter Ants, Harvester Ants, Lady Beetles, Earwigs
With almost 20,000 reviews on Amazon and a 4.5-star rating, Cutter Backyard Bug Control is a great low-cost option for flea control.
It features a quick flip hose end that you can hook up to your garden hose for easy misting and covers up to 5,000 square feet of yard for up to 12 weeks per treatment.
In addition to killing fleas, Cutter’s Backyard Bug Control kills various pests, including mosquitos and ticks, which helps keep you and your pets safe and bite-free when enjoying the backyard together.
However, there are several reports that the spray doesn’t work well on fleas. Searching for “fleas” in the reviews brings back more negative reviews than positive ones. The price is hard to beat, though.
BioAdvanced Complete Insect Killer boasts a long list of pests that their spray helps control. You can hook this spray up to your garden hose and spray your yard with it. It’s a little pricier than some of the other options, but it has excellent reviews.
You might be wondering why it’s so low on the list with a 4.5-star average review, but the spray is restricted for use in Connecticut, Maryland, Vermont, and several counties of New York. It’s unclear exactly why they’re not usable in all these states. Connecticut requires all pesticide products to be registered with the state, which may explain it, but Vermont and Maryland have no such laws. However, they do have specific restrictions surrounding pesticide use.
Overall, the product appears safe since its reviews are stellar, but the restrictions on use in some states may be a turn-off for potential purchasers.
Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Flea Killers for Your Yards
When looking at flea killers, there are many factors to consider when choosing the best treatment for your yard. The most critical factors are selecting your flea killer, ingredients, coverage area, and application type.
Pet parents should also consider using an Insect Growth Regulator or IGR treatment as IGR treatments will kill not just adult fleas but flea larvae and hatching flea eggs. IGR treatments can give an extra bolster when combating an infestation by killing fleas as they hatch.
Ingredients
Whether to use an all-natural spray or synthetic chemical spray is one of the most critical factors for pet parents.
However, it’s important to remember that the word “chemical” has gotten a bad reputation among people in general. Everything is made of chemicals. Water is a chemical, and we wouldn’t shy away from giving that to our pets!
Whether you use a natural or synthetic flea killer, it’s essential to follow the instructions given to the letter to ensure your and your pets’ safety. Avoid overtreating your yard, and don’t let your pets outside until the spray has completely dried.
Only you can decide whether you’re comfortable with using artificial chemicals in proximity to your pets.
In addition, many pet parents are wary of using sprays that contain pyrethrins or pyrethroids. While these compounds are safe for humans and pets, according to the EPA, they can have devasting effects on beneficial bugs like bees. As such, we’ve limited our list not to include any pyrethrin sprays.
Coverage Area
If you have a huge yard, you may need more than one treatment container to cover your whole yard. A smaller, cheaper container might be tempting, but if you don’t undertreat your yard, you won’t kill the fleas.
Consider the size of your yard when selecting a flea killer. If necessary, measure your yard to make sure the flea killer you’re buying will be able to treat your whole property.
Most yard treatments for fleas attach to your garden hose. You spray your hose through the applicator and use that to treat your yard.
Some treatments come in the form of granules or have dedicated spray systems. Pet parents will want to consider the application method of the treatment. People who have difficulty with mobility or lifting will wish to avoid granule treatments and dedicated spray systems in favor of hose applicators.
Insect Growth Regulation
Particularly stubborn infestations in your yard may require the use of an IGR treatment to control the growth and hatching of new fleas after the contact has killed off the adults.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re trying to get ahead of a flea infestation or already dealing with one, flea treatments are an essential factor for many pet owners. Choosing the proper treatment for your yard is task owners take seriously since their family members’ health is at stake.
