I have to say, as an anti-flea treatment, Diotomaceous Earth (food-grade DE) really does work. In the rug it ensures that any flea eggs that hatch will not survive long enough to lay the next round of eggs. On the pets it is a good supplement to Frontline; I think if we keep up applying it to the pets weekly, we may be able to eliminate the Frontline altogether.

Vacuuming it up off the rug, if you use enough to really work, requires a vac bag change about every 60 square feet, because the dust clogs the bag pretty fast. They recommend using a broom to "scrub" the DE down into the carpet pile; we found that an old-fashioned, non-electric carpet sweeper was much easier to use. We covered the thickly-DE'ed sections with clean sheets so that when we walked on them, the dust sank into the fiber instead of rising into the air with each step. By the end of the recommended week of leaving it on the carpet, a lot of it had gone below surface level-- which means it will keep acting as we continue to vacuum it up to the surface and as any new eggs fall to the floor into it.

The DE also absorbed some dirt and barefoot-oils and looks much cleaner than it did, pre-treatment. No odor.

We used about 4-5 lbs of it for a 12x25 foot LR and a 12x12 DR, plus on the pets and their bedding. I'm setting a reminder on my calendar to pre-treat the carpets next year just before the heat/humidity of fleas season hits.

~S~