• Hand picking snails is the safest and surest method to control them in a small area. Kill snails by smashing them or dumping into soapy water.  Bury dead snails to prevent a fly problem.
• Set a trap: Snails can be found in large groups in the morning under propped up, overturned flower pots, boards, or black plastic sheeting. Snails are drawn to the yeast in beer. Sink a bowl containing beer in the ground up to the rim. Remove dead snails regularly.
• Minimize the number of shady, cool, moist spots in the garden where snails can breed (for example, ivy patch, agapanthus, lilies, ice plant, or woodpiles).
• Copper strips 2"+ wide (such as Snail Barr® or SureFire™ strips) mounted around a raised garden bed prevents snails from entering. They won't cross the copper. Be sure to remove any snails already in the raised bed area.
• Use iron phosphate bait.  Choose a bait product carefully.  Baits containing methiocarb kill earthworms and beneficial insects.  Baits containing iron phosphate (such as Sluggo®, Escar-Go®, Worry Free®) are safer for children and pets than baits containing methaldehyde.  Nevertheless, always keep this and all other pesticides out of the reach of children and pets.
• Reapply iron phosphate baits every two weeks.

• Vacuum carpeting (especially edges), pet bedding, and furniture, and seal and dispose of vacuum bag in trash outside of the house. Monitor adult fleas with a green light trap and a sticky card (available at pest control supply stores). light should periodically go out for a short duration for best results.
• Steam-clean the carpet. Steam will kill most of the hatched adults, larvae, and some eggs. The heat will trigger some of the eggs to hatch, so be prepared to vacuum soon after steam cleaning.
• Use methoprene containing products. Methoprene is an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR). IGRs eliminate the next generation of the pest by interrupting their reproductive cycle, but don't affect the pest's insect enemies. Methoprene mixed with pyrethrin is a common, less-toxic combination. IGRs are thought of as one of the safer pesticides. Spray on carpets and floors, where fleas breed.
• For infestations: Use a pyrethrin-based spray. It is a short-lived pesticide and may require reapplication until the fleas are under control.  Apply sodium polyborate powder deep into carpets to control fleas through dehydration. look under "pest control" in the Yellow Pages.

Outside:

• Ants, which eat flea eggs, can be beneficial in your yard. Spray insecticidal soap in outdoor areas where fleas are concentrated. Spray beneficial nematodes on your yard regularly (check with a reputable nursery). Not harmful to humans or animals, beneficial nematodes control fleas by eating flea larvae and pupae. They die when their food source is gone. Fenoxy carb is an insect growth regulator and effective outdoors in combination with other materials. Methoprene is not effective outdoors and may contribute to polluted urban runoff.

On Your Pet:

• Use a good flea comb on pets regularly. This is a very important step, and the best way to monitor your progress. Kill the fleas in soapy water.
• Wash pets with an insecticidal soap (for example, Safer's Flea Soap™), or a pyrethrin/methoprene shampoo, or a citrus-based shampoo or dip containing limonene or linalool (for example, Flea Stop® shampoo). Find these products in pet supply stores, at your vet's office, or local animal shelter.
• Ask your veterinarian about the effective and low-toxic products that you can apply topically to your pet's neck (Advantage or Frontline) or give orally (Program).  And ask about the Insect Growth Regulators (Precor or Nylar) that can now be applied topically or orally that break the fleas' reproductive cycle.
• Avoid using conventional flea collars (a constant, low-level exposure of your pet to a toxic substance). If you use them, limit use to periods of serious infestation.
   

Bio-integral Resource Center (BIRC). Olkowski, Daar, Olkowski. Common-Sense Pest Control. Tauton Books and Videos, 1991; and other BIRC literature. University of California, Cooperative Extension, Statewide

Integrated Pest Management Project, M.l. Flint, Director. Pests of the Garden and Small Farm. 1990. And other U.C. literature. Rodale's Chemical-Free Yard & Garden. A. Carr, et al. Rodale Press, 1991. United States

Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Citizens Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety. September 1995. EPA730-K-95-O01. Telephone (202) 260-2080.