How To Kill Tapeworms In A Yard

Tapeworms are intestinal parasites that are most often found in outdoor pets. Your pet can get them from the waste of another animal that was carrying the worms. Fleas in your yard can also ingest tapeworm eggs and pass them along to your pet. If you spot areas of tapeworms living in your yard, you can use special chemicals to eliminate them, but you also must keep your pet away from the area. Once the worms are removed you should maintain your yard to prevent the problem from recurring.

Step 1

Locate the tapeworms in your yard. Remove all of your pet's waste from your yard using a scooper. Check your pet for fleas and contact your vet for the appropriate deworming medicine.

Step 2

Purchase a worm-killing chemical–an insecticide or fungicide–from your local home and garden retailer. Make sure the chemicals will not harm your grass. Spray on the worm-infested area as directed on the label.

Step 3

Wait 24 hours, or longer if directed on the insecticide label, before checking the area again. Apply more of the chemicals if necessary until you can see that all of the tapeworms are dead. Keep your pets away from the area during this time.

Step 4

Put on rubber gloves. Use a small shovel to remove all of the dead tapeworms and place them in a sturdy trash bag.

Step 5

Continue maintaining your yard once you rid it of the tapeworms. Clean up waste from your yard and consider fencing in any areas where wild animals may try to enter your yard. Continue giving your pet dewormer periodically as instructed by your vet.

Tapeworms live in the intestines of cats, dogs, other animals and humans upon infection. The primary intermediate host is the flea. In the intestine, the tapeworm can reach 8 to 12 inches in length. Freshly eliminated proglottids are white or light pink and wiggle around, but when the pieces dry out, they break open and release the tapeworm eggs. The proglottids, which contain tapeworm eggs, cannot infect pets or people directly, because they need to pass through fleas or lice to become infectious. Nevertheless, feces from tapeworm-infected animals can provide a continuous source of new infections, provided fleas are present. Getting rid of fleas in the yard as well as indoors will prevent tapeworm infections and re-infections. To treat your lawn, mix six ounces of 36.8 percent pyrethrin concentrate and four ounces of pyriproxyfen into a 20 gallon hose-end sprayer. Keep children and pets out of the area until the product has completely dried. Prevent flea infestations and sources of tapeworm infections in your yard by taking a number of measures.