So, I had a rat problem earlier this year and they were eating much of the papaya and other stuff that eludes me at the moment, they ate half of the lone barbados cherries that were on my tree and I was praying for a neighbor's cat to take up residence in the yard at night.
Lo and behold, it worked...well, kind of. So I saw this cat laying under the shade of the my trees in various spots around the yard...the rodent problem wasn't noticeable, though being winter in a yard with young trees, that may have just been coincidence
Anyway, when I would come near it, the cat would run away and it appeared to have a red collar on.
Flash forward to the last few weeks...the entire house was overrun by fleas...having 2 small kids and leaning toward natural treatments, we put diatomaceous earth all over the house so it looked like the final scene from Scarface
So, I realized after being hit over the head several hundred times, that the fleas were coming from the yard.
Then, when watching the cat more closely as he ran away, I noticed that the red/pink collar was actually raw skin from where it had been scratching. Apparently it is a feral cat that is squatting on my property I attempted to call animal control and was told, if you catch the cat, we will pick it up. WTF!
Are you kidding me, Broward County???!!! If I catch the damned thing, won't need to call you, understand
So now a few questions:
1. What do you recommend to get rid of the cat?
2. What can I use that won't harm the kids/fruit trees that will prevent my yard from being flea heaven as it currently is?
3. Did you find it entertaining reading this since it isn't a problem in your yard?
Seriously, though. Any help would be great.
3.