Anybody know of any safer flea treatment?

[Critters2]

Every month, as flea drop time rolls around, I feel uncomfortable about dropping nerve agents on my pets. I've been searching, and found stuff with essential oils, cedar oil, or diatomaceous earth for use on pets. Has anyone ever tried these kinds of things? Did they work?

Thanks!!

[flvegan]

1. DE works well

You just have to be damn near religious about it.

I'm also in the minority on this one: garlic. It works.

[Critters2]

3. Religious? Meaning what....how often do you apply it?

I'm kind of leaning toward DE. It's what I use around the house for bugs, on those rare occasions when I feel the need. I feel good about it being so safe.

I hear conflicting opinions as to whether dogs should have garlic, but I'm thinking of buying some garlic and brewer's yeast biscuits.


edited because "kind of" is two words.

[LeftyMom]

5. The biscuits are easy enough to DIY

I've made 'em before for flvegan's dogs and it was as easy as making a big batch of cookies.

Saves a lot of money over buying, freeze any extra for later.

[Critters2]

6. Good point. I just bought a cookbook with dog biscuit recipes

There's probably one (or more) in there. I'll look it up.

[flvegan]

7. Tell me of these opinions on garlic for dogs.

I'm not being confrontational, I'm looking to debunk.

DE is a "use as needed" thing.

[Critters2]

8. Well, for instance, the ASPCA lists garlic in its pet poison list

Here:

http://www.aspca.org/aspcablog/2006/08/ask-pet-nutrition-service-pets-and.html

[flvegan]

9. The ASPCA doesn't know much about thiosulphate nor haemolytic anaemia

The ASPCA has taken a very, very, VERY broad brush approach on garlic. I don't fault them, as I can see why.

[Bjornsdotter]

19. I admit I know nothing

...about these conditions. I will have to use "the google" tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight to really retain anything worthwhile.

Thanks for the info....I'm always interested in learning more about what's good for my furbaby.

:toast:

[Bjornsdotter]

13. I've gotten 2 opinions

...from my vets. One says no garlic ever, since it is in the onion family and the other says the jury is out. :shrug:

[flvegan]

17. Your vet is wise. However look directly above this.

Garlic/onion isn't really correct in this case.

[China_cat]

22. Since garlic is a member of the onion family

there is concern that it could also trigger Heinz body hemolytic anemia...which has no cure and is 100% fatal.

[Kali]

2. DE and vacuum vacuum vacuum

DE on the animal tends to make the fur feel funky but you can sprinkle it around beds and such - try not to breath too much of it. I just learned there is actually food grade DE - that might be something to look into.

[Critters2]

4. I found a couple of DE-based products to be used

on pets. I thinking of trying these.

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-All-in-One-Flea-Remedy/999012.aspx

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Flea-Away-Natural-Flea-Powder/147001.aspx

[Kali]

10. $16 for 8 ounces!!!

hope some of that is going to charity because that is pretty high. I buy a big paper bag of DE from my feed store (garden section)- probably 2 pounds for 5 or 6 bucks.

[Critters2]

11. Well, I haven't bought any yet, and I have been wondering why

it costs more than the stuff at the hardware store. So, you just sprinkle the DE from the feed store directly on your pets? That's easy enough!!

[Kali]

12. like I said - it is drying and it will make thier fur feel funky (and be powdery and white)

but yes, I use it on pets and livestock both. (while the price on the stuff you linked is pretty high the instructions were good :evilgrin: )

I also use it in my doorways to keep the ants out - although it seems to attract feet and I always have white partial-footprints on the floor.:o

[Critters2]

16. I've ahd these huge cock-roach/palmetto bug things

hanging around my back porches this summer. I sprinkle DE on the porches to keep 'em from coming in the house. My only concern with putting it on the critters is that the DE I have says it also contains "bait", and I'm not sure what that bait is, or how safe it is.

[Kali]

18. possibly just sugar?

is it specifically labeled for roaches? - might be some other type of attractant - what does the ingredient label actually say?

[Critters2]

20. 77% Silicon Dioxide from Diatomaceous Earth,

22% other ingredients including patented baits.

They don't seem to want me to know what's in it. That makes me uncomfortable about putting it on the critters.

[Kali]

21. then save that for the building and get some 99% or whatever the

plain stuff is. I suspect whatever you have is fine, especially in the small amounts you would apply to them, but especially with cats...eh maybe not.

here is some more info and a place to order food grade DE: http://www.freshwaterde.com/

I guess you can feed it (or eat it yourself!) supposedly to control internal parasites as well. I didn't know that and need to learn more.

[Zoigal]

14. Flea combs

work well on short haired critters....p

[Bjornsdotter]

15. Mother Earth Article

...on natural flea treatments.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock-and-Farming/1985-05-01/Natural-Flea-Control.aspx

[China_cat]

23. I live in a high flea infested area (coastal SC...sand fleas)

and I use either Frontline or Advantage. What I've found with both of those is that you don't need to use them once a month for them to be exceptionally effective. Three times a year at the most is all I've ever had to use them and most years only twice.

Not at all on the cats any more because they are strictly indoor and the dogs no longer bring in fleas. Considering what we used to go through with fleas (and yes, we tried everything...from DE to IGR's...with little success) I'll stick with stuff that works.

[mzteris]

25. um -

sand fleas are those little buggie things at the edge of the tide in the water -

nothing whatsoever to do with petflea fleas.

[China_cat]

27. There is a type here that lives in sand wherever you find it

and comes in on animals. And people.

[mzteris]

28. ah - sand flies

though they don't live "in" the sand. They're more like mosquitos than fleas. They fly, not hop.

Usually called (in my experience) no-see-ums or midges. Though "sand flea" is a term used regionally by some.

[China_cat]

29. No, not midges.

Actual fleas, although the name for them might be just a local one.

I found this at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG087 Scroll down to below figure 4.

The so-called "sand-flea" is nothing more than a common flea that is breeding outdoors in the soil. Contrary to belief, fleas cannot go through several generations without having a blood meal.

[mzteris]

30. ah. okay

basically they're "just fleas" then.

I love WORDS!

[China_cat]

33. And lots of them.

You'd have to live in SC for a while to understand that words here can be truly weird.

[mzteris]

34. actually, I did.

I spent my summers from 13 to 18 at my sister's in Goose Creek. My sisters inlaws moved from James Island to Moncks Corners. They had a cottage on Folly Beach.

I moved so Chas FT in 1978 where I married my husband who was stationed at CNS. We lived "west of the Ashley" lol & I worked on Broad and then in Summerville. In Summerville, I was exposed to the more rural aspects of SC.

To the yards in AL in late 1979) Back to N. Chas in 1980 where my daughter was born (at the Naval Hospital). Moved out of state in 1981.

AND my brother lived in Sumter, SC for about 4 years.

So yup - familiar with "Gichee", "south of Broad", Chahlestonian, and rural SC all.

What a hoot sometimes!!


I also lived in NC from 1983 until 2006. And lived in southern Alabama twice when growing up. My profile may say Wisconsin, but I'm a southerner born and bred.

[China_cat]

35. Then you know what I mean.

And how to pronounce Huger and Lagare. :)

[blogslut]

24. I sprinkle borax on the carpet

Let it set for a day, then vacuum it up. Mind you, I have cats. For internal stuff, I add couple of dashes of vinegar to their daily drinking water.

[NMDemDist2]

26. i feed my dogs garlic every day and never have ticks or fleas since I started

I cook their food (rice and ground turkey or beef) with oil and garlic and add it to their kibble every day.

they have shiny coats, no fleas and bad breath :rofl:

[Maine-ah]

31. salt water.

if it's a dog & you're near an ocean, take 'em swimming. It will kill the fleas. For your home dry salt WW carpets leave for 30 mins then vacuum. Put a cut up flea collar in your vacuum bag.
I am currently using a mixture of vinegar, water and salt sprayed on furniture and carpets. You could use the same on your animal and comb it through, or you could try a table spoon of vinegar in their bowl of water, I have been told, works as well.

[Bryn]

32. I use original blue Dawn (the one you use to wash dishes)

It works. It's gentle. Then I use Frontline plus on my dog and cats since I live in the woods. I add nutritional yeast flakes by Red Star in my dog food. I made her food by cooking brown rice, ground turkey, shredded carrots, green beans with olive oil enough for 3 days then add in nutritional yeast flakes during feeding time. She doesn't have fleas and ticks (so far). I also use "drop dead" herbal flea collar for her and one of my cats that goes outside.

[Critters2]

36. Hey, thanks everyone!!

Lots of great help here--as I knew there would be! This afternoon, I went to Farm and Fleet and bought some plain 99% DE. Also got one of those shaker jars, like you put parmesan cheese in (and labeled it clearly, so as not to be mistaken for cheese!) for sprinkling it on the critters and other places.

Since the end of the month hasn't arrived yet, and I put Advantage on the beagle on the first, I thought of this all as precautionary. This evening, I was sitting on the back porch reading some Girard, and she was playing in the yard. She comes up to sit with me, and what should I see crawling on her forehead but a flea!! Well, I got out my newly acquired shaker jar full of diatomaceous earth, and gave her a good going over. Then did all three cats as well, just to be safe.

Well, she's fast asleep on her blankie (also lightly coated with DE), with no sign of itching or other flea-related symptoms. I'm going to do some of the other things mentioned here--like putting vinegar in their water, and baking garlic biscuits. Might get some Borax as well.

I feel so much better about these ideas than using organophosphates and the like on my pets. I lost one cat to hyperthyroidism in 1999. Once I read how the thyroid was susceptible to chemical poisoning, I began to wonder whether something I did caused his illness. Since then, I've used things like vinegar and baking soda for cleaning, to avoid chemicals. But I kept using nerve agent flea treatments, never really feeling good about it. I'm glad to have some alternatives.

Thank you very much, Lounge Lizards!! :hi:

[Kali]

37. de and vinegar and baking soda are all chemicals too, just to be clear

and they can be misused, although obviously not as easily as other substances. One other thing to add about the DE - it can take a few days to work so don't expect to have every flea gone upon application. Good to excellent nutrition can really make a difference in how animals react to parasitism too.