Natural Flea Control

Do not feed your dog Garlic. Garlic and onions, onions being worse, contain thiosulfate and is toxic to dogs and can cause hemolytic anemia. I just recently lost a very loved chihuahua to that very problem after she ingested some wild onions that were growing along the fence in my back yard. After spending over $400 for testing and a diagnosis, my wife and I were in tears after being told that she would need hospitalization, transfusions, and more blood work to find the best course of treatment, all of which would be very expensive and much more than we could afford. We couldn't even afford to have her put down. My baby died a slow, agonizing death a week later. Don't feed your loved one garlic or onions. Also, diets with high levels of zinc can be toxic as well. Don't bomb the house or spray pesticides around either. The best thing I have found to rid the home, yard, and pets of fleas quickly without the hassles of deep cleaning is to use flea meds from the vet such as Advantage or Revolution. They work great and the fleas are gone in no time flat. I have never had to use more than a one month application on all eight of our dogs.

I have three puppies ranging in size & age. The biggest may weigh 25 lbs - 2nd one maybe 15 lbs , & the littlest maybe 7 lbs. I like the idea of using the brewer's yeast, but wouldn't know where to find it. Do they sell it in the grocery stores? OR Wally World? I think I read somewhere that the brewer's yeast help to rid your dogs of worms, also . I there any truth to that? Inquiring minds want to know...
Christi - Denison,TX

I have been using, sparingly, a product called Cedarcide. It is made from a specific type of cedar oil and it is touted as being completely harmless to humans and pets.
I only put a little bit on the back of the neck on each of my cats. I do occasionally spray a little on the back of my couch because that is where the cats sit most of the time when they come in the house.
I have not seen a tick or flea since using it for several months. I previously used Advantage, but became concerned when I found out how it works, and the fact that it supposedly shortens a pet's life by 25%, which the industry considers a trade-off for getting rid of fleas and ticks.
Also, we used to get what I called prehistoric-looking bugs in the bathroom. They looked like a cross between a grasshopper, a cricket and a spider. UGH! Well, I sprayed in the corner where I found one and have not seen evidence of another since. They used to be really bad in the humid summers here.
So, if anyone has used this also, please comment on your experience. If no one has heard of this, please check it out (Cedarcide.com) and comment. So far, it is working great, but I am concerned since a few previous comments were about essential oils. Don't know if this falls in the same category. ????

For the love of crap, don't flea bomb your house! This article says it may be necessary: it NEVER is. I work in an animal hospital in the deep south, and during the summer, when the fleas are at their worst, there are many animals brought in going into convulsions and dying due to the toxic effect of these poisons. That stuff sits under beds and couches and doesn't dissipate, and then your animals breathe it in and die.

Right after we moved into our house, we had a colossal flea infestation from the previous owners. We used borax and diatomaceous earth to get rid of the fleas. There have been other comments about DE being "dangerous," but like any substance, don't be careless about it's application. Keep it out of eyes and mouth, don't let children or animals near it until it has been worked in to where you can't see it anymore. The most important thing to do is clean clean clean. We went extreme in our house (bc it's LA and fleas are bad here) and have hard floors and I keep the clutter down. Being as clean as possible is the best way to get rid of fleas and keep them gone for good.

Also, NEVER apply any essential oils to cats especially. If you're going to take responsibility for a living creature, do your homework and find out how to best care for them. Remember they didn't force themselves on you, you picked them, so take care of them well.

Similar to Charles' comment, this worked VERY well for me. Place a lamp in the corner of an infested room. In front of the lamp, place a container with a large surface area (baking pan, plate, etc.). Cover the bottom of the container with syrup (or anything with the consistency of syrup should work) and leave the lamp on overnight. The fleas will hop right into the syrup and die. Don't believe me? Try it for just one night and see how MANY fleas you've caught the next morning!

I have tried this several times and it WORKS:
Sprinkle regular salt on the carpets after vacuuming (also to couches, cracks in floors, whereever, I even sprinkled salt on hardwood floors after bleachmopping them). The fleas mostly live off the host, and the salt dehydrates the air around the fleas and they can't breath so they die. I also picked the fleas off my cat and drowned them in soapy water. Continue to pick fleas, vacuum/mopp, wash linens, and spread salt for about a week and the fleas are gone. This happened several times to me in the past and each time the fleas were eradicated. I also heard borax works the same as the salt, but never tried that.

I've read all comments but still have a problem... WHAT ABOUT MY HOUSE!!!??? My daughter and I are getting eaten alive. The others aren't bothered so much, but the two of use seem to have "flea buffet" written on our ankles. I've been vacuuming repeatedly, spread DE around and vacummed, leaving it under furniture and around edges for a week now. Last night I left out a "flea trap" (soapy water under a light) and there were 16 fleas in it this morning... just when I hoped maybe I was getting under control. I have 3 children and do NOT want to use harmful pesticides. Does anybody have any ideas for me that truely work?

Several years ago, (1992), I read the lemon peel recipe in an article called "Ten Ways to Flea-Free Your Pet" written in Organic Gardening Magazine by the then VP of The Humane Society. My dog was very allergic to flea bites and had four inch long hair. I made the "dip" and applied it with great success! So enthusiastic was I, that I doubled the strength and even blended the peels as to extract even more of the ingredient so affective in ridding my dog of fleas. My dog quickly started to show symptoms of internal pain and bleeding and suffered a slow, agonizing and irreversible death from having ingested the lemon oil I so cleverly put on his hair and skin. The emergency room vets wouldn't believe my suspicions that it was the dip and mis-diagnosed him until he died of shock, alone and uncomforted by me or any pain killers. I asked the last vet on call who finally agreed with me, who tried to help him with charcoal and Milanta, to perform an autopsy for cause of death. She reported "ulceration of stomach, small and large intestinal lining to near perforation". I contacted the Center for Poison Control for Animals and spoke with a vet there. He told me the VP of the Humane Society knew the dangers of this recipe because they did studies. Eight out of ten cats died after being dipped and though dogs were less, it was a well known fact that they too could die. I don't know what else to say other than be very careful of homemade recipes and any substance applied to your pets. I sparingly (two to three times a year, max.) used Frontline on my next two dogs and my cat and they all three died of cancer! What to do?

Diatomaceous Earth is great; I use it on all my animals. Just make sure you get FOOD-GRADE DE. The stuff for your garden or pool is impure and TOXIC and will have warnings on the label. NEVER use those on animals. Food grade DE is white, any other color of DE is toxic.

mix some dawn dish detergent in about a cup of water and pour about 1/4 inch in a cookie sheet. put a desk lamp about a foot above water, it really kills fleas in carpet.

I have fed small quantities of garlic to my dogs, cats and horses for years, with no ill effects -- and no fleas OR ticks. I buy garlic from Springtime in 55lb pails. The cats (all about 12 pounds) get a 1/16th tsp on their food morning and evening, the dogs (both 40 lbs) get 1/4 tsp twice a day, and the horses get a scoop twice a day (which is 1 ounce.) Horses and dogs take to the garlic with no lead up, and one cat seems to really like it. With the other two, I start with just a small sprinkle for a couple of days, and move up to the full amount. I do stop once there's been a hard freeze, and start feeding again in the spring.

You can find Springtime online (www.springtime.com), and they also sell a relatively new product called Longevity, which contains biotin, spirulina, MSM, chondroitin, glucosamine, bee pollen and some other things. It turns the cat and dog food green, but they don't seem to mind it at all, and they all got a noticeable energy burst when I first started using it. All have soft coats, bright eyes, and a good level of energy. This includes a 16-year old beagle that I've had since a puppy, because he broke his elbow and was going to be put down. He has arthritis (I also give him Springtime's Fresh Factors), but still gets around and seems to enjoy life.

Alliums (garlic, onions, etc) and pennyroyal are toxic to cats; the first is toxic to dogs. Macadamia nuts are toxic to both, as well.

While diatomacious earth will penetrate the shell of insects (not to mention soft bodies), it will also penetrate the soft mucous membranes of mammals (such as cats, dogs, children and other people). I use the latter, carefully, in my garden--I make sure I either use gloves or wash my hands immediately, and I don't touch my eyes. My cats and dog don't dig where I use it, and my grandchild does not go in this area.

Someone suggested using salt on carpets (very fine salt) as it dries up the fleas, their larvae, and their eggs. I've noticed that salt (either sodium chloride or another sodium compound) is usully the main ingredient in 'natural' flea'carpet powders, so this would seem to make sense.

This article was written in 1985 and was probably the best at that time. Since then, the Insect Growth Regulators have totally revolutionized the natural flea control. They stop the eggs and larvae from developing into biting adults, thus breaking the cycle. With no new fleas developing, when the current generation is gone, there are no new ones to take their place. The best article on it is at FleaSmart. As I said, there is some good advice here, but the final answer is using an IGR to keep them from ever coming back. We have used it for many years and will continue to.

Peacock

i read a few years ago, of a recipe to combat fleas naturally, consisting of pennyroyal,citronella, and another ingredient i cannot remember, which was mixed with water in a spay bottle and administered to pets, bedding, carpets etc. I cannot remember the third ingredient, and how much of each to mix with how much water. Does anyone have this information?

Often I see information about FLEAS, are TICKS approached in the same manner as the FLEAS? I need help with the erradication of the TICKS. Thanks you

Yes, as others have said garlic can be toxic to animals. It contains the same toxin as onions, but in a smaller quantity.

"Garlic - along with other alliums such as onions - contains the chemical thiosulphate. This can be extremely dangerous to pets (onions being more of a danger than garlic). The blood-cleansing properties that make garlic sulphides beneficial to humans can damage the blood cells of animals. This can result in anything from mild anemia to major bursting of the blood cells leading to death."

I would definitely speak with your vet before feeding your animal garlic.

DO NOT USE DIAOTOMACEUS EARTH!!!!!!!!! It is a carcinogen!!! I believe it would have been real easy to find out that it can cause major lung disease!

Just a note about pyrethrins as mentioned as a natural ingredient used in flea bombs. I found out I was highly allergic to these the hard way. My tongue swelled up, my throat started closing up and I was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. You essentially have 20 minutes to get the hospital or you're dead when you have a highly allergic reaction of this nature.

Chances are this won't happen to you but be aware that someone in your family could have a reaction.It is life-threatening and requires IMMEDIATE medial attention.

100% natural doesn't mean 100% safe for every single person.
Has anyone had any experience with resmethrin in a fogger?

WARNING ! ! ! Diatomaceous Earth can be VERY HARMFUL to you and your pet! ! ! ESPECIALLY THE EYES! ! !

The powder is made of extremely fine particles of fossilized material that is EXTREMELY SHARP, and it will scratch your EYEBALLS! ! ! and your pet's eyeballs!

Please Please Please pass the word on this. If you don't believe me, ask your vet.

The particles will quickly be embedded into the sclera of the eye, and like microscopic pieces of glass, they will go deeper into the eye with every blinking motion. Water can NOT wash it out! It is EXTREMELY PAINFUL! ! !

I do not like this article for other reasons. Pennyroyal, Wormwood and Citronella oils can be toxic. These also burn the eyes. This article has some good information, but it really needs to be CHANGED regarding bad advice.

http://www.entirelypets.com/toxicfoods.html, talks about poisonous
foods for dogs, it seems garlic is but only in large quantities..??

I am highly against using the Frontline or any other products. My
girlfriend insists on using the front line but I with anything that
has that many dangers on the label or something I wouldn't use on
my self I don't want them to have it as well. So I'm really having
trouble finding something great or some sound healthy options. I
would shave them but it's a little cold here in NorCal at night
time and that would be just as mean.

Question to Pati, if the flea treat works, you shouldn't have the
need to flea comb your cat daily, isn't it???

I have been using flea treats on my cat. I noticed how well it
worked when I ran out and didn't buy them for over a month.
http://fleatreat.com/ Also, I use a flea comb on him almost daily
to get the stragglers. My kitty now knows what it is and sits still
while I comb him over...

You can buy garlic treats from Drs. Foster and Smith. They are safe
for dogs and cats. I have some, but I can never get my cats to eat
them. They are so big and I don't think they like the smell. These
would be great for a dog though.

The light source flea traps can be obtained through Amazon.com.
Administering garlic can be controled using minced garlic or easier
yet powdered garlic. Always mix small amounts at a time into yor
dogs food. I would not advise using it on cats. Another herb that
is very good is Pennyroyal. Check it out it works great againt
fleas.

For Jose: http://eartheasy.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=S102

It is true that garlic is very bad for pets... it can cause death
in cats. Also cats can not process essential oils such as tea tree,
the article didnt mention these oils, but many people use them on
themselves and that is great... just not on pets!

What ever happened to those flea light sets with sticky boards??

i agree with what you say about the garlic what are other
alternatives? SoM

Unfortunately, the advice above could also endanger a favorite
pet... garlic (in relatively large amounts) can be quite dangerous
to both dogs and cats. Other such foods of the lily family of foods
include onions and leeks, which are even more dangerous to our
precious pets. Please do not feed your dog or cat garlic, just to
be on the safe side!