Fleas
April 14th 2008 01:37
If you do a google of dogs, fleas and natural; my goodness do you get an array of products and suggestions. I thought I would sift through a few ideas on offer.
Julie at Greenpet has several suggestions and my favourite from her list of helpful hints from Really Long Link was:
“Fleas hate lemons and a natural Lemon Dog rinse may be made up using lemon or grapefruit peels soaked in water or use Lemon dog rinse which is suitable for dogs only. This is a concentrated blend and a 200ml bottle will make up to 13 litres of rinse. It is totally non-toxic and effective for up to 48 hours.”
Several sites suggested the use of eucalyptus and citronella essential oils directly onto the dog. PLEASE NO. These two essential oils are very strong and you could end up with a toxic reaction in small dogs, or at the least irritated skin.
A few raw food pages suggested if you ‘cleaned’ up what your dog ate, and as his system became less full of preservatives and colourings, he would be less tasty to the biting fleas. This has some validity, however you do have to be patient with this approach as you may be waiting several months for the benefits of a natural diet to prove itself. (though with any skin issue, always review your animal’s diet as it is often a contributing factor).
Dr Pitcairn’s book Natural Health for Pets came up in an exert form q=dog" target="_blank">Really Long Link natural health fleas&source=web&ots=lKHJXV-W mM&sig=G_NZQzv7KpbbNCw8duy8JX Vg4Js&hl=en (you may want to google yourself as it is a very long link that may not work when I finish this blog off).
He suggests looking for a good quality pet shampoo or castile soap but best to avoid human hair medications (especially on your cats) as they can suppress the issues that arise from fleas. He goes into great detail on how to bath the animal to get the best results, and one final rinse containing a teaspoon of white vinegar to one pint of warm water is a nice touch. This also helps with the alkaline/acid balance of the skin. If this is an issue you really want to read up on, he goes into great detail on the topic.
If your animals reside indoors, a simple thing to remember to do is to vacuum regularly, fleas love dust.
Finally my favourite flea repellent is peppermint leaves. If people or animals bring grass fleas into the house, my first plan of attack is a visit to the green grocer to buy a bunch of peppermint leaves. I simply place a few sprigs under the couch and bed and just leave them there. Within hours the fleas have stopped feasting on anyone’s ankles and you can leave the herb just sitting there, then vacuum up when it has dried out.
pic from www.insectsandrodents.com/Parasites/Parasites.htm (good info on lots of pests)
Julie at Greenpet has several suggestions and my favourite from her list of helpful hints from Really Long Link was:
“Fleas hate lemons and a natural Lemon Dog rinse may be made up using lemon or grapefruit peels soaked in water or use Lemon dog rinse which is suitable for dogs only. This is a concentrated blend and a 200ml bottle will make up to 13 litres of rinse. It is totally non-toxic and effective for up to 48 hours.”
Several sites suggested the use of eucalyptus and citronella essential oils directly onto the dog. PLEASE NO. These two essential oils are very strong and you could end up with a toxic reaction in small dogs, or at the least irritated skin.
A few raw food pages suggested if you ‘cleaned’ up what your dog ate, and as his system became less full of preservatives and colourings, he would be less tasty to the biting fleas. This has some validity, however you do have to be patient with this approach as you may be waiting several months for the benefits of a natural diet to prove itself. (though with any skin issue, always review your animal’s diet as it is often a contributing factor).
Dr Pitcairn’s book Natural Health for Pets came up in an exert form q=dog" target="_blank">Really Long Link natural health fleas&source=web&ots=lKHJXV-W mM&sig=G_NZQzv7KpbbNCw8duy8JX Vg4Js&hl=en (you may want to google yourself as it is a very long link that may not work when I finish this blog off).
He suggests looking for a good quality pet shampoo or castile soap but best to avoid human hair medications (especially on your cats) as they can suppress the issues that arise from fleas. He goes into great detail on how to bath the animal to get the best results, and one final rinse containing a teaspoon of white vinegar to one pint of warm water is a nice touch. This also helps with the alkaline/acid balance of the skin. If this is an issue you really want to read up on, he goes into great detail on the topic.
If your animals reside indoors, a simple thing to remember to do is to vacuum regularly, fleas love dust.
Finally my favourite flea repellent is peppermint leaves. If people or animals bring grass fleas into the house, my first plan of attack is a visit to the green grocer to buy a bunch of peppermint leaves. I simply place a few sprigs under the couch and bed and just leave them there. Within hours the fleas have stopped feasting on anyone’s ankles and you can leave the herb just sitting there, then vacuum up when it has dried out.
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Comment by Louie
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Comment by AmyHuang
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We had a bad case of fleas in the house when I took in a foster cat and it us a month to get rid of them all!
Comment by samaritan
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Comment by Catherine
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Amy, I think with the peppermint, they don't like the scent and just take off. Not sure about the lemon. Though I expect it also acts as a deterrant.
I am cleaning out all my old files at the moment, and would love to see what works on those horrid paper eating cockroaches.
Louie, thats when a sharp fingernail comes in handy if you are quick enough