09 Fleas: Natural methods
Description
This article is from the Fleas, Ticks, and Your Pet FAQ, by tittle@zmall.com (Cindy Tittle Moore) with numerous contributions by others.
09 Fleas: Natural methods
These tend to be of the "folk-remedy" type. Some people swear by them,
others do not get any results. Some are actually toxic. They tend to
work better at keeping fleas away rather than killing or eliminating
present infestations.
* You can buy cedar shampoo, cedar oil and cedar-filled sleeping
mats. Cedar repells many insects including fleas.
* Let outdoor pets sleep on a well-used horse blanket. Equine-l
folks have confirmed that horses get ticks but not fleas, and cats
using horseblankets in *current* use seem to have fewer fleas.
* Fleas love dry skin: prevent dry skin by giving your pet Linatone
(or any vegetable oil) with its food and avoiding excessive
shampooing.
* Pennyroyal (the herb and the oil) is often touted as a natural
flea repellent: only the fresh or dried leafs are safe. The oil is
actually highly toxic to animals and humans (it has a long history
as an abortifacent, for example). There is an article about this
in the AKC's Gazette, July 1992. Also, Journal of the AVMA, v200
n6 March 15, 1992.
* Garlic and Brewer's Yeast: Feed it in small doses to your pet and
and the resultant body odor may repel fleas. You can get it either
in powder form or tablet form, at varying expense.
* Orange or lemon peel boiled and simmered in water makes a flea dip
after it cools. Do not use this on cats, however (don't know about
ferrets). Rinse well.
* 60 ml of lavendar oil mixed with 2.8 liters of rock salt can be
placed under furniture and rugs.
* Eucalyptus leaves can be left under furniture and rugs. Also, a
eucalyptus wool wash [a product for washing wool made from
eucalyptus, available in Australia, perhaps elsewhere too] when
washing the dog may help.
* Rub bruised fennel foliage into the dog's coat. Growing it in the
yard discourages the establishment of fleas there.
* You can plant marigolds outside in your garden. This has the
additional benefit of repelling a variety of other bugs.
* NuPo offers a "flea trap" that uses heat to attract fleas to a
sticky pad, kind of like "flea paper." Homemade variants,
considerably less expensive, include leaving out detergent-laced
dishes or jars of water near nightlights at night. This approach
works best in severe infestations but is not likely to eliminate
the fleas.
* Food supplements, there are several on the market besides the
"conventional" brewers yeast and/or garlic. One is Hop Off. Again,
they appear to work for some dogs and not necessarily others.
* Often useful in conjunction with other methods is to cover up your
pet's ears and around the neck with a wet towel and have it lie in
a tub of cool water for a while. The towel prevents migration of
the fleas to the head. Add just a little detergent to the water (a
teaspoon or a few cc's is enough) to make sure the fleas drown.
Obviously, your pet must be amenable to lying in water for 15
minutes or so. This can be done as an alternative to dipping; but
like dipping it will not solve the larger problem of the flea
infestation.
* A similar method is to prepare a warm bath in the kitchen sink (or
tub) with just a little baby shampoo and submerge the pet except
for the head. Hold the vegetable sprayer (or spray attachment)
about an inch away from your pet (under water) and literally blast
the fleas off. By doing it under water, it keeps the fleas from
simply being blown to another part of the pet. The head has to be
sprayed while out of the water. Fleas will float to the surface
but drown because of the bit of shampoo in the water. This may
help remove eggs as well. Again, this technique only works on
animals that are amenable to lying down in water.
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