i have an indoor cat, so usually fleas are easy to manage, but a friend brought her dog over the other day and i spotted a couple of fleas on my kitty yesterday - argh! i plan on giving her a bath since it's warmed up outside - i hate to give her a bath during cold weather. i've heard about people giving garlic supplements to their pets to ward off fleas. has anyone tried that before? - i just don't want to use any kind of harsh treatments on her. has anyone else done anything natural that helped keep fleas at a minimum?
There are a number of folks who make natural flea collars. I believe both fleabane and pennyroyal are good natural repellants, but watch out for pennyroyal... as I recall, it's pretty potent and some cats object to the strong smell. Borax is a mineral you can put in your carpet to kill off the little beggars and isn't unhealthy or bad for you and your animals. Good luck.
Thank you I'll check out the coop here in town and see if they sell the natural stuff - the Petco here doesn't have any of that awesome stuff
You may have to try growing the herbs yourself... or you may be able to find extracted oils online. Either one is worth a go if you can't find them locally.
Stay away from flea remedies containing essential oils. They are poisonous to cats when used on the skin as well as when they are ingested.
also, penyroyalis very dangerouse around anyone who may be pregnant, its a natural abortion the essential oils are super strength so even 1 drop can be hazardouse around pregnant women
just tea tree oil most likely would keep them away..it wont get rid of them ..but it wil prevent them ithink...& should be safe enough in small doses (maybe diluted & used as a rinse)
I use diatomaceous earth on my three cats and three dogs. It works great for all but very heavy infestations. It is essentially very finely ground fossilized crustation shells and diatoms. The powder is safe around anything and some people even eat it. You are not supposed to breath huge amounts though. It feels like a finer talcom powder. On a microscopic level it is sharp. The fleas crawl over it and it cuts through the waxy coating on their bodies and with-in a couple of days they die of dehydration. I apply it ever two weeks after baths. It is widely available on the internet and is cheap. I have also heard that you can repel fleas with a tablespoon of vinegar to each gallon of water that the pet drinks. I haven't tried it though.
Excellent points on the pennyroyal... the stuff is very potent. The commercial companies actually use it in conjunction with their chemical flea killers. I should have been more specific and said that it should only be used on natural collars and the like. Sorry for the misinformation.
all is good, foxesden. thanks everyone for the helpful info and eagle, i'm around no pregnant ladies ever, so i wouldn't have to worry about hurting a pregnant gal, but i think i'll stick with tea tree oil in small doses and do some research on the diatomaceous earth that Haid was talking about. Thanks guys! Namaste!
Another quick note on the diatomaceous. When you first start using it, it will take awhile until you don't see fleas. It does not kill egg only the walking bugs. So at first they will get reinfested from the eggs already there. Use it once a week at first. Their coat will be dusty for the first day then you won't notice it. It is very fine so I usually apply it outside. It gets into cracks easily but cleans up easily as well. I have also heard you can put it on your carpet and then vacuum it up a couple of hours later. I have not tried this though, I don't have any carpet in the house, all wood floors.
That's right. The diatomaceous earth does the same thing as borax and prevents adult fleas from being able to survive inthe environment... I believe it has to do with their carapace or something. But you can definately use it in your carpet and vaccuum it a while later, getting rid of the little flea corpses at the same time.
Brewers yeast is also a great internal supplement. Can also be sprinkled onto their coats. All natural, & rich with vitamins. Might be a good thing to keep around for in between, after you get rid of the buggers you've got right now.
Take a clipping of eucalyptus if you can get your hands on any, then put it in an area u think is most heavily effected. This method isnt meant to be 100% perfect, but then again NOTHING u will find is. We had a flea epidemic here because of the cat recently and i was told to increase my intake of garlic (i have started taking 2 peices of garlic a day, like i would take a pill with water), and to spread as much eucalyptus around the house as is possible. Hope this helps.
good to know - i haven't used any of those. i ended up just giving her a bath with regular pet shampoo and vacuuming the crap outta my carpet. i'm ordering some diatomaceous earth when i get paid, so i hope if i keep being aggressive about the problem, it will go away soon.
I've always heard Tea tree oil even when diluted can be deadly toxic to animals, especially cats. A good flea repellant for yourself is Avon Skin-so soft body spray. I have no idea why but fleas,ticks and mosquitos hate it. Borax is amazing for gettign fleas that are around the house. To see which areas have alot of fleas, Place a small lamp on the floor with a small bowl with dishsoap and water, turn the light on at night. The fleas will jump towards the light and drown in th soapy water.
