Fleas HELP?!

[becomingwhole]

Can any of you give me some tips on how you keep the fleas away naturally? I have tried a few things, but my dog is really sensitive and nothing has worked to well.

Poor Z. We have a neighbor that is feeding farrell cats that are invested with fleas.
Can any of you help me?

[Laurie]

Is your dog rawfed? Usually a healthy animal is not very attractive to parasites, so whatever you can do to help your doggie be as healthy as possible... Also, my dogs have never had more than a flea or two a couple times, so I've not personally used it, but there's lots of discussion about food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) on a group I'm active on here: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawchat/

Good luck!

[becomingwhole]

Thank you Laurie. No she is not raw fed. Not yet at lest. I have a hard time keeping myself raw fed. However, I would love it if she was. She has never had more then a couple either, but this year was different. And she never gets them more then once a year. Last year not at all. We usually treat the yard if anything. If she does get them....We treat her and deal with them then that is it. But she always ends up with a rash because she is so sensitive. Thank you for the information. I will have to check it out.

Laurie said:

Is your dog rawfed? Usually a healthy animal is not very attractive to parasites, so whatever you can do to help your doggie be as healthy as possible... Also, my dogs have never had more than a flea or two a couple times, so I've not personally used it, but there's lots of discussion about food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) on a group I'm active on here: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawchat/

Good luck!

[violet]

diatomacious earth is a [garden product, i think] powder which my boss used to sprinkle @ the floor mouldings at work to keep the fleas at bay. we had some furry cats interning there who traipsed in and out as they pleased, and we'd get itchy ankles as a result. poor cats. the stuff was great, it's organic and totally non-toxic for living beings. another thing- look into diane stein's animal books- she's amazing, and has so much info about the creatures we love and how to care for them naturally. you could give your dog raw garlic- that helps. either a whole clove- or shredded in some olive oil- however s/he'll eat it. also- ledum is a homeopathic remedy for bites.

[Lola Lympicita]

I am so glad this came up, one of my cat who catches the odd mouse just to keep her paw in, has been scratching. I just didn't want to put anything on her that I would be unhappy to use myself.

[becomingwhole]

Thanks for all the info. I have tried the garlic. She ate it and we even tried spraying it on her. It didn't work. Then I heard you shouldn't feed dogs garlic. (or raisins, grapes, onions, almonds and as most of us know chocolate) I am not sure about that one because lots of dog food has it and I heard that it is good for fleas...but I stopped anyways because she has stomach issues and they may have added to it.
violet said:

diatomacious earth is a [garden product, i think] powder which my boss used to sprinkle @ the floor mouldings at work to keep the fleas at bay. we had some furry cats interning there who traipsed in and out as they pleased, and we'd get itchy ankles as a result. poor cats. the stuff was great, it's organic and totally non-toxic for living beings. another thing- look into diane stein's animal books- she's amazing, and has so much info about the creatures we love and how to care for them naturally. you could give your dog raw garlic- that helps. either a whole clove- or shredded in some olive oil- however s/he'll eat it. also- ledum is a homeopathic remedy for bites.

[Debbie Maddox]

I am having this problem also. My cats do not go into grass or anything outside, but do go out on our patio of the apartments. It is blocked so they can not venture further but ca get sun and fresh air.

They have been itching terribly. I have tried the powders available and they still itch. I worry about the poisons in thos powders as they hate the stuff on them and I am looking for a natural way to rid them of this irritation. I have read alot of essential oils etc are very dangerous for felines. So I am very hesitant to use even the natural stuff for cats.. I would hate to be a cause of them dieing. But then I know these pests can kill them too.Heavy sigh... HELP?

[MYmimi]

My rescue little old man, Flannagan, has a severe flea allergy. We live in TX Hill Country and the large deer population here bring in loads of ticks and fleas. If he gets a bite, he gets a roaring hot spot the has to be treated by the vet, usually with antibiotics for the infection, steroids for the reaction and , if needed, Benadryl for sleep. I often will just give him Benadryl for his weight if he's having a flare up. I use food grade diatomaceous earth under the cushions and in the cracks of all my soft furniture, inside and ouit. I sprinkle in the corners of my closets to prevent recluse spiders and in our attic to prevent scorpions. Also, the bottoms of my bird cages and food storage containers. and on pet bedding. Look it up on line. I get it at Ace Hardware. Helps a lot and is used to prevent infestations on organic foods. Great stuff and safe. MUST be FOOD GRADE. PS...it works by piercing the soft bodies of larvae and caterpillars. The just dry up. It also gets rinsed away by water, so must be reapplied after rain or washing , etc.

[becomingwhole]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY. I really appreciate the information....and what a really cute picture. Pretty sweater!

MYmimi said:

My rescue little old man, Flannagan, has a severe flea allergy. We live in TX Hill Country and the large deer population here bring in loads of ticks and fleas. If he gets a bite, he gets a roaring hot spot the has to be treated by the vet, usually with antibiotics for the infection, steroids for the reaction and , if needed, Benadryl for sleep. I often will just give him Benadryl for his weight if he's having a flare up. I use food grade diatomaceous earth under the cushions and in the cracks of all my soft furniture, inside and ouit. I sprinkle in the corners of my closets to prevent recluse spiders and in our attic to prevent scorpions. Also, the bottoms of my bird cages and food storage containers. and on pet bedding. Look it up on line. I get it at Ace Hardware. Helps a lot and is used to prevent infestations on organic foods. Great stuff and safe. MUST be FOOD GRADE. PS...it works by piercing the soft bodies of larvae and caterpillars. The just dry up. It also gets rinsed away by water, so must be reapplied after rain or washing , etc.

[becomingwhole]

May be messy, but sounds like a simple answer. I agree with you. We are working on saving up money so we can get rid of our carpet. HATE CARPET!! I had a problem with fleas in the house once about 5-6 years ago...what a pain.

Thank you for the book referrence. I will be reading that one for sure!

I also just font this link right now http://www.cedarcidestore.com/cedarproducts.html Not sure what it is about yet, I literally just saw it.....but thought I would put it out there.

FarmSchooler said:

We had 3 indoor/outdoor cats and a fully carpeted house at one time. Use a combo of boric acid powder and salt on the carpet to kill the fleas...had to do it a few days later agin to kill the next hatching, etc. It was a mess.

Personally if I were ever to have another indoor animal (besides fish) I would require NO CARPET and raw food diet for the animal that included meat and grass. I read a book called "All Flesh isd Grass" by Gene Logsdon that really inspired me to look at grass MUCH differently. Animals are created to eat it....not just when they are sick (as I was always told when I asked why the cats were eating grass) but regularly.

[Lori]

i am going through this right now, i use Diatomaceous earth , food grade, you buy it at the health food store, not a hardware store or not at a garden store, those ones ate toxic with poisons added to it. the food grade one you can mix in a drink and have it yourself, which i do. it will rid your animals of worms if you add to their food also, spread it on your caret and in your cracks and mattress , chairs, it kills them by cutting into their wax shells. also baking soda and salt is suppose to dry fleas up on your carpet ect.. i put the Diatomaceous earth on my dogs hot spots an it dried up over night after two weeks of treating them with other products, baking soda will do the same thing.