Natural Flea Control?

[Jenna Johnson]

Hi everyone! Well, it's getting to be that time of year again. I tried very hard last year to keep from giving my outside dogs any Frontline or other topical chemical flea treatments but by about July I had to break down and use it because they were just crawling with fleas and miserable despite weekly baths with eucalyptus shampoo and daily spray with eucalyptus (from Earthbaths). We live on a farm in Georgia and while my indoor Jack Russells can go all summer with maybe three to six fleas between the five of them, my big dogs that live mostly outside are impossible to control. I've heard garlic does well but I have no idea what mind to give them or how much. (One is a Border Collie and ? mix and the other is a small adult Aussie.) I'm assuming that the smell comes out their pores and repels the fleas. When I was a kid growing up in central Florida I remember our collie never had a flea ever because even though she had a nice big water dish she always drank out of the pool and I assume the cholrine had a similar effect. She never had a flea until we moved up here and had no pool. Can't imagine the chlorine was very good for her (or you'd think very tasty either) but she did live to a ripe old age for a collie. Anyhow, I'm just trying to find some way of keeping my dogs flea free without throwing chemicals on them. Seems kinda of counterproductive when I take such good care of them and make sure they have very high quality food etc. to then dump chemicals on them. But I will have to do it if I can't find something natural that will work. I can't have them covered tip to tail with fleas either (literally, that's what it looked like last summer when I broke down and put the Frontline on them... I felt so bad... and they'd both just had a bath a few days before!)

Please help! Thanks~
Jenna

www.scruffyjackbakery.com

[Maria Juliano]

Hi everyone! Well, it's getting to be that time of year again. I tried very hard last year to keep from giving my outside dogs any Frontline or other topical chemical flea treatments but by about July I had to break down and use it because they were just crawling with fleas and miserable despite weekly baths with eucalyptus shampoo and daily spray with eucalyptus (from Earthbaths). We live on a farm in Georgia and while my indoor Jack Russells can go all summer with maybe three to six fleas between the five of them, my big dogs that live mostly outside are impossible to control. I've heard garlic does well but I have no idea what mind to give them or how much. (One is a Border Collie and ? mix and the other is a small adult Aussie.) I'm assuming that the smell comes out their pores and repels the fleas. When I was a kid growing up in central Florida I remember our collie never had a flea ever because even though she had a nice big water dish she always drank out of the pool and I assume the cholrine had a similar effect. She never had a flea until we moved up here and had no pool. Can't imagine the chlorine was very good for her (or you'd think very tasty either) but she did live to a ripe old age for a collie. Anyhow, I'm just trying to find some way of keeping my dogs flea free without throwing chemicals on them. Seems kinda of counterproductive when I take such good care of them and make sure they have very high quality food etc. to then dump chemicals on them. But I will have to do it if I can't find something natural that will work. I can't have them covered tip to tail with fleas either (literally, that's what it looked like last summer when I broke down and put the Frontline on them... I felt so bad... and they'd both just had a bath a few days before!)

Please help! Thanks~
Jenna

www.scruffyjackbakery.com (http://www.scruffyjackbakery.com/)

Welcome Jenna,

I use pure Neem Oil on my shih tzus as well as the shampoo. It's a holistic approach to keep out fleas and ticks. Here is a picture of the one I use:

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/photos/121022-2.jpghttp://www.onlynaturalpet.com/templates/8/images/DBox_Border_Right_Top.gifhttp://www.onlynaturalpet.com/templates/8/images/clear1x1.gifWhat are the benefits and uses of Neem “Protect” Shampoo and Neem “Protect” Spray?


Specially formulated for Ark Naturals by a team of chemists and herbal scientists using premium natural botanical extracts.
Neem oil may help reduce the risk of infections, itching and derma-titis from insect bites.
Neem oil has been used in Asia for years to repel lice, mites, flies, mosquitoes, fleas, gnats, and ticks.
Neem oil is inhospitable to biting insects such as flies, fleas, mosquitoes,
Neem “Protect” products are safe for puppies and kittens.
Safe for children to play with treated pets.
Safe and effective for human use.
Contains no DEET, pyrethrins or other synthetic pesticides and chemicals.
How should I use Neem “Protect” Shampoo and Neem “Protect” Spray?


Always use Neem “Protect” Shampoo in conjunction with Neem “Protect” Spray.
For Best Results: On first usage or with heavy infestations, spray animal heavily with Neem “Protect” Spray. Allow 1 to 2 hours to take effect, then bathe with Neem “Protect” Shampoo.
Thereafter, on clean, dry animal, spray Neem “Protect” Spray from head to tail.
Neem “Protect” Shampoo should be used regularly during flea season.
Use Neem “Protect” Spray as directed on the label every 7 to 10 days during flea and tick season.
Neem “Protect” Spray is water-soluble and must be re-applied each time animal gets wet. You may re-apply as often as needed. It can be used in your pet’s bedding, cage, etc.
Keep Neem “Protect” Spray away from your pet’s eyes, nose, and mouth. Do not spray near food or water dishes.
Safe for year-round use on both pets and humans.




I order mine on line: www.onlynaturalpet.com (http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/) Hope this helps.

[Grace Erick]

I have heard neem oil works also. I wonder if it really does? Everyone always mentions it when people on chat forums ask for holistic treatments.

I've used Advantix which is good for fleas, ticks and mosquitos, but I read the mosquito part of the forumula is very harsh and not too good on other chat forums. My yard for some reason has lots of mosquitos, so I want to protect her against them.

I hike, so I use deet on myself which is not good, but some areas where I hike have tons of mosquitos. You can't mess around with light weight products or you will be bite all over.

Bye, Grace

[Jill Ramsey]

I started using Neem oil on Finnegan last year, and have continued througout the winter. So far, so good. I don't use it everyday in the winter, maybe once a week. But now, he gets sprayed every morning before brushing. I mix it with a conditioning spray.

[aussiesmum]

we use neem to. We have straight neem, plus a "holistic flea and tick" spray with some other stuff in it. We were advised that we didn't have to spary her daily, but we try to. We also have the same holistic spray in a shampoo forumla. so far so good :tup:

[Luciann]

well my two won't let me spray them with anything. As for the garlic, when i lived in the country we would use powdered garlic on the dogs food and for about the first week it literally overdosed the food, they finally would eat it, but once it was in the blood stream really well, we cut back on the amount and i have to say it stopped the fleas and ticks in the first week, though i have to say thier breath was not flower garden...lol

If you can get them to take garlic pills then I would think it would do just as well, depending on the size of your baby as to how much you need.

[Sarah Moore]

I use a neem based spray http://www.kalyx.com/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/29343.0/CategoryID/9500.0/SubCatID/2115.0/file.htmI orginally tried the type that Maria listed and the smell was very overpowering, so I switched to this type and it is much milder. I also use the neem based shampoo that Maria listed (Ark Naturals), it seems to work very well, it is very mild. So far, no flea and my dog's coats have literally never looked better. We were at the dog park this weekend and people could not stop commenting about how shiny and healthy they all looked. I haven't found one flea yet (knock on wood); This is my first summer without using any flea products, last year I used Advantix but Teddy, my lab/Dane mix, had a reaction to the chemicals so I decided to take them all off the pesticides and try neem... so far so good. I brush them all 2 to 3 times a week with a flea comb just to be sure... with 6 animals in the house we can't risk an outbreak :o

Luciann, if your dogs don't let you spray them and you want to try a spray product, what I do with Ginger, my min pin mix, is spray my hands and then rub her down. She hates being sprayed as well, and if i rub her with the spray I don't have to worry about it getting in her eyes since she is so small (this also works well for the cats who run at the very sight of a spray bottle). Just a thought :)

[Luciann]

Sarah, believe it or not but i have tried that and my males gets very aggitated when i use a spray bottle of any kind and he won't even let me rub it on him with my hands not sure what is up with that.

i get the bottle out and they both start to shake and cringe and if i go towards the male he will actually growl. So i have compromised and use the garlic on them

[Maria Juliano]

Sarah,

You are right, the smell of the Neem by Ark Natural is overpowering, enough to keep the fleas and other bugs away! :) I have gotten used to the offensive odor.

[Jenna Johnson]

Thanks guys! I will try the Neem and see how it works for us! Do you know how much garlic powder to use for a 30-50 lb dog? I'd like to try that too.

I appreciate the help!
Jenna
visit us at www.scruffyjackbakery.com

[JanSum]

I am so glad to find others who are trying alternatives to those nasty chemicals.
I just bought the Ark Natural Spray. My friends on the Golden forum think I'm crazy for not using a chemical product but my Summer contracted Lyme's while using Frontline Plus. She was treated with a very strong antibiotic and is fine but the Frontline company told me that Frontline kills the attached tick after 36 hours... Well, what good is that?

I would rather repel the ticks than have them poisoned through chemicals that I place on my dog!

I hope that the neem oil products work! I plan on spraying Summer before we go out to our favorite walking path. I also plan on doing a tick check every time we come from a wooded area. Here in Princeton, NJ we have a large amount of deer tick carrying the Lyme's disease.

[Sheryl]

Does anyone use the Neem just to keep mosquitos away? Up North here where I live, the mosquitos are HORRIBLE. If you have never been to Northern Canada in the summer, you can't really comprehend it, they are that big and that bad. Can't go walking sometimes because there are just too many mosquitos. Luckily, they don't carry diseases up here though. I just avoid being out with my dog in the evenings when they are at their worst. Does Neem oil keep mosquitos away really well, or is it more for fleas and ticks?
A nurse I was working with boils a bunch of Parsley in a little water to make a concentrated liquid, then uses that on her dogs, a few drops on her hands and then rubs it into their coats. She said it works well for fleas.

Also, I thought I read somewhere that garlic isn't good for dogs, or maybe that was cats?

[Luciann]

Sheryl

to address the garlic issue, i have also read it is not good for them but i used it on my male dobbie and he did fine but i used the powered seasoning rather than raw...so i really don't know

[JanSum]

Well, I bathed Summer in a shampoo with natural oils that are supposed to repel insects and I also have been spraying her with Ark's Natural and put a natural flea and tick collar on her just before going out. We love the outdoors and we have a very bad tick problem here. So far, so good! I haven't found a tick yet during the tick checks that I do when we return. We just started using this method so it will take some time to tell.

[Laura Redhawk]

Yupper...back at the old K9U and Doggie Door, Sam (who had YEARS of practical working experience and education) always suggested Neems. I've found it to be a very good product that WORKS and is not too pricey to boot!

I refuse to put poisons on my animals.

Some practical thoughts too would be to avoid taking your dogs in places that spawn the nasty critters as well...bogs, and overgrown "wild" water areas, excepting the beach, are home to ticks and skiters.

If you do hike in areas where such things are likely to be, CHECK YOUR DOG'S COAT WHEN YOU RETURN HOME...run a groom comb though them to check for ticks.

Apply your Neems as directed to safely protect your dogs, cats, horses and even YOURSELF.