Fleas? Well, if you have animals beyond a goldfish or pet snake you
probably have to deal with them. They spread parasites like tapeworm,
can carry a variety of diseases, and they’ll get on you and leave
annoying bites if you let them, so fleas have to go.

The easiest method is flea collars, but the ones you buy tend to either
cost a fortune or else be laced with poisons that can be unhealthy for
you and your animals. You can buy the chemical goo put on the back of a
dog’s neck, but I‘ve seen dogs die of overdoses of that stuff. And just
look at the typical warnings!

"Avoid contact with skin."
"Keep out of reach from children."
"Harmful or fatal if swallowed."
"This product is toxic to fish, birds and other wildlife."
"Harmful if absorbed through skin."
"Avoid contact with eyes, skin or clothing."

Fortunately nature already gave us everything we need to fight these
pests safely. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, Vol.
347. No. 1, July 4, 2002 All Natural Herbal Pest Discouragement article,
E. citriadora (The Lemon Eucalyptus) out-performed every other non-DEET
insect repellant alternative they tested. To quote the report:
"preliminary studies suggest that the oil of eucalyptus products will
confer longer-lasting protection than other available plant-based
repellants."

A word of warning, some essential oils are extremely toxic to cats and
rabbits. While essential oils are natural, that does not always
translate to harmless, while most essential oils are safe enough even to
use on food a few will cause rashes or allergic reactions even in dogs
and humans. Do not use these methods on Cats or Rabbits! I will be
presenting a separate article on treating fleas in Cats and Rabbits shortly.

The price of essential oils can be steep (Eucalyptus is cheap even by
the pound, Rose oil is so pricey some countries historically based their
currency on it over gold) but fortunately the less expensive oils are
what you want anyway. And since your needs are measured in drops, a one
ounce bottle will last you a long time. You can usually find essential
oils in health food stores.

Eucalyptus is the workhorse of flea-repelling essential oils. It has a
pleasant “green” woodsy odor although it’s strong enough that I don’t
like it alone. Essential oils work best as a team so ideally you’ll use
several oils together if you can get them. Here’s a list of some of the
oils reputed to have insect repelling properties:

Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Pennyroyal, Cedarwood, Citronella, Lavender,
White Thyme, Basil, Tea Tree, Clove, Lemon.

Fortunately for your wallet you don’t need all of these or even most of
them. You’ll probably want to start with Eucalyptus, but from there you
can go with whatever blend smells nicest to you and make a custom blend.
I’ve linked to several recipes at the bottom of this article if you’d
rather skip testing your own recipes.

I’ve found three effective means of getting the oils onto the animals:

1. Create a home-made flea collar. Depending on how stylish you want
to look, you can use anything from a store-bought dog collar (your dog
likely already has one on) to a scrap of old shoelace for your collar.
Just add a couple of drops of each of the essential oils you want to
use, and rub them into the collar, then return the collar to the animal.
You may need to refresh the oil once a month or so.
2. Make a spray. Sprays are particularly useful for getting the oil
into flea-infested bedding, pet homes, or cages. Mix ten to fifteen
drops of each oil into a cups of water, and add a few drops of liquid
soap to help them melt together (If you want to go professional level,
there‘s an emulsifier called polysorbate 20 that works better than
soap). Shake it very well before you use it to get the oil distributed
and put it into a small spray bottle. Spritz onto whatever needs flea
removal. I've sometimes used these on myself to repel mosquitos.
3. Put the oil into a shampoo. Just take a bottle of your favorite
pet shampoo and add about three to five drops of each essential oil per
quart of shampoo. Then give your animal a bath. This is usually the
best method for horses.

Whichever method you choose, you’ll have the confidence of knowing your
pet is protected by effective, natural methods that are harmless to you
and smell wonderful.


http://tinyurl.com/eliminatingfleas

In article ,
chardonnay9 wrote:
You can buy the chemical goo put on the back of a
dog’s neck, but I‘ve seen dogs die of overdoses of
that stuff.

Oh? Care to fill in some details, or is this one of those
unsupported assertions for which you're so well-known.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Melinda Shore wrote:
In article ,
chardonnay9 wrote:
You can buy the chemical goo put on the back of a
dog’s neck, but I‘ve seen dogs die of overdoses of
that stuff.

Oh? Care to fill in some details, or is this one of those
unsupported assertions for which you're so well-known.

Why don't you ask Matt Miller?

In article ,
chardonnay9 wrote:
Why don't you ask Matt Miller?

You're the one who posted a long, long article in the first
person, didn't provide a citation, and only included a URL
that indicated the original source down at the bottom. And
when asked to take responsibility for stuff you posted you
pull your "Who, me?" schtick. Can't answer questions, won't
take responsibility for your own posts - yeah, you probably
work for Hills or Pedigree or such.

One of these days you might post something that's not an epic
fail but I wouldn't bet on it, myself.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

chardonnay9 wrote:
Melinda Shore wrote:
In article ,
chardonnay9 wrote:
You can buy the chemical goo put on the back of a dog’s neck, but
I‘ve seen dogs die of overdoses of
that stuff.

Oh? Care to fill in some details, or is this one of those
unsupported assertions for which you're so well-known.

Why don't you ask Matt Miller?

Is that who you plagiarized that from?

So do quite a few essential oils.

I'll never forget the case where a woman refused to follow the doctors
directions for ridding her dog of sarcoptic mange. Even though she was
immune compromised - going through chemo for brain cancer - she took her dog
to the groomer who immediately spewed Chard's nonsense and "prescribed" tea
tree oil for the mange. Not only did it not kill the mites, it also
exacerbated the sores from the mange and made the dog go nuts. Imagine
putting that stuf on open sores.

Oh, and the owner ended up in the hospital with the worst case of scabies
the doctor had ever seen.

Yeah, those essential oils will kill every stage of the flea just about as
well.