All chemical flea treatments have precautionary statements on the labels. It is always a difficult decision to treat your pet when inevitably some of the product will get on you or your children. There is a risk we take exposing our family to the toxic chemicals in these products. Evidence is emerging that many pets have severe reactions to commercial topical insecticides, become sick and in some cases have even died as a result of low dose exposure to some of these products. Many of our test pets have had severe reactions, ranging from frothing at the mouth to having fits. Finding an alternative that works is a struggle for most of us.

 

The truth about Fleas
Fleas live in the environment your pet inhabits - not so much on your pets’ coat. For every flea found on your pet there could be as many as 30 who have taken up residence in your home.

One flea can lay up to 60 eggs a day. A flea’s lifespan is about 3 months but a hibernating flea can lie dormant for a year.

Fleas adapt to the environment and can become immune to commercial flea control chemicals.

Now that you’re completely depressed and paranoid about fleas here are some things to think about:

 

Vacuuming
Is an efficient way to remove fleas and their eggs from carpets, floors, on (or under) furniture and anywhere else your pets go in your home. If you have a severe infestation, you may want to consider getting your carpets steam cleaned. The hot steam kills all stages of the flea.
Vacuuming is the least toxic and most effective method of keeping your house and your pet flea free. Adjust your vacuum to a low suck setting before gently using it on your pet.

Not all pets have an aversion to vacuum cleaners, one of our test dogs gets positively huffy if the vacuum is brought out and he isn’t included in the clean up.

Our old cat Benson used to love being vacuumed. We had someone clean our house once a week and she would have to lock him out so she could vacuum unmolested.  Sadly neither of our current cats will stay in the room if they hear the vacuum being brought out of the cupboard. I always feel it is so unfair – we have never done anything to frighten them with the vacuum, it seems to be a pathological dislike of vacuuming they share with the man of the house.

 

Combing
If your cat or dog is short-haired, regular combing with a fine comb is a great way to catch fleas – it also helps monitor how successful your flea control program is. Put a towel on your lap or wherever you are combing your pet, this will collect up the flea eggs that fall off your pet when you comb. Make sure you pick up the towel carefully to ensure you don’t drop these where they can hatch. Crush any fleas between your thumb nails (it’s strangely therapeutic). Our cats love being combed – I tap the comb on the floor and they run for the attention. I understand from other owners that the love of combing is not shared by everyone in the feline community.

 

Bathing
Wash your dog regularly with Original WashBar Soap for Dogs - the active ingredients of Neem Oil, Neem Leaf and Leptospermum petersonii (Lemon Scented Tea Tree) Oil help repel fleas.

 

Wash bedding
Fleas accumulate in bedding - wash your dog’s bedding at least once a week. Take care not to spread the fleas when you are picking up the bedding – flea eggs aren’t sticky and will fall off the bedding and into your dog’s resting spot. 

 

Outdoor Areas:

Kennels
The kennels should be vacuumed at least once a week and the bedding washed. Sprinkle clean bedding with WashBar 100% Natural Flea Repellent. Between vacuums sprinkle the kennel with WashBar Dog Bedding Deodoriser  the Leptospermum Petersonii Essential Oil (Lemon Scented Tea Tree Oil) is a known insect repellent. 

 

Lawns
Sounds crazy but keeping your lawn mowed is a sound strategy. Fleas like moist cool places to lay eggs. Mowing your lawn short allows more sunlight in and dries out the soil. I can hear the groaning already - yes a brown horrid lawn, you can water it but just a less frequent deep watering. It’s better for your lawn anyway.

 

Diet & Exercise
Exercise and a good healthy diet ensures your dog is in top condition. Fleas are more likely to invade a sick or less active dog. If your pet isn’t well it is important to be even more vigilant.

 

For Dogs
Try adding brewers yeast and garlic powder to their food. The taste of garlic and brewers yeast seems help to repel the fleas. It’s supposed to make your dog’s skin repugnant to fleas. Feedback from friends and customers shows mixed results but most people find their dog’s health seems to improve anyway.

 

For Cats
Try adding brewers yeast to their food - it may help to repel fleas. When we fed our cats biscuits we used add it to them, the surface is slightly damp and the brewers yeast sticks to it. We had a sealed container that we got as a ‘free gift’ for buying the brand of biscuits the boys loved. We'd throw a cup full into the container and shake it up. Neither of the cats were put off eating their brewers yeast flavoured biscuits – they ploughed in as though it had never been added. We had mixed success, Finn (our Ebony Mandalay) stopped scratching immediately and then started up again at a much reduced level. Horse (our Seal Burmese) seemed to slightly reduce his scratching, but not by much. Now we don't feed them biscuits we need to trial sprinkling some on their meals.

We recommend you don’t give your cats garlic. There are products on the market for cats with garlic added. We believe there is enough evidence to suggest that garlic (and any other produce from the onion family) is toxic to cats. It doesn’t seem worth the risk when it is so easily avoided.

To rid your home of fleas without using chemicals can be a little more time consuming but it is worth knowing you haven’t poisoned your environment, your pet or your children.