FLEA CONTROL

Fleas are tiny, brown, wingless insects that thrive on blood and can jump over a hundred times their height to reach a host. Pet owners collectively spend millions every year trying to rid their furry friends of this miniscule menace. These insects are not only seriously aggravating, but they can make your dog seriously sick. A dog that is allergic to flea saliva experience severe itching and welts at each flea bite. The allergic reaction is triggered by a chemical in a flea’s saliva that prevents the dog’s blood from clotting until the flea has finished its meal. If left untreated, the dog will chew herself raw, creating open sores and the possibility of infection. The skin is not the only thing that suffers. The immune system becomes weaker and over sensitized with every bite, leaving the dog vulnerable to other chronic health conditions. On the outside the dog is biting and scratching, and on the inside the immune system is weak and working overtime to fight the allergic reaction and to heal the sores caused by scratching and biting. To add insult to injury, the flea does not travel alone; they carry tapeworm, another parasite. Fleas are 2 parasites in one tiny package. As your dog is biting and licking, she will undoubtedly ingest a few fleas. The tapeworm inside the flea has a free ride to the dog’s small intestine, where it lives and prospers. If your dog is infested with fleas, she probably has tapeworm. To know for sure, bring a stool sample to your vet and ask him to check for worms. You may also see the worms around the anus or in the stool. Tapeworms are thin, segmented worms that can reach several feet in length. However, when the worms are seen outside your dog, they usually look like grains of rice. Tapeworms attach themselves to the small intestine with hooks and suckers, and, like the flea, live off your dog’s blood. This worm has an outer coating that prevents it from being digested. If your dog has tapeworm, or any other kind of worm, there are natural wormers you can buy from a holistic vet or a health food store that work well without the use of chemicals. For prevention of worms, use garlic. Fleas rarely infest a really healthy animal. I find it interesting that companies that make millions selling you dog food that does not meet a dog’s nutritional needs also make millions selling you pesticides to kill fleas and further compromise your dog’s health. It is a viscous cycle that can be stopped. The key to a flea free home is not to see how many fleas you can kill in a season, the goal is to make your dog an undesirable food source. If you walk into a restaurant and it smells terrible, you wouldn’t hang around for a meal; you would find another restaurant.

    In simplest terms, flea collars, shampoos, sprays, powders, and “spot-on” drugs are used to kill adult fleas. The new spot-on drugs are chemicals that your vet puts on the dog’s skin, where they are absorbed into the sebaceous glands. These glands secrete oil to help keep his skin and coat healthy and shiny. When the fleas come into contact with the chemical, their nervous systems are destroyed and they die. Flea control chemicals that come in pill form are insect growth inhibitors. These prevent flea eggs from turning into adult fleas. What the collars, shampoos, sprays, powders, spot-on, and pills all have in common is that they all are pesticides. Popular flea collars often contain powerful nerve gasses. These collars can kill some pets, especially puppies, older dogs, sick dogs, and dogs with weakened immune systems. They can also do serious damage to children and adults handling the dog wearing the collar. If it lives with other dogs, then they will be affected too. These pesticides are toxic to fleas, as well as dogs and people. Carbaryl [sevin], an insecticide used in many external flea control products, adversely affects human sperm, the nervous system, motor function [the ability to move], and the production of a hormone called melatonin. Chlorphyrifos, or Dursban,  another pesticide commonly used in external flea control products, causes birth defects of the brain, eyes, ears, palate, teeth, heart, nipples, and genitalia of humans. Even if you are not pregnant or about to be, it is clear this stuff is NOT good. There is abundant evidence from the hundreds and thousands of studies done that the pesticides we use on our pets have the potential to cause, in our pets, our kids, and ourselves – a variety of cancers [especially leukemia] skin problems such as rashes, disruption of the reproductive system, damage to glands such as the thyroid, liver damage, disorders of the nerves and brain, heavy-metal toxicity, blood poisoning, and acute symptoms such as seizures, vomiting, asthma, and allergies. This is quite a list. Are these pesticides you would bathe in, ingest, spray all over your body, or wear around your neck? I hope not. Please do not expose your pet to them.

  The effectiveness of the collars, shampoos, powders, sprays, spot-on drugs, and pills is also very limited. The flea collars kill the fleas as they go under the collar on their way to the eyes for water. Unless there is a very severe infection, the fleas will get all the moisture they need from the skin and will not be traveling to your dog’s head. The shampoos kill the adult fleas living on your dog, until he jumps out of the bathtub and picks up more. You have to keep the sprays, powders, and spot on drugs all the time, which is unpleasant and toxic for both you and your dog. The pills only work if the female bites the dog.

   We use garlic for flea prevention. Yes, garlic has the same toxin as onions, but you would have to feed massive amounts to do them any harm at all. Garlic repels fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes. It kills and prevents all internal worms except heartworm. It is antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. It strengthens the immune system. It strengthens the heart.

Don’t feed a dog garlic powder or dry odorless garlic pills. Although these forms of garlic are still beneficial, they do not have the antiparisitic properties. We use 1000 mg garlic oil softgels for our dogs. We wrap it in cream cheese and they never know the difference.  

Garlic dosages:
Give dogs, puppies, and even cats under 25 lbs 1 1000 mg garlic oil softgel per day. Give an additional softgel per additional 25 lbs per day. eg, 25 lbs to 50 lbs 2 per day, 50 lbs to 75 lbs 3 a day, and so on.
 

 
Natural Flea Control for Your Home :

Ingredients Required: Eucalyptus Oil & Wintergreen Oil

This is the natural way of eliminating these unwanted fleas from your home and sleeping place of your pet. It has a natural aroma that is not harmful to humans, pets, or children.

Use ¼ tsp. of Eucalyptus Oil in a 8-10 ounce spray pump bottle. Fill with water. Put the pump on a fine mist. Spray your house with the mist. Spray the carpet, furniture, car, pet’s beds, everywhere. Fleas hate the aroma and run for the door. 

Do this 3 times a week. It leaves a fine mist that dries almost instantly. Your home will have a very fresh scent. Spraying your pet is also a great idea. It doesn’t hurt them and it helps keep fleas away. Do this recipe all year, but especially do this routine in the summer months when fleas are at their peak. Vacuuming is also important for picking up eggs.

Eucalyptus Leaves are also great for placing around the base boards of your house. You can put them under the bed, behind doors, and under the couch. They have a mild scent that stays fresh for 6 months or longer. This along with the Eucalyptus Oil gives added protection. You can buy the leaves from a crafts store that has the flower arrangements for Flower Design, or if you're near a Eucalyptus Tree just snip off some cuttings from the branches.

Use ¼ tsp of Wintergreen Oil in a 8-10 ounce spray pump bottle. Fill with water. Put the pump on a fine mist. Spray your house with the fine mist. Spray the carpet, furniture, etc. Basically do the same as above, but on this oil you do this recipe  ONCE every 3 months. The easiest time to remember is the first of the month. This oil kills the eggs. Before they become hatched and become adults and lay more eggs.

To treat bites: Rub over with tea tree essential oil. Tea tree oil is one of the most popular first aid herbal remedies.