TED'S MANGE CURE (MOST POPULAR)
WARNING!!!
DO NOT CONFUSE BORAX WITH BORIC ACID!
DO NOT USE BORIC ACID IN PLACE OF BORAX!

Ted from Bangkok, Thailand writes, "The best cure for dog mange is to mix a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution with water and add borax. Dissolve thoroughly. Wash the dog with it once a week. Do NOT WASH THE solution left on the dog with ANY WATER. Do not wipe the dog dry. The solution will take effect on mange. The treatment period should not be longer than a month or two. The dog will probably not be resistant as the treatment is painless. This has worked well for me."

More Exact Measurements (excerpted from various emails on our Reader Question & Answer Section)

Ted replies, "A definitive recipe is add 1-2 tablespoon of borax per 500 cc of 1% hydrogen peroxide solution. To make a 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1%, roughly get one part of 3% H2O2 plus two parts of water. Then apply them on the dog. Wash with this solution daily, no rinsing. If it doesn't go away, I have found mites, or mange to have a large "beehive" hidden somewhere. In which case, quarantine the dog in a small area that is 100% sterile."

"Approximate measurements are 1 bottle of 500 of 3% H2O2, plus 1000 of the cc of water, plus heaping 3 tablespoons of borax. Stir until most of borax is dissolved. The borax is past the point of saturation here so you will see some borax around. Technically the concentration is around 1.5% H2O2, and this is a bit stronger because by the time we finish with it, the H2O2 gets reacted with other things, and by the time we used it is is usually ends up near a 1% solution anyway."

"You need to get put as much borax until it no longer dissolves in a pail of water and forms a precipitate. This is a saturated solution of borax. Add H2O2 to about 1% concentration to a pail of water. Soak the entire dog, several times. Keep the dog wet for some time. The borax will destroy the eggs from laying under the skin which causes the mange. Get some solution and spray or use this to wipe all floors so the dog will not get re infected. Repeat this every week when bathing. This is not a perfect cure, but it my dog now no longer have mange. My dog was completely cured. You can try other chemicals such as sodium perborate, which is more convenient since you don't need to add the hydrogen peroxide."

"The solution (borax or preferably sodium perborate) is to be applied AFTER the shampooing and rinsing. The sodium perborate should remain on the dog after the bath. You will not rinse this at all. It must remain on the dog throughout the day so that it will act continuously on the bugs."

"However, I do recommend a less toxic form of borax, which is sodium perborate if you can find one. The secret is that borax (plus hydrogen peroxide) will work better then most other remedies I have tried, this includes mineral oil, neem oil (no, neem oil does not kill the mange as effectively as sodium perborate) I have tried it. In my "mange colonies" and commercial brands to kill insects don't work. Hydrogen peroxide DOES NOT KILL mange, I USED IT SIMPLY USED IT AS A CATALYST for ordinary borax in case you cannot obtain sodium perborate. Mineral oils simply prevent oxygen from reaching mange, but that didn't stop it. I have tried naphta, bentonite clays, DMSO, potassium permanganate, light fluid, etc. They all worked temporarily, and it just came back. I must make a strong statement that the formula (borax+h2o2 or sodium perborate) works bests and it is broad spectrum. You can use it to control mange, mites, fleas, and lyme disease (initiated by those crawly insects). I have actually compared side to side with neem oil, mineral oil, apple cider vinegar and others here in Bangkok and this is the most wide spectrum cure I have found. Borax prevents denaturation of DNA/RNA in dogs and I currently use this as life extension for dogs. For example a ribose sugar, deoxyribose sugar, and various sugar that causes accelerated aging in dogs can be slowed down with supplementation of dogs indirectly when you do the borax wash. "

"Prepare peroxide 1% solution, add 2-3 tablespoon of borax to that cup. Stir and wait for a couple of minutes for the borax to dissolve. The formula doesn't require an exact science. The importance is to add enough borax until the solution is no longer soluble and well past saturation."

"...The reason why it is not working is YOU CANNOT RINSE THE DOG OF borax and peroxide solution with any shampoo or water. After bathing the dog, keep the dog that way, no drying no rinsing. This is why the dog has not improved. Also BORAX is added DIRECTLY to the 1% hydrogen peroxide solution and no water is added separately, otherwise the solution is too weak."

TED'S UPDATE
7/12/2006: "I have reviewed all the dog's mange treatments both by my own tests and by many contributors. It appears that many people have trouble obtaining materials, such as sodium perborate hydrate, so I revised the remedy to hydrogen peroxide plus borax solution applied only once or so every week. The solution of sodium perborate hydrate is very much similar when borax and hydrogen peroxide is added. Some have either substituted hydrogen peroxide with benzoyl peroxide.

The problem about benzoyl peroxide is the upper limit by which you can use it without effect the dog as it is somewhat more toxic if given beyond a 10% concentration. 5% is usually a safe concentration. Benzoyl peroxide because of its toxicity is somewhat of an insecticide, while hydrogen peroxide is not, what it is in the original formulation is that it is a penetrant allowing the borax to go through the skin. Now some did not like hydrogen peroxide due to its limited supplies, so they make use of apple cider vinegar. For me a regular vinegar will do. Both a vinegar and hydrogen peroxide has two similarities. It is both a penetrant and when added with a safe insecticidal material such as borax, which has an toxicity on LD 50 equivalent to that of salt, this is the preferred method. However, one should not use boric acid since there are reported deaths associated with boric acid but not borax.

Boric acid is not recommended for use as it is much more toxic than borax. Borax's toxicity is about 3000 mg/kg, which is the equivalent toxicity to about that of salt. (check wikipedia). The idea is to make a solution of borax so that the solution can cover the entire body and penetrate through the skin of the dog to kill the demodex mites, for example. To use a spot treatment by pure powder will take an infinitely long time as it does not get to it through the dog's skin.

In some cases, people have tried neem oil, mineral oil. Both of these have similar effectiveness, but in different ways. Neem oil prevents the Demodex fleas from laying eggs by modifying their hormones, while mineral oils are moderately toxic only to the demodex eggs, not necessarily killing them. However, both are very limited based on my tests in really killing the insect. You see borax will both kill the eggs, modifying the hormones and their eggs by drying them all at once. The weakness of borax is limited solubility and limited penetration of the skin which you need either vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide (toxic), MSM or DMSO solution. Ideally 10% DMSO should be preferred.

Pine Sol has limited insecticidal effectiveness, being a contact insecticidal, and does not provide lasting killing power once it has evaporated and does not kill living fleas, but it does kill their eggs somewhat. Only a fairly concentrated solution works and it does not prevent re-laying of stray eggs by the dog. In other words, the use of neem oil, mineral oil, benzoyl peroxide, and vaseline will not prevent the recurring of mange since eggs are not just on the dog, but can be anywhere in the house. Therefore re-infection is at issue. The one magic that borax has over its neighbors is that the borax powder that the dogs leaves in the house will kill the eggs even after the dogs no longer has mange and re-infection is therefore next to impossible. However, borax has limited effect on killing the larger mites and fleas, but not mange.

I found that adding 1/8 teaspoon per liter of water of borax added to the dog's water will cause the larger fleas to dry up and die at the same time. My dog for some reason likes to eat something like more than 1 gram of the sodium perborate crystals whenever he feels sick and the fleas just die off. The borax modifies the dog's blood and kills the mange inside out. This is why borax, i.e., sodium perborate, is required for mange, but not anything else due to preventive re-infection of the mange by the powder of the borax that destroys the eggs where the dog sleeps and where it walks around throughout the house.

VASELINE: The problem about using vaseline as an insecticide is that it has limited killing of eggs, but its weakness is that it is not a penetrant, and therefore the frequency of applications will take at least once every other day. Additionally, the hair of the dog will prevent proper application.

Some have went so far as to not use a solution of borax with hydrogen peroxide as a rinse then followed likely, perhaps a borax powder after bath. On the argument of being effective only as a spot treatment. Since dogs do not have sweat glands, not using a rinse will prevent the borax from absorbing into the skin to kill the mange under its skin. So this is not going to work. You need both borax as an insecticide, the water as the solution which to spread it to the skin surface, and a reliable penetrant to get it through the skin, such as vinegar, msm, DMSO, or even hydrogen peroxide. A benzoyl peroxide is both a penetrant and insecticide, but at higher concentration is somewhat toxic for dogs and as a result you are pretty much limited by the maximum concentration not to exceed beyond 5% being a preferred safety. I would prefer to limit myself at 3%.

I therefore suggest, not to get you lost in the woods, is that whatever formulation you use, always stick with borax and borax derivatives, such as sodium perborate monohydrate being the main insecticidal chemicals for the dog.

Pyrethrum is o.k. but in very low concentration of about 0.1% - 0.2% to prevent skin irritation for the dogs near the skin infection areas. The second mix you need is always the penetrant and the third formulation is appropriate dilutions in water. To provide lasting killing effect, non of these chemicals should generally be non-volatile insecticidal mixtures, which unfortunately most recommended are, with exception of perhaps borax and bentonite. Bentonite causes eggs to dry, so they can be used also, but they have no insecticidal mixture as borax and borax can performs both killing the insect, modifying the hormones to prevent egg laying, becomes a stomach poison for the insect, and at the same time causes their eggs to dry up.

I therefore will remain very flexible about what penetrants you use including hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide (limited concentration), and vinegar. It must be noted that when formulating any mange it must be noted that they must be non-volatile and the chemicals should cause microscopic residues around the house so that re infection of mange is prevented, including mites and fleas.

BORAX AND PEROXIDE TREATMENT TIPS

TED'S REMEDIES, LAVENDER OIL

TED'S REMEDY READER FEEDBACK

02/01/2010: Barb from Seattle, Wa writes: "Is this mange?

01/31/2010: Expertz from Erie, Pa writes: "i have a question - i want to use the mange remedy on my min pin she is black . will it change her hair color or is there a weaker recipe?"

[YEA]  01/31/2010: Booker from Klang, Malaysia writes: "Hi, I tried Ted's borax cure for my 6yo pug and it seems to be helping her. She had been infected with mange for the past few months but after many trips to the vet (injections and pills and all), the mange is still there, gotten worse and she was getting more and more miserable by the day.

She's a fawn pug and the mange had made her skin completely black, the fur had dropped off at the affected areas and in the worst of spots, scabs had formed.

She had scratched and licked herself raw, and was beginning to bleed at her paws.

Tried her first borax treatment 3 days ago. I mixed 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 2 parts water and mixed borax* till it wouldnt dissolve. Rubbed the solution on her affected parts.

After the 1st application, she looks less miserable and is calmer and is scratching and licking less.

The scabs have fallen off and her skin (even at the worst affected areas) look more "normal".

I am so relieved. My only wish is that I had discovered Ted's remedy sooner!

Am planning to use the remedy on her every 3 days for the first 2 weeks and then to 1x a week till she's healed.

Thanks Ted, Thanks Earth Clinic!

* For readers in Asia, I had a lot of trouble sourcing for borax. Then I discovered that it's an ingredient used for setting "to fu fah". These white granules are quite easily available in Chinese medicine shops and are called %u787C%u7802(Sodium Borate)%u53CA%u787C%u7802%u9178.. I don't read chinese so I just flashed them the chinese characters and it worked. Very inexpensive too. Good luck!"

Thanks, Jan"

[QUESTION]  01/22/2010: Shar from Worcester, Worcestershire, England writes: "Hi Ted, can I use a 6% hydrogen peroxide solution on the dog? How would I water this down to make it safe to use on the dog?

I have been giving the dog yeast vitamin tablets, cod liver oil, evening primrose oil and omega tablets to boost her immune system. It took me a long time to source the Borax, but we tried a very week solution last night to make sure she wasn't allergic to it and so far she has shown no ill effects and has been scratching less. But we need to know exact solution to make up a big enough batch to properly soak her.

We formerly tried putting apple cider vinegar on her skin followed by vegetable oil, and this has helped sooth the itching but has not killed the mange. We are very keen to see if this borax solution helps her.

Thanks. "

[WARNING!]  01/20/2010: Sheila from Ocala, Fl, USA writes: "I tried Ted's peroxide and Borax remedy for mange. Followed directions to the tea. Well, my lab is 9 years old and her hair doesn't grow as fast as it used to. The remedy turned her black hair red. It hasn't grown out yet and looks awful. Please, anyone with a black dog, beware. There should be a warning about hair color change. Now my dog does look sick!!"

01/18/2010: Budsmom from Bandon, Oregon, Usa writes: "Hi I was wondering if you could tell Ted's mange recipe according to a measuring cup recipe? I dont know how to measure cc's. Thank you."

I am just wondering as I am dealing with this now, as I can't find info anywhere, do the mites stay on the dog or are they like lice and go onto bedding and couches etc.? What is the best way to make sure he doesn't get reinfested?

Thanks"

[YEA]  01/14/2010: Strawberrie51 from Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands writes: "I tried the Borax and Hydrogen Peroxide treatment for Demodectic Mange as indicated and my pitbull is on his way to being100% cured. The key to using this treatment is persistent and consistent attention to ensuring your animal is treated. The stricter you are with doing this, the faster your pet will recover.

My pup had a bad habit of licking himself off. The earlier you catch this problem the better. This mange was spread over his entire body; almost 99% coverage where his skin was tender and raw. Now his hair has grown back and there are still little areas that he continues to lick but those areas are slowly healing.

Education is also another issue. I was told by the vets that he had demodectic mites. I didn't know that that was another name for mange. So after finding this information online I was able to take the necessary precautions and treat him myself because the vet meds weren't working."

TED'S REMEDY READER FEEDBACK

[YEA]  01/13/2010: Pamela from Tacoma, Wa writes: "TED'S MANGE CURE: We have a beautiful sweet cocker spaniel golden retriever mix doggie aged 7yrs old. She has always been a very loving quiet dog and had the best of manners until we moved into an older rental home and she was suddenly infected by mange. We tried all manners of cures for dry skin and allergies before settling with the fact that she was affected by mange and thankfully we found Ted's cure!

We translated Ted's cure of 500cc Peroxide, 1000cc Water and 3 Tablespoons Borax to 17 ounces Peroxide, 34 ounces Water and 3 Tablespoons Borax. To make the application easiest, we used an empty spray bottle and sprayed doggie thoroughly while rubbing the application through the hair. We applied it after her bath while her fur was mildly towel dried damp. We additionally applied the spray two- three times a week without additional bathing.

This was truely a miracle cure for our sweet doggie girl. She felt much more calm and stopped biting and scratching pretty quickly after each application when the fur was dry. We thoroughly vacumed our home and followed that by using the Borax in the wash of all the family bedding and dog bedding as well, (following box directions). The Borax is a normal laundry additive that was easily found in our grocery store and I also found it in the neighborhood Target department store in the laundry detergent section.

TED'S REMEDY READER FEEDBACK

[YEA]  01/01/2010: Bambifox from Richmond, Va, USA writes: "My German Shepherd puppy was diagnosed with Demodex Mange when he was only 2-3 months old. It started with just a small missing patch of hair around his eyes. I took him to the vet and they gave him a Mitaban dip. That's when the mange really started to spread. It spread to his nose and other side of face, his belly and hind legs. Fortunately, I found this site. Made Ted's remedy (1 part peroxide to 2 parts water and added borax until it started settling at the bottom). Immediately the itching stopped. Within the first day, I could see improvement. In one month, it was completely gone. "Smokey" is now almost 6 months old with a full beautful coat and no more MANGE!

Just as a side note. I washed him with benzoyle peroxide shampoo from vet first and then applied Ted's remedy and let air dry twice a week for the first 3 weeks. After that, I just applied Ted's remedy as needed and where I saw him itching without bathing him first. I used a sponge at first, but found that a good paper towel works best on linoleum (stained my carpet...oops!)

Lastly, since my dog is a pup, I started him a puppy vitamins designed to boost immune system. Can't give brand name here, but I can say the main ingredients were spirulina and chlorella. I absolutely believe this has contributed towards building his undeveloped immune system substantially and has kept the demodex from reoccuring. Having taken both spirulina and chlorella (blue-green algies) myself, I can also vouch for it's immune building qualities and health benefits.

Again, Thanks Ted...and Thanks Earth Clinic...I LOVE THIS SITE!"

[QUESTION]  12/16/2009: Amandac from Pulaski, Virginia writes: "I am interested in trying this solution, my dog has mange under her arms, on her face somewhat, and mainly around her left eye. Should I apply this mixture around her eyes, I've never used Borax so I don't know how harmful it could be to her eyes or her face?? Thanks so much for the help."

I had a female who was whelping a litter of puppys and had an outbreak of mange. I could not find any thing to use on her and the puppys so I tried the 3 percent proroxide, nine parts water ( filled the peroxide bottle up nine times) and borax until it did not dissolve in the mixture (approx. 3 tablespoons) and i noticed improvement right away. I also used it on the 4 week old puppies with no side effects and they were still nurseing her. I did this dip for 6 days and now mom and pups are fine with no mange!! Thanks Ted!!"

Mateo"

12/08/2009: Mary from Saluda, Sc, 29138 writes: "I was wondering if the Borax in the solution is the Borax laundry detergent or the Borax pesticide...and I was curious if it would make a difference"

Like many others my dog suffered from itching, she would tear the hair off her back above the tail, I tried the vet, they kept say put frontline on her, this did not work. After reading your site, I thought what do I have to lose so I mixed 5 gallons of warm water, 6 2/3 ounces of hydrogen peroxide 3%, and dumped Mule Team Borax straight into the bucket about 1 cup. As soon as I started dumping it on her I noticed she stretched out like it felt good and I continued to soak her with it. As soon as I was done she took off running and playing for an hour or so straight. I would not have believed if I had not seen it for myself, this was 2 days ago, Borax changed my dog life and mine. She now is so calm, sleeps, and has a huge smile on her face. Thanks so much for giving her back to me. For everyone out there reading this just try it, why not, my dog suffered for 2 years."

We live next to a park and the house and yard is under big treas, bush, dirt and mud, and there is lots of rain here.

Also - where one can find this in France or Uk? Tried looking for Borax (Franc) at 10 places from pharmacies to drogueries (house chemicals), general house supplies and builder stors (aka home depot), and nothing.
Got the peroxide at the local pharmacie (3% 500ml).

grateful in advance for suggestions

simo"

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  12/03/2009: Kate from Sparta, Missouri, USA writes: "I rescued a bulldog that has severe demodectic mange and has had it for over a year. I did the Borax treatment and immediately he had relief, no more itching and the redness was gone. I also gave him Flaxseed oil daily. After 4 weeks he developed pustules full of blood on his body and thick creamy stuff in all wrinkles and toes, I am assuming pyrogerma and yeast? So I discontinued the Borax treatment and started the Borax/Baking Soda yeast treatment. The yeast and pyroderma is gone now but the mange is back, his skin is red and hot again. I have started the Borax mange treatment again and am seeing great results but I am afraid he will get the pyroderma and yeast again if I treat too often so I am only treating once a week but I am also afraid this will not be often enough to cure the mange. I have also put him on a completely raw diet. I don't know if I did the mange treatment too often and irritated the skin or what is going on. Does anybody have any advice on a specific regimine I can use to deal with all these issues? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to directly email me at katedenck1@aol.com
Kate"

[YEA]  11/25/2009: Rhandy from Cagayan De Oro City, Philippines writes: "i would like to thank TEDS remedy for my mange on my labrador pup KENJIE. its really working fast. i just started using it nov 22, now i can see some improvement, hairs are growing back, and no more scrathching. i also used it to his mother AIRAH, and it really worked no more fleas and tick, also hairs ang growing back and there is no scratching.."

11/24/2009: Beverly from Phoenix, Az writes: "My dog has really bad dry skin and mange, I started with the borax, what do i do about the the dry skin???????"

Good luck Pierre"