DIATOMACEOUS EARTH

12/20/2008: Stacey Rae from Brentwood, CA writes: "I need help finding the product you recommended for ridding your home of fleas. I cannot find this "Diatomaceous" non earth product, nor can I find natural Borax. Could you please give me some suggestions on where to find these products? I have tried the local nurseries, they only have the "earth diatomacieous". Thank you"

11/09/2008: Amazon Thyrteen from Fresno, CA, USA writes: "First of all I want to say "NEVER" try anything on your pets you won't try on yourself. I won't give anything to my pets that I wouldn't take myself. The best rule of thumb is use human grade (whatever)you're using on your pets! I've noticed a lot of comments on Diatomaceous Earth. I would like to say that the only grade that is good for animals is the same grade that humans use, Freshwater, food-grade DE. If it doesn't state on the package that it is certified, food grade then you don't want to give it to your pets, period! I also noticed that on this site someone mentioned the use of "Neem Oil" it is a really good oil to use that is 100% natural. If anyone is interested in finding out more about Neem Oil go to, www.organixsouth.com or call 1-888-989-Neem(6336). This oil is good for human use also for dry skin and scalp treatments. The one that I use is Thera Neem ,skin soothing 100% pure cold pressed. I'm one of their customers and have no affiliation with this company and I'm not getting anything for this endorsement, this is just great stuff!"

Well I'm off to try an ear mite treatment on my new cat. Thanks for all the suggestions!"

[YEA]  11/09/2006: Deb from Oregon writes: "i tried everything, permetherin, ivamex, tea tree oil, lavander oil, washing bedding,cloths, even tried animal remedies. have battled it for 5 months only with temporary relief. Diatomeceous earth is the one that worked. Its' a natural remedy that you can buy at a grange coop or garden store. i use it 3 times a day putting it on with a powder puff or big cosmetic makeup brush. careful not to get in eyes and don't use on face or breath in dust. i used it for one day and noticed a big improvement but i am going to use it for a few weeks to be darn certain they are gone. I washed bedding and vacumed floors, washed rugs all in hot water with soap and borax. I sprinkled mattresses, couches, car seats in vehicles carpets and bedding daily with this diatomecieous earth. Every day I washed used towels, bedding in hot water. the items you cant wash daily (like comforters, pillows) put in dryer for 20 minutes every day."

[YEA]  Lyn from Jeannette, PA writes: "I just wanted to comment on the fleas section. It is true that any shampoo will kill fleas, but it needs to be left on for 30 min. Also, if you have a flea infestation in your house, just spraying your animal wont help. You must treat where the fleas live. See, they only feed on your animal. I have tremendous luck using table salt and food-grade diatomaceous earth all over the house to kill fleas and prevent. The salt (I prefer organic unprocessed sea salt) cuts into the body of the flea and then allows the DE to dehydrate the animal. Salt by itself does seem to work also, I just like a faster approach. Keep in mind though that this means of defense does take up to 2 months to work as some fleas are still hatching. In really bad infestation, it could take longer. I think flea eggs can survive up to 280 days. I would also like to recommend quadruped pet products. I work at a holistic pet care center and this is what we use to bathe the animals. They do not contain(unlike most pet shampoos) any harsh chemicals. Also, all their products are concentrates so it is much cheaper than buying the harmful stuff from pet shops or grocery stores."

DIET

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  09/09/2008: Deirdre from Atlanta, GA writes: "This is the 2nd summer in a row where we've had no fleas. Last summer I found a total of 3 fleas on our 2 dogs. This summer, 0 fleas on 3 dogs (we rescued a stray last fall). Has this been the case with other folks in Atlanta area? Because of this, I have not applied any flea prevention liquid like Advantage. This seems strange to me because the dogs go to the dog park every so often and also because the 2 vets that I have seen (one was a holistic vet in Stone Mountain) told me shortly after I moved here that dogs need to be on flea prevention all year round. One of our dogs, Max, did get a hot spot last winter which the vet blamed on a flea bite reaction. But other than that... nada.

DISH SOAP

[YEA]  09/08/2009: Carol from Big Spring, Tx writes: "After finding and reading your web site I found the dish soap worked but I hesitate to use it too often. The night light under a pan of soapy water worked for inside the house. The flea comb has been wonderful. He likes the attention and will readily let me comb him.(Male Cat) Now I dip the comb in 7 dust He hated the dust before but he doesn't mind the comb dipped in it. I pick the fleas off the comb and put them into soapy water. They drown. The OVER THE COUNTER flea applications on the back of the neck did not work."

[YEA]  05/23/2009: Tammie from Hickman, KY writes: "I TRIED THE DISH SOAP AN IT WORKED. IT KILLED THE FLEAS BUT THE FLEAS WERE HARD TO GET OFF. ALL I DID WAS WET MY BABY AN PUT ALOT OF DISH SOAP ON HER AN LET IT SET FOR 10MINS. WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO GET THE FLEAS OFF HER THANKS"

[YEA]  01/26/2009: KENDRA from Anjung-ri, South Korea writes: "MY HUSBAND JUST RECENTLY RESCUED A STRAY DOG FROM A VET. THE DOG IS ABOUT TWO MONTHS OLD AND HAS BEEN LIVING WITH US FOR A WEEK NOW. I JUST RECENTLY NOTICED BLACK SPECS ALL OVER THE DOG IN ITS FUR. SO I KEPT SEARCHING AND I FOUND A FLEA... I READ TO USE ___ DISH SOAP SO I DID. I ONLY FOUND TWO DEAD FLEAS AND THAT ONE THAT WAS ALIVE, SO IT WORKED.... BUT I HAVE HARD WOOD FLOORS SO I SWEPT AND MOPPED WITH WATER, PINESOL, AND DAWN DISH SOAP... I ALSO WASHED ALL THE BEDDING IN THE HOUSE. WE COULDNT FIND ANY DEAD FLEAS OR ALIVE ONES ON THE FLOOR. DO YOU THINK WE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE A FLEA PROBLEM ON OUR HANDS... WHAT SHOULD WE DO??? SHOULD WE USE FRONTLINE ON OUR PUPPY AND OUR OTHER DOG WHO DOESNT HAVE FLEAS??? ALSO IS THERE SOME TYPE OF LOTION I CAN PUT ON THE DOGS SKIN BECAUSE IT SEEMED TO DRY HIS SKIN OUT??? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!!!"

I really love ___ for killing fleas. As a matter of fact, when I see someone at the store looking at flea shampoos I stop them and tell them not to waste their money, just buy a $1 bottle of ___. It kills fleas instantly and you don't have to have your animal sitting shivering waiting for 5-15 minutes with the flea shampoo which does not work anyway."

[YEA]  10/22/2008: Celine from Pine City, MN USA writes: "I came to this site looking for a remedy for the three cats we have. For the first time in two years of having them they have acquired fleas. I know I had allergy reactions to the Hartz formula for dogs so I switched to switched to frontline and no longer let the dogs on our bed. But keeping the cats off the bed wasn't going to happen so I needed a remedy that I wouldn't react to so I went to search for a natural one. After all fleas have been around for ages. I found this site to the answer to my prayers and my animals. I first tried dish soap. The cats didn't seem to mind it. I used a flea comb to make sure they really got lathered up with it. I started at the very top of the neck with just the dawn, as a contributor suggested. Because the fleas will move upward to where they can go where there is no soap. Then I wet the cats down. Then I lathered them up real good. The dish soap killed them! The cats have no fleas. I'm going to spray them down with Apple Cider Vinager to make sure they stay off of them before I let them outside. (The dogs are inside with no fleas) I will report back how well the ACV works at keeping them off but I'm confident it will. Thank you for having this site!"

[YEA]  10/16/2008: Stephanie from Ft. Worth, Texas writes: "We just tried the ___ Dish Soap method for getting rid of fleas. It appears that it worked like a charm. In the past, when using standard over the counter flea shampoos, we would see them crawling and have to pick them off by the dozens. With the Dawn, there were NO crawling fleas--only dead ones. And...the best part of all is that the cats didn't seem to mind it nearly as much. My guess is that it didn't sting them like the other shampoo.

Thank you very much for giving us a better and safer alternative for flea removal.

We have used the ___ in a dish with the light for home flea removal in the past. Thanks for the reminder of this "forgotten" rememdy as well. We are about to try it today as well.

Stephanie and 2 grateful cats"

[YEA]  10/16/2008: Sherri from Houston, TX writes: "I TOTALLY agree with ___ Soap for killing fleas! It worked so well that fleas seem to "run away" from the suds -- I'd started sudsing my dog's back around the shoulder blades, then washed his neck. Next I was going to start on his ears, but when I lifted one of his long floppy ears, I was mortified to see hundreds of fleas lined up next to each other to escape the soap. It looked like small brown fish scales at first, they were so close together; it actually nauseated me a little to see it.

I poured out a LOT of ___ onto a washcloth and went to work on the fleas in his ears, then rinsed them under the tub spigot to make sure they rinsed off. But I never bathed him in that order again -- I came up with a much better system over time:

I wrapped a soft washcloth around my index finger, then applied a generous dab of ___ to the end. I carefully worked in the soap around his eyes, nose, and mouth area, being careful not to get any soap too near the sensitive areas. I made sure to work the area under their chin too. Then I got the inside of his ears sudsy to prevent the fleas from escaping to that area when I worked the rest of his body. I continued down until I reached his neck area, and all around the neck zone.

Next I did his privates, then tail, then hind legs -- I didn't want the fleas to escape to his private parts like they did in his ears the last time! Finally, I could work the rest of his body in any order I chose to, because I had put up a suds barrier to all the escape areas.

Sherri"

[YEA]  10/09/2008: Heather from Monticello, IN writes: "I used ___ dish soap on my cat and watched the fleas drop off of her instantly. I used it also on my dog. The ___ is worth it."

[YEA]  06/08/2008: Melissa from Belpre, OH writes: "___Dish soap truly kills fleas! I took in a stray cat and tried using the flea shampoos from Walmart several time and the fleas kept coming back... So my mom told me about it. So we gave the poor cat one last bath and it killed every flea on his body within minutes!! Make sure to avoid the eyes and mouth. A little soap goes a long way. His fur was also soft afterwards!"

**ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center 1-900-443-0000 ($55.00 per case. The charge is billed directly to caller's phone.) 1-888-4ANI-HELP (1-888-426-4435. $55.00 per case, billed to caller's credit card only.) Follow-up calls can be made for no additional charge by dialing 888-299-2973. There is no charge when the call involves a product covered by the Animal Product Safety Service. **Animal Poison Hotline - a joint service provided by North Shore Animal League America (NSAL) and PROSAR International Animal Poison Center (IAPC). 1-888-232-8870 ($35.00 per incident. The charge is billed to caller's credit card only.) Staffed 24-hours a day, 7 days a week."

[YEA]  03/03/2008: Michael from Shell Beach, Ca writes: "We just bathed one of our cats with the ___ dish soap method and it was amazing. It was like instant the fleas had no time to run and hide and didn't even know what hit them. By the end of the bath we had a not so happy but flea ridden cat. Thank you so much Michael and Christin"

For your HOME: Use ___ dish soap in a glass pie plate with water 1/2 inch deep at several sunny places in front of a door and/or window. The fleas jump in and die. Change the water every day and in less that 1-2 wks ALL fleas are gone. A guy for a pest control company wouldnt charge me because of my little kids and the risk of inhalation of his chemical. I stuck to his intruction and WOW I was flea free! Its cheap too! The ___ dish soap and a hose water sprayer kills bugs off my bushes in Florida (I love dawn dish soap!)"

[YEA]  07/19/2006: Robin from Mansfield, OH writes: "We have two dogs and four cats. Needless to say, fleas are a major problem in the summer. Upon searching for a flea killing product, we were told by a local store employee to try ___ Dishwashing liquid. She had used it on her animals and claimed that it worked. We were desperate and would try anything reasonable. Sure enough it worked!!. While bathing the animals, we saw the fleas literally running from the soaped areas. We scrubbed the animals throughly with a brush while bathing them, making sure that the soap was completely throughout the fur. We reallly found dead fleas in the water and on the floor after the bathing was done. Wash your animals once a week with this product and the fleas will not be a problem."

DISH SOAP AND CANDLE METHOD

DISH SOAP AND LAMP METHOD

This "light colored bowl of soapy water" also works great when placed next to candles outside to attract mosquitoes!!"

[YEA]  10/13/2007: Brenda from Princeton, Kentucky writes: "Dawn Dish Soap in water helped my son to get rid of some fleas in his home. I came across your website to see if I could find something to help his flea problem. I told him about the use of a low bowl with water and dawn dish soap placed in the corner of a room with a desk lamp turned on at night. He tried it except he used a nightlite. The next morning, a lot of fleas were floating in the water. He is having better success with this method than any other he has tried. Thank you very much for your website."