★☆☆☆☆
I was hesitant to try tea tree oil on my kitten after having read some warnings here.
I must stress that tea tree oil must be used in low-potency!! Even one drop might be too much, and so should be added to carrier oil.
in taking any product, one should always start small and monitor the effects, and increase as needed.
My neighbor tried it first. He was the one who actually insisted. Our kittens were both three months at the time. He has a kitten from the same litter as mine, so they are the same age, but his is male and larger. He said the fleas vanished, so I tried it on my kitten. I clumsily poured a few drops from the bottle onto her and was worried to death, grabbing a rag to clean her. Then I saw her licking the tea tree from her fur and I freaked (i love my cat! ). But no sickness whatsoever. And fleas truly did disappear.
So, don't make the mistake I did! And potentially have it not turn out so well.
First try one 1 drop of tea tree to 1/4 tsp carrier oil. I used olive oil. Monitor results. If it works, then no need to increase. If it doesn't work and health is good, increase dose slowly and never pour over your animal! Unless you are sure your dropper is safe
Good luck and best wishes!
July 27, 2108 Update:
With further experimentation, I found tea tree oil does not work. plz read my other posts for more info , including success with lemon juice.
★★★★☆
I have a French Bulldog and I fight yeast infection and hair loss every year. I decided to take him off flea chemicals but having a tough time finding a cure for it. I have been bathing him with baking soda then tree oil shampoo and finally a organic apple cider vinegar rinse. So far it has been been working. I also give him a teaspoon of Diatomaceous Earth every evening in his food. Anyone have any better cures?
★★★★★
I've had incredible good luck ridding my cats of fleas with lemon juice. You can dunk a flea comb into a small dish of juice until the tines are submerged and comb daily until no more fleas are seen. Or you can just pour it on your pet and massage down to the skin 'tho when I tried this on one of my cats, I did dilute the lemon juice by 1/4 with water.
Before spraying on furniture and carpets, check a small area to make sure it won't stain. I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars I've spent on topical treatments, pills, shampoos, sprays etc. and nothing worked. Then a friend suggested lemon juice, which did make sense, since it's a key ingredient in citronella candles, horse fly wipes etc. to keep bugs away.
Salt
★★★★★
We have cats for pets.
I found that salts works like a charm. The finer the better. I use Diamond fine salt just for this purpose to sprinkle on the carpeted steps. Salt dehydrates them, big ones little ones, and the fleas yet to be born. And if a water bug passes by his fate is the same as the fleas.
I put it on my mom's carpeted steps before the hot weather comes in. I might leave it on a few days. Then I sweep it up.
Diatomaceous Earth
★☆☆☆☆
I sprinkled DE all over my carpets. It was a powdery mess. The dust from it was overwhelming. I had it in my daughter's room & she has asthma. She could not breathe in there. (It said to keep on for a day before vacuuming up, so she had to sleep in another room.) It took forever to get it all vacuumed up. It made a mess of my vacuum internally. All that work & I noticed no change in the fleas. Putting it on the pet too was about impossible. How do you get dry powder to stay on a dry pet that won't be still??
★★★★★
For fleas - set out a shallow pan of water with dawn dish liquid (few drops mixed in) place a table lamp over it in a dark room, A night light works too. The fleas are attracted to the warmth of the lamp and jump in.
Citrus Peel Infused in White Vinegar
★★★★★
I use apple cider vinegar in their water, but also citrus peel infused white vinegar topically, for flea control.
Citrus peels have two organic chemicals called limonene and linalool which kill all stages of the flea's life cycle.
Just pour a 1/2 gallon (or really as much as you want, cause it can also be used for general household cleaning too) - of white vinegar into a large glass, covered container and throw in whatever citrus peels you have - oranges, grapefruit, lemon, lime... doesn't matter which or how much...as long as it's completely covered by the vinegar. Stir or shake it up every once in awhile and give it a week or two. Leaving it in sunlight will accelerate the process.
I use the solution, once a week, as a final rinse (don't rinse it off) after their baths. The citrus chemicals kill any fleas they may have picked up and smell of the vinegar, though not detectable to us, once the dog is dry, repels the fleas for the rest of the week.
The solution can also be put in a spray bottle for occasional spot treatment and it can even be used as a cleaning solution around the house!
Outdoor Flea Treatments
My two dogs are loaded with fleas; had them on trifecta's and still have fleas. Can I put sulfur granules in my yard? I have 1 acre and a quarter size yard; need something inexpensive and that will work
Spray a solution of white vinegar and water on dogs you will soon get rid of the fleas as they won't be able to feed of the dogs . It works and very cheap but don't spray near dogs eyes.
Outdoor Flea Treatments
Hi Carol, Diatomaceous Earth, which you can buy at garden supply shops and online, is a great remedy to use outside for flea control. You'd need to look up directions on how to apply in the yard for fleas, but I lightly dust for food grade DE on all our pets around their tails and along the spine every few days. It's fabulous flea control remedy.
Diatomaceous Earth
★★★★★
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is the best thing invented!!!!!!
I had a bed bug problem and tried everything. I have kids so I had to keep sleeping in my bed or risk bedbugs following me to their room. A real horror story until I found out about food grade Diatomaceous earth and tried it. There gone! I put it everywhere in the electrical sockets and to this day their still gone! I recently had a little flea problem and now mix some of the earth into my dog food and dust the dogs to keep the fleas off. My sister in NY had bedbugs I sent her some earth and it worked on her house too! I purchase a 5lb bag a year ago when I had the bedbugs and I still have 3/4 of the bag left since it doesnt take much when applying. When I first found a bedbug I called an exterminator and he quoted me at $450 to treat and that he would come back as often I needed. Once it took me 1-2 weeks to figure it all out and I invited him back he was astonished and asked me what I used ;)
Before you put pesticides and pay those high bills try it. I went a little crazy by applying it while opening all windows. Once I sprinkled everywhere with a mask on I vaccumed and put on baseboards ...etc . amen they're gone. I still apply the earth underneath bed and places you can't see just for peace of mind. I hope this helps someone.
Borax
I had that thought too but couldn't find a 'recipe' anywhere for the right mix for Borax water. Then I finally came across something that said Borax that gets wet loses effectiveness because it's actually the physical properties of dry Borax that kills fleas...therefore wet Borax is completely useless! That said, dry Borax didn't do me much good but I'm pretty sure it's because my berber carpet didn't allow the powder to go deep enough to reach the eggs down there...seems to work well for everyone else though.
I've been spraying a mixture of (equal parts) apple cider vinegar/witch hazel/lemon juice all over the carpet every day and the problem is much better! You have to keep it up though because success seems to come from a cumulative effect, not necessarily an 'on contact' sort of fix. Still looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck!!
Flea Medication Side Effects
My 12 year old Lab is going crazy chewing at her legs until they bleed. This stems from flea and or other insect bites. Is is possible the topical flea meds. I give her monthly are no longer working? She just had the last application no more than 2 weeks ago and I found a flea on her just yesterday. They really do not seem to alleviate the flea issues any longer. The problem has gotten progressively worse. Is there a natural, perhaps better remedy I might try? I have resisted taking her to the vet because my last visit was upwards of 600.00, ridiculous in my estimation. So anything you might suggest would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you, Teri
Hey Teri!
I am curious as to what your $600+ vet bill bought you - could you share? And is your dog an indoor or outdoor dog? If she is an outdoor dog please consider bringing her indoors as this will greatly reduce the opportunity for her to be bit by so many insects. If she is an indoor dog and still flea infested, please consider using a flea trap to reduce your indoor population of fleas.
While the fleas may have bitten your dog on the legs, it is not a typical place for fleas to feed; think root of the tail, or around the neck. I wonder if your dog doesn't have a staph infection on her legs; you might try Ted's Anti-fungal/Anti-staph rinse for her to see if that brings her relief. You might also consider alkalizing for her; this helps balance her PH making her less appetizing to fleas and other biting insects. You can start off with a crisis dose of 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda into 1 liter of water and have this be her only drinking water for 5 days; after that drop the dose down to 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda into a liter of water as a maintenance dose.
Good luck and please report back!
Flea Medication Side Effects
Hi Theresa,
Thanks for responding. Right after I posted the question I started reading some of the other posts with similar issues. I was very surprised to repeatedly see apple cider vinegar as an option. Just so happened I had a bottle. Since it was 1 am and I couldn't go shopping for an alternative, I figured what the heck! Well, it worked surprisingly well I'm happy to say. I just need to keep up with the applications. I let a few days go by and she started in on her leg again. With all the healing sores and this new one she looks like she was attacked by wild animals. So that's the story I'm rolling with, I believe it was a bear! Ha. She seems to like this scenario better than the truth.
As for the 600.00 vet bill, I received for my dog, 2 fabulous trips to the vet, a fun an exciting ear culture, accompanied by 2, yes 2, types of drops for her ears and last but certainly not least, a brand new bottle of exotic ear wash. It hurts less if I laugh!
Many blessings, Teri
p.s. I also started her on probiotics, will keep you posted. Seems to be working.
Flea Medication Side Effects
Hey Letitia!
Thank you for sharing your experience with Trifexis. As you say, not everything gets listed on the label, so thank you for providing details on this side effect of incontinence in your dog.
I did a google search with "trifexis side effects urination" and quickly found a forum where another experienced urinary issues with their dog not concentrating the urine; when taken off the Trifexis the problem resolved.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
NexGard
Our 12 yo lab/pit mix is having side affects from the use of NexGard Flea and Tick treatment. He is in very good health as a rule . He had a vet check about a month ago. All was fine. Since giving him the flea mess we have noticed a loss of appetite, lethargy and dry flaky skin. This is by no means the norm for our baby. How long will this last? Are there any natural alternatives for flea and tick control. Seeing our dog like this is heartbreaking ...
Deb from Roseville. Mi --- as you may see in one post of mine below, natural orange cleaner which is essential oil of orange, kills even mites and is good for the coat. If it was my dog, I would not pay for poisons for fleas. Perhaps you may want to use charcoal or ESSIAC to clean out the poison now in the blood.
Namaste, Om
NexGard
Hey Deb!
Om posted an excellent reply - re: Activated charcoal and Essiac tea to clean out the blood. I would also try to get him to take in as much liquid as possible to flush the chemicals out. In addition I would bathe your dog to remove as much of the topical as you can.
Also, since you have a senior with these symptoms you may wish to return to the vet and run a blood panel to rule out any complications with the liver or kidneys. The sooner you catch these things the better.
Diet
A year ago. I feed my 2 dogs tons of food grade diatomaceous earth for 2 months. I have seen how they detox. I mean at some point I can see a piece of leather(I don't know how to explain in other words.) will fall off from their skin. and I saw some gunk in their stool. And then I noticed after 2 months both dogs are alot calm. one of my dogs used to chase his tail alot. Guess what? comepletely stopped. After this experience. I give my dogs DE at least once a week. Other supplements are extremly difficult to feed them. I just mix big 2 table spoon with organice whole milk. They absolutely love it!
I rub into their ears too. this will go to their internal and also kills the bugs. I highly recommend DE for anyone who has pet. It is a must!
Amethyst
★☆☆☆☆
I tried the amethyst stone in my dog's bowl and my cat's bowl. I've had it in there over a month now and it doesn't work at all. My amethysts are large and still part of the rock itself so I know the quality is good. Time to try something else.
Amethyst
★☆☆☆☆
I just tried the amethyst stone for fleas. Although a nice idea, 2 weeks in and nothing. Stone bought off of new age store on ebay. 1 inch in width, unpolished in stainless steel bowls.
Flea Prevention Tips
Things to remember: every pet is different! Every flea season different too. Some pets can be allergic to chemical and/or natural treatments. I've found that natural prevention works better than natural treatment. Once you have an infestation, its very hard to rid naturally! Few years ago there was a mutant infestion in my area of Indiana. Chemicals were even having a hard time with the fleas. Know your area and possible infestation season. Know your pets and their possible allergies. Try new remedies in small doses first. Communicate with your vet! Prevention is easier than treatment. Good luck
Garlic
Does the dose depend on dog weight??
Neem Seed Oil
★★★★★
I used neem tea to relieve my dog of fleas. I made a strong batch, soaked an old t-shirt and rubbed it all over the dog. By the next day, he was no longer scratching. Thanks to whoever posted about using neem!
