How to Control Fleas Without Chemicals

Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

This is the time of year many pet guardians have to think about protecting their dogs and cats from fleas and ticks. Because they are recommended by veterinarians and common place to use, many folks don't realize that many flea and tick products are toxic to both their pets and to humans. This excellent article by author Ingrid King (see her full bio below) addresses the use of safer natural alternatives for you and your pets.

  How to Control Fleas Without Chemicals 

Many of the flea and tick treatments available today contain toxic chemicals that can be hazardous to pets and to people.  Even when these products are used according to the manufacturer's directions, these chemicals are not safe for pets or humans.  The Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the Food and Drug Administrations Center for Veterinary Medicine, is pursuing a series of actions to increase the safety of spot-on products for pets.  These actions are designed to help consumers use these pesticides safely.  However, many pet owners prefer to not use these products at all and are looking for safer, more natural alternatives instead.

There are safer, natural ways to control fleas.  They may require a bit more effort on your part, but isn't that effort worth it if it's safer for you and your pet?

Combing

Use a good flea comb with tightly spaced teeth.  Comb your pet daily during flea season and drop any fleas you find into a bowl of soapy water to kill them.

Bathing

Bathe your pet with a gentle shampoo such as oatmeal.  You don't need to use harsh flea shampoos - most of them have chemicals in them, which is what you're trying to avoid by not using the pesticide spot-ons in the first place.    Fleas tend to accummulate in bedding, so wash your pet's bedding as well.

    

Vacuuming

Vacuum thoroughly, including on and under furniture and in crevices and near baseboards.  Discard the vacuum bag immediately after vacuuming to prevent fleas and eggs from reinfesting your home.  Severe infestations may require professional steam cleaning.

Diet 

Feeding a high quality, varied diet can help prevent fleas.  A stronger diet leads to a stronger immune system, and it is believed that this can contribute to your pet being more resistant to fleas.  Pet owners who feed raw or homemade diets have reported that their pets no longer have flea problems.  

Maintain Outdoor Areas

Keep your grass mowed and keep shrubbery trimmed short in areas where your pet spends time.  This will increase sunlight and dryness, which will help reduce the flea problem.  Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in your yard to cut down on the flea population.  Diatomaceous earth also makes a great natural pantry bug killer, it works for all insects.  It's reported to be safe around pets, but don't sprinkle it directly on your pet!  

Natural Flea Control Products

There are numerous natural flea control products on the market, but not all of them are safe for pets.   In particular, avoid using products containing essential oils such as Pennyroyal, Tea Tree or Citrus oils.  None of these are safe to use around pets, especially around cats.  The Lavender Cat is an excellent website devoted to scientific research about cats and essential oil safety.  The site is currently being revised, but it has some good basic information about why essential oils are not safe to use around cats.  Some manufacturers of essential oils claim that their oils are pure and safe to use around cats, but quite frankly, I wouldn't take any chances on statements of that nature unless they're backed up by research by an independent toxicologist.

The National Resource Defense Concil's Green Paws website has a comprehensive directory of flea and tick products, including natural products, and lists ingredients and toxicity warnings. 

If you're using natural products to control fleas for your pets, please share with us what has worked for you in a comment.

(c) Ingrid King 2011 

Re-printed with permission of the author

Ingrid King is the award winning author of Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher.  She is a former veterinary hospital manager turned writer. Her online magazine News for You and Your Pet goes out to subscribers around the world. Her blog, The Conscious Cat, has been called “educational cat nip for the cat lover” and is a comprehensive resource for conscious living, health and happiness for cats and their humans.  For more information about Ingrid and Buckley’s Story, please visit www.ingridking.com.

Photo: Public Domain Pictures

Toxic Tick and Flea Products Affect Pets and Humans

Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of  MAGGIE the dog who changed my life A Story of Love
original post by Delia Quigley on the Care 2 Blog on Mar 9, 2011

I thought this post by Delia Quigley was worth a re-post for you, your Dogs and Cats!

The snow has not completely melted and the ticks are already making a play for Maya and Seamus. Looking back a year ago, as a new dog owner, I was instructed to buy a certain chemical product to apply to my pups, which would literally have the ticks and fleas falling dead to the floor. This, I thought to myself, is too good to be true; but because I was ignorant and advised by those I considered more knowledgeable, I bought a rather expensive 3-months supply of Frontline with the anticipation of a tick-free summer ahead. As I read the package instructions I was shocked to find that the chemical ingredients were so toxic they must be applied with latex gloves so as not to, as in never, touch my skin.

Yes, but what of my pups skin? If it is toxic to me, what must it be to their small bodies? You might think that I tossed the whole thing in the garbage on that realization, but no, I am ashamed to say that I did not. For two months I applied the toxic chemicals until one day I did my own research. What I found is shocking, perverted, untenable, and horrifying, but we Americans keep on poisoning our pets, along with ourselves and chemical companies continue to provide the loaded gun.

The active ingredient in Frontline is fipronil, an insecticide and member of the phenylpyrazole family of chemicals. Its purpose is to disrupt an insect’s nervous system functions. Well, hold on there doggie, according to the Journal of Pesticide Reform, “In tests with laboratory animals, fipronil caused aggressive behavior, damaged kidneys, and ‘drastic alterations in thyroid function.’ The fipronil-containing product Frontline caused changes in the levels of sex hormones.”

The other two toxic bad boys in Frontline are Methoprene, a neurotoxin that can cause liver enlargements, headaches, throat irritation and nausea and Ethanol, which can cause fatigue, lethargy, dizziness and nervous system disruption.

In her excellent 2008 Care2 article, The Surprising Poisons in Our Pets, Melissa Breyer reports that according to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Center, “dogs have much higher rates of cancer than people do, including 35 times more skin cancer, four times more breast tumors, eight times more bone cancer, and twice the incidence of leukemia.”

And here’s the kicker, the Environmental Protection Agency has classified fibronil as a carcinogen, because exposure to fipronil caused benign and malignant thyroid tumors in laboratory animals. All of which means it can cause cancer in both animals and humans.

You can be exposed to fibronil by petting an animal that has been treated with Frontline. The treatment persists for at least 56 days on pets. The good news is that the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has checked over a hundred tick and flea products finding that most of them contain chemicals toxic enough to cause harm to both pets and humans.  You should refer to their list before buying a product that may potentially harm your pet and contaminate yourself and your children. Fortunately, there are plenty of natural ways to control ticks and fleas in your environment. Care2 has a number of articles to help you out. Click HERE for a list of natural flea and tick control remedies.