Natural Flea Control
Protection from the Inside Out
Another important fact about fleas is that they prefer weaker, less healthy hosts and very young puppies and kittens with undeveloped immune systems. Knowing this, we can arm our pets for flea resistance by boosting their health and immunity. If you have a flea problem, this is the first place to start.
If you’ve read any of the other articles on our site, you’ve heard this before: Diet is the foundation of health. Nothing you give your dog or cat can do as much good for their health and immunity as a proper diet. After years of experience and research, we have come to believe that the best diet for both dogs and cats is a biologically appropriate food diet. Please feed the very best diet you can. At the minimum this means top quality processed foods that do not contain fillers, chemical preservatives, or food colorings. No “by-products” or “digests”. Meat should be the first ingredient, not grains. In fact, it should be zero grains. Dogs can be fed a mix of canned and dry foods.
Supplementing your companion’s diet can also help. Essential Fatty Acids like salmon oil will help build the immune system and boost the health of the skin and coat. Probiotics will help him get the most nutrition from his food and aid the digestive process. Garlic tends to make the animal less tasty to fleas, so many guardians add some garlic to meals.
Over-vaccination is taxing on the immune system of dogs and cats. Educate yourself about the risks of too many vaccinations before succumbing to the usual pressure to vaccinate annually for a variety of diseases.
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External Protection
There are many topical sprays & shampoos out there touting their effectiveness at killing or deterring fleas. Many of them contain chemicals and pesticides however, that are not conducive to building your companion’s immune system.
For repelling fleas from dogs, we recommend natural products with Neem oil. Neem oil spray, shampoo, and conditioner not only help repel fleas, they also help sooth and heal irritated skin. Some essential oils that seem to be “flea repellent” are cedar, tea tree, citronella, eucalyptus and pennyroyal, (the last two are toxic to cats). Pay particular attention to the neck and chest on cats and the top of the hips/base of the tail and under the legs and belly on dogs. When using any product like these with a strong odor, just keep in mind that your dog or cat has a much stronger sense of smell than you do, (as do the fleas), so don’t overdo it.
For killing fleas once they are on your pet, we recommend natural flea powders. Flea Away is a powder based on diatomaceous earth that is safe for use on dogs and cats as well as around the home, (which we will get to next). It kills fleas by dehydrating them – which is not only non-toxic to pets, humans and the environment, but fleas cannot develop an immunity to it as they do to all other pesticides over time. There are many varieties of diatomaceous earth available. It is a very fine powder and a little goes a long way. Suggested use is approximately 1 tsp. per 10 lbs of body weight. Using the flea comb to help spread the powder throughout your companion’s coat is helpful.
Bathing your companion is an excellent way to kill fleas. Use a neem shampoo like the Ark Naturals Neem Shampoo or a soothing shampoo such as ones made with aloe vera or oatmeal if your companion has irritated skin. You can add a drop or two of essential oils to the oatmeal shampoo to make it more “flea unfriendly”. Leave the lather on your pet for a few minutes to help smother any persistent fleas, and then RINSE WELL. Soap residue can dry the skin and make the itchiness worse.
Why not use flea collars?
Good question! The answer is: flea collars only repel fleas around the animal’s neck and do very little for the rest of the body. Fleas are very resourceful; they will find a good spot far enough away from that collar to hang out. Also, most flea collars, especially anything non-toxic, are only effective for a short time.
What about “spot-on” flea products?
A pesticide is a pesticide no matter what you call it. We only recommend spot-on flea products as a last resort for animals with severe flea allergies. The most thorough investigation we have seen of these products was done by Whole Dog Journal as reported in the article “Are ‘Spot-On’ Flea Killers Safe?” in the February, 2002 issue, (available from their website for a fee: www.whole-dog-journal.com). Here is an excerpt from that article: “All pesticides pose some degree of health risk to humans and animals. Despite advertising claims to the contrary, both over-the-counter and veterinarian-prescribed flea-killing topical treatments are pesticides that enter our companions’ internal organs (livers, kidneys), move into their intestinal tracts, and are eventually eliminated in their feces and urine.”
Systemic pesticides are NOT a good way to build an animal’s immune system; on the contrary, they can only weaken it. Some guardians report that their companions appear more lethargic and depressed for a day or more after applying spot-on flea products. More severe reactions that have been reported include excessive salivation, skin rashes, convulsions, tremors, hyperactivity, stiffened limbs and lameness. Consider that to be deemed safe for use on our companions, these products only need be tested for 3, 13 or 52-week intervals. Higher doses are used to compensate for the shorter testing periods. NO STUDIES have been done on the LONG TERM effects of applying these pesticides to animals repeatedly over long periods of time.
One more reason not to use pesticides – they end up in our environment – including on your lawn. Fleas will develop immunity to any pesticide over time. This is already being seen with some of the spot-on products. They cannot, however, develop immunity to dehydration – which is how the diatomaceous earth and boric acid products kill fleas.
The Household Environment
You cannot rid your companion of fleas by treating him or her alone, (unless you are willing to resort to pesticides). Most of the population lives and develops in your house and yard, not on your pet. Treating the environment is essential if you want to win this war.
Carpets, Flooring & Furniture
Vacuuming and washing the hard floors often – daily during the height of flea season – is the least toxic way to control fleas. This will remove most of the adults, and some eggs and larvae. Keep in mind the larvae don’t like light, so vacuum under furniture and around baseboards anywhere near your pet’s favorite places to hang out. Remember to vacuum some Flea Go or Flea Away powder into the vacuum bag to kill any fleas in the bag, or remove the bag and discard it in a sealed plastic bag after use.
Some infestations, however, are just too much to be controlled by vacuuming alone, and not everyone has the time to clean all the floors daily. That’s when we recommend using one or more of the natural “powders” available for ridding your home of fleas. The least toxic substances available for this are diatomaceous earth and boric acid products.
Flea Go or Flea Away, discussed above, can be used on carpeting, on the pet’s bedding, on furniture and on hard floors. It is a very fine powder similar in consistency to talcum powder, so it gets into cracks and crevices on hardwood and linoleum floors easily. It acts more quickly than boric acid products – a difference in the flea population can be noticeable in 24 – 48 hours. Diatomaceous earth, however, does not last as long as the boric acid products. Monthly applications are recommended in areas with heavy flea populations, especially during the height of flea season.
Boric acid products, such as Fleago, work in a similar fashion to the diatomaceous earth by dehydrating the fleas. When applied correctly, they offer protection for up to a year or more as they remain deep in the carpet fibers. FleaGo may also be used on hard floors as the powder is fine enough to reach into cracks and crevices well. Both products may be used on furniture. All visible powder must be worked into the carpet, floor or furniture well with a broom or rake, and any remaining visible powder should be vacuumed up. Boric acid kills flea larvae, but is not as effective at killing the adults, so you may not see the results for 2-6 weeks while the adult population dies off. During the initial weeks after application, it is helpful to vacuum frequently to kill the adult fleas. Boric acid products are more toxic than diatomaceous earth products as well, so you do not want to use them directly on dogs or cats.
With all of the flea powder products, common sense caution must be used. Follow package directions carefully. They are drying agents, and therefore irritate nasal passages and lungs if inhaled directly. Avoid overzealous shaking of the container while spreading it onto the floor so you don’t create clouds of dust.
Bedding
Don’t forget the sleeping quarters! Wash your pet’s bedding in hot, soapy water at least weekly. You can even add some essential oils to the water for extra flea-zapping power. Sprinkle a little Flea Go or Flea Away onto DRY bedding and work it in to help kill the little pests while your companion sleeps.
Securing the Perimeter (Your Yard)
Last, but certainly not least, treat the yard. Remember that the larvae don’t like light – so rake up any leaves and keep the grass cut. Watering can help drown the larvae as well. A majority of the fleas and larvae will be within 50 feet of your companion’s favorite spot to rest, so focus on those areas. Beneficial Nematodes are another way to control fleas in the yard. Beneficial nematodes are a flea parasite, (mother nature always has a balancing mechanism). They are tiny little bugs that prey on both adult fleas and larvae. They can be applied with a hose sprayer or, on a smaller yard, with a watering can. Some garden centers and nurseries carry them or can order them for you. An Internet search will provide many sources as well.
