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Dealing With Fleas Like other holistic health care approaches, we need to try to look at the flea issue differently. It's not holistic to just switch to an herb from a chemical to attempt to kill all the fleas. We do not just address the symptoms that the fleas cause (itching), but to get to the cause of the allergic reaction that the flea bite stimulates in a vulnerable pet. Fleas, like all parasites, prey on the weak, sick, and malnourished. An animal infested with fleas is an unhealthy animal and we must ask ourselves why are the fleas bothering the them in the first place, rather than solely focusing on the elimination of the fleas. Holistic therapy does not begin with shampoos, coat dips, rinses, or sprays; it begins by strengthening the animal and making their home less hospitable to the fleas. It means getting your pet healthy enough, with a healthy coat and properly functioning immune defenses, so that fleas will cause no allergic reaction in him (itching) and ultimately the fleas will have no interest in him. The real key is a good, nutritional diet. To a your pet's nutritional diet, you can add garlic and brewers yeast with Vit B. These exude odors or tastes that discourage fleas. Add a clove of garlic or 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic to your pets meal. Add 1 tablespoon of brewer's yeast (1/2 Tbls. for small dogs and cats) to your pets daily meals. Every two days, sprinkle brewer's yeast on their coats and work it in with your hands. This dose not kill the fleas, it just makes them want to leave, so make sure to let your dog outside and give the house a good vacuum. Other additions to your pet's diet that could be burdock root, dandelion, and red clover. These serve as useful dietary adjuncts by helping the body eliminate waste and allowing natural defense systems to work more freely in coping with fleabites. Nettle may be sprinkled onto your pet's food to lend nutritive support and a mild antihistamine action that may reduce the severity of an allergic reaction. Giving 1/2 -1 teaspoon of dried herb for each pound of food fed is a good starting dose. To address fleas by external methods, your pet's living quarters can be sprinkled with diatomaceous earth (also called DE). You can look for herbal flea powders that contain garlic as well as various flea deterring herbs such as wormwood and pennyroyal. I make an herbal pillow stuffing for our dog and cats' beds, which helps discourage fleas (Note: The FDA does not allow the use of the word "repellant" on any natural insect "deterrents."). You can find the recipe for the pillows below. If your pet has a real infestation that needs to be taken care of right away, or if some of the nontoxic products you have tried just aren't working for you, there are some over-the-counter chemical treatments you can safely try. Look for products containing citrus based d-limonene, and herbal insecticide. If you have a real sevier problem, I recommended Front Line. I do not recommend any other the other products that come in the small plastic vials, they are not all the same and some are down right dangerous. Frontline is a different chemical and the only one I recommenced (and it really works). If you look around on the Internet, you can find this product at a fairly low price (much lower than buying it from a vet). Herbal Anti-Flea Pillows Use this Anti-Flea Herb Mix in these various ways: 1) Make/Sew little pillows (8 "X 8" or so) stuffed with the following mix and place in the animals bed or sleeping area. The little pillow cannot be washed and you will have to replace it every couple of months. 2) If your pet has a cedar stuffed bed (cedar is a great flea deterrent). Stuff the bed with cedar chips and throw this herb mix in with the chips as you fill the bag. Change the entire filling of the bag every couple of months. Use this Anti-Flea Herb Mix in these various ways: ) Make/Sew little pillows (8 "X 8" or so) stuffed with the following mix and place in the animals bed or sleeping area. The little pillow cannot be washed and you will have to replace it every couple of months. 2) If your pet has a cedar stuffed bed (cedar is a great flea deterrent). Stuff the bed with cedar chips and throw this herb mix in with the chips as you fill the bag. Change the entire filling of the bag every couple of months. * Do not let the animal eat this herbal mix. Pennyroyal should not be consumed. If there is a chance the animal will tear up the pillow, use peppermint instead of Pennyroyal, it will not be quite as effective, but will be safer. |
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