Our dog Fin, like a lot of pets out there, is part of the family. She lives inside, and we'll admit, crashes on the bed sometimes. But she loves to roll around outside and doesn't usually wipe her feet when she comes back in.
To keep the bugs at bay, we use a flea and tick preventative once a month: but what we're learning is that a lot of these commercial and widely-available flea meds contain some harsh chemicals.
Since part of greening our home has been eliminating chemicals, why not look for a natural alternative to the one chemical being directly applied onto our beloved pup?
So, we're looking into our chemical-free options, and have found several sources for natural flea and tick prevention and remedies.
Sentry Natural Defense works like the other squeeze-ons, but uses plant oils (including cinnamon and lemon grass) to combat bugs. The price is actually about half what we pay for the big-name brand.
The Anibio Tic Clip is a collar tag that enhances the "bioenergetic field" around your dog. I'm not sure what that means, but apparently it can create an energy barrier around your pet that will repel bugs for two years using bioenergy frequency (maybe it feels like shock waves to a tiny bug). With a promise like that, it's worth a try.
And then there's Doc Ackerman's Botanical Citronella Shampoo. Although we're not sure we'd want Fin smelling like citronella, this might be a good way to eradicate a flea problem.
Have you tried natural flea and tick products? Let us know how you think they work, or what you'd suggest. Because the fewer chemicals we have floating around our home, the better. And we're sure Fin will thank us, too.
Most Beautiful Dog in the world...
view roundabout12's profile
We tried a natural flea/tick repellent on our dog, but it didn't work -- she still had an earful of ticks every night. And the poor pup stunk so bad (and so did our house) like a "dirty hippie" that she slunk around, head down and tail tucked. I finally relented to my vet's pleas to put her on a chemical repellent to ward off Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, but I'm thinking we'll stop using it once we get a hard freeze. It is important to use a heartworm preventative though, if your anti-flea/tick repellent doesn't include one you can get a separate treatment that you give by mouth (it looks like a treat, but our dog isn't convinced). If anyone's had success with a natural treatment, I'd love to hear about it!
view naturalnellie's profile
I tried several natural flea repellants, but they didn't work by a long shot. I even did extensive combing, which is quite gross. Eventually, the house got so inundated that I had to flea bomb. So, I settled for Advantage, and make my cat stay outside for the first day or so so it doesn't get all over.
view SFGail's profile
Double check anything "natural"- pyrethrins come from natural sources but I recently read some alarming warnings about them too- can't recall the specifics.
view Silli's profile
We use comfortis for our dog which is a tablet and flea repellent only. We don't have a big problem with ticks at the house, only when we go camping, so we use a separate tick collar for those occasions. That way she's not getting exposed to too many unnecessary things. The main ingredient in comfortis is labeled a "reduced risk pesticide" by the EPA. (We use a chewable heartworm tablet once a month in addition to the comfortis.) We also have penny royal growing in the yard which is a natural insect repellent. In the summer I'll steep some in water and pour the "tea" over the dog. Not sure that it really helps with the bugs, but it makes her less stinky!
view blindbee's profile
I have been reading that garlic in their food helps and since I have been putting tea-tree oil on my dog (he has some skin issues), that seems to be repelling mosquitoes. Also, I am thinking of exploring herbal heartworm treatments since I have been reading lots of scary stuff about the chemicals in the preventative tablets. Apparently a mix of black walnut hull and wormwood on a regular basis works wonders. I haven't tried it yet, but my dog isn't reacting to any conventional treatments for his skin and he seems to be aging kinda fast so we are going to give a natural meat, bones and veggie diet herbal supplements and treatments a try.
view deirdre's profile
i heard if you put organic apple cider vinegar in their water (very little, like a capful to a large bowl) that it repeals fleas naturally. i've been doing it for a while now and no fleas. so.. anyone else try?
view animalhouze's profile
I have two cats and never have a flea problem. Reason, I keep them indoors. Works every time and the three of us are happy.
view rumtum16823's profile