Lions and Tigers and Fleas, Oh MY!
Okay, maybe no lions and tigers, unless you count my son's orange and black cats. But fleas, sigh, yes. I just figured out my poor teensy weensy dog has a big ol' buttload of fleas - literally. Joe admits she probably got them from her kitty cat cousins (er, I guess that would be kitty cat nephews) and, from the shelf full of flea medicines and shampoos in their bathroom cabinet, I suspect they're right.
But what to do, what to do!?
You'd think with all the animals we have that this sort of problem would be old hat for me but, don't hate me all you pet owners out there, we haven't had to deal with fleas for over a decade. We don't have them in Susanville. Or rather, we don't have them in our house in Susanville. I think it's too cold for them. The point is, I'm not sure how to get rid of them and I do NOT want to bring them home for the summer!
I will wash Rosie in some of the medicated shampoo the kids have here, but since it says not to repeat for two weeks, I'm gonna wait until just before we leave to do it so she won't get reinfested. I hate the idea of putting something that toxic on such a tiny dog even one time. In the meantime, I went out and bought a metal flea comb yesterday and I've been combing the little buggars off her and throwing them to their deaths over the patio railing every couple of hours. Ewwww.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'm waiting for a miraculous idea.
posted by Laume at 10:23 AM
1 Comments:
i'll post some stuff from my hippie green list:
"We had a problem this summer. Brought home fleas from vacation! What I did was:
1)vacuum the whole house, empty the vacuum, tie up the bag, and throw it outside! If you don't those pesky little things can get out and you've
wasted all your time.
2) mix 2 1/2 cups baking soda or diatomaceous earth (or a mix) with 10 drops orange EO, 10 drops citronella EO, 8 drops peppermint EO, and 6 drops lemon EO. Dust this on all of your floors and let it set for at least an hour.
Then vacuum it up and empty the vacuum as above. The diatomaceous earth IS all-natural, but it is very drying to the skin. Also, if you have to walk
on the carpet before you vacuum it up, it works into the carpet and is hard to get out - voice of experience talking here!
3)put a short dish of soapy water about 12-15 inches under a lightbulb at night (nightlights work great for this). The fleas jump to the light, fall
in the water, and can't get out.
Even after it looks like you have the situation under control, keep doing it! The eggs hatch about every 7-21 days, and nothing can kill the eggs.
You have to kill the live fleas and larva, wait for the eggs that have already been laid to hatch, then kill them. It will take a while to get rid of them, but this helped us a lot. We didn't have animals to worry about, and the above things took care of them pretty quickly. Hopefully it is cold enough where you are that you don't have to treat the yard."
and
"I bathed them with a neem oil shampoo every couple weeks. It is possible to bathe a cat (let me know if you need details on how not to get scratched). They actually appreciate the bath afterwards when the fleas are off of them finally. This is what I used http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/Neem_Protect_Shampoo_p/121021.htm
I used a combination of a diatomaceous earth flea powder (it is crushed sea shells I believe). This is the one I used, but your
health food store may carry one, even your local pet store... http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/Only_Natural_Pet_All_in_One_Dog_Cat_Fle
a_Remedy_p/999012.htm
I also used
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/Neem_Protect_Spray_p/121022.htm
I used both the powder and spray around the house. I put it in/on the carpet, furniture, and the cats. They are all non-toxic and safe for people & pets. I was able to find the neem oil shampoo and spray at our health food store."
so maybe something here will work for you
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