Natural Flea and Tick Prevention

Since Kodie's passing, I pledged to get really holistic in all aspects of pet care. As you know, this applies to food. But also to stopping my Terminix service at the house (pesticides in our grass) and also aborting use of Frontline.

This last one is especially tough, because we live next to a very lush mountain, and everyday we walk through the trail and come home with ticks and fleas. Frontline has been our savior.

But I have to take my cues from Kodie, and in his last couple months, he really cowered when it came time for his Frontline dose. You could tell he didn't like it, and I'm sure it made him feel sick or weakened his little immune system, which he desperately needed to fight the cancer. I know he was also giving me cues about what to feed him, because he would only eat sardines or tuna at the end -- no grains -- and this is what all the cancer books say (to feed protein). So I'll take it from Kodie: there's something to this meme about Frontline being dangerous to our pets.

But what natural alternatives are there to Frontline and Advantage? A quick Google reveals that the first person to answer this question with an effective, well-branded, all-natural product will strike gold. There's not one answer. I asked my vet the other day, and she recommended the somewhat new product Revolution. It apparently protects against fleas, ticks and heartworm. But I know it's not all-natural, so I don't think we'll be headed in that direction.

Here's an amalgam of all the organic flea/tick remedies I've found, and we'll be trying several of these, so watch for a post with my follow-up report on their efficacy:

(1) The first thing you find is that healthy dogs repel fleas and ticks. I find this to be partially true. I do think Bailey's not getting any ticks since we switched his food to homemade. But he has been doing a little biting and I'm not sure health can fight a vicious flea season. It's starting to warm up around the Bay Area, and I don't think being healthy is quite enough.

(2) The flea comb. This is the second thing you'll read: get a flea comb. We actually had one - it was Kodie's little brush - and I pulled it out today and gave Bailey a really good once over (okay, thrice over). Those help, too, but I'm not certain you can actually *see* a flea to know for sure if your dog has em.

(3) Garlic, of vampire fighting fame, is believed to be an effective flea/tick repellent only right after crushing. If you cook it into the foods, it loses its preventative powers (though not its other nutrients). So you want to crush it on your dog's food right before serving. We've been crushing one clove over Bailey's food for about a week now, and it's only somewhat effective.

(4) Neem Oil. I've read about this stuff in several different news groups. You can apparently buy it naturally and add it to shampoos, or dilute it with water and spray it on your pet. I ordered a commercial product, the Ark Naturals Neem Protect Spray, and will let you know what I think.

(5) Only Natural's Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy is another product I've ordered and will report on. Have heard this also works very well.

(6) Cloud Nine Herbal Dip by Halo. Have read this works well though haven't tried it.

(7) Essentail Oils - if you're into these, apparently Citronella, cedar, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus, lemongrass and lavendar work well, if you put them on your dog's collar, or spray them onto the dog frequently. Young Living Essential Oils is apparently a good source.

You can read more about these and other natural flea and tick prevention tips here and here.