Natural Flea Treatment for dogs/cats

[Katerchen]

I would like to find an alternative for "Frontline" flea treatment that WORKS and is non-toxic.

I always have a bad feeling if I put this stuff on my pets, I feel bad for them and for me and the kids because we constantly pet and play with the animals (e.g. I don't use any Raid or similar products around the house either). Any suggestions?

 

[Carol_is_fit]

I don't know of any to actually give your pet, but growing up we always had a lot of cats in the house, and my mom used to sprinkle Borax (you can buy it in the laundry aisle) powder into the corners of every room, right in the space between the carpet and the wall. Apparently it kills the fleas when they breathe it or eat it or something (I'm not entirely sure - sorry!), and it's not toxic to your pets. Not one of our cats EVER had fleas. Never. Hope this helps!!

Carol

 

[candi]

I use Advantage on my two dogs, it really works and it seems to last longer than the package says it will. My dogs get a bath every other week, but I don't re-apply until I see them scratching which is usually up to six months. We live in Central Florida where the sand fleas can get especially bad, but this stuff works. I believe the packaging says the product is non toxic, but it sounds like you are looking for a natural remedy.

I also heard of the Borax treatment that Carol mentioned. I never tried it but I've heard it works.

 

[kellib]

Like you, I'd rather go the natural route when at all possible but last May, when our house was attacked by a swarm of fleas (and our 2 cats are indoor cats) we tried everything natural that we could...but we just got so sick of them biting us and attacking the cats that I finally gave in to the Raid Defumigator. That cleared the house out.

While the house was being defumigated (I nearly cried as I set the damn things off - it was horrid) I took the cats to the vet to get groomed (removes the rest of the fleas and eggs and nasty stuff).

I use Frontline on the cats once a month - I've read it's safer than the old school meds (like Hartz and flea collars). I also feed my cats good food (Felidae) that doesn't have animal by-products (like beaks and feet). I've read that a good diet will help prevent fleas.

PETA has a bunch of good suggestions (well, not counting the give your cat a bath idea - mine DID NOT go for that at all!). Just do a search on their site (www.peta.org). That's where I got all the ideas we tried.

Good luck!

 

[Katerchen]

I have been using Frontline on my outdoor dogs and my indoor cat. That stuff works but I worry that the poison will go on everything in the house. One of my dogs is allergic to fleas and always gets a horrible rash (pulling fur, too) if I miss a treatment in summer.

I am using Borax to control the ants with a sweet tooth (mix Borax with Cornsyrup).

I wonder if Advantage is any less poisonous than Frontline.

 

[veekcee]

http://www.petcaretips.net/natural_flea_control.html

http://www.carefreepet.com/search_results.html

http://www.preciouspets.org/fleafree.htm

http://www.ivillage.com/pets/vet/pa...brandRef=0&arrival_freqCap=1&pba=adid=7159411

Here are a few sites that talk about holistic pet care.

HTH