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Fleas,
Ticks, Worms
Control Fleas with All Natural Remedies
Control Fleas with All Natural Remedies
Bid farewell to fleas without subjecting your dog to harmful
chemicals.
by Frances Gavin
contributing writer
July 11, 2004
Are you worried about the effects of chemicals on your dog?
Why not make your own safe, non toxic flea repellents?
Citrus repellent: Cut a lemon into quarters and place in
a pint jug. Cover the lemon with boiling water and let it
steep overnight. Next day you have a flea repellent that you
can use in a spray bottle. Spray all over your dog remembering
especially behind the ears and around the head generally (careful
of eyes), around the base of the tail (once again keep away
from delicate bits) and under your dog's `armpits'.
Aromatherapy repellent. Using 10 ml. of sweet almond oil
as your base, add 10 drops of lavender and 5 drops of cedarwood.
Shake well and use 1 or 2 drops spread over the skin at least
twice a week to keep the fleas away.
A flea collar can be made by rubbing a few drops of one of
the following into an ordinary webbing or rope collar or even
a doggy bandanna: eucalyptus oil, Tea Tree Oil, citronella,
lavender or geranium. Don't forget to do this weekly.
Your Home: Fleas spend most of their time in your furnishings
and only hop onto your dog or you for their next meal. Make
sure you wash your dog's bedding regularly because no flea
ever survived a hot wash cycle. If you add eucalyptus oil
to the final rinse it will also kill 99% of house dust mites
according to research from the University of Sydney, Australia.
Vacuum your home very thoroughly and sprinkle a fine layer
of ordinary table salt over your upholstery and carpets and
leave overnight before vacuuming again to evict your unwelcome
guests safely but don't forget to empty your vacuum bag.
Bathing: A badly infested dog really needs to be bathed so
use your favorite dog shampoo. Rinse the dog off very thoroughly
and in the final rinse add a couple of drops of Tea Tree Oil
or Lavender oil. An alternative is to make your own herbal
flea dip which will also work on ticks. Steep two cups of
fresh rosemary in two pints of boiling water for 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid, discard the leaves and make it up to one
gallon ( 8 pints) with warm water. Pour this mixture over
the dog until it's saturated. Do not rinse off and allow the
dog to dry naturally so this is a remedy to use on hot summer
days.
Internal Flea Repellents: Garlic may not be your favorite
cologne and it's not the flea's favorite smell either. When
your dog eats garlic, the smell is excreted through the dog's
skin making your dog less likely to be the flea's next meal.
In case you think you might need to give your dog a breath
freshener along with the garlic, my dogs, Mack and Josh, eat
a garlic clove every day and I don't find their breath smells
from it at all.
Brewer's yeast tablets will also help to make your dog less
attractive to fleas because once again the smell is excreted
through the skin.
Adding a dessertspoon of apple cider vinegar to the water
bowl will make the skin more acidic and unpleasant to fleas
and ticks. If your dogs don't fancy apple cider vinegar in
the water bowl, dilute it 50/50 with water and use in a spray
bottle instead of the citrus repellent.
- Frances Gavin
Frances Gavin writes on other pet related topics at
her website: http://www.caninenaturalcures.co.uk/
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