Dog and flea medice

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I read that putting 3-6tsps of viniger in your dogs water will take care of a flea problem.  Last year the fleas were bad and nothing seemed to help.  Any advice on getting rid of fleas will be appreciated.

John
Answer -
Hi John;
I heard 1 tsp of white vinegar in the water, but I put in my dogs' water, and they wouldn't touch it.
I sprinkle cedar bark mulch all over my back yard, where the dogs go, and I use Pennyroyal oil.
Cedar repels fleas and ticks, as well as termites and a host of other insects.
Pennyroyal smothers fleas and ticks, and their larvae. Like if all the oxygen were taken out of your air.
I put epsom Salts in a glass jar, big enough to hold a gallon,about 3/4ths full, and about 1 tsp Pennyroyal oil, shake it up good, and cover tightly, leave overnight, and shake again. If the fleas are very bad, I rhrow this all over the yard as well as the cedar bark.
I put some Epsom Salts in the blender or food processor, and whirr it till it is very fine, put the Pennyroyal oil in it, and do the same as with the other. Don't use a zip lock bag, because the scent of the oil dissapates overnight. Use a glass jar. I use this for carpet dust.
Vacuum thotoughly, then put down the dust, and work it into the carpet ( and all upholstered furniture where the fleas might hide).
DON'T USE IN THE HOUSE IF THERE ARE CATS !
Pennyrotal oil is very toxic to cats.
If you have cats, get dried catmint ( or grow it fresh)
Catmint doesn't work as well on dog fleas, but it does some good. It works on cat fleas.
I also use Frontline once a month on my dogs. I tried advantage and the others, but they just didn't do as well as Frontline.
If you want to use chemicals, there are some effective sprays. Get them from a Veterinarian. The ones sold by Hartz Mountain etc, can do your dog more harm, and don't do that much for fleas and ticks.
5% Sevin dust is somewhat effective. 10% Devin dust does a more effective job, but you have to keep your dogs off the yard until it has done it's work, and you have watered it in, so the dogs qon't get any of it. The 10% Sevin can be deadly to animals. The 5% Sevin can also be used in the house, but I don't recommend it.
I used a flea shampoo put out by Hartz Mountain once, and bathed 3 dogs.It is their flea shampoo that comes in a bright silver plastic bottle. It is still on the store shelves.
I had so much of that stuff absorb into my hands, it almost killed me, and I had a terrible reaction for about 6 years. Every time I put my hands in water with clorox, plant food, or any chemical in it, they would itch terribly and start to swell, crack and bleed. they would swell till I couldn't make a fist at all, or even close my hand 1/3rd of the way, and I had to take antihistamines, antibiotics and antitoxins. It got easier each year, till it is barely happening now, but I have to watch what I put my hands in.
When you put down the Pennyroyal carpet dust you make, your house will have a very strong mint smell the first day or so, and will get milder. but it kills the adult fles, by smothering them, and it kills the larvae when they hatch, so keeping it on the floor for about a week will kill every flea and tick in your house.
the smell is a small price to pay. I put a drop of it on my hands, and rub them together, and rub over their bed.
Feeding them Brewers yeast is said to help too. Pat, one of the other experts here ( she answers on the German shepherd board), has a German shepherd kennel, and she swears by Brewer's yeast.
Good luck with your crispy critters, it looks like we are going to have a bumper crop of them here this year. I have already done the yard with Pennyroyal Epsom Salts, and cedar bark.
This is the site I order my Pennyroyal from. I get twice as much for half as much.

http://www.libertynatural.com/

Charlotte

Thank you that is all very helpful.  I want to use the pennyroyal oil but we have a cat.  Do you think two weeks with the cat out of the house would be long enough or not even close?  I'm also going to get some cedar bark if possible.  If the cat is an indoor cat and never goes in backyard will pennyroyal work outside?


Thanks

John  

Answer
Hi John;
The life cycle of a flea is about 7 days.
If the cat can be away for a couple of weeks, putting the carpet dust made with Pennyroyal and Epsom Salts down, for a week, then vacuuming it up thoroughly and giving another week for it to dissapate, it should be safe for the cat to come back.
We had my sister's cat here for several months, and during that time, when the fleas came out in full force in the spring, I rubbed a drop of it on my hands, and rubbed the dogs' fur with it. It didn't harm the cat, and it apparently kept the little crispy critters from coming into the house. My Lhasa had an allergic reaction to the oil being on her skin,,and it made her itch, so I am careful to just rub it on the surface of their coat.
I also made a strong lot of Epsom Salts with Pennyroyal, and broadcast it all over the back yard.
The cat had found the doggy door, and there was no keeping her in, but the Pennyroyal in the yard didn't hurt her.
I think if you had it growing in a bed, and the cat maybe took a nap in it, it might get enough breathed in to hurt it, but just walking through it wouldn't hurt it, so putting it out there might cause the fleas to leave the yard, however, I am not sure it helped that much, as I also put down the cedar bark mulch.Yhe cedar bark does help make them leave. I have also bought cedar oil, and put that in Epsom Salts to make it go further.
That might be better to use in the house with the cat there. It really should have the same effect as the Pennyroyal oil.
The cat shouldn't have to leave for you to use cedar oil.