Should You be Using Anti-Flea Chemicals?

Many aggressive, chemical-based, anti-flea and tick products on the market can be dangerous or cause side effects. This article is about safer alternatives for dealing with fleas.

Animals and Pesticides: Be Mindful – Choose Your Flea or Tick Treatment Wisely

What goes on your pet ends up in your pet. Products applied to the skin or worn around the neck get into your dog’s or cat’s body either by absorption or ingestion during grooming.

Our furry pets are a part of our close family, and of course, you want to protect them. Which means you want to keep them safe and protected from fleas and ticks. Therefore, people spend lots of money on flea-control products and unwittingly poison themselves and their animal companions.

Applying too much chemical Anti-Flea products on your pet or even mixing them up as a preventive treatment, or using a Flea treatment for dogs in cats, all can be very dangerous. Applying it to a cat can be dangerous. Even when applied correctly, these products offer no guarantee of safety from the severe side effects of chemicals, such as severe skin irritation, neurological problems, gastrointestinal disorders due to poison, and even organ failure.

Today we have new, safer alternatives that present more environmentally friendly ways to protect your fuzzy friends, our children, and yourself from these parasites.

 

Old Yeller and Tiny Tim gets the most fleas

The pesky fleas are not typically attracted to healthy animals. As a parasite, fleas generally are drawn to the weakest animals they can find. Many pets present a condition called flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), which is sensitivity to flea saliva. A pet with FAD can feel miserable from the saliva of just one or two fleas long after the fleas are dead and gone.

 

Being a Responsible Pet Parent: Keep Them Healthy

Health tip 1: Flea prevention is primarily about maintaining the health of your dog or cat. It is always rewarding to have your animal as healthy as possible, not only because of the fleas, but for heartworm prevention, stamina, and long life. Some skin conditions are indicators of an animal’s overall health and a factor in flea control. No doubt that the key to healthy skin and coat is a healthy diet. Give your furry friend healthy food and check food labels carefully. Remember that it is Just as crucial to select things that would need to be excluded from an animal’s diet, as much as is what should be included in it.

Health tip 2: Do exercise, which stimulates the body and the mind of your pet. For example, walk with your dog and let it smell along the way because smelling is how he gathers information and learns about his environment. Which is a good exercise for your dog’s brain? Vary also the route and terrain when you walk. For example, you can walk with him in the city, forest, meadows or beach. This challenges him physically and mentally and makes it interesting for him.

The same approach applies to cats. Interact and play with your kitties or cat to encourage mental and physical activity.

 

Health tip 3: Be cautious and mindful not to overmedicate your furbaby. Decide to avoid things that interfere with the body’s ability to maintain good health. Over-vaccinating your pet can devastate the natural functioning of their immune system. Just like it happens to us, the overuse of drugs such as antibiotics and corticosteroids can also compromise their immunological resistance. Try to think about whether the medicine is vital, optional, or perhaps needless? We would recommend finding a Holistic Veterinarian to talk these things through.

 

Health tip 4: Decide to remove the environmental factors that can negatively impact your pet’s immune system, such as toxic yard and household chemicals, pesticides, or poor water quality. This would be beneficial not only for your pets but for other little critters such as squirrels, birds, and bunnies.

 

So how do I keep ticks or fleas away from my pet in a safe way?

You have to address the problem on several fronts; here are some tips.

Ticks or Treads

If ticks are a problem. The best way to control the infestation of Ticks is through grooming and nose-to-tail body checks of your pet. Scrutinize your dog or cat for ticks whenever they have been outside. In case you find a tick connected to your pet, it must be removed correctly and safely. The securest way to remove a tick is by using a twisting motion.

The other important element in the prevention of infestations is to make the environment less hospitable to fleas.

 

Treating the Outdoors

Keep your lawn trimmed, and clear brush, leaves, tall grass and weeds from your yard, especially in areas your pet frequents

Keep stacked firewood off away from your house

Add natural flea’s predators: The Nematodes are a type of helpful microscopic roundworm that eats flea larvae and eggs. They are available at garden centers and pet stores.

Release Ladybugs are Mother Nature pest control, and also are the original raider of fleas that are readily available at garden stores and even online garden catalogs.

 

Treating the Indoors

Vacuum your home routinely (carpets, floors, furniture, etc.) Clean all the areas of your house your pet may have entry to is the safest way to control fleas in your home. It may be a virtual necessity for removing fleas in various growth stages, so they don’t reach adulthood.

Wash the linens, your pet’s bedding and throw rugs frequently, and that also includes your own when your pet sleeps with you).

Sprinkle baking soda directly onto your flooring and rugs and allow them to penetrate the carpeting fibers by swooping side to side with a brush, you’ll dehydrate fleas and their eggs. Leave the baking soda on your carpet overnight; then, you can vacuum up the baking soda and the dead fleas in the morning.

For Real Non-toxic flea control, You can do this!

 

Bathing your Dog Regularly

Bathing your dog at regular times is also important because fleas are less attracted to clean animals. When choosing flea remedies, a natural one should always be your best choice, so select an organic pet shampoo without any added chemicals.

Some herbal shampoos are effective and can be used as often as once a week, although too-frequent bathing can dry out animals’ skin. Another thing is using warm baths for your furbaby because fleas do not keep on to your pet’s hair, after a warm bath. So, why not dip your pet in a warm tub of water will and allow the fleas to fall off into the water.

 

Organic Apple Cider

Make a vinegar bath or add a bit to your pet’s drinking water to repel the fleas. The Apple cider will keep the fleas away and keep their coats clean and shinning! We also recommend adding to their water, using one teaspoon for every 4 cups of water. Make sure no smell would compromise the intake of water of your pet.

Add it to your pet’s bath: You can also add about two cups of apple cider vinegar to his bathwater.

 

Use Citrus Juice

Fleas dislike citrus, so try sprinkling some fresh-squeezed lemon on your dog’s fur (being careful to avoid her eyes), but remember lemon juice can lighten dark hair. You can also make a lemon bath. Easily add half a cup of newly squeezed lemon juice into two cups of pure water, then add the solution to the pet-friendly soap or shampoo for a natural way of treating fleas in dogs.

 

Flea combing

Practicing Flea combing is one of the safest methods for removing adult fleas from your pet’s coat. Place your pet on a light-colored towel (so you can see what you’re removing). Then, catch any of these bugs that fall off and dip the comb into a solution of soapy water after each swipe.

 

Collar with essential oil

A home-made flea collar can help keep your dog’s flea protection. Use a collar or a bandanna, infused with some diluted drops of lavender oil or cedar oil in water. It is known that cats and dogs are far more sensitive to odors than we can possibly be. Please be mindful and don’t use these essential oils in substantial concentrations or too frequently. If possible, consult with an animal aromatherapist to make sure you’re using safe oils at the correct concentration as dog and cat doses are different.

 

Spiritual meaning of fleas and ticks for the owner

The flea

A flea is stubborn, persistent and does not give up. It stands up for herself and does not allow herself to be kicked off or repelled. IT is resolute. It can mean that someone is holding on to prejudices, old negative beliefs, possessions, or wanting to restrain others. The message: Do not bite into retaining what you have, whether it is about ideas or properties. Let go and free yourself.

 

The tick

A tick attaches itself. It wants to hang on to something and cannot be free. Symbolically it can mean that someone wants to cling to rules, guidelines, people and/or structures. And does not allow himself to relax and be himself. The message: do not lean on others, imposed duties or systems. Free yourself from old, tight structures, systems, and beliefs that limit you and come out for your true self.

 

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About the Author

Esther Haasnoot is intuitive and healer and the initiator of Global Heart magazine where she encourages and inspires a conscious, healthy, harmonious, sustainable, and loving society to create an uplifting and positive future for all of us. https://globalheart.nl