Flea Control

Most vet clinics and pet stores stock a bewildering array of toxic chemicals. Designed to help you manage fleas and other pests on your pet and supposedly safe for your pet and your family. However all pesticides pose some degree of risk to humans, animals, and the environment.

Did you know dogs exposed to lawn chemicals in their lifetime are at higher risk of developing bladder cancer? And that most toxins including neuro toxins and carcinogens accumulate to higher levels in dogs and cats? With this information it seems prudent to avoid the chemicals you don’t need in your life.

All of the active ingredients in flea spot-on preparations have been linked to serious health effects in laboratory animals. What’s more, many of the inert ingredients are just as toxic, if not more so, than the active chemical component.

Some parasites, like fleas, can be extremely irritating for some pets, and in our climate a few fleas can quickly escalate out of control.  In these situations pharmaceutical agents may be necessary to get things under control. But in many cases, utilising natural control measures can prove to be satisfactory, and much safer for your family and your pet.

So how do you keep your pet and home flea-free, without the chemicals?  Firstly, it’s important to understand the life cycle:

An adult female flea can lay up to 5000 eggs in her lifetime.

In ideal weather conditions, the flea’s whole life-cycle (female flea – egg – larva – pupa – adult flea) can occur in as little as three weeks.

Flea eggs are laid on your pet, and then drop off into their environment. So most eggs, larvae and pupae are found in your pet’s bedding or favourite resting spots. It’s important to treat these too!

Flea eggs and larvae survive best in dark, cool areas, so carpets, under furnishings, cracks between floorboards, underneath the house, and the garage or garden shed are prime real estate.

Approximately 95-99% of the flea population in your home resides OFF your pet. Treating these areas makes more sense than simply relying on a chemical product applied to your pet.

With all this in mind, here’s our top 5 tips for natural flea control around the home. Our goal being to keep your home and pets flea-free, without overloading either with toxic chemicals.

  1. Vacuum regularly – at least weekly, daily if possible. Your vacuum is one of your best weapons, effective at sucking up and killing flea eggs, larvae, pupae and adults without any additional measures.
  2. Limit your pet’s access to carpets, rugs, the couch and other textiles. Provide them with their own bed and rugs you can easily wash weekly.
  3. Wash pet bedding every week in hot water (at least 60C) then hang in the hot sun to dry.
  4. Place rugs, doormats and pet bedding in the sun every few days. The sun dries out flea eggs and larvae.
  5. Keep outdoor areas swept clean and free of debris and grass cut short, then consider using food-grade diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the yard and home as a natural flea preventative.

Now you have sorted the environment, what can you do for your pet?   Instead of relying on chemicals year-round, try the following hot tips:

  1. When you bath your pet, leave the lather on for 5 minutes to drown the fleas, then flea comb out and kill any critters you find.
  2. Follow shampoo with a natural flea rinse. A lemon chopped up and steeped overnight in 2 cups of boiled water makes a lemon rinse that has natural flea repellent properties from the limonene content. Leave it on the skin – don’t wash it off! (This is safe for cats too, as long as it’s safe to bath them!)
  3. Brush your pet daily and flea comb out any critters you see.  
  4. Spritz your pet’s coat daily with Dr Nat’s Shield and Coat spray.
  5. Look after their internal health too, so that they are less affected by fleas. Feed a raw diet if appropriate for your pet, and consider adding Dr Nat’s Defend Immunity Tonic to their food or drinking water.

If these measures are inadequate and your pet is still suffering with fleas, book a nurse consult with one of our Holistic Nurses to discuss your other options. We can tailor a preventative regime that will work for you and your pet.

There are some chemical products with excellent safety profiles, and in some cases these products may be needed short-term.  Reliance on chemical products long-term, however, is best avoided.

At The Natural Vets our Nurses are all well-versed in our range of safe and effective flea control products and will guide you to choose a product that will work for your pet.

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