Fleas

[Guest guest]

First of all, fleas drown easily! They can't swim at all (one good thing

about them anyway!) So bathing will get ridd of any fleas that come into

contact w/ the soap and water. It's important to start at the neck and

lather it well before moving to other parts of the body, 'cause fleas

naturally go up when threatened. The dogs' head's a problem, 'cause you

obviously want to avoid getting soap and water into the ears and eyes,

but a w/ a big wad of cotton in the ears and a lot of care around the

eyes you can do most of the head.

 

Then it's important to remember that fleas only spend about 15 - 20% of

their time on the animals. The rest of the time they're hiding out in

your parpet, on pet beds, cracks in the floor, and any other

inaccesssable place they can find. . . . and this is where most of their

eggs drop off, too. So it's important to thoroughly wash bedding, run

vaccuum cleaners often, etc. to avoid their jumping back onto the dog.

 

Some EOs, like cedarwood, citronella and eucalyptus, repel fleas, so you

could spray the dog lightly, put some on a collar, or add a bit to a

rinse when you're bathing her or him. Pennyroyal's also s'pozed to be

good for fleas, but I dunno if this is a water infusion, infused oil or

EO. . . :^P

 

Finally, diatomaceous earth (also called Fullers earth, I think) is made

up of the skeletal remains of tiny sea critters (diatoms) that have sharp

edges that abrade the exoskeletons of the fleas and cause them to

dehydrate and die. You can use it as a flea powder (adding the EOs if

you like) and also to dust the rug, floor & places that the dog hangs

out. There's concern that the same sharp surfaces that harm the flea can

cause damage to lungs if it's inhaled, so be careful that you and your

pet don't breathe it in. There are different grades of DE, some more

refined than others - a highly cleaned grade is available at good

aquarium stores for use in DE filters.

 

HTH. Good luck . . . .

 

rox

 

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