HELP with pet shampoos and deoderants

[SpiritWolf]

I need a bit of HELP with getting rid of ticks and fleas on cats and dogs.
I know this isnt about cooking, but I also know that you can use natural ingrediants on animals to get rid of pests. Garlic is one, but does anyone have any ideas or help for any ideas that actually work, apart from me spending heaps of money each week or fortnight on vet fees and bills. I have 2 dogs, both Huskys and 3 cats, plus other animals, but they dont get affected, I have a very big problen with fleas at the moment, maybe because we have had VERY dry weather, so any good ideas that actually work, will help wonderfully, I need the Buggers DEAD, not KICKING, we are even being eaten alive in our own beds, they move everywhere, so quickly, my cats are inside cats, the dogs are outside, but come in on a weekly basis, not every day, just once a week. I live in Australia, so I need to be able to buy the ingrediants here in Australia, but any natural ingrediants, I should be able to get here.
I know Attie may be able to help, "PLEASE", and anyone else from Aussie land may have great ideas, but PLEASE anyone HELP will be great. If it works for you, it may work for me.
Thanks guys, I really NEED this, before it drives my family mad, permanently.

 

[lulu]

I have tried so hard with natural tick and flea repellants and never had any luck. I hate to say it but I am a "Stronghold" user all the way now. I even know one vet who uses the other prescription pest thing for pets on his kids.

I hope you find something, and if so I'll try it too!

 

[NancyG]

I work at a veterinary hospital and here's what we recommend -

Fleas are tricky to get rid of. Go to your veterinarian and purchase 'capstar' - you only need one for each dog. It is a pill - they take it, fleas on them are DEAD in 20 minutes. If you have fleas in your home, it will not kill the fleas that jump on them later. Use Frontline plus monthly for prevention of future fleas.

Fleas in carpeting can be killed by sprinkling diamateous earth (natural substance found in home & garden centers) in the carpet, waiting, then vacuuming up.

 

[lulu]

Nancy, Frontline is generally considered less effective in Europe that Stronghold, Frontline has been available otc on Continent for a while, hence a high level of resistance, not sure what the situation in Austrailia for Spirit wolf, is on that. Personally I also have a higher incidence of minor negative reactions with Frontline than I do with stronghold.

The diamateous earth sounds really interesting, I'm going to have a look for that, thanks.

 

[NancyG]

We don't have Stronghold here - what pharmaceutical company markets that? We rarely have any problems with pets using Frontline Plus at our clinic. Out of all the flea/tick preventatives that are sold here, that is what we recommend.

 

[lulu]

Stronghold is a selectamectin sold by Pfizer.
I find both (and I still use frontline in some cases) have very few reactions, and indeed the reaction my guys who reasted to frontline has was mild, but its worth airing in any case. Neither has been an entirely sufficient tick treatment for me over the last two summers. We have had to manually remove several. Its great to compare notes with people elsewhere I haven't been involved professionally with veterinary science for a couple of years, so your info is definitely more upto date than mine -apart from the European reference to Frontline being OTC on continant. It goes OTC in UK in 2007 I think.

 

[middie]

Use a cedar shampoo for your dogs. It can be found at pet supplies plus.
Also try yeast tablets instead of the garlic. It seems to work much better.
If fleas are in your house you will have to wash everything from linens to
curtains and use some kind of flea bomb for the house. Just make sure
you and the animals are away for several hours.

 

[shpj4]

I know about Frontline Plus which is used in getting rid of fleas. As far as shampoos go it is best to use some form of Herbal Shampoo.

Years ago I had fleas in my carpet and I used these flee bombs in every room of my condo. They did the trick and there were no more fleas in my condo.

I have heard of Stronghold and will do some research on it.

Good luck.

 

[SpiritWolf]

Thankyou everyone for your fabulous ideas, I have gotton a lot of ideas from here and intend to try them to see what works, I know I am going to have to buy flea bombs for the house, no other way around it, but if it gets rid of the fleas, I will give anything a go. As for the ticks, they are as good as DEAD, Ha Ha, will take a while to get rid of them all, but we are working on it, Thanks everybody.

 

[Claire]

Hate to say it, but when I worked for a vet I had one answer: Natural is for your pets and even humans to have fleas. Go for the meds. There are some great ones now, and if you live in a year-round warm area there is no reason for your companion and you to suffer. My Keiki is allergic to fleas and the meds have been an absolute blessing. Trying "natural" stuff was a lot of extra work and in the long run, none of it really worked as well as the meds. Before them, I used to have to bathe and dip my two dogs and my mothers every week, because no natural method really worked well. You can buy beneficial nematodes (excuse spelling, don't feel like getting up to research) which will cut down the # of fleas that can live around your house. I don't want to get carried away with brand names, but Frontline is what I use, and that and moving to a location with winter has eased my doggie's life considerably. There are a lot of different products out there now. But having dogs in both Hawaii and Florida, go to your vet and ask for shampoo and monthly meds that work with your own area's climate. I know we're talking dogs here, but cats as well. Cats have a higher metabolism than dogs, so don't think that what will work on your dog will work on your cat.

 

[lindatooo]

I had a flea problem in my house and found out you have to break the cycle - here's how I did it:

I put flea powder into my vaccum and vaccumed every single day for awhile. I sprayed the yard the same day I "bombed" the house and of course all the animals have to be bathed and then combed with a flea comb. Those suckers don't drown - any that don't go all the way down the drain are stunned - not dead! Consequently you have to dispose of any remaining bodies in a sealable plastic bag.

I did medicate my animals for about a year but since then we've had no problems!

Good luck!