Salt for fleas??

[phoebe_schwartz]

Hi.

I found out my dog has fleas :(

I'm against using any chemicals on my dog, and I'm definitely not going to use any spot on etc.

I'm looking for a natural solution. I already read that I can put Lemon in the dog's water bowl, but since it's so sour, I think it's risky. Then I found here http://www.bestfleamedicinefordogs.com/articles/natural-flea-killer/ that I can use SALT against fleas.

Does someone have an experience with salt? Does it look safe to you to use salt? I'm afraid that my dog will actually eat the salt if I sprinkle it on the carpet and on him. I don't know how good this is.

Please help :(

[Karen]

I have never heard of using salt for fleas - and that makes me think of the prevalence of sand fleas at the beach - which obviously do not object to salt!

Lemon is sour to us, but dogs' tastebuds are much different than ours, but I do not think that would help with fleas any, either!

I know some people use a tiny bit of garlic powder in their dog's food - but one has to be careful, as garlic can be toxic if you give too much of it to a dog!

[Freedom]

Prevention is one thing; ridding once you have them, is a completely different situation.

I use garlic in my pets' food regularly, as a deterrent. However, the one time I did have fleas on a pet, I wanted and needed them gone, asap. I can't risk having the house infested, which is a HUGE process to rid the house of them. Nor can I risk having the humans and the other pets getting flea bites. Some of my pets are allergic to flea saliva so I'd have huge costs that route.

I've never heard of using salt. I took at look at the link you provided. I notice that you can NOT put the salt on the pet; and so, any fleas on the dog are going to remain on the dog. I have heard the bath option, using the herbs listed, and I know of people who have done that successfully. But remember, you have to bath the dog a LOT to succeed, and so you need to monitor for dry skin. Getting them off your dog may also mean they move -- to another pets, humans, carpetting, upholstery, so you have to address them at several different levels.

[Jessika]

I've never heard of anyone using salt for fleas.

As stated, flea prevention and flea treatment are two completely different ball games.

I have heard of owners using diatomaceous earth for fleas, but I have no personal experience, nor do I know of anyone directly that has used this before. But this link may be helpful: http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/parasites/a/Diatomaceous-Earth-For-Flea-Control.htm

I understand not wanting to use chemicals on your pets. When it comes to a flea infestation, you need to understand that once you're seeing fleas on your pets that they've been in the environment for quite some time. As in.... your house and yard. You will need to not only treat ALL household pets for fleas for a MINIMUM of 3 months (due to the life cycle of the fleas), you will also need to treat your house as well. Daily vacuuming, emptying the bag/canister OUTSIDE of the house (or emptying it inside and then immediately bringing the bag outdoors to prevent eggs hatching and climbing back out) and also rinsing out the canister (if you have a bagless vacuum). Vigorous washing of ALL bedsheets and linens, paying special care to areas that your pets frequent (the couch, bed, etc). Clean ALL dog beds and try to limit your pets' access to laying on stuff that is difficult to vacuum or keep clean like couches and beds.

Bathing the pets is fine; you don't necessarily need to buy a flea shampoo as water alone will kill fleas. You don't want to bathe them TOO frequently, though, as you can cause other skin/haircoat issues by doing it too frequently. Also, even with flea shampoos you will not have any residual effect from using bathing products. They will get rid of all/most fleas on the pet at the time but does not prevent them from becoming reinfested by fleas in the environment.

You need to treat the pets AND treat the household and possibly the outdoor environment where they got them from... or you will continue to have a recurring problem.

Good luck!

[llennoccm56]

Hi.

I found out my dog has fleas :(

I'm against using any chemicals on my dog, and I'm definitely not going to use any spot on etc.

I'm looking for a natural solution. I already read that I can put Lemon in the dog's water bowl, but since it's so sour, I think it's risky. Then I found here http://www.bestfleamedicinefordogs.com/articles/natural-flea-killer/ that I can use SALT against fleas.

Does someone have an experience with salt? Does it look safe to you to use salt? I'm afraid that my dog will actually eat the salt if I sprinkle it on the carpet and on him. I don't know how good this is.

Please help :(

Dawn dish washing liquid works extremely well for fleas, you can actually see them dying and falling into the water.

Sign, New Mommie

[llennoccm56]

Dawn dish washing liquid works extremely well, I use it when the fleas are really bad
and then I'm sure to get some flea stuff (medicine)

But I guarantee dawn will work well!!

[earllloyd]

I experienced also this fleas problem with my dog and my friend advice me to do a natural remedy. I always give my dog a bath and I use a gentle shampoo, I was first the part where fleas can find. After that, I make my own herbal flea dip and then when my dog is dry I use a flea comb. For the last, before I put the collar of my pet I put on drops of eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, citronella, lavender, or geranium and do it weekly.

[Jessika]

Bathing with products like Dawn works well for getting rid of any fleas currently on the pet, but has NO residual effect for keeping them off.

You also have to be mindful not to use Dawn if you've applied any topical flea prevention, as dawn will strip the product off.

Water alone will kill fleas...