Natural flea preventatives

[Giselle]

Tried the whole garlic thing. Didn't work as well as I hoped it would. As soon as I took him off Advantage, the fleas came back within a few weeks to months. While I'm a firm believer in natural diets and such, I honestly don't believe one single supplement like nutritional yeast or garlic can prevent fleas entirely. You could focus on improving the immune system as a whole which has been suggested to repel against fleas, but who knows? It's all up for conjecture.

[wolfsoul]

I agree. One supplement just doesn't cut it. It all comes down to the dog's immune system, and that can be a terrible thing to "fix." There's the occasional breakout at my work and it really goes to show which dogs have the healthy immune systems. The dog with thyroid problems that gets cysts is always the one to get fleas the worst. Visa's the only one that never gets anything. Doesn't surprise me, she's a very healthy dog.

If you're looking for natural remedies, try as many things as you can. Feed garlic, bathe in shampoo that contains cedar, citrus, eucalyptus, coconut, tea tree oil, peppermint, etc. Spray these oils on the dog and around your hlouse. You can stuff the dog's bed with cedar shavings (though I'd avoid this because of long term affects on the dog's respiratory system that the cedar could cause). There are herbal flea collars out there, though I think they are about as stupid and pointless as chemical ones. I've done alot of research over the years on fleas and, in my opinion, it really all comes down to whether or not the dog's immune system is strong enough to control the fleas. My dogs have been around other dogs that have a full fledged infestation, and I've never had a single problem. But, my dogs also eat a raw diet, get plenty of herbal supplements (including Wormex which helps to dispell of worm and lice -- I assume fleas would be on the list), get plenty of exercise, and have no underlying issues.