Flea Prevention - Cedar Cide aka Best Yet

[Jessika]

I sometimes wonder if all of the flea medications the vets give out are not making the fleas immune and actually making the flea population worse.

We're seeing this happening now with frontline in our area.

[wolfsoul]

Have to agree that the phenols in cedar oil are not good for the respiratory system. However I suppose I'd still much rather see people use cedar to avoid fleas, than the more popular chemical products which are much more harmful to the system. I do like to see people researching some different options.
There is a really great recipe that gets passed around the Belgian list I am on.. Contains different oils and essences, and they swear by it for fleas, and it's completely safe. I should see if I can find it. It's probably alot of the same stuff I use for myself against mosquitoes, I just buy it at the health store.
As for cedar, maybe when there is already a problem? But I probably wouldn't use it as a preventative. I wouldn't use the harsh chemicals either. We don't have a flea problem in my area anyways. Even lice, who were once typical for my area, have really died down. In 2006 I saw 5-6 dogs a day with lice. Now I have not seen a single case in over 3 years. My other groomer friend sees about 3 cases a year on average. I haven't seen fleas in, gosh, probably 5 or 6 years.

[Karen]

Down here in the states we had a much warmer than normal winter, which is why the flea problem is so much worse in some areas. That's also the reason Triple E - which effects people and horses, and West Nile are happening a lot more, as they are mosquito-borne diseases.