Fleas? Oh Geez....

So, with 5 animals in our house, and in a climate that is very supportive of fleas, we are no strangers to these gross pests. But, for the past year or so, the fleas have seemed to leave us alone, and I forgot what a huge pain in the butt they are to deal with.
About 2 months ago, Moshi, our puppy, started to itch. And I mean itch. Really bad, non-stop, itching. We thought she was having an allergy to something she was eating. We decided it couldn't possibly be fleas, because the heart worm meds that our dogs take also prevent fleas from reproducing. So, while fleas may come in contact with them, they can't have babies and the population should be self limiting. Or so I thought.....
Eventually, after Moshi was so itchy that she had scabs on her back and her face was swelling, I brought her into the vet for help. Fleas, they told me. She has fleas. They found one on her. Only one. Hmmmm. So, my first question was how does one flea cause a reaction like this? Answer: an extreme flea allergy. Lovely. We have a dog that is extremely allergic to fleas. My second question was how is she having this reaction when she is on a flea preventative? Sadly, since we also have cats in our home, that we were not treating for fleas, they were acting as the reproductive hosts, and then the fleas could bounce back and forth from the dogs (but could only breed when on the cats). I was told that I would have to constantly treat all 5 animals with a flea medicine, otherwise Moshi would continue to have serious reactions to the few fleas that were in our environment. An hour and a couple hundred dollars later, I left the vet with a couple months worth of flea treatments for our zoo.
I was told that these spot-on topical treatments (we chose Advantage) were completely safe for our dogs, as well as for us. In fact, the vet said, some of the drug reps even come in here and lick this stuff to show us how safe it is. I thought that that sounded like a very stupid idea, and still thought the medicine posed some risks, but what else was I going to do? My dog was allergic to fleas. The vets assured me it was safe, gave me no warnings or precautions... how bad could it be?
We gave the animals the first round when I got home, the itching subsided, and everyone seemed happy. Well, today the animal's monthly dose of flea meds was due. Todd put it on the pets, we made dinner, and as we sat down to eat, we noticed a big "stain" on our leather couch. Upon closer inspection, that "satin" was really an area where the leather finish had been stripped away.... by the topical flea treatment after the dogs had laid down (see photo below).
This of course, freaked me out, and I ran to the computer. Yup, these treatments could act as solvents and strip away finishes.. if it was doing that to the couch, what is it doing to the skin on my animals? Further research suggested that these flea treatments are in fact not benign, like I was told, but full of potentially dangerous chemicals that could harm my pets or the people in my house!
So, I spent the next half hour or so researching some completely natural methods or keeping the fleas out of house... without any toxins. I thought I would share what I found here.

1. Use herbs to repel fleas. Fill a squirt bottle with essential oils of clove, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, rosemary, cedar, or citronella (or your favorite combination) and spray pet with it every week or so to keep fleas away.
2. Bath animals regularly. For dogs, rinse with water that has been steeped overnight with lemons to repel fleas. I heard cat's skin was too sensitive for this.
3. Add brewers yeast and garlic to their food to repel fleas
4. Add zinc (10 mg for cats and 20 mg for dogs) to their food daily
5. Keep the house clean! Vacuum the floors and furniture and then empty vacuum bag outside into trash. If you leave it in the vacuum, or dump it in the inside trash, any eggs could hatch and re-infect the house. Wash all pet bedding and dry on hot cycle in dryer on regular basis.
6. Use diatemaceous earth. This is basically small pieces of silica that will kill fleas without being harmful to pets or kids, even if swallowed. You can sprinkle it around house, especially into cracks, sprinkle onto pet bedding, and even rub into your pet's fur.

I am ready to stop using these chemicals and try some natural methods for keeping the fleas away. Do you have pets? Do you have to treat for fleas in your area? If so, how do you do it? Do you have any great natural remedies to share?

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No More Fleas Please?

Kids love pets. We have 7 of them (yes, I did type that correctly, 7); 4 dogs and 3 cats. So, fleas are a fairly significant issue at our house. We have never used actual flea collars for our pets, but today I read some alarming news about the dangers of using them, particularly with children in the home. In short, residues can come off of the collars onto the animals fur. When children (or adults!) pet the animals, they can come into contact with this toxic residue, posing a risk for both neurological disorders and cancer.
You can read more information about the study here.
For a list of non-invasive and kid-friendly ways to combat fleas, check out green paws.
And, to sign a NRDC petition to the EPA to prohibit the use of these toxic chemicals in products used on our pets and near our children, click here.
We have been using Advantage flea control on our pets, although we only use it a few times a year instead of the recommended dose each month (in hopes to reduce the amount of chemicals entering our home). Although the vet said that these products are perfectly safe for both animals and humans, I still have my doubts. That said, I have not had much luck finding any reliable sources of information on the dangers posed by Advantage, frontline, etc. If anyone knows of a good source of information on these flea products, I would love some insight. Until then. I will keep searching.
And, as for the fleas..... after reading this most recent information, I think that I may try and forgo the flea meds for awhile and start a strict regiment of brushing, bathing, and laundering dog beds. We do all these things, but not every 2 weeks (especially the bathing part.... 7 animals.... ugg.) I thought about adopting a flea-eating animal, but apparently nothing eats fleas. Go figure. Pin It Now!