I Am Planning Next Years Attack on Fleas!

photo courtesy of blmurch

In the last few years, it seems like there have been more and more fleas and they have been harder and harder to get kill. Being a groomer, my world revolves around fleas and flea control from June through November. Flea control is more of a challenge every year. I end up using harsher and harsher chemicals to kill the fleas on the dogs, in the shop and at home.

I have always been a huge natural dog care proponent and feed my dogs natural foods, farm raised eggs, goats milk and vegetables. This keeps them in glowing good health but then I sabotage it all by dousing them with poisons. This year, I am going to try something new.

Natural Flea Control

I have been studying natural flea control methods and products. Diatomaceous earth (DE) seems to be the big winner. This basically very fine crushed fossilized skeletons of microscopic organisms. They have very sharp edges. They are so small that they won’t hurt you or your pet but cut fleas up so that they dehydrate and die.

You can sprinkle DE on your pet, in your yard, your carpet, on your furniture and some people even give it to their dogs orally to kill internal parasites. DE is totally non toxic and the fleas can’t build up a resistance to it because it works mechanically (by cutting them up) instead of chemically.

With everything else that I do, I don’t have time to concoct my own so I have looked at prepared products. The product that I have decided on is sold by one of our sponsors, All Natural Flea Control for Dog & Cats at Only Natural Pet Store . The reviews seem to be mixed but I believe that part of that is a) incorrect application and b) expecting immediate results!

With any natural product, you are not going to see the immediate kill that you do with chemicals. It takes time for the fleas to come in contact with it and then to die from the exposure. You will also want to follow the directions with regard to the amounts to use on both pets and carpet. The last time I spoke with Dr. Swann, she was using DE to control fleas and parasites on her own animals.

This product covers all three zones, the dog, the house and the yard. You can't beat that.

Petsafe Wireless Instant Fence

If you are like me, trying to fence in your property to keep your dogs in is a nightmare. When I moved here, there were NO fences. I have 7 dogs. Eeeek. Thankfully they are all pretty well trained so I can take them out with me when I am out in the yard but training doesn't help much when they want to go out at 5 am or in the pouring rain.

I spent most of the summer fighting ticks and fleas because all the dogs were roaming about the fields and woods. And then there were the burrs. I have Cavalier King Charles Spaniels who are known for their long luxurious ears. Sigh, I pulled most of their luxurious hair out when I pulled out the burrs this summer.

I found salvation with a Petsafe Wireless Instant Fence. For those of us who don't want to put up traditional fences, this is a god send. I had thought about Invisible fence but didn't have the means to bury wire all over my property. Who does? Unless you have the money to have it professionally installed, it is a labor intensive job.

With the Instant fence, all you do is plug in the transmitter and put the collar on the dog. It took my big dogs about 2 minutes to go out of range, get a small shock and shoot back towards the house. They did this about twice before they figured out that the beep meant DO NOT pass go.

The next two or three days, they spent huddled on the porch. They were pretty sure that the invisible bees were out there. After the initial two days, they started to move out into the yard and after a week, they had figured out exactly where they could and couldn't go. Now they never even get the initial beep.

Pros:

• Easy Installation
• Wireless
• Transportable (throw it in the trunk and take it to grandmas)
• Adjustable

Cons:

• Initial cost ($289 for reciever and one collar, additional collars around $120)
• Collars are big and heavy for small dogs
• Doesn't keep other dogs out
• Collar batteries need to be checked and replaced regularly

All things considered, I love the system. It cost me about a 10th as much as putting up fence and it looks a whole lot better. Now if I could just get my neighbors to buy one for their dogs...

I don't carry this at the shop yet but would be happy to order one for you.