Natural Solutions for Fleas . . . and More
May 2005
Natural Pet Care
By Alexa Petrenko
I recently ran into a dog owner who had doused her terrier in chemical anti-flea medicine. Unfortunately, according to Deborah Straw, author of Why is Cancer Killing Our Pets?, some commercial flea products can be quite toxic, or even carcinogenic for dogs and cats. After reading an article in the Globe and Mail about the latest Toronto infestation of bed bugs and how difficult it was to get rid of them with expensive and toxic chemical pest control, followed shortly after by another article on Toronto’s termite infestation, I felt I had write about a natural solution.
There usually is no nice way to get rid of pests, but there is a simple, safe, natural, effective and cheap choice that controls insects by physical, not chemical, means. It’s non-toxic, it doesn’t smell, it doesn’t cause cancer, and it’s available at health food stores and green stores like Grassroots. This miracle substance is called diatomaceous earth. The reason it’s not widely known is unfortunately quite a usual one: though it can solve a ton of problems, it’s not going to make anybody any money.
Diatomaceous earth is a fine white powder, made from the ground up fossilized remains of diatoms, a kind of sea algae. The edges of each grain of powder are so sharp that they make tiny cuts in the hard exoskeleton of any insect upon contact, causing the insect to dehydrate and die within a matter of hours. Since the action is physical, insects don’t build up a resistance.
For fleas on pets pour some of the powder into your hands and rub it all over your dog or cat or gerbil or even birds (it works great for those microscopic red mites that attack the legs of pet birds). Some of the powder will fall off where the animal sleeps, killing fleas in the bedding. You might want to repeat this a few times, two or three days apart, until all fleas are gone. And again in a few weeks in case new eggs have hatched that survived the original powdering.
For bedbugs, dust the bed frame and the mattress, under the bed and around the bed, including cracks in the floor and where the wall meets the floor. You can also dust the carpet and vacuum it all up a few days later when the job is done.
For cockroaches in the kitchen, dust the floor and the cupboards, corners and cracks, under the sink, behind the stove. Even sprinkle some in the garbage can. For ants, same idea, but include window and door sills.
For silverfish, sprinkle some in the tub or shower overnight.
For slugs and snails in your flowerbeds or vegetable garden, sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around your plants and even on them. (Though still manually remove the beasties first, as diatomaceous earth is not selective, and will also kill the crickets that chirp so beautifully and the ladybugs that eat unwanted aphids. Reapply after rain.)
If you’ve got an infestation of houseflies, you can sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the windows or counters where they hang out. Mosquitoes too; if you can get them to land in it, problem solved. And I see no reason why it shouldn’t work on head lice, should your child come home inflicted. Just rub some into the scalp and repeat as needed.
So if you ever find yourself with creepy crawly pest problems, don’t panic, and especially don’t resort to unnecessary toxic chemicals. A little white miracle powder called diatomaceous earth will do the trick. Now if it only worked on mice . . .
.................
Editor’s note: The practice of rubbing diatomaceous earth on the coats of pets is a controversial one – not endorsed by all practitioners of natural health for pets. Here is an excerpt from Why is Cancer Killing Our Pets? by Deborah Straw:
Alternatives to Chemical Flea and Tick Products
So what are your options for flea and tick control if you do not wish to use sprays, pills, or injections? Several healthy alternatives do exist. Richard Pitcairn, DVM, lists some of these in his book (Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats):
• Apply herbal flea powder “sparingly” to your pet’s coat
• Use herbal flea collars
• Apply natural skin tonic as a general skin toner, parasite repellant, and mange treatment
• Add nutritional or brewer’s yeast and garlic to the animal’s diet
• Treat your carpets with a special anti-flea mineral salt
• Occasionally (once or twice a year) sprinkle natural, unrefined diatomaceous earth (which kills insects) along your walls, under your furniture, and in cracks where you cannot vacuum, but not directly on your animals.
• Use sprays or powders containing pyrethrins or natural pyrethrums, which are the least toxic of all insecticides used on pets.
.........
The book goes on to cover the opinions of several other alternative veterinarians regarding natural flea treatments, which is a good summary of the prevailing opinions on the subject. Why Is Cancer Killing Our Pets – How You Can Protect and Treat Your Animal Companion, published by Healing Arts Press, Vermont, 2000, is available in bookstores, or online at www.InnerTraditions.com.
Personally, due to the sharp edges on the diatoms, I would have some concerns about diatomaceous earth being inhaled frequently by pets and humans.
As a side note, in Arthritis and Folk Medicine, Dr. DC Jarvis says that putting a tablespoon of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar in your dog’s meals each day will cause fleas to fall off the dog’s body after about a month, while at the same time making the coat shiny and clearing up skin problems. For more on the book, see Woodford Files in this issue.
I recently ran into a dog owner who had doused her terrier in chemical anti-flea medicine. Unfortunately, according to Deborah Straw, author of Why is Cancer Killing Our Pets?, some commercial flea products can be quite toxic, or even carcinogenic for dogs and cats. After reading an article in the Globe and Mail about the latest Toronto infestation of bed bugs and how difficult it was to get rid of them with expensive and toxic chemical pest control, followed shortly after by another article on Toronto’s termite infestation, I felt I had write about a natural solution.
There usually is no nice way to get rid of pests, but there is a simple, safe, natural, effective and cheap choice that controls insects by physical, not chemical, means. It’s non-toxic, it doesn’t smell, it doesn’t cause cancer, and it’s available at health food stores and green stores like Grassroots. This miracle substance is called diatomaceous earth. The reason it’s not widely known is unfortunately quite a usual one: though it can solve a ton of problems, it’s not going to make anybody any money.
Diatomaceous earth is a fine white powder, made from the ground up fossilized remains of diatoms, a kind of sea algae. The edges of each grain of powder are so sharp that they make tiny cuts in the hard exoskeleton of any insect upon contact, causing the insect to dehydrate and die within a matter of hours. Since the action is physical, insects don’t build up a resistance.
For fleas on pets pour some of the powder into your hands and rub it all over your dog or cat or gerbil or even birds (it works great for those microscopic red mites that attack the legs of pet birds). Some of the powder will fall off where the animal sleeps, killing fleas in the bedding. You might want to repeat this a few times, two or three days apart, until all fleas are gone. And again in a few weeks in case new eggs have hatched that survived the original powdering.
For bedbugs, dust the bed frame and the mattress, under the bed and around the bed, including cracks in the floor and where the wall meets the floor. You can also dust the carpet and vacuum it all up a few days later when the job is done.
For cockroaches in the kitchen, dust the floor and the cupboards, corners and cracks, under the sink, behind the stove. Even sprinkle some in the garbage can. For ants, same idea, but include window and door sills.
For silverfish, sprinkle some in the tub or shower overnight.
For slugs and snails in your flowerbeds or vegetable garden, sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around your plants and even on them. (Though still manually remove the beasties first, as diatomaceous earth is not selective, and will also kill the crickets that chirp so beautifully and the ladybugs that eat unwanted aphids. Reapply after rain.)
If you’ve got an infestation of houseflies, you can sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the windows or counters where they hang out. Mosquitoes too; if you can get them to land in it, problem solved. And I see no reason why it shouldn’t work on head lice, should your child come home inflicted. Just rub some into the scalp and repeat as needed.
So if you ever find yourself with creepy crawly pest problems, don’t panic, and especially don’t resort to unnecessary toxic chemicals. A little white miracle powder called diatomaceous earth will do the trick. Now if it only worked on mice . . .
.................
Editor’s note: The practice of rubbing diatomaceous earth on the coats of pets is a controversial one – not endorsed by all practitioners of natural health for pets. Here is an excerpt from Why is Cancer Killing Our Pets? by Deborah Straw:
Alternatives to Chemical Flea and Tick Products
So what are your options for flea and tick control if you do not wish to use sprays, pills, or injections? Several healthy alternatives do exist. Richard Pitcairn, DVM, lists some of these in his book (Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats):
• Apply herbal flea powder “sparingly” to your pet’s coat
• Use herbal flea collars
• Apply natural skin tonic as a general skin toner, parasite repellant, and mange treatment
• Add nutritional or brewer’s yeast and garlic to the animal’s diet
• Treat your carpets with a special anti-flea mineral salt
• Occasionally (once or twice a year) sprinkle natural, unrefined diatomaceous earth (which kills insects) along your walls, under your furniture, and in cracks where you cannot vacuum, but not directly on your animals.
• Use sprays or powders containing pyrethrins or natural pyrethrums, which are the least toxic of all insecticides used on pets.
.........
The book goes on to cover the opinions of several other alternative veterinarians regarding natural flea treatments, which is a good summary of the prevailing opinions on the subject. Why Is Cancer Killing Our Pets – How You Can Protect and Treat Your Animal Companion, published by Healing Arts Press, Vermont, 2000, is available in bookstores, or online at www.InnerTraditions.com.
Personally, due to the sharp edges on the diatoms, I would have some concerns about diatomaceous earth being inhaled frequently by pets and humans.
As a side note, in Arthritis and Folk Medicine, Dr. DC Jarvis says that putting a tablespoon of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar in your dog’s meals each day will cause fleas to fall off the dog’s body after about a month, while at the same time making the coat shiny and clearing up skin problems. For more on the book, see Woodford Files in this issue.