The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Diatomaceous Earth
Posted by Pennie (Indpl, In, Usa) on 10/16/2010
★★★★★
Natural Flea & Tick Remedy
Hi everyone! After almost losing our Baby Kitty to those dangerous advantage medications, I decided to figure out a way to live without using them year after year. So I did searches and found out about, " Diatomaceous Earth". This stuff is miraculous! I found mine at the local True Value Store, but you can also buy online at different retailers. BUY: FOOD GRADE! I spread this in all different areas of my lawn as well, and within 48 hours you have no more ticks or fleas. It harms all insects. I have plenty of flowers bees, and other wonderful insects roaming around, but this gets rid of the fleas and ticks really great. And I put it down on the ground on a NON-Windy day. ALSO: WEAR A MASK TO PREVENT BREATHING THIS SUBSTANCE! It worked great and I will never have to buy pesticide and put it on my animals again!! Late fall I again had fleas on my dog and all I did was put small quantity on his fur and within 48 hours all fleas were dead, then I washed him, the fur was slightly dry, but so well worth it to keep him flea free. After 3 days I washed him and put some good conditioner on him and he felt great. Usually you just have to put the Diatomaceous Earth around their tail and back area. Again in the fall, I put more of the earth around the areas that he lays in and no more fleas, after it rains you will have to put it back down again, but it's cheap. I also put it on all my fruit tree's and surrounding tree's to keep the leaf hoppers off, and my tree's look great too! Hope this works for all of you looking for a natural approach. With carefully placing it on the ground, I did not harm any beneficial bugs that roamed freely on my flowers. Lot's-O-Love to all our Animal Lovers out there! Pennie
Borax
Posted by Froopy Dude (Orlando, Fl) on 09/17/2010
★★★★★
Absolutely true. Borax was recommended by a very humane vet. He said that it is the same substance vets sell for over $50. Borax is not quick - can take up to six weeks - but it truly does kill fleas. As stated, just apply it to carpet.
Salt
Posted by Erin (Largo, Fl) on 09/16/2010
★★★★★
I've had a bad flea problem for about a week and tried everything but nothing worked. As a last resort I tried salt. Instead of sprinkling it on the carpets I mixed table salt and hot water in a spray bottle. I sprayed all the carpets, furniture and dog bedding. It worked great, as the water dried it left an even coat of salt on the carpets, was easy to spray under beds and couch and was much less messy then sprinkling a layer of powdered salt over everything. Within an hour I noticed that there was a drastic decrease in the number of fleas and it took less than 10 minutes to spray the entire apartment.
Amethyst
Posted by Janice (Coloma, Mi) on 09/16/2010
★★★★★
You can add me to the YEA list on the amethyst. My homeopathic vet told me under no circumstances to use the flea and tick poison. Having two cats and a dog I was really afraid I was going to get infested with fleas. I had read about the amethyst for fleas a while back on Earth Clinic and decided to try it. All I had was an old amethyst ring (yes, it was polished) and I threw the whole thing in a big bowl that the animals all share. I probably threw it in there around March. It seemed to be working very well and then a friend who has a gem shop gave me some rough amethyst and I threw that in the bowl also. I left the ring in because it was working and I wasn't going to take any chances. They didn't seem to have any problem with it being in there and they drink from it every day. This was a very bad year for fleas and I am thrilled that it worked. I did have to do a lot of explaining about why my ring was in the animal's water dish.
Dish Soap
Posted by Amanda (Palmetto, Ga) on 09/14/2010
★★★★★
This method works great... Thanks so much.
Amethyst
Posted by Isabella (Raleigh, Nc) on 08/30/2010
★★★★★
Yes - it sounds bizarre. I didn't think it would work but decided to try an amethyst rock. I definitely don't believe in healing through crystals and I'm not into anything New Age. I bought a tumbled amethyst - about the size of a half dollar - from an ebay shop. It was less than $5 with shipping. I have 5 cats and a dog and usually spend a fortune in the spring/summer/fall on Frontline treating them for fleas. I started using the rock in April. I treated the cats one time in May and that was to kill ear mites. I have not had any problems with fleas or ticks! In addition, I treated my dog only once this year and that was in May. I was skeptical that this would work for cats and amazed that it has worked for my dog. I could not say exactly how long it took before it began "warding off" the fleas. I leave the rock in their water dish all the time - removing it only to clean and refill the dish. I would not claim this would work for everyone. I've tried many things on earthclinic that haven't worked for me but this is one thing I can say has!
Diatomaceous Earth
Posted by Cleoppa (Cleburne, Tx) on 08/28/2010
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
I've long been a fan of DE. I know it can do wonders, but it has been less than helpful with my recent problems. In trying to discourage fleas and roaches when I was on vacation, I spread it on my carpet. Not only did it not seem to discourage the bugs, but my vacuum cleaner started smoking when I vacuumed it up. There was still dust floating around for days (which really isn't healthful to breathe). I will definitely never try that one again!
Amethyst
Posted by Cleoppa (Cleburne, Tx) on 08/28/2010
★☆☆☆☆
Before trying this, I did a bit of research. Although not a lot of people had commented on their results online, I found that nearly everyone who had cats found this to work and maybe half the people who had dogs did. I thought maybe some other circumstances, such as the size of the amethyst, made a difference. I wanted to get a large amethyst, just in the off-chance it was ingested in the water. I bid on two large (3 inch) amethysts on ebay, expecting to only win one. I ended up winning both. I put them both in my dog's water for some time and saw little, if any difference. So, I'm pretty sure it's not a matter of the amount of the amethyst. Possible there are different types or qualities of amethyst? Or maybe my flea problem was too extreme to it to help? I'm keeping the amethysts in the water and if I do think it makes a difference, I'll post here.
Colloidal Silver
Posted by Rick (Woburn, Ma) on 08/23/2010
★★★★★
I started adding a small amount of home made colloidal silver to my cats drinking water for the recommended health benefits about 6 months ago(maybe a tablespoon per pint). I noticed that he hasn't come home with any fleas or ticks this summer which was a big problem last year.
Diatomaceous Earth
Posted by Kari (Stephenville, Tx Usa) on 08/16/2010
★★★★★
Diatomaceous Earth is completely safe to use, as long as it's human/food grade and NOT pool grade. Most garden stores sell it as well as a plethora of websites. My only suggestion is to not put it on your carpet. Some people have a lot of luck with this, it mostly just made my vacuum cleaner sound [permanently terrible. It still runs fine, there's just a terrible noise when it's running and I can't seem to figure out the real cause (I've taken it apart down to the motor). Also, it's not healthy to breathe in ANY dusts, so wear a mask and remove your pets until the dust settles. Otherwise it's okay for you AND your pets to consume, it's okay to put some on your pets coat (although use caution, it can dry them out). It is a natural dewormer and will rid your animals of every worm EXCEPT for heart-worms. You need about 1 tsp for cats and small dogs, 2 tsp for bigger dogs... 1 tbsp for humans. It really has a lot of benefits. I strongly urge you to research it. I've found the best remedy for fleas is this... Make sure you've found a successful treatment for your animals. I had to switch spot-on treatments because the one I had been using for years was no longer effective. Then you need to treat the infected areas.. Best method for me? Frequent vacuuming. 3-4 times a week, every day if you can manage it. Make sure you throw the bag out or empty the canister outside. I also recommend NOT bathing your animals in chemicals... If you feel it's necessary to bathe them, try to use something like the original Dawn soap, and make sure the first place you get wet and put soap is around the neck... Fleas will always try to travel up to escape... You should never put soap or lots of water on your pets face, so treat the neck FIRST and get it good and lathered. If you wouldn't use it yourself, you probably shouldn't use it on your animals.
Cedarwood Oil
Posted by Ray (Wilmington, Nc) on 06/11/2010
How did you use the cedarwood oil? Did you mix it with anything?
Amethyst
Posted by Kathy (Melbourne, Vic, Australia) on 06/06/2010
★★★★★
Yea - Didn't really believe it would work, but I had tried everything from teatree oil, flea collars, the tubes you squeeze on your dogs back - yet nothing seemed to get rid of my dogs fleas. I read the posts on amethyst and having some amethyst at home, decided to give it a try. I also gave my dog a wash with ACV (only once). I gave my dog a wash a week later, and was shocked to see not one flea. This was months ago now, and have been through the summer months without any more fleas!! My cats also share the same drinking water and they too are thriving without fleas. Can't believe it but it really does work.
Brewer's Yeast
Posted by Robyn (Hampton, Tn) on 05/16/2010
I bought a bottle of brewers yeast at walmart for flea control as I read somewhere it might help.
It made my german shepherd so sick and he got an ear infection right away. I had to take him to the vets to get meds. The vet would not give me oral antibiotics, but gave me ear drops. I wish I had bought fish antibiotics and looked up the dosage from revival animal health or drs foster and smith for him. He ended up biting me really badly because he didnt want the drops put in his ear and I ignored the threat display to get them in his ear and he attacked me...not that it was his fault..he is a wolf hybrid german shepherd and he has a large set of teeth.
Never use brewers yeast for flea control it doesnt work and it causes illness.
ON the contrary, I have a big steel pot I use for all my animals water and every time I fill it up I put a cap ful of apple cider vinegar in it, the best kind is the kind at the health food store but I just use the kind at the dollar store, and it starts working in about two weeks. They dont even notice it is there and it cuts the yeast out of their bodies and the fleas dont really like the taste of it and I also mop with it and I love it for all it does!
Amethyst
Posted by Blackcat (Istanbul, Turkey) on 05/11/2010
★☆☆☆☆
I had put an amethyst stone in my cat's drinking bowl as soon as I came across the posts on amethysts for fleas. I waited almost a week, but did not see a difference, then I started adding apple vinegar to his bowl with the stone still there. Do you think that I should have waited more and that the amethyst still works with vinegar? By the way, it's been weeks since I had started the vinegar but there are still fleas:-( Thank you...
Brewer's Yeast
Posted by Westwind (Orlando, Fl) on 05/03/2010
★★★★★
Brewer's Yeast works! I started using it early last spring, throughout the summer and into early winter. I never saw a flea on my Bassett Hound. I had my doubts living in a humid, hot climate where fleas thrive, but I never saw even 1 flea. I put about a teaspoon on her food at night (she's a small bassett, about 40 lbs). She loves the taste! Brewer's Yeast is natural and filled with other nutritional stuff your dog needs. Give it a try!
Salt
Posted by Bethers (Addy, Washington, Usa) on 04/18/2010
★★★★★
Salt is a gift, cheap and truly shows how bad your flea problem may be in carpet rooms for sure. Lived in a trailer that was engulfed in fleas, we sprinkled salt around the inside perimeter of the home the next morning it looked like we salt and peppered the floor. JUST BEWARE if you have moisture in the the floor it will draw it up to the surface and make a pasty mess with the salt (worth the mess).
Orange Rind
Posted by Rosie (New York, New York) on 03/01/2010
★★★★★
Another natural remedy for fleas is orange rind. Very good for kittens and for your home. I don't know if it works on dogs. Orange rind contains natural chemicals (pyritherins I think) that kill insects. It must be fresh. Use an orange zester - the large or small gauge. Both will express the orange oil out of the skin. Then just move fresh zest over your cat's fur and watch the fleas fall dead. You do not have to rub it in- gentle moving it around in the vicinity of the cat works well. Cats really don't like the orange but it works so well and harms nothing. I zest oranges before making juice and then toss the zest on carpets, let it set about 10 minutes and then vacuum it up. For furniture I place muslin or a sheet on furniture to protect it. Flea free.
I am going to give the amethyst remedy a try too.
Soap Nuts
Posted by Namooni1974 (Portland, Oregon, Usa) on 02/18/2010
Natural Flea, Tick, and Lice remedy
So we have had so many different animals in our family over the years that fleas have been a problem. We have tried so many different products with as many results. All have eventually failed except one. Soap nuts!
A friend introduced us to them for allergies to laundry soap. I found recipies online to make liquid soap out of them. We all now use it as our only household soap (bodywash, shampoo, house keeping,ect..) I bathe the animals monthly with it and stopped having any problems with fleas. We also do not get bitten by mosquitos. I buy my soap nut online, and they last a very long time.They are 100% natural with no side effects and are compostable.
Dish Soap
Posted by Emily (Boonies, Somewhere) on 02/01/2010
★★★★★
I don't know why people keep putting stuff on their pets for fleas, all they need to do is use a flea comb, water, with a few drops of ____ dish soap (not concentrate) and keep going over their pets until they are not on them anymore, then rinse them off with warm NOT hot water. Wash the dog in the tub with the dish soap, and get all the fleas off, when you pick them off put them in a bowl of a little dish soap and water. Wash any flea down a hot sink drain and keep the water running so they can't crawl back up. Do not let the pets back in the area where there are fleas!! Which mean that you FIRST had to clean up a room to put them in after you are done with the flea combs and baths. To treat the room first vac really well, repeat and repeat! Burn the bag! Don't keep that bag in the house or anywhere they can crawl out! Use a carpet cleaner with very hot water and vinegar, go over everything and under any cushions and under furniture! Once dry go over the carpet and under any cushions and furniture with the vac again, repeat and repeat..Burn that bag too! You will need to keep going back and using the flea comb, water and dish soap on the pets to make sure you got every last one, which means to do it after a few hours again. Repeat the flea comb the next day and keep using your vac. I got rid of the fleas in my home and off all of my cats and dog doing exactly this! It works, but you can't allow pets back in an area that has fleas, they will only hop back on your pet!
Garlic
Posted by Angela (Maple Falls, Wa) on 12/29/2009
★★★★★
Natural Flea Treatment
Last summer we had an extreme flea problem, all of our animals were infested ! We are always more inclined to use a natural remedy instead of chemicals, as we have a special needs child.
First we started adding a small amount of minced garlic to the pets food (you can also use aged kyolic garlic found in health food stores )
Second, we washed all bedding, and sprayed furniture with a mix of 8oz water with 20 drops each of lavender/tea tree oils.
Lastly, we bathed the animals and sprayed them down with citrus water :
RECIPE : In a large bowl of boiled water , add 2 quartered lemons and 2 quartered limes , let sit covered overnight . Strain liquid into spray bottle and use to spray pets coat( avoiding the face and other sensitive areas) bonus ~ They smell great LOL. I store any left over in the fridge .
Another great idea is to sprinkle carpets with 20 mule team borax at night before bed, then vacuum in the morning . We no longer have a flea problem :0)
