Got Fleas? We can help.

Let’s start this blog out by tackling a problem that so many dog owners face here in sunny San Diego – Fleas.  Flea season never really ends here in southern California, but we’re definitely in the peak season right now.  We recently came across an article published in The Whole Dog Journal that addresses the dangers of using topical “Spot-On” flea treatments, and immediately set out to find a safer way to combat fleas.  Pesticides and Insecticides have been linked to serious health problems in dogs and cats, not to mention the potential risks to the humans who care for them, so we no longer sell, use or recommend them.  In our experience, these products are losing effectiveness – we constantly see flea-infested dogs who were recently treated with “Spot-On” flea products.  Can it be that fleas are becoming immune to these poisons?  Possibly, but we also believe that these insecticides are damaging our pets organs, thereby weakening their immune systems, which invites these parasites to attack our beloved pets.  Let’s face it, fleas have inhabited this earth for a very long time and to think that they can be eliminated is just wishful thinking.  In order to keep these parasites off our pets, we can’t just put some poison on them and think that’s all we have to do to solve the problem – we need to practice Integrated Pest Management.

Integrated Pest Management involves more than just trying to kill the fleas on our pets – they must be eliminated from our homes and yards.  There are many ways we can control them inside our homes – the cheapest method is vacuuming daily, laundering pets bedding at least weekly and using a flea comb to manually remove fleas from our pets.  Yes, this sounds like quite a bit of work, and it is, but the payoff is that our pets aren’t being poisoned by toxic chemicals (and we aren’t exposing ourselves to these chemicals, either).  Other “safe” methods include sprinkling boric acid (“Borax”) or regular table salt all over the carpet, leaving it down for a day or two and vacuuming it up (best if repeated a few times consecutively) or using an organic, non-toxic product such as Evolv or Bio-Defense & Eco-Treat made by Wondercide (available in our shop or at www.wondercide.com).  Wondercide’s products are made from organic cedar oil and are very effective at killing fleas.  Keep in mind that because these products do not contain any chemicals, you cannot use too much and are encouraged to use them liberally.  More on these and other products later.

You must decide if you are willing to risk the health of yourself, your family and pets by resorting to the use of Insecticides, but we encourage you to educate yourself as much as possible and don’t just use “Spot-On” flea treatments because your vet sold it to you.  Please contact us for more information.

Advertisement

Tags: fleas, integrated pest management, natural flea control, spot-on flea treatment