Debunking the Organic Flea Cure Myth
There’s a wide variety of different myths surrounding pet care that have continued to spread amongst pet owners, some as old as the 1950’s. One of the big ones involves a cure-all “organic” dog flea solution. This flea removal myth comes from the belief that organic practices are somehow more ‘pure’ and sometimes even more effective than any synthetic/non-organic pet product. The organic dog flea solution may also come from the misguided principle that all the currently available flea treatment products are potentially harmful to your pet. After a recent email asking for clarification on whether or not using all organic/natural flea treatments can be an effective alternative to chemical based products we decided to weigh in on the phenomenon.
When first confronting your dogs’ flea problem, you can actually find some success by taking an all out organic attack on the pests, though results will vary dependent on the level of infestation, the breed and health of your pet and also the environment that your pet lives in. Many pet owners think that going organic simply means limiting your options to giving your pet an organic-based flea shampoo bath followed by manually removing fleas from your pet using a comb + brush combo.
While it is true that using organic based products is typically a safe bet you can make when purchasing products you need to keep in mind that sometimes it might not be enough. If you only buy all-organic pet products, you may be worsening your dogs’ flea problem considerably by setting these limitations. While an all-organic based flea shampoo bath is a good start, your pet will need more than just a bath to keep the parasites away for good. Besides, in order for this approach to work you’d need to give your pet a bath on a pretty regular basis which is a strain on spare-time not to mention water resources.
If you really want to keep fleas away for good you will need to combine an organic flea shampoo bath with other natural means to repel parasites as well. This means keeping the environment that your pet lives in flea/parasite free. You’ll only find yourself frustrated with your dogs’ flea problem if fail to rid your home of all possible flea eggs and larvae that are scattered about. Important steps for a successful ‘natural’ flea prevention starts with washing your pets bedding with hot water, letting it dry in the sun completely before putting it back where it belongs. Make sure to vacuum your carpets and/or rugs, steam cleaning them if possible, to kill any growing flea larvae. You might hate to read this next part but another key step in preventing flea and tick attacks involves keeping a clean lawn, so don’t skimp on your weekly lawn-mowing. What mowing does is it removes all possible flea or tick breeding grounds that might be lurking just outside your backdoor.
As far as manually removing any visible flea and ticks using a special brush or comb, this will only temporarily help ease any discomfort your pet is going through, it won’t actually prevent it from quickly returning because the larvae and eggs will still be there. Those fine toothed flea combs never really pick up anything smaller than the half-grown bugs. I’d be a fool by not also adding that the amount of effort involved in keeping your pet flea-free by hand really gets tiresome by the third and fourth day of manual flea-removal (Yes, they really can come back that fast without proper treatment). Instead something to try is to add other organic solutions (e.g. applying diatomaceous earth) to prevent the possibility that the fleas will be able to lay any new eggs in combination with the flea-shampoo bath.
How Did My Dog Get Fleas?
It’s a widely fact that dogs have a pretty good chance of getting fleas at some point in their lifetime. Some will actually seem like they’re a magnet for the little pests. Regardless, there are a couple things you should know about flea control and what to look out for.
Fleas can typically be seen fast moving over your dog’s skin and love to hang out near the base of the dogs tail and behind his ears. Flea droppings look like tiny bits of grit and are especially visible on the dog’s belly.
Even though there are a large number of different types of flea control products available from your VET I would suggest you to use a natural or “over the counter” flea treatment. A recent ASPCA warning has been issued to dog and cat owners regarding the type of flea and tick remedies currently being used. There have been an alarming number of dogs becoming sick and dying! This leads to the entire industry being investigatedscrutinized, and rightfully so. Bear in mind that not only are the over-the-counter products safe but they usually significantly cheaper as well!
It’s important that you should treat your house and car often in order to kill off the larvae or adult fleas. Fleas like warm areas so you need to pay extra attention to those parts of your home such as the carpet beneath the radiators,the living-room and the bedroom. Try to remember to treat all pet bedding as well. If you only treat the pet and not its environment then you will be leaving all the eggs to hatch out and re-infect the animal all over again.
Canine fleas are quite indiscriminate and will infest a clean healthy dog just as much as the dirty neglected one. Flea bites can cause extreme irritation to the pet. Some dogs can also become allergic to the flea saliva which is injected into the skin when the flea bites. As well as the irritation of the flea bite fleas are also the intermediate host of the tapeworm.
At one time flea infestations were confined to the summer months but these days with more and more homes being centrally heated that is no longer the case. Fleas like warmth and will hatch their eggs in the gap between the skirting board and the carpet, between the floorboards, in the pile of fitted carpets and in the dogs bedding and basket.
After the baby flea eggs hatch the larvae stage can remain dormant for anything up to a year if the temp is not warm enough, before jumping onto the next passing host–perhaps your dog or worse you!–for a meal. Fleas do not live on the dog but simply use him as a source of food. They will live in your home and anywhere where the dog regularly goes, such as the car.
Only by paying close attention to flea control will you be able to ensure that your dog is kept clear of these prolific parasites. One of the best ways to prevent fleas from become a problem in your home is to regularly use the vacuum cleaner. A clean home is a pet friendly home.
