Natural Flea & Tick Prevention for Dogs, By Tami McFadden
I think I would be right in saying that nobody ever welcomed fleas into their life in any way shape or form. Fleas are tenacious in life and repopulate fast. Some pets are more predisposed to gaining a few, some really like to hang on to them and then we see infestations. Why might that be? Let's have a closer look at fleas as a whole.
Flea Facts to make you itchy and scratchy!
On the whole, fleas have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
An adult flea will not come out to say “Hello” until there is a host, staying in a cocoon helps keep them safe until a bloody meal is on offer for them, like something from a horror movie, one that makes you all itchy and scratchy.
Once a flea has eaten they can mate, lay eggs and the whole process continues.
Eggs take anywhere from one to ten days to hatch, weather depending. A warmer temperature and humidity is preferred.
A female flea can lay upto 50 eggs a day.(Gross but pretty darn impressive)
Why Does My Dog Get Fleas?
One or two fleas may jump on a dog every so often, a healthy dog will usually shake them off never to be seen again.
If a dog happens to be a little low, elderly, unwell or sensitive then they may attract a few or more fleas. A dog with lighter skin pigmentation could also be more predisposed as these dogs are often more sensitive to environmental triggers or immune issues in general. Those with gut issues such as colitis, IBD or generally a sensitive tum are usually easy hosts, if gut healing is put in place things usually change for the better. As always, gut health is the number 1 challenge to address.
Working on a fresh diet and any help on the immune system you can give with the appropriate food addition or supplement. Help can be given with this from a nutritionist. Many nutritionists can be found but we highly recommend the wonderful team at www.mypetnutritionist.com
Our Flea, Tick and Worm Supplement was created for those dogs who need a little more, as well as those who wish for more natural preventative methods.
https://mrslobberchops.com/products/flea-tick-intestinal-hygiene-in-food-supplement-for-dogs
Dog Grooming
Many dogs are good at self grooming, an added brush and comb and daily check will also help. If your dog likes to be hoovered, go for it. Does your dog have a self grooming session often? If not then you need to ensure you are on top of it.
A body check on your dog helps show any changes in the dogs condition and health.
A fine tooth or flea comb is a must for everyone to check for fleas but also mats in the fur after brushing.
Flea and Tick Treatments
Many of the chemical flea and tick products are failing, they do not prevent and create a heavy chemical burden in the body. There is a growing number of reactions to many of the current flea and tick chemicals used, these are often severe and include allergies, seizures and death. As well as reactions to our pets, we can be affected by them. The huge impact on the environment is in itself why many pet guardian’s and vets are now thinking they want a natural flea and tick approach and are looking into different methods.
Natural Flea and Tick
We haven’t used flea and tick chemicals for many years. Living in a pretty humid part of the country where fleas thrive and deer are prevalent on our walks and in our horses fields, you would think our dogs would be running alive with the blighters, far from it. As an example, the 13 year old dog has had 4 ticks in her lifetime, never a flea. This dog forages, plays in long grass, sleeps in the grass and heather when we are with the horses.
Our flea and tick options here: https://mrslobberchops.com/collections/fleas-ticks
Help, My Dog Has Fleas
We have heard it said that you cannot be rid of a flea infestation naturally but we know otherwise, here is how.
Mr Slobberchops himself came over from Cyprus as a rescue case. Despite wonderful care of a lovely rescue and flea and tick treatments, he was in poor condition, malnourished with underarm abscesses that had been treated with antibiotics but not healed due to his poor state. Added to this was the 28 ticks that took 2 weeks to get off him, plus he was quite the flea fest. We figured they were hatching after he had arrived.
There is another dog living with us also so we wanted to nip those blood suckers quickly, plus we were being bitten.
Routine
Daily: Hoovered 3 times a day, floors and any bedding were sprinkled with salt and DE once we were in the garden, left down for a few hours then hoovered.
Daily: Steam mopped anything I could!
Daily: Combed both dogs, dipping the comb in Don’t Bug Me Spray often as I combed.
Once a week: I carefully, slowly and with a mask added DE to a dry coat, then shampoo, massaged all over then rinsed.
I added flea and tick nematodes to the garden just in case.
https://www.greengardener.co.uk/product/lawn-flea-nematodes/
Mr Slobberchops himself was nervous, everything had to be done in slow motion, BUT….Within a two week period there wasn’t a sign of anymore fleas.
I used French Green Clay on his underarms to soothe and support the healing process. As his gut started to heal, his appetite improved, his emotional state was changing for the better. With his immune system now awake and gaining strength, Mr Slobberchops began to repel fleas, ticks. Not only that, after six months, his next wormcount was finally clear.
Nine years on and Mr Slobberchops himself is pretty robust, he has had one episode of sudden illness and we always expected him to be weaker or more poorly in general but this hasn’t been the case. He is a happy, funny little soul, a flea free dog at that.
https://cam4animals.co.uk/peticide/
https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/research-reveals-fipronil-imidacloprid-contamination-in-rivers/