The Flea Battle

So this is the year. The year I will NOT be using flea preventative. The last two years I have used them very minimally, only when I saw a flea on the dogs. However, with the switch to all the dogs eating raw, and the fact that Basil is being treated homeopathically, I'm going cold turkey.

It's very interesting, since I have removed 90% of the toxic cleaners from my home, the chemical smell of advantage and frontline just about knock me over. Now I have neatly labeled bottles of cleansers made from vinegar, borax, baking soda, (not necessarily together) with some essential oils in them. I have started using borax in my laundry, and will be slowly phasing out the bleach as time goes on. I have pretty much always banned air fresheners because of Jasper, my lovebird, who is sensitive to such things.

It just doesn't seem right, that with all of those changes, that I put flea stuff on the dogs. So I have read up on the flea lifecycle, I always wash the dog beds every other week anyway, if not weekly, and dry them on hot to kill any little survivors. I've purchased some beneficial nematodes to spray on my yard which will kill the fleas, and as an added bonus, the fire ants as well without harming the dogs. I've spread diatomaceous earth around the edges of my rooms, and under the big furniture, sprinkled it liberally on the carpets and vacuumed it up (to kill anything in the carpets, and prevent any new little buggers). I started the dogs on a nutritional yeast regimen, which will help them from the inside out and make them untasty to any fleas that might try to take up residence. I've created a lemon rosemary solution to spray on the dogs and help repel fleas from jumping on them while they are outside.

I'm feeling pretty good, but only time will tell. I'm pretty determined though, and Dr. Falconer is really supportive and always willing to answer any questions I have about doing things naturally and without chemicals. My husband says I'm turning into a hippie, but he can't talk since he's huge on energy efficiency and loves to read articles on how people turn trash into cool new products. Anyhow, I will keep everyone posted on how the flea thing goes; it's already hot and humid here, so my methods should be tested shortly.

For more information on natural pet care, you can check out Dr. Falconers website, it has some great information!