Flea and tick time - need suggestions

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Flea and tick time is here. In spite of this being an area that has been declared to be in a drought, ticks are terrible. I need something that doesn't require doing daily to help with fleas and ticks on the cats and dogs (and out of my house). For the past couple of years I have been going to the vet and getting that stuff that you put on only once on the back of the neck. Whatever we used last year didn't work as well as the year before and it make some of the cats sick. I would prefer something "natural" vs chemical. Any suggestions?

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), April 29, 2000

Answers

My veterinarian son has me using Frontline. Definitely not "natural", but it works well.

I'm going to recommend that you try using diatomaceous earth. Check old messages for more info. Sounds like it works.

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), April 29, 2000.


The best stuff in the world for stopping flea infestation in the house is called Flea Fix. It is available from Gardens Alive.

www.gardens-alive.com

It is a hormone which keeps eggs and larve from developing. It lasts for six months. We had a TERRIBLE

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), April 29, 2000.


Sorry, slippery fingers...as I was saying...

It is a hormone which keeps eggs and larve from developing. It lasts for six months. We had a TERRIBLE problem last year and after much vaccuming of adults the Flea Fix took care of the problem.

We also used frontline on the animals to kill adult fleas without any problems.

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), April 29, 2000.


Anyone have any suggestions for keeping the ticks off humans? I'm about to dose myself with Frontline, which seems to work well on the dogs. I spent yesterday cutting and chipping up wood and pulled 9 ticks off of me. I've tried various insect repellents, all with varying amounts of deet, with no luck. I remember (about 10 years ago) before I retired from the Army we had an issue repellent, in a spray can, that seemed to work well. You would spay a whole can on one uniform set, I think it was a yellow can and the name may have started with a "P".

Thanks,

Bob

-- Robert (STBARB@usa.net), April 30, 2000.


We do not have hardly any problems anymore with fleas or ticks. I am not sure what to credit our good fortune to. It could be the diatomacious earth or the brewers yeast and garlic our furry friends consume each day. I have a sneaky idea the great nunber of fire ants we have has something to do with it(they eat everyhing else why not flea and tick larva).

-- carla sloan (hillsidefarm@texoma.net), April 30, 2000.


Fireants and ticks don't co-exist well. I don't know of anything that lives well with fireants!

Ticks are a HUGE problem here in NE Oklahoma this year. Most folks say to wear long sleeves and pants...I disagree. With short pants and short sleeves, I can usually see them and get them off before they bite. I've heard that powered sulfer sprinkled on your clothes will help. Haven't tried it yet, but plan to. We did put some sulpher blocks out for the horses and cows. Too soon to tell if it's working. I'm interested in hearing other ideas....seed ticks will be out anytime now and I squirm just thinking about them!!

Taking a shower with lye soap helps if you've been in the chiggers!

-- Mona (jascamp@ipa.net), May 03, 2000.


I discovered a really good bug repellent on a recent trip to Taiwan: white cypress oil. It smells a bit like turpentine, but not offensively so. It works great against mosquitoes, but I have no experience with ticks or chiggers, and I can't tell if it is doing the job for the dog's fleas yet (or is it the brewers yeast?) I also don't know where it is available in the USA, so I'm not being terribly helpful, but it's a thought anyway.

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), May 04, 2000.

I look so forward to summer each year then comes the bugs ! When will fall come ? Guess I'm never happy !

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), May 04, 2000.

hi, I'm new here, really enjoy learning from everyone, so here's my question. The dog brought in fleas and they are eating us up, I was told once that Comet cleanser sprinkled on carpets kill them, and i tried it, seemed to work somewhat. just wondering if I should get a flea bomb, dont really like the chemical idea. Any suggestions folks? thanks for being here, I love this site.

-- cheryl (cpick57@hotmail.com), August 26, 2000.

From what I hear, the best thing to have on your property if you have ticks is Guineas. Several friends in Lyme disease areas say those Guineas are life savers. Of course the Guineas will eat ALL insects. Bee keepers can't keep Guineas ~ the birds stand at the hive opening and eat the bees as they fly out. Between Guineas and food grade diatomaceous earth, you can take care of just about all your pest problems!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), August 28, 2000.


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