Thought this may interest someone

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All-Around Non-Toxic Flea Control

Simple Solution
Let’s face it. Fleas are the WORST, but applying pesticides to our pampered pooches doesn’t make us howl with excitement either. In an attempt to find non-toxic flea control remedies, Care2 staff stumbled upon this amazing technique that kills fleas fast without toxic chemicals. While citrus peel extract (d-limonene) works well for dogs, cats can't tolerate it, so this is an especially great choice.
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a powder comprised of microskeletons of deceased diatoms, which are a type of algae (both fresh water and sea water varieties occur). You sprinkle the powder on your pets and your carpets, and the fleas die from dehydration. As a foster care provider for hundreds of dogs, this stuff has been a miracle. You can use it on dogs, puppies, kittens, and cats.

How to use it:
1) Wear a mask and put one on your pet. Even though it's nontoxic, you don't want to get it in your lungs.
2) Sprinkle the DE along your dry pet's spine. Massage it along the body, working your way carefully to the extremities, avoiding the eyes.
3) Spread some diatomaceous earth on the carpets, brush it in and leave for about four days. Then vacuum it up to remove most of the fleas in the carpet.
4) Repeat the application frequently during an infestation. You should notice a decrease in fleas within a couple days.

NOTE: Make sure not to use the kind of DE used in swimming pools. Use natural diatomaceous earth; it is available in gardens supply centers, some health food stores, and from natural-pet catalogs.


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You also can use neem oil. For a flea shampoo and a spray.

I used to live in Portland, Oregon where fleas are rampant due to the year-round humidity. After a few years of my poor kitty going through hell with the fleas (and me going through hell wasting every summer weekend trying to get rid of them), I found a product called Fleago. I swear by it. The active ingredient is boric acid. You vacuum the carpets, sprinkle Fleago (crystal form) over the carpet, and use a broom to work the crystals down into the carpet. Then don't vacuum again for at least a week. You will be flea-free for a year. Honest - I have used it for several years without a hitch. I treat the house in the early spring as a pre-emptive strike, and no fleas for a year - even when the cat goes in and out. For a few years Fleago was not available on the internet for some reason (it is now) so I simply used crystal boric acid (available at most drug/grocery stores) and that worked just as well. BTW Fleago/boric acid is not a poison - it is a dessicant - it works by dehydrating the fleas to death.

Dear Passkey
You can use teatree essential oil for flea's on pets. Works great without adverse effects from conventional flea meds.

Gina Tyler

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"Great ideas often recieve violent opposition from mediocre minds"...................Einstein

Hi Gina,

as far as I know is tea tree dangerous for cats!!
http://www.thelavendercat.bigstep.com/generic32.html

Maybe you know more about this?

Mirjam

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Bachflower practitioner for humans and animals
www.bachbloesemremedie.nl

Dear Mirjam
Thanks for your link,verry interesting............. Wish i knew the details,more than what was posted on that site. Like to look into it,i have never seen adverse effects from teatree? In bali all the little critters had flea's and ticks the application of this oil was used verry often even on verry small baby cats with no problems????????????????? hmmmmm........
Perhaps the cats in the link managed to lick the teatree or were dunked into a bath of teatree dilution and thus swallowed some. It did mention signs of teatree in urine samples of these cats.I wonder? In bali the application was done with full strenth teatree on a small piece of cotton hand application..............never a problem.
Something to think about.............................thanks
GT

__________________
"Great ideas often recieve violent opposition from mediocre minds"...................Einstein