Huh, I wonder if my dog food has it... In either case, Advantix II gets my vote, I did happen to miss Diesel's dose for this month because I'm out of money until the 7th, still no fleas. It's supposed to kill them for 60 days, and ticks 30 days. I also love that it repels mosquitoes... more indirect heartworm prevention on top of the interceptor. Lol.

Kiyonai wrote:

Huh, I wonder if my dog food has it... In either case, Advantix II gets my vote, I did happen to miss Diesel's dose for this month because I'm out of money until the 7th, still no fleas. It's supposed to kill them for 60 days, and ticks 30 days. I also love that it repels mosquitoes... more indirect heartworm prevention on top of the interceptor. Lol.

It's actually a good idea to rotate products so that the pests in your environment don't become immune. I only treat Kale during flea seasons, and I treat the yard with an IGR (insect growth regulator), as well as the house.

Apple Cider Vinegar: I take it that is put in food? How much and how often?

Garlic: How much, style (powder/fresh/minced), often?

Thanks for your help.
I got the oils today except the store didn't have Rose Geranium oil.

ACV - I give 1 tbsp every other day to my adult 50 lb sibe, you could give it daily if you prefer.

Garlic - I give about 1/16th tsp every other day mixed with my adult sibe's food. Some people give garlic daily.

I personally alternate between ACV and garlic each day and it works for us. My dogs never have parasites and their bloodwork always comes back normal.

Awesome, thanks!! I am staring Cali on it and my sis in law his considering it for her dogs depending on how Cali does with it.

thanks for the holistic tips, Val! I'm so happy about that!

I have two of those oils already...def going to try that out!

No problem! I hope they work for others as well as they've worked for us.

Val, maybe you could start a holistic sticky thread? That would be fabulous!

Problem with that is with all the holistic things you can do it would span several different forums. That's primarily why I highly recommend taking pets to good holistic vets. When you find a good one, stick with them. Heck, I'm still managing to take my dogs to my old holistic vet in FL from before we moved to SC...6.5 hours away! Oh course for emergencies I have a local back up vet.

I live in South Texas, where it is near impossible to keep ALL fleas off of my dogs. I have have discovered the wonderful use of lavender oil.

It is completely safe and natural. You just put it on their skin like the frontline once a week and it will repell all of the fleas. I don't know that they will get RID of the the current fleas, but it will stop them from hatching and repel all future fleas.

As for actual flea medication, I use Trifexus and it has worked wonderfully. I use the lavender oil as a back up but none of my dogs have fleas, and they have been around dogs that were infested with fleas and ticks (we rescued a pup).

Maybe that will help give you a natural option?

Essential oils should not be applied directly to the skin to prevent drying and irritation. I recommend placing a drop on their harness, collar, and/or bedding as an alternative and it's just as effective without doing any harm to their skin.

Thank for the info.. I have not had any issues with oils and I use various kinds but I will definitely take that into consideration.

Thanks Valerie! My mom was gonna buy the flea collars to day, but I asked her to hold off cause I remembered this thread and asked her if she would try oils instead. She said yes! :]
Plus, I hate the smell of flea collars

dahowlers wrote:

Thanks Valerie! My mom was gonna buy the flea collars to day, but I asked her to hold off cause I remembered this thread and asked her if she would try oils instead. She said yes! :]
Plus, I hate the smell of flea collars

That's great! I call my method a DIY flea collar anyway since the oils on the collar serve the same purpose. And this way you don't have to worry about not touching those chemical laiden flea collars either.

Okay, so I am seeing a trend to many people using oils for flea and tick prevention. My questions would be, what brand are y'all using and where did y'all order it from? I use Amazon to order everything so that is where I would be getting it. Plus with us having to pay taxes on all stuff we buy on Amazon is going to put a damper on my purchases soon.

I got both my oils on Amazon. Cederwood is from Edens Gardens based in San Clemente, CA; Tea Tree is from PlantLife based in San Clemente, CA. I'm Californian so I like to buy locally lol

hypers987 wrote:

I got both my oils on Amazon. Cederwood is from Edens Gardens based in San Clemente, CA; Tea Tree is from PlantLife based in San Clemente, CA. I'm Californian so I like to buy locally lol

I can understand that. But does the product from you local work well is all I'm concerned.

LillDragun wrote:

hypers987 wrote:

I got both my oils on Amazon. Cederwood is from Edens Gardens based in San Clemente, CA; Tea Tree is from PlantLife based in San Clemente, CA. I'm Californian so I like to buy locally lol

I can understand that. But does the product from you local work well is all I'm concerned.

Yes. It's pure.

I don't worry about brand and my oils were ordered through Amazon vendors. The important thing is to look for 100% oil and not a blend.

Huskyluv wrote:

Since summer 2010 I've been using essential oils (Cedarwood oil for fleas & Rose Geranium oil for ticks), Apple cider vinegar, and garlic to prevent fleas and ticks and I've had excellent results. And I live in the south where those pests are a problem and our house backs to woods so that should give you an idea of how well it's working for us.

How do you use this to prevent fleas and ticks?

I just wash them in dawn soap if they have ticks/fleas that way they die then i put Skin So Soft oil from avon on there fur. That has what i've been doing for all my cats and dogs for the past years and they haven't had anything get on them after the first dawn bath.

Juturna67 wrote:

Huskyluv wrote:

Since summer 2010 I've been using essential oils (Cedarwood oil for fleas & Rose Geranium oil for ticks), Apple cider vinegar, and garlic to prevent fleas and ticks and I've had excellent results. And I live in the south where those pests are a problem and our house backs to woods so that should give you an idea of how well it's working for us.

How do you use this to prevent fleas and ticks?

It's a holistic solution to a common problem. The oils repel fleas and ticks (and I have found they repel mosquitos too.) The ACV and garlic are ingested and then are secreted through the oils on the coat. Mosquitos and other pests do not like the smells.

It will not kill an infestation, but it will repel. If you have an infestation get some CapStar and diatomaceous earth (food grade). Sprinkle the DE in the carpets, floors, bedding and you can then vacuum it up. The capstar will help stop the infestation fast.

Juturna67 wrote:

Huskyluv wrote:

Since summer 2010 I've been using essential oils (Cedarwood oil for fleas & Rose Geranium oil for ticks), Apple cider vinegar, and garlic to prevent fleas and ticks and I've had excellent results. And I live in the south where those pests are a problem and our house backs to woods so that should give you an idea of how well it's working for us.

How do you use this to prevent fleas and ticks?

I believe Val puts the oils on the dog's collars - right, Val?

I put the oil on Snow's collar. We also use a flea medication though. The heat is so intense here that the fleas are just ridiculous.

We use only the oils, not topicals. A drop of each on the collar 2x a week - the humidity in michigan can be really bad, so we like to do it twice a week to avoid fleas.