Have you even wondered about using Natural Flea Treatments on your pet dog or cat? Have you wondered whether there is a natural alternative to chemical treatments for flea infestation? Do you want to treat fleas the 'old fashioned' way which a natural flea therapy? Or perhaps you just want to save money by using a natural flea treatment rather than a chemical treatment for fleas?
Whatever your reasons you have come to the right place - in this article we will look at options for natural flea treatment as well as some of the 'modern' products which actually have their roots in natural therapy.
Types of Natural Flea treatments
There are three main types of natural flea control methods/products:
- Flea products for killing fleas
- Flea products for repelling fleas
- Natural methods for controlling flea larvae, flea pupae and flea eggs
Ideally you should look for a product that claims to kill fleas.
Natural Flea Products for killing fleas:
One of the natural flea treatments which has been known for many centuries is the chrysanthemum daisy. This daisy is responsible for producing a natural chemical called pyrethrum. Pyrethrum has natural insecticide qualities - which is why it is present in the crysanthemum in the first instance. However, generally natural pyrethrum is not a very widely used product. The reason for this is the great expense of growing enough flowers to extract insecticidal quantities of the material.
However, pyrethrum is notable because it is the precursor or basis for the development of the synthetic 'pyrethroids.' These are chemicals which are similar to pyrethrum in chemical structure and mode of action. There are quite a number of dog and cat shampoos which contact pyrethrum and piperonyl butoxide. Piperonyl butoxide is a 'synergist' for the action of the pyrethrum - which means it works together with the pyrethrum to increase the flea killing power - both chemicals work better together than they would appart. In fact the plant based piperonyl butoxide would not actually have any effectiveness as a flea killer on its own.
So while some of the shampoos which contain pyrethrum may not say they are natural - they are certainly related to the pyrethrum which is derived from the crystanthemum daisy.
Borax (boric acid or boracic acid)
Another often mentioned natural product is Borax (boric acid or boracic acid). This is claimed to control fleas (but since adult fleas live on pets, it is the environmental stages which we are talking about) in and around pets. When ingested, boric acid can interfere with the internal metabolism of fleas - however, fleas are unlikely to substantially feed on the chemical unless it were mixed with blood. However, the powder form sprinkled around areas where flea stages are to be found can cause irritation of the outer cuticle which can cause death of the flea.
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is ironically the fossilised remains of diatoms - which were a type of hard shelled algae - now millions of years after their own deaths, the resulting diatomaceous earths can be sprinkled around areas where environmental control of fleas is required. The diatomaceous earth acts by causing dehydration of the cuticle of the flea or flea larva. Since the cuticle or outer surface is essential for proper functioning of the flea the diatomacious earth can cause irritation and death of the flea - it is normal to vacuum up, any remaining diatamaceous earth. However, as scientific studies are minimal, it may be that a lot of the effect of diatomaceous earth is the thorough vaccumming that is required after use in the house for the control of fleas.
Natural flea products for repelling fleas
It is claimed that garlic can be used to repel fleas - in small amounts! The active principle in garlic for its healing properties is allicin. However, garlic also contains thiosulphate which can cause hemolytic anamia in dogs. Large quantities of garlic would need to be eaten to cause these signs - up to 50 cloves of garlic at the one time, but it does highlight that 'natural' does not always equal safe when it comes to flea treatments. Garlic should be used with caution and ideally in a formulated product which has been sold for some time and which is not known to cause symptoms in dogs. However, as has been noted previously, there is not a lot of value in repelling fleas particularly if your home environment is infested. In this case you actually want fleas to jump on your pet so that the 'on animal' treatment (natural or otherwise) which you have applied can take effect.
Natural methods for controlling flea larvae, flea pupae and flea eggs
We should all know by now the importance of controlling the off animal stages of fleas - these include flea larvae, flea pupae and flea eggs. There is an amazingly simple 'natural' flea control method which does not involve any sort of chemical at all. Vacuuming!!! According to an article called Ridding your home of fleas, Mike Potter an expert entomologist states that "vacuuming removes many of the eggs, larvae and pupae developing within the home." Just good old fashioned suction! To put it simply if you can remove a lot of the flea life stages from your home, these same stages will no longer be able to reproduce and infest your pet dog or cat.
A further benefit of vacuuming is that the vibrations from the cleaner actually stimulate the immature flea (or pre-adult flea) inside the pupa to come out earlier - this means that the flea will come in contact with your on-animal flea control sooner thus cleaning up your home sooner.
Conclusions
It is a worthwhile aim to use a natural flea treatment or control if you can. But please be aware that there is not a lot of scientific data to support the use of natural methods of controlling fleas according to Merchant and Robinson, both entomologists from Texas A&M.
If you are looking to purchase a natural flea treatment - rather than using 'trial and error' you would be best sticking with a commercially available flea treatment if possible. There are a number on the market which are available for purchase via the internet. Try these first, as since these are successfully being sold it is likely that they are working for at least a number of people - once you've had good success with these flea treatments you may care to try using some of the sourcing some of the natural ingredients that you find on the product label and seeing if you can make up a treatment yourself - but first think about purchasing a commercial flea control product.
I hope you have found this article helpful. If you've had experiences, either good or bad with natural flea treatments or natural flea control products please feel free to describe your experiences in the comments below for the benefit of all of those who read.
(Comments are all moderated - so off topic comments won't show up. Thanks for understanding, but I want to keep this discussion solely about natural flea treatments.)
