We carry only all natural, chemical free flea and tick products for your dogs and cats. Rather than use the spot on treatments like Frontline Plus for dogs, we recommend not subjecting your pets to the pesticides that will produce long-term toxic effects. We love the Shoo! Tag and use the Shoo! Tag for humans to keep the mosquitoes away. You will find great all natural and organic remedies to keep fleas and ticks away from your pets for low prices. There are other alternatives for flea and tick control. D-Limonene, citrus oil derived from orange peel, is added to many shampoos such as Citrilux and is the active ingredient in some dips and sprays. Linalool and citronella are also citrus derivatives, similar to D-Limonene. DeFlea is another all natural insecticide. It uses surfactants to degrade the waxy coating on the insect's exoskeleton, allowing water and air in to kill it. It is safe for all animals, including nursing mothers and very young animals (take care to provide a warm, draft-free area until they are completely dry). Eucalyptus oil, pennyroyal and cedar oil also may have some flea repellent properties, as long as the fragrance is present on the animal. An added benefit of using these natural products is that they are very soothing to the skin in cases of fleabite dermatitis. Aromatic wood shavings, used as filling in many pet cushions, also have repellent properties. There is some evidence that garlic and brewers yeast also repel fleas by giving the animals blood a disagreeable taste. This is due to the high level of B vitamin complex contained in yeast and the flavor of the garlic. It does not work in all dogs at all times, but may be worth trying if the owner wishes to use an all-natural insect repellent program.
By feeding your animals a high-quality, natural diet, free of additives and preservatives, you improve their health and dramatically increase their protection from fleas. A healthy animal does not taste or smell as good to fleas. A natural diet can be enhanced with nutritional supplements such as Nupro Dog and Cat Supplement, the Animal Essentials line, Herbal Multi-Vitamin Powder (overall health support), Plant Enzymes and Probiotics (digestive aid), Omega 3 Plus (an essential fatty acid supplement aimed at skin, coat and heart health). Both Nupro and Animal Essentials supplements can enhance your pet's health and thus strengthen their immunity.
Brewers Yeast and Garlic added to your pet's diet will help keep fleas away also. The important flea-control ingredient in brewer's yeast is thiamine (vitamin B). A level of one milligram (1 mg) of thiamine daily for each five pounds of your pet's body weight is ideal. For an average-size cat, this would translate to one teaspoon of brewer's yeast; for a large dog, you might administer one tablespoon of brewer's yeast supplemented with a B-complex vitamin pill. Brewer's yeast can also be dusted on externally as a flea powder. (If your pet licks some off, there's no harm done.)
A third important flea-fighting dietary supplement is zinc. This mineral is essential for healthy skin, but is lacking in many pets' diets. Use chelated (pronounced key-lated) zinc: 10 mg daily for cats and small dogs; 20 mg for larger canines.
These dietary supplements will require close to a month to build up to flea-fighting levels in a pet's skin. So start them in the spring before you find yourself in the midst of a severe flea invasion.
