Natural Flea Control

Our dogs have fleas. They have been living outdoors all summer long and now that it's getting colder, Sisterwho is pleading their case; she wants to bring them back inside for the winter.

We have looked for natural flea killers and researched it on the internet. We have bought some of the once- a-month type stuff that you squirt on their back at the feed store. It's active ingredient is Pyrethrin which is derived from Chrysanthemums and so is as natural as I thought we could get. It worked pretty good, even better than the costlier topicals that we've bought from the vet and it has a lovely citrus frangrance. Still, it is toxic to puppies and humans.

Did I mention that our dog is about to have puppies? At least, we think she is. She had a doggie period a couple of months ago and Sisterwho woke up one morning to see something she wished she hadn't. She occasionally lets the dogs come into her room at night through her bedroom window if they cry and beg long enough. This particular morning, when Chewy was still in heat, Sisterwho said that when she woke up our male dog, Beau, had a really satisfied look on his face, smoked a cigarette and rolled over and went to sleep. Or...something like that.

For awhile we didn't think Chewy had conceived. She didn't look or act pregnant (no strange food fetishes or waddling around). However, now she is starting to show some signs, unless it is just wishful thinking on our part.

First of all, our kitten is suckling her. I looked out the kitchen window onto the deck the other day and saw the kitten with it's paws on Chewy's stomach and heard suck, suck, sucking sounds. Chewy was willing to be milked for a few minutes before getting up and walking off. The kitten takes advantage of every opportunity to suckle. Sisterwho insists that Chewy has milk coming from her teats and that her belly is visibly larger and I have to admit, she has been acting a little strange the past couple of days; i.e., not eating much and being a little standoffish.

Anyway, back to the fleas. We didn't want to put anything on Chewy and risk the puppies' health so I read about using Diatomaceous Earth for flea control. You just rub it all over the dog's fur and into every nook and cranny so the fleas have nowhere to run. I only know that it somehow interferes with the fleas ability to breathe and so they jump off or die. We went to the health food store where I had seen it many times and bought a bag.

Believe it or not, it works! We put it on today and the dogs were running in circles while the fleas were doing the same, trying to get to a safe harbor. Within minutes of applying it, the fleas were inactive and there were fewer of them; hopefully they will be completely wiped out and the dogs can come inside. I'm anxious to see how often it has to be reapplied. I'll keep you posted!