Don't let the bad bugs bite: kill fleas and ticks without harming your pets - Petcare: holistic hints for your furry friends

No matter where you live--in a city or in rural areas--your pets are sure to be subjected to irritating flea bites and Lyme disease, the potentially fatal disease caused by tick bites. Not only will fleas cause discomfort to your pets, but they can also invade your home, propagating in carpets, bedding and furniture, and biting you, causing severe itching and swelling.

Pet stores and veterinary clinics display a vast array of chemically derived shampoos, powders, sprays, pills and collars which, according to the labels, will eliminate fleas and ticks. But what are these substances doing to our pets?

Tablets such as Proban, an oral insecticide for dogs, contain cythioate, a very toxic chemical, which is exuded through the skin to kill attacking fleas. But they may do more than that. Martin Goldstein, DVM, writes, "A professor of mine at Cornell did numerous autopsies on dogs that had died after taking Proban for some time. He found 'jellification of the liver,' meaning that the liver had virtually been destroyed." This is just one medication that has caused illness and death in pets.

Flea repellants also are sold in liquid form and are usually applied between the shoulder blades. Be warned that overuse can cause vomiting and neurological problems in dogs.

Problem Powders

A number of years ago, before I knew better, I used a commercial flea powder made for cats. Five of my seven felines had severe reactions. Even after 3 weeks of veterinary care, my beloved cat Whisper died. This product contained the active ingredients rotenone and dichlorvos--and dichlorvos, I later learned, is an organophosphate.

Organophosphates act like a nerve gas, paralyzing the nervous system of the flea. I obviously don't recommend them for several reasons. During application, our pets breathe them in, and the toxins can linger for days. Plus, when animals lick their fur, they ingest even more of these harmful chemicals.

Just read the labels. You're always advised not to breathe the powder and to wash your hands after application. There's also the warning, "If swallowed by humans, IMMEDIATELY call a physician, poison control center, or hospital emergency room." That should be enough to stop you from using flea powders on your dogs and cats.

As for flea collars--or as Goldstein prefers to call them, "necklaces of poison"--they also contain very toxic chemicals. I've personally seen both dogs and cats with severe skin problems and virtually no for where the flea collar touches them.

Safe Alternatives

Despite the preponderance of chemically-laced products on the market, there are a few safe alternatives to the commercial flea and tick preparations.

"Among the many herbal flea preparations that can be useful, I'm partial to Earth Animal's Herbal Internal Powder," writes Goldstein in The Nature off Animal Healing. This is a powdered mixture of natural ingredients that contains garlic as well as alfalfa, wormwood, yellowdock and pennyroyal. Goldstein recommends that you sprinkle the powder liberally into a pet's food. It repels fleas without hurting your pet.

Here's an alternative to commercial flea powders: Slice about six lemons, and pour boiling water over them. Let the water stand overnight, then strain the liquid into a spray bottle. Start at the back of the pet, and work toward the neck, making sure every inch of the pet is covered with the lemon-water spray. Cats may not be cooperative with the spraying method, so in that case, daub on the solution with a cotton ball.

Bedding can also be sprayed to repel and kill fleas. Check the pet every few days to make sure all fleas are killed and eggs have not hatched.

Safe Shampoo

Roger DeHaan, DVM, suggests using the following mixture, which is an antiseptic shampoo that kills fleas and soothes irritated skin:

* Add 10 drops of tea tree oil and 1 tablespoon of aloe vera to an 8-ounce bottle of your regular pet shampoo.

* In a separate container, combine 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 pint of water.

* Shampoo the animal as you normally would and let the shampoo stand for 6-10 minutes.

* Rinse with the apple cider-water mixture.

A fine-tooth comb also works very well, especially on cats. Invest in a quality steel flea comb, and use it daily until you are sure fleas and flea eggs are no longer on your pet. When combing, make sure you have a bucket of soapy water close by to drown the fleas in as you comb them from your pet.

Herbal flea collars containing essential oils such as pennyroyal, eucalyptus and citronella can also prevent fleas and ticks from landing on your pet. For eats, I recommend an herbal collar that pulls apart if the feline should get caught on something. Cats have strangled when the wrong type of collar is used.

Ticks Suck

Ticks are blood-sucking parasites that can attach themselves to both animals and humans. Ticks feed on blood by biting into the skin, which can transmit numerous diseases that can be dangerous if not deadly.

Lyme disease is one such disease that is spread by ticks. Some of the symptoms in dogs include lethargy, joint pain and sudden lameness.

Vaccines are available for Lyme disease, but as Michele Yasson, DVM, states, "I have seen more dogs develop the fever and arthritic symptoms of Lyme disease after being vaccinated for the disease rather than after being bitten by a tick."

If you find ticks on your dog, Jeff Feinman, DVM, suggests the following course of action: "If only a few ticks are present on the animal, they may be plucked off individually. Tweezers should be used to remove the tick. Grab the [tick's] head firmly while gently depressing the skin around the tick. Pull straight out without twisting. After removing a tick, swab the area well with peroxide or alcohol."

A red raised area is normal if the tick was embedded, and it does not mean that your pet will get Lyme disease.

If you are unable to remove the head along with the body of the tick, Feinman says that your pet will eventually eliminate the tick's head as it would any other foreign material. If the area appears infected, though, be sure to seek veterinary attention.

Looking for More Information?

The Cancer Prevention Coalition (CPC) lists many brand-name pet products that contain either carcinogens or neurotoxins or both. You may want to check out their Web site at www.preventcancer.com.

Is it worth the risk when there are safe alternatives? Although natural products may not work as quickly as their chemical counterparts, they do not put our health or the health of our companion animals at risk.

Ann Martin is a leading authority on commercial pet foods and related animal-health concerns. She is the author of the newly revised and updated Food Pets Die For (NewSage Press, 2003) as well as Protect Your Pet (NewSage Press, 2001).

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