Holistic Approaches to Flea and Tick Control

Any pet owner who has experienced a flea infestation realizes how difficult it can be to eliminate these parasites from the home. Fleas and ticks pose a consistent and relentless threat to pets who spend any time outdoors. Dogs can pick up a flea or tick on a long walk or a trip to the park while cats that spend even a short period of time outdoors can become a safe haven for fleas or ticks looking for a place to hunker down and procreate.

One flea can lay anywhere from 30 to 40 eggs per day and when those eggs are nestled comfortably in your pet's lush coat, that's when the itching, scratching, licking, and potential for infection and infestation increase exponentially.

A pet burdened with fleas or ticks is uncomfortable and runs the risk of skin damage and irritation from excessive scratching and licking. When those fleas bite, your pet feels it. Ticks are even worse as they latch onto the skin and they won't let go until they've been satiated from feeding off your pet's bloodstream.

The best method for protecting your dog or cat and the rest of your family is through prevention. Keeping the fleas and ticks from jumping on to your pet is a whole lot easier than getting rid of them after they've sheltered in the folds of your pet's skin and nestled in at the base of your pet's coat.

Fleas breed at an extremely fast rate and, before too long, it won't be just your cat or dog itchy and desperate for relief. Those eggs can fall off your pet and drop into the fibers of your carpet or the deep crevices of your living room sofa, spreading the infestation throughout the home and putting everyone at risk of being bitten.

Ticks can be even more devastating as they carry and spread Lyme Disease, a bacterial infection that can affect humans and pets alike and without quick treatment, that infection can affect the heart, the joints, and the nervous system.

Unfortunately, most pet owners are familiar with preventive medications that use heavy pesticides and stringent chemicals to keep the pests off their pets. These solutions are usually applied in the form of a topical substance that is applied directly to the skin. The active ingredients are poisonous to fleas and ticks, causing paralysis and death in the parasites that have chosen your pet as their food and shelter.

These poisons are harmful to humans but pets can withstand their active ingredients and that makes it okay for use on cats and dogs. But how safe are those highly toxic pesticides when in use on a routine basis?

Holistic alternatives for preventing fleas and ticks from entering the home and driving everyone crazy do exist but these natural remedies don’t get enough credit for doing the same job with efficacy and without harsh chemicals being absorbed into your pet’s bloodstream.

Non-Toxic Alternatives

Some of the most widely used pesticides and poisons in popular flea and tick prevention products can pose a serious health risk, both short term and long term, to pets and children. The ingredients in some of these medications should give consumers pause as they may be deemed “safe” for dogs but could poison and kill cats.

Some pesticides have been banned for use in residential applications yet small amounts are commonly used in flea collars that dogs and cats wear to kill fleas and ticks. These can harm pregnant women and children even in low doses, the exposure to which is as easy as a child hugging his or her furry best friend without any regard for coming into contact with harsh poisons found in a flea collar.

There are holistic, all natural options to keep everyone in your home safe and free of fleas and ticks. Consider the following methods for effective flea and tick prevention and you may just decide to abandon those pesticides and poisons for good.

Routine Grooming

Dogs and cats are both good at keeping themselves clean when necessary, however, neither species has the capability for exterminating fleas and ticks on their own. That's where you come in, soap and water are excellent exterminators of the common pests that hide out in your pet's coat. Your dog or cat may not appreciate the increased baths but they will feel a whole lot better afterward. So will you!

Combing

There are special flea combs on the market that are designed for extracting fleas and the filth they leave behind from your pet's coat. This option may be better suited for cats, but dogs can benefit just as much from routine daily combing. Remember to have a cup of hot soapy water nearby as you will need to dip the comb after each stroke, so you can kill any parasites you pull out of your pet's fur.

Cleaning the Home

Fleas proliferate when eggs fall from your pet's coat and hatch in the carpet, the couch, and any warm spot where larvae feel most comfortable. Soon enough, you've got hundreds of fleas laying more eggs and spawning hundreds more. So when you've bathed your pet and combed their fur, be sure you don't expose your pet (or you and your family) to the fleas that escaped the baths and deep combing sessions. Homes with carpets and upholstered furniture should have these fabrics steam cleaned to destroy adult fleas, eggs, and larvae. All of it will perish at the exceedingly high temperatures that steam cleaners emit.

Be sure to wash your pet's bedding and if your pet sleeps in your bed with you, wash your linens on a regular basis. All of it in hot water with plenty of detergent. The same goes for ticks. They won't survive the intense heat levels of these cleaning options.

Natural Flea and Tick Repellents

There are many different brands offering a wide array of products they claim to be effective at removing fleas and ticks and preventing them from returning. But at the end of the day, you've wasted your money on products that can't back up their claims of eradicating the scourge of these pests from your pet.

Avoid flea collars laced with heavy pesticides that can pose a health risk to humans and even other pets. There are aromatherapy options but these rely on the use of essential oils that claim to drive away fleas and ticks because the pests can stand such harsh and caustic aromas and odors.

The trouble with these options is two-fold. The first being that aromatherapy-based flea collars lose their efficacy over time as the oils fade and the fleas return. The second being that some essential oils may be okay for dogs but could be harmful or even fatal to cats. There are many essential oils that are poisonous to cats and sharing a household with a dog wearing a collar that contains one or more of these essential oils could prove deadly to your cat.

Fortunately, you do have choices for safe and effective natural flea and tick repellents.

BioPower Pet Shield Tag

The BioPower Pet Shield doesn’t rely on pesticides nor essential oils to repel the parasites but an exclusive bioresonance energy that emits natural energetic frequencies to ward off the most common pests that can bother your pet. Fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes will avoid your pet for twelve months.

This Tag is easy to use, you just attach it to your pet's existing collar and it sends out natural bioenergetic frequencies that create a magnetic field for protecting your pet, without any harmful side effects to you, your family, or your pet. The Tag works all by itself, no electricity or batteries required!

BioPower Pet Flea and Tick Spray

The same proprietary bioresonance energy can also be found in a preventive spray that uses just a hint of Citronella for added efficacy. Designed for use before your pet ventures outdoors, this spray has been infused with BioPower's bioenergetic frequencies for additional protection in heavily infested areas where pets might explore. Just a couple spritzes on your pet's fur keeps them surrounded in an energy field that drives away fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes for a full day.

You can use the spray all on its own or in conjunction with their top-rated, customer reviewed Pet Shield Tag for maximum protection against pests and parasites.

Homemade Preventive Shampoos

Washing your pet with soap and hot water is an ideal way to kill fleas and ticks but in order to keep them off of your pet, homemade shampoos with all-natural ingredients can be another effective preventive measure for keeping parasites off your pet.

One highly popular if not slightly off-putting method is mix a combination of mild baby shampoo or common liquid dish soap with warm water and white vinegar. Bathe your dog in this mixture twice a month and you'll see the fleas and ticks die instantly while preventing any future scourges of these bloodsucking parasites in your pet's fur or your home.

Outdoor Precautions

These methods are extremely useful for keeping your pets safe, comfortable, and happy. But consider using some natural prevention methods outside the home, around the garden beds, and in the yard, where your pets venture when they go outdoors.

Sprinkling some food-grade diatomaceous earth in the most heavily populated areas for fleas and ticks will kill them in two ways – the diatomaceous earth will sever the fleas on contact while drying them out after. Be sure your pet doesn’t try to ingest or inhale the diatomaceous earth.

The Natural Way to Prevent Fleas and Ticks

Holistic approaches to flea and tick control don’t have to be expensive or difficult to implement. It just takes a little preparation and planning to ensure that your pet and your family are kept safe from the parasites that can spread disease and cause skin redness and irritation. Consider the options we’ve suggested above and you will find these alternatives to more conventional prevention methods just as effective as the poisons, pesticides, and essential oils that marketing companies continue to sell to the general public.

You don’t need to rely on heavy pesticides, carcinogens, and other dangerous substances to keep your furry best friend pest free.