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Post by Forum Administrator on May 1, 2008 9:58:59 GMT -5
Flea/Tick season is coming up (or is already here). Its time to start thinking about pest preventaties. This year, instead of putting harmful pesticides (such as frontline or advantage) on your precious fuzzbutt, why no opt for a natural alternative? 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar per 16 oz of water helps to make ferrets unappetizing to pests. Also, before going outside in a flea/tick heavy area, mix some neem oil with water and put it in a spray bottle. Spritz your fert down (avoid the head and eyes though, spritz from the neck down) with the mixture before venturing outside. Then when returning from walks or outdoor excursions, be sure to gently run your ferret over with a flea comb. Look for any parasites that might have gotten on your ferret. There really is no need to apply harmful pesticides to your pet (dog, cat, OR ferret) if you use the above suggestions. Pesticides such as frontline or advantage are absorbed into your ferret's body. Pesticide in the ferret's body is powerful enough to kill the bugs, but not the ferret. YIKES! Definetly NOT a natural way of doing things! Pest preventatives ARE important though ( lyme disease is deadly in ferrets and because of their small size, fleas sucking can quickly cause anemia in ferrets), so always be sure to use a NATURAL preventative when going out with your pet. Have fun, safe, and healthy spring/summer!  -The Holistic Ferret Staff |
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Post by jennifer5799 on May 2, 2008 0:54:34 GMT -5
I don't know if these could be used on ferrets or not, I know they can be used on cats though - www.fleatreats.com - so I don't see why not. I know a lot of people who swear by them! Unfortunately, the flea treats, and every other natural method I've tried so far (including those listed above) don't always work, depending on your location. Two of the worst places for fleas, I've found from both my own and other people's experiences, are in parts of Florida and in SE Texas. I think it's because we don't usually get cold enough winters to kill off all the bugs, they just hide out until it warms back up and then they come out full force. It's one of those things where you have to weigh the goods and bads. If you have time to flea comb all of your animals daily, than the more natural alternatives should be easier. When your have multiple animals, kids, etc, it becomes more difficult. I've always avoided chemicals until absolutely necessary, and even in SE TX I only used frontline about twice a year, and never less than 8 weeks in between applications. And never full dosage - you can use the minimum amount recommended (you know how the tubes vary in weight range) and it's just as effective, I always buy the big dog tube and divide it up between all of my animals this way. This brings up another question - what about heartworm prevention? Once again, in Texas, where mosquitoes rule the evening skies, LOL, I used "preventatives" in my dogs (ivermectin), but never was sure about the ferrets. I just kept them inside when the mosquitos were bad (are they ever not?). Anyone have thoughts/ideas on that? ~Jenn |
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Post by Forum Administrator on May 11, 2008 17:44:11 GMT -5
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Post by junglejeff88 on May 20, 2008 10:42:20 GMT -5
I'm really curious as to how well the apple cider vinager in the water works for fleas ... I am having a real problem with the fleas ashave really tried to minimize chemical treatments am very interested in any natural remedy / preventitive. I've heard about using natural essential oils such as lavender, eucalyptolis ... I've actually bathed the ferrets with pure castile soup containing lavender ... it didn't seem to help ... any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.
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Post by tss on May 20, 2008 10:55:04 GMT -5
The ACV just causes the ferrets the smell/taste nasty to all the little blood suckers. I haven't used it for my ferrets yet but I have used it on my dogs, I ran out of it and didn't use it for about a week and BAM I found a tick on one of the dogs. I pulled the tick off and started using ACV again and no more ticks.
Pure castile soap with pepper mint works, my ferrets got fleas at my cousins (she lives right beside the woods). I gave them a bath with the soap and the fleas went away, they also say you can use the soap like flea drops by putting a couple drops of it on your ferret.
I used Dr.Bronners Peppermint soap.
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Post by scentsofpeace on May 21, 2008 2:17:58 GMT -5
To my fellow Floridian Jeffery : The fleas this year in Fl are horrendous - I feel your pain !!!!
But seriously, here are some tips . . .
Try this for your home:
~Sprinkle baking soda in your carpet, leave 4-5 days, then vacuum. Do weekly until under control. Baking soda is a natural salt which will dry out the newly hatched fleas as well as eggs. Bonus - it helps deodorize the carpet !
~Place small dishes with water and a drop of dish soap where it won't be spilled or disturbed. At night place a nightlight where it will attract fleas. They will jump and hit the surface where the soap will help break the surface tension and pull them under and drown them. Change water when you vacuum or sooner if full of dead fleas or evaporated.
~ Sprinkle garden-grade diatomic earth (not pool-grade, it is too fine) which acts like little razors to an insect's exoskeleton, causing them to dehydrate and die.
This will help you combat the bigger problem, so you don't re-infest after bathing.
Hope that helps !
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Post by junglejeff88 on May 21, 2008 9:33:38 GMT -5
thanks for the info ... you are correct about our having a bad flea season ... had read about the baking soda (had also read about using borax) but was concerned about leaving it in the carpets with my fuzzies having free run of the house ... same with the bowls of water / dish soap ... no chance that those critters are going to leave it undisturbed ... I've shampooed the carpets with a lavendar based soap and will do that again ... I may even consider sending them to a friends house for a few days while I try to eradicate the fleas that are here ... I have to do something as I am combing them several times a day with a lice comb and and am knocking down 5 - 20 fleas per ferret each time ... thanks again for the advice ... I will give it a try.
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Post by quill on Jun 5, 2008 12:50:23 GMT -5
Where can I purchase neem oil? Also, sources for Dr. Bonners Peppermint Soap?
I have two dogs and one always gets sick when I put frontline on him. I hate to do it but he is a sheltie and all that fur is a haven for fleas. I'm willing to try alternatives for the dogs and well as for Chaos.
Thanks for the tips.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 5, 2008 14:24:27 GMT -5
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Post by tss on Jun 7, 2008 13:37:03 GMT -5
Quill. Check local health food stores or search for it online. There are quite a few places that sell it.
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Post by scentsofpeace on Jun 11, 2008 23:55:33 GMT -5
Quill - PLEASE do not use Ivermectin on your sheltie and be very careful with other products. Collies and collie mixes can not handle Ivermectin - it's lethal to them.
If anyone has a difficult time finding neem, let me know and I'll happily supply any essential oils at a reasonable price. Not trying to solicit - just trying to help ;-)
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 20, 2008 0:18:54 GMT -5
Thanks for letting us know about the essential oils! Just to be safe, does your vet have any online articles we could link/reference here. Some of our members might want additional verification that oils are indeed safe for use on ferrets. I appreciate you taking the time to let us know about this!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 6, 2008 9:35:33 GMT -5
Administrator's Note: I have deleted all posts that do not pertain to natural flea/tick prevention. This is to keep this stickied thread relevant and useful. Thank you for understanding
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Post by smokeyanbandit on Aug 8, 2008 5:34:14 GMT -5
I never knew this! Well time to go al natural!! wooooo!   |
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Post by jupitermoon4 on Oct 20, 2008 23:48:00 GMT -5
Ok this may sound really crazy but I've done the ACV bath a few times on my guy and the fleas it's like they mulitply by the hundreds on him and I get nowhere. We've also tried a spray and that does not seem to work. I dont like useing the spray b/c it smells bad to me and I know it can not be good for him to breath it in. I havent tried the soap yet we're gonna do that next. But the fleas seem to migrate to his head after I give him a bath or spray him down. Is there anything I can do to get them off his poor head  I took a corner of a rag and kidda went over his head and down his nose w/ the bath but the fleas try to get in his mouth or they get so close to his eyes, and I feel horrible b/c he hates it. |
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