Fleas & Ticks

​They're here!

The biting, blood-sucking little monsters, fleas, ticks and mosquitoes that ruin family gatherings and make your pets' summers miserable have begun to invade. Ticks, fleas and mosquitoes are not only a nuisance, they may cause significant skin irritation and can transmit serious blood-borne diseases to your pets.

How should you best retaliate?

 Come into VictoriasPetNutrition.com for natural treatments for fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Solutions available at VictoriasPetNutrition.com include essential oils and organic Neem Flea and Tick Spray, which is all-natural and can be sprayed on pets to repel fleas, ticks and mosquitos. We carry Wondercide all natural and 100% safe Protect Spray. There are also natural treatments for skin & coat problems with pets.

Watch out for some chemical spot-on flea/tick preventatives

Many of the commonly used chemical spot-on preventatives for fleas and ticks are suspected of significant skin irritation themselves and worse yet, are being investigated by the EPA for carcinogenicity. In particular, avoid any products which contain permethrin. This will be on the ingredient label.

You should choose to do something, because these external parasites can cause your dog or cat major discomfort and illnesses which often go undiagnosed. Lyme disease is a good example of a tick-borne illness caused by the organism borellia which is transmitted when a deer tick takes its blood meal from you or your dog. It can cause flu-like symptoms and an insidious lameness. The cause is often misdiagnosed unless a blood test is performed.

Heartworm and tick disease tests

Every spring your veterinarian can perform a 4-way heartworm test on your dog which also checks for exposure to three tick-borne diseases: Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma. The latter two are transmitted by the more common wood ticks and the incidence of these seem to be on the rise in southern Wisconsin. In my practice I am seeing more of these than Lyme disease. And remember the touted "Lyme vaccine" is only intended to prevent Lyme disease, not these other tick-borne diseases.

Side effects of chemicals are unacceptable
Flea Control Product Side Effects
Seizures and Convulsions
Depression, lethargy and weakness 
Drooling 

Difficulty Breathing
Vomiting
Irritation
Loss of Appetite
Diarrhea

Which flea and tick products may cause these harmful side effects? Unfortunately, they can be found in many commonly used, over the counter flea and tick treatments ranging from collars to sprays. You may have them in your house right now.

For your pet's sake, please use chemically-based flea and tick products carefully or even better, consider switching to Neem Spray, our safe, effective, natural and convenient flea and tick control treatment alternative.

Essential Oils for Flea, Tick, Mosquito Treatment

Essential oils for fleas, ticks and mosquitoes, which are made from plants, is another way we can treat these pests naturally without side effects. One must be knowledgeable about the use of these products on and around our pets as well, especially cats, but their use can be very effective and even healthy. As with anything, individual sensitivities exist and some products are more reputable and thereby safer than others. Never use lower quality essential oils on your pets and never apply essential oils directly to your pets unless advised by a veterinarian or quality essential oils practitioner with experience with essential oils and pets. Oils are extremely potent for pets as they have thousands more nociceptors in their nose than we do, and a cat’s liver detoxification system is not the same as ours or a dog’s. These facts make them more sensitive to particular oils such as melaleuca (tea tree).

Essential oils such as cedarwood can repel insects, and oils such as lavender can soothe irritated skin.

Flea collars seem harmless enough, but it has been reported that:

According to the EPA, toddlers exposed to pets wearing flea collars containing a chemical called dichlorvos would be exposed to 21 times the safe level just from inhalation of the insecticide emitted from the collar. Adults exposed to the same product would experience exposures ten times greater than safe levels.
EPA found no uses of flea collars that contain a chemical called naled that are safe for children ages eight and under. Toddlers' exposures to naled were calculated to be as much as ten times more than EPA's safe level.
EPA estimates that a toddler exposed to a dog wearing dog flea collars containing chlorpyrifos could get more than seven times the level EPA considers to be safe merely from hugging or petting their dog.
Toddlers who pet a large dog the day of its phosmet (a tick/flea dipping treatment) dipping and then put their fingers in their mouths will receive more than 500 times the safe level of this chemical, according to EPA estimates.
EPA finds that toddlers exposed to medium- or large-sized dogs that have been sprayed or dusted with tetrachlorvinphos products could face exposures nearly twice as high as EPA's safe level.
EPA determines that powdering or dipping a single pet with tetrachlorvinphos just twice a year would, over the course of a lifetime, pose a risk of cancer to the person dipping the pet nearly six to seven times higher than acceptable EPA levels. Dipping or powdering multiple pets, or doing so more frequently, would raise cancer risks even higher.

Diatomaceous Earth For Natural Flea Control

Diatomaceous earth is sometimes called fossil shell flour or diatomite. It is soft siliceous solid composed of skeletons of small single-celled prehistoric aquatic plants known as diatoms. It has many uses, including natural pest control for pets, pest control for home, garden and farming. In its natural form it is organic, non-toxic and safe to use.

Diatomaceous earth can help kill fleas, ticks, lice and other pests on dogs, cats and other animals. It is known as a mechanical insecticide. All natural, it kills by physical action, not chemical, by puncturing the insect's exoskeleton and absorbing the moisture in their bodies. It causes the bugs to dehydrate and die and can be very effective. Safe forms of diatomaceous earth, such as the food grade diatomaceous earth that we sell, can be used on pet's coat, in their bedding, in rugs and other surfaces where fleas and ticks may come in contact. Once they do, the powder will begin to kill the insects.

Diatomaceous earth is also used in gardens to help control aphids, white fly, beetles, loopers, mites, leaf hoppers, and other pests. In these types of uses the powder is best applied with a duster or flour sifter when the leaves are moist. After a rain the powder may need to re-applied.

In addition to killing fleas and ticks on your pets and in your home, diatomaceous earth can also help kill other pests and is a natural form of chemical-free pest control to kill roaches, silverfish, ants, bedbugs, flies, fleas, box elder bugs, scorpions, crickets, and many other insects.

If you have diatomaceous earth for use with your swimming pool, avoid breathing it and do not use it on your pets and in your home. That form of DE or diatomite is chemically treated with flux and heated and contains large amounts of crystalline silica which is hazardous to breathe. Diatomaceous earth that you use in your home should contain less than 1% crystalline silica.

The quality of diatomaceous earth that we sell is food grade but not all forms of diatomaceous earth are safe to use. The flux-calcined form of diatomite contains a highly crystalline form of silica which results in sharp edges. The sharpness of this version of the material makes it dangerous to breathe. You will not want your pets to breathe this form of diatomite, A dust mask is recommended when working with it in other uses.

The type of hazard posed by inhalation depends on the form of the silica. Crystalline silica poses a serious inhalation hazard because it can cause silicosis. Amorphous silica can cause dusty lungs, but does not carry the same degree of risk as crystalline silica. Natural or dried diatomite, such as the type we sell, generally contains very low percentages of crystalline silica. You should never use diatomaceous earth or diatomite that you may have around your home for use in your pool filter for any other purpose, including flea control. Diatomaceous earth or diatomite that is produced for pool filters is treated with high heat (calcining) and a fluxing agent, causing the formerly amorphous silicon dioxide to assume its crystalline form, which should not be breathed.

Diatomaceous earth can be an affordable, safe and effective tool for combating fleas and ticks on your pet and in your home. Other safe and natural tools for a holistic and chemical-free battle against these pests can include: organic Neem spray, safe neem soaps, herbal sprays, garlic tablets to repel insects, fish oil to help promote good health and homeopathic remedies