Sorry to say, but DE is worse than useless for killing fleas on my dog. Orange oil solution burns him, DE just puts a cloud into the air when I pet him (it may blind the fleas, I guess. It does me). He's constantly chewin on himself and scratchin, as dogs do; it's part of their job, I reckon. I'd like to find somethin that I can put on the dog once a week and forget about it and not have these little buggers - that look like junebugs out here on the river - jumpin on me and makin him miserable. One good result, at least, is that I no longer let him crawl up in bed with me at night.

I'm a step away from just gettin some flea powder. In spite of any philosophical problems I'd have with it, at least it's always worked and kept the fleas off and gave me no issues. Perhaps farm dogs that I get for free and have always been so low-maintenance are not the vector I should be takin this organic bidness. Perhaps I can make some orange oil solution and just not make it quite as strong and get some results. I'll read some more on it before I give up. I've been goin on info from threads and snippets of stuff. I need a repellent and flea killer that works. If there is an organic solution to that, I'm all for it. Barring that the need doesn't go away.

Okay. Done venting. I'm gonna go mix up some orange oil solution. That stuff'll work better'n the DE, at least. I guess this means I gotta clean house as well.


*edit for subject-verb agreement*

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Silencio ranas, que va a cantar el sapo

Well, I just mixed up a jug of orange oil solution and rubbed it all over the pooch. He rolled around and ran about for a bit and then settled down. He was just scratchin a moment ago, but I took the Christian Science approach and told him it was all in his mind. We're cleanin house today and tomorrow in preparation for the arrival of Dad's old girlfriend, so I'll do my annual moppin and vacuum bit whether it needs it or not. Perhaps that'll do some good as well. Vanessa's a limey who loves dogs, so a flea or two here'n there won't put her off her feed none.

Rowdy's taken it upon himself to treat the bedding and carpets as well by rollin around on em continuously for the last fifteen or twenty minutes. This stuff works!

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Silencio ranas, que va a cantar el sapo

Hey! he'rbvawbs everb decrabided to treat my laebrp[ and shirt and computeagbr keybsrhbd!!1

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Silencio ranas, que va a cantar el sapo

there you have it. orange oil and mind control form the crux of the biscuit here at the Ranch.

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Silencio ranas, que va a cantar el sapo

Didn't work. Fleas again same day. Any ideas that don't involve daily chores surrounding this issue? Is there an organic powder that I can use once weekly or so that will work as effectively as the flea powders I used in the past and never had any problems with? This is not a show-dog or a treasured family pet of long standing. This is a free farm dog that I took for granted would get run over or carried off by buzzards or shot by a neighbor at some point, but for whom I hold a particular fondness. However, it is five in the morning, and I have been awakened every fifteen minutes by the jangling of his rabies tag when he scratches.

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Silencio ranas, que va a cantar el sapo

I've never run across any information about an organic flea control method that didn't include erradicating fleas in their entirety from the house, yard and everywhere else that pets have access to. Nematodes applications for outdoor areas, DE for interior spaces in conjunction with regular vaccuming. Since this sort of solution doesn't seem feasible for your particular situation then, (unless someone else has heard of some magic bullet organic solution that merely keeps them off the pet) it would appear that you're going to have to revert to what's worked before for you.

~Dave

I was in a rather foul mood when I posted that this mornin. Dad took a tumble in the kitchen and had to have stitches, and we had to pick up a guest at the airport early as well. The dog had kept me awake all night, and I wasn't at my best. The house is clean, and I'll get some nematodes this week as well. I also have the DE to use in the house. What I failed to do was practice restraint of pen (or keys, at least). Otherwise, I'm right on board with the program.

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Silencio ranas, que va a cantar el sapo

I hear ya. I know all about dogs keeping me up at nights. Had a yellow lab who chewed and scratched for 5 years straight at the foot of my bed. I swore up and down I'd never again own a breed that was prone to skin problems. That didn't pan out.. just had to get a Jack this time around and she's almost as bad at 18 months as old yellow ever was in his later years. Oy!

~Dave

[quote="greenacres"]...My favorite toy that a vet told me about years ago for a teething dog.....take some panty hose and keep tying them into a big knot. Make it real tight and like a ball. Dogs love this to chew on and it is good for their gums... quote]

About the pantyhose thing:
Might this encourage the chewing of other hose accidentally left out of a drawer or wash basket? What if it was to unravel? If a dog (or cat) starts swallowing pantyhose, it can cause all kinds of internal bleeding and stomach problems. Just a thought.

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Nadine Bielling
Moderator
Gardener Exchange Forum

The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach

This may sound crazy but when our Spitz-Poodle had fleas really bad a number of years ago we got rid of them with builders lime. Sprinkled it on Max, all through the house and in the yard. Got rid of the fleas and they never gave us another problem. I used this at my MIL's house to get rid of fleas there also. I just put the lime into a large strainer and sprinkled away. We moved three years ago and the fleas are awful this year so tomorrow I'm off the Home Depot to get more lime.