Diatomaceous earth

[SoulBiter]

Anyone ever try using this to control fleas on their pets? Basically I don't trust 'Frontline' as a preventative for fleas and ticks on pets. The instructions explicitly warn you not to get it on your skin and if you do to wash it immediately as you are putting it directly on your pets skin.

So we have been looking for alternatives. We are now 3 weeks in on using this on our dog. So far Diatomaceous earth seems to be working. No fleas present on our dog.

From what I understand this stuff puts scratches on the carapace of the insects which keep them from being able to retain water. They die within a couple of hours. However the consistency of this stuff is like flour. Completely harmless to pets.

BTW this is food grade not the kind you use in pool filters.

[JazFusion]

I've never heard of it. I have heard coconut oil is great for keeping fleas off cats and dogs. For a preventive, as well as a treatment. Rub the oil all over their fur, and down into their skin. Wait a few minutes, then take a flea comb and pick out the fleas. The oil suffocates them and they can't move. Rinse the comb in a bowl of soapy water, and repeat.

This also works on lice on humans, too.

[[Syl]]

Growing up, I lived a few miles from some open-air diatomacious earth mines (great place to find fossils, btw), and my dogs never had fleas. Of course, that was in the desert, where hot, dry air pretty much means no fleas, so...

Since I no longer live in the desert, we just get the pills from the vet. Works, but it's not cheap.

[psytech]

I've never used this but I hear that it works well. You didn't mention exactly how you're using it but it can be spread around (I suspect you're using it like this) and the food grade can be added to food for control of gi tract type pests.

I've even heard the recommendation that when building a house, it can be sprinkled in the frame before sheetrocking to give long term protection for a variety of pests.

It works exactly as you say: scratching their carapaces.

[Orlion]

Good on you for not using Frontline. The ingredient that kills fleas is also poison for animals. In 'the right dosage', one ought not to experience problems, but some pets are more sensitive to it then others.

[SoulBiter]

update...

So here we are a few weeks later and still the fleas are staying under control. We still need to flea brush them...but we had to do that even with front line. We still find a flea or two here and there when we brush them, but we did even when they were on frontline.

So all in all I think a successful experiment.

[Tulizar]

I used DE to take care of my ant problem. I would sprinkle it around the foundation of my house in the summer when the ants were out of control. DE was a good choice since I had a basset hound who loved to sniff everything when he strolled around the house.