| Check with your vet before using the garlic on your pets. Some experts will tell you that onion and garlic are toxic to animals. Also remember that cats and dogs may require different treatments, and treatments may differ according to the size and age of the animal. Please check with your vet before using ANYTHING on or around your pets. ON CATS:
Feed 1/2 teaspoon of powdered yeast daily to the cat.
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Feed half a garlic clove per day.
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Put dried chamomile flowers in the cat's basket. ON DOGS:
Feed 2 large teaspoons powdered yeast daily for large dogs.
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Feed 2 cloves garlic per day for large dogs, added to the usual food.
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Put DRIED bracken ferns under the dog's blanket.
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Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water in which the dog is washed to kill fleas. TO DETER:
Take a 'tea' of lemon peels and water, by steeping overnight, then sponge it over the dog's coat.
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Rub dog over with tansy, fennel, basil or mint, pennyroyal or other strong smelling herb. Grow any of these herbs, or wormwood, pyrethrum, rue and marigolds around kennel areas.
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Bathe dog in eucalyptus wool wash solution.
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Dust some derris powder (from garden suppliers) through the animal's coat, leave for half an hour, then comb or brush it out over some newspaper. Do not allow the pet to swim in creeks or ponds, as derris is deadly to fish, but it breaks down in sunlight after a few days. HOME MADE FLEA COLLAR FOR DOGS:
2 tablespoons peppermint essential oil
1/2 cup rosemary essential oil
2 tablespoons white cedar essential oil
1/4 cup citronella essential oil
2 tablespoons eucalyptus essential oil Soak a natural fibre rope in mixture and let dry for several hours. Tie around pet's neck. DO NOT use on cats. FROM CARPETS:
Vacuum regularly, remembering to do areas like under beds, around skirting boards and window sills. Sprinkle with borax and leave for 48 hours, then vacuum. Keep pets and children away during treatment.
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Wet pieces of newspaper with oil of cedar, scatter these over the floor, under beds or on rugs, and leave overnight. Fleas will gather on the newspaper, and you can put them, newspaper and all, into plastic bags and dispose of them in the garbage bin. FROM MATTRESSES:
Place some sprigs of mint under mattresses.
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Dissolve 3 blocks of camphor in 2 cups methylated spirits, and rub onto the mattress and nearby furniture. TO TREAT BITES:
Rub over with tea-tree oil. PYRETHRUM SPRAY:
The concentration of pyrethrums is at its peak when the flowers are in full bloom, from the time the first row of florets open on the central disk opens to the time all the florets are open. Add 1 litre of boiling water to half a cup of firmly packed flowers. Leave to cool, strain and add 1 teaspoon of pure soap. Shake well before use. Spray only in early morning or evening when bees are not active, and never in temperatures more than 32C. You will need to use the spray or dust every day until the infestation is over. It deteriorates in sunlight. The spray is useful against aphids, woolly aphids, scale, spider mites, thrips, whitefly, codling moth, cabbage loopers, caterpillars, earwigs, leaf-miners, millipedes, some beetles, spiders, termites and slaters, spiders, termites, weevils, grasshoppers, stink bugs, thrips, gnats, mosquitoes, tomato pinworms, spider mites and crickets. In the house, the spray will eradicate fleas and spiders. Combine with soap to kill lice (test for skin sensitivity first.) The spray may stain some fabrics. Dried pyrethrum flowers can be ground to a powder and used as a dust. DRY DOG SHAMPOO:
Rub some bicarbonate of soda thoroughly into the dog's coat, then brush off excess. Leaves the coat clean and shiny. You can add a few drops of appropriate essential oils to the powder for added flea protection. I used to use lavender when I had a dog. To get rid of fleas in your carpet, after removing pets from the room, sprinkle Borax over the carpet and rub it in. Wait a while, then vacuum as usual. Keep pets and children outside while you wait. Reapply the Borax once a week until the problem is gone. After bathing your pet, put a little Lavender or Tea Tree essential oil into the final rinse water, or rub a little of the oil over the pet's coat, to repel fleas. Or wipe over with some fresh Tansy leaf. Grow Fennel near a dog's kennel to deter fleas. Feed your pet a little Garlic with its meals, or rub garlic over the animal. Or wash the dog with a strong infusion of Lobelia leaves. Or brush pets with a brush that has been stroked across the cut surface on an onion. The smell soon dissapates, but not as fast as the fleas. Rue, Tansy and Wormwood also repel fleas. Plant some in the garden, scatter in pets’ bedding, or massage into their coat. Powdered Southernwood, scattered on carpets, will rid the house of fleas. Herbal anti-flea dip for your pet:
2 cups packed fresh Peppermint, Pennyroyal, or Rosemary
1 litre boiling water
4 litres warm water Prepare an infusion by pouring the boiling water over the herbs and allow it to steep for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid and dilute it with the warm water. Saturate the animal's coat thoroughly with the solution, allowing it to air dry. Use at the first sign of flea activity. This remedy will need to be repeated every three to four days LAVENDER WATER:
3 tablespoons dried lavender flowers
200ml boiling water
1 tablespoon vodka
150ml rosewater
pinch powdered nutmeg
15-20 drops lavender essential oil Pour boiling water over the dried lavender and leave to cool. Strain, reserving liquid. Combine lavender infusion with the vodka, rosewater, nutmeg and essential oil. Pour through a coffee filter several times, then transfer to a bottle with a glass stopper. This mixture makes an excellent mouthwash, a refreshing skin toner, a soothing compress for tension headaches. It will help you sleep if you put a few drops on a pillow or in the bath just before bed. An insect repellent against fleas, flies, mosquitoes. Grown in the garden, catnip helps to repel fleas. Grow 'fennel near the kennel' to repel fleas. Pennyroyal is used to get rid of fleas, but it's a herb I never recommend because it can cause fitting in some animals - and humans. |
