I want to share some great information and products that I've found that work for my family pets.
Flea and Tick Season
(Read my blog about how to make those nasty critters SHOO with a non-toxic product.)
Prevention
I know lots of you use products like Frontline to prevent fleas and ticks. . . however I gave that up several years ago. There have been so many complaints about Frontline and similar products by pet owners that last year I ran across the EPA investigating the affects of spot on products for animals. Several years ago my vet explained to me that the chemicals are put along the animal’s spinal column and it is absorbed through the skin and can affect the pet’s central nervous system and in many cases can do to you pet what it does to fleas and ticks. UGH! So I was on a mission to find something to replace Frontline with that would not be toxic and harm my animal.
Luckily, my vet was trying out
shooTAGs about 2 years ago and suggested I consider it. We had fantastic results. Finally I’d found something safe that worked! I’d tried spraying the dogs with essential oils before they went out and that worked for fleas but not ticks. This worked for both. The cost is comparable to using Frontline and you have to put new tags on your pet about every 3 months. The very cool thing is that they work for dogs, cats, horses and even PEOPLE. I have a neighbor who is allergic to chiggers. They even have tags that will protect you from those critters (but I don’t know if she’s tried these yet or not).
Dealing with Ticks
If you are unlucky enough to find a tick on your dog or cat before you have taken preventative actions, there is a non-toxic way to handle that as well -- and it's EASY!
- Just use rubbing alcohol on the tick. I take a small bottle (like one of those travel ones you can get for $1 at Walmart) and cover the tick with the opening of the alcohol bottle.
- Hold the bottle of alcohol over the tick for at least a minute. This is pain-free for the pet and a lot easier than trying to use tweezers to pull the things and finding that the head is still embedded in your furry family member.
- Just wait for the tick to remove itself from your pet.
One of two things will happen - either the tick will pull out of your pet and fall off because you just took away its oxygen supply or it will be dead. You'll notice right away that the size of it shrinks because it is no longer sucking blood from your pet. If the tick doesn't fall off within 24hrs then use tweezers to pull it out. Usually the head will come out along with the body because it is no longer attached.
Should you happen to have a hardier tick, just repeat the process 12 hrs later and it will work. I've never had to repeat the process more than once on any of my dogs or cats.
It's great because it's pain-free for the animal and it's also sanitary for if you have to pull the tick out at all-- it keeps the entry area from getting infected. . . and it's non-toxic and inexpensive.