Pest prevention – how I protect my cats and dog

I won’t bore you with all the different types of fleas, worms and ticks, there is plenty of information and scary pictures on the internet!  I thought I might share with you what remedies I have used on my own animals to prevent problems and protect them from these dreaded pests.

Do speak to your Vet if you want recommendations as their products are, of course, very effective. I am not able to advise on treatments for your pets as I am not a vet, but I thought you might find it interesting if I shared with you what I do with my own pets.

Fleas

Fleas can be found anywhere, in grass, on other pets, commonly on cats and bedding, so dogs often come into contact with them on a daily basis being out and about. It’s practically impossible for your dog to not pick them up, and some dogs seem to be more attractive to fleas than others.  I had a dog years ago that never seem affected, but cats that always needed preventative action!  

In the past, when I have had a problem with fleas, it’s usually the cats that bring them in. I have 2 cats, and so as soon as they start scratching, I have no choice but to give them a spot-on treatment (which they hate of course), but one is allergic to flea bites and ends up in a terrible mess if she is bitten and scratches. 

Bill also had spot-on treatments, but we also tried the pill kind which was easier to administer and doesn’t leave product on the coat to be touched by humans. They both seemed to work.

There are collars that can be used – these types of collars can be left on for 6 months and can get wet if your dog likes a swim or goes out in the rain, although I always take them off when washing.  Do your research on these too.  They are chemical heavy, but I have used one in the past. 

At the moment I use CSJ Billy No Mates herbal additive that I put into Willow’s food. This needs a few weeks to start taking effect, so I started this last month in good time for the season.  This is available from all good pet stores, or online. 

Another great anti-flea remedy I use is raw garlic, but this must be crushed and left for at least 10 mins before it can be put in the food.  Again, please do your own research on this, but it seems to have other great benefits too. 

Worms

For worms, I don’t regularly treat my pets with chemicals, but I do add some Diatomaceous Earth (DE) to their food to kill any worms and I routinely check if Willow has any using a fantastic service called wormcount.com that checks all bugs in his poop. Yes, you have to send poop in the post to them, but it’s very easy! I have never seen a positive result for worms, but if I did, the DE would be adjusted to kill them, then I would retest.   Please be very careful with Diatomaceous Earth, as breathing it in is dangerous, but eating it is fine.  I buy human grade from imbaliridgebacks.co.uk it can also be used as a dust for killing fleas, but again you have to be very careful.

Ticks

For ticks, I use an herbal anti-tick spray that I spray on his legs if we are off walking in long grass that ticks don’t much like, and I have had very few instances of ticks.

I think using as much herbal and natural products as possible is definitely the way I like to go, I must admit, if there is a problem I will reach for more chemical products, but only as a last resort for me.  I prefer the greener and more naturalistic route where I can.