Comments on: Diatomaceous Earth: A miracle cure for flea control?

By: kt

kt — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:30:03 +0000

I work at an animal clinic and fleas have been especially bad this year, and I’m also trying to find ways to control fleas without using chemicals for clients. First and foremost for a normal pet – feed high quality food! – a strong, healthy pet will not get infested with fleas or any other parasite as quickly as one on a poor diet.
It does appear that clients are not happy with Frontline, it just does not seem to be keeping up with the fleas. I’m not sure from all the comments if I would feel comfortable suggesting diatomaceous earth as a natural substitute. I’ve heard several suggestions about brewer’s yeast – any thoughts?
Also, with treating fleas (chemically or natural methods) we have several clients with pets that are diabetic or have liver issues – I would like to find something that will not interfere with medications or worsen any exsisting problems.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:17:28 +0000

We have used Frontline, Diatomaceous Earth and Joy Dishwashing liquid for our flea problem. We have a dog and a cat and I can’t even begin to explain what a pain this process has been! We have the non food grade DE and it really does work. We took a wire mesh strainer and used that to spread the DE ALL OVER THE HOUSE and for about a month we were flea-free! I guess we didn’t leave it down long enough though because we have them again! When we bathed them, we use the Joy soap and if you scrub really well, you can see them drowning and going down the drain. We bathed our animals last and kept them separate until they were both done. Its particularly difficult for us because, unlike many of you, we cannot see the fleas throughout the house so our only proof of their eradication is if our pets are no longer scratching or when I can no longer find the little buggers in their fur. We just laid down a fresh layer or DE all over the house yesterday and we plan on leaving it for a few days, as annoying as it is

By: Jeannette Carriere

Jeannette Carriere — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:03:11 +0000

I had flea’s and purchased non food grade DE at lowes.Why purchase food grade when you want the strongest it can be to kill the insect.This stuff is a pain in the butt however it works.You have to leave it on your floor you cant vacuum it up.

We have all hardwood floors the original ones in an old housse .I sprinkled it all over and especially around the baseboards and into the cracks.My daughter took a broom and swept into everything and then what was leftover was dumped outside.I kept my dog in a pet taxi until every last flea had left.

He eats garlic in his food and it didn’t work.I tried vinegar on him and in his drinking water didn’t work.I sprayed the house with vinegar,lemon and dawn dish washing liquid.The dish washing liquid does work and is safe for your dogs and cats to bathe in.The other stuff not a chance.

If you want a fast and easy solution have your house bombed.If you want a relatively hard solution that will work then use DE..You will have to put up with the mess it makes and live with it for at least 4 days.

I left mine on the floor for 14 days to catch any newly hatched fleas.I also use a mini shop vac and put a flea collar in there had been cut up.I just swept the floor each day from family mess time.I put down an area rug that had been treated for my kids to sit on.

This stuff really does work just leave it on your floor for awhile.Bathe your dogs before letting them into the house.Treat the outside of your house with nematodes it really does work.

By: Kari

Kari — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:00:10 +0000

After vacuuming not even two rooms in our house I can already tell you this is going to be a PAIN. Maybe I put too much down, but it really slows down the push of your vacuum. You can also expect to dump your canister / bag / filters AT LEAST once each room.

By: Kari

Kari — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:59:33 +0000

I’ve been researching DE myself…although most of these posts were months ago, maybe my reply will assist others in the future.

I’m just now getting around to putting DE on the carpets, cats, and outdoors, so I can’t yet completely testify for the quality of it. It has been on the majority of the carpet in my house for around sixteen hours, I’ve already seen a noticeable difference in the amount and SIZE of fleas jumping on me. I have read from other websites that it can take up to 72 hours for DE to actually kill the fleas. It does NOT kill eggs and larvae, so theoretically the carpet should be treated again in a week and then probably the next week. I believe I read that it takes fifteen days for the eggs to hatch.

I’ve also read that simply vacuuming as often as you can will help rid your home of fleas. You must be careful when removing the bag/canister though…preferably do it OUTSIDE of your home. Never let a vacuum sit for too long after you turn the power off, the little boogers will find a way out of it.

As far as spot-on treatments and shampoos go…it’s all VERY temporary and toxic, plus fleas can develop a tolerance level, thus making it ineffective. It’s not been a month since I last used Frontline Plus and it had little to no effect on the fleas on my cats… I gave them a flea bath and the next day there were still just as many fleas on them…and I swear, I saw them all dying while I was washing the cats!

They say the typical poisons used in collars, spot-ons, and shampoos can be toxic to an animal’s liver.

If you’re having a REALLY hard time ridding yourself of fleas, I’ve read to try 20 Mule Team Borax…It’s a powder laundry detergent… It IS a powder you should put down and either remove your family/pets or do different parts of the house (such as lock animals up in one bedroom, do the rest of the house, make sure animals are virtually flea free –DO NOT put Borax on them– and then do that last room. I believe if you let it sit for a few hours, it will be pretty effective.

Citrus oil is also good for killing fleas, especially orange oil. You can take the peel of an orange, simmer it in water for 15 minutes, let it cool down, and then bathe your pets in it to kill fleas…also good for spraying outside your house.

Beneficial nematodes (a live, microscopic worm) are good for putting in moist dirt…they will stop fleas from reproducing outside and around your house.

I also vacuumed thorougly before spreading DE around (before I was sure I was going to buy any) and dumped most of the canisters outside…but I took the one from our bedroom and dumped it into a large Ziploc bag…it’s disgusting how many fleas a good vacuum can pick up…and makes me scared of what it’s still leaving behind! It’s fun to watch them suffer though =)

There’s also some stuff called Flea Free that you can put into your pet’s food/water that contains vinegar, citrus, and garlic…supposed to kill fleas, haven’t bought any yet.

By: Barry Silverstein

Barry Silverstein — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:31:03 +0000

Bryan: Ideally you would mix 1 tablespoon of DE into food for your Golden and 1 teaspoon of DE into food for one of your smaller dogs. It may not be a good idea to give DE to a puppy, so if possible, feed the terrier mix separately with the DE.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 19:51:54 +0000

I only have one question about DE that I saw in the above video. Just trying to clarify, I have three dogs ranging in size from a Golden Retriever, a Terrier mix, and a Chihuahua. It said about a tablespoon a day in their food. The two smaller dogs share their food dish so will this be to much for the chihuahua? Should I decrease the amount for the two smaller dogs? The weights are as follows: Golden – 80lbs., Terrier mix – 18-20lbs and the chihuahua about 3lbs at the moment as it is a puppy of about 4 months in age.

As far as putting it on the animals and in their bedding we have noticed a significant decrease in the amount of fleas on the animals.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:39:07 +0000

Also, a side comment;

Has anyone had issues with thier vacuumn overloading, too much fine powder? I am emptying frequently, washing the filter and all but I only get a few minutes of real strong power before I have to stop and overhaul the filter system and clean out the hoses. I am using a brand new vacuumn. Just purchased last week.

I would imagine an older vacuumn wouldnt have a chance with this kind of heavy duty chore. Any thoughts from those who are doing this?

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:09:55 +0000

I am certain that I am not stopping the cycle with my pets. I Frontline them….they STILL scratch and I see live fleas where they are.

I did a DE treatment on only my room, a few days ago. I was relentless, covered and scrubbed it into the matresses. But get this folks: I left it there. I washed all linens and re-made the bed. So in actuallity I slept with the stuff all over my room, determined to let it sit for several days. Well, I vaccumned after four days (Saturday night) By sunday, I was lying awake counting the intervals of how soon the pests were biting at me. Nearly constant.

what is this??

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:07:35 +0000

I used an old push broom (ones you can scrub the floor with) and spread the de as if I was broadcasting seeds (probably way more than needed) and proceeded to use the broom to “scrub” it into the carpet – luckily low pile in my case.

No adult fleas so far (did this early in the afternoon) and now I am only seeing the smaller ones that are trying to crawl up my foot. The jury is still out for me, but I have no plans on vacuuming any of this up for another few more days