The Healthy Bark: No More Bugs On Me!!

Here we are in the south with winter, or lack there of coming to an end. What most do not think about is the bugs that are about to follow come spring, or for us here very soon since our temperatures and dampness is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and fleas. A lot of times people do not think about the pest until it is to late and they already have an infestation. Usually they reach for some chemical to kill them, but from what I have seen those chemicals are not only harmful they just do not work. Our pets suffer the most because we have bought into the hype of you must have flea protection and heartworm protection or you are a bad pet parent.
Go to any vet office and you will see the little display they have of the heart with the worms crawling through it. Almost like a horror movie on display. How could you not buy into such a visual? Yes I know heartworms can be a scary thing, but only because we are blindly led to believe this.

There are many natural ways of dealing with fleas and heartworms without having to use chemicals that are not only dangerous, but can cause death. I have heard the stories of pet parents as they told me through tears rolling down their face of what happened to their dog or cat. I have seen with my own eyes the damage these drugs have done and have chosen to do it naturally instead of with chemicals. I have not used any of these drugs in over 10+ years now on any pet I have owned.

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Nematodes are my first line of defense for the bad bugs. They kill all stages of fleas and mosquitoes, along with many other bad bugs that wreck havoc on the yard and flowers, yet they do not hurt the beneficial bugs. I have used and seen an 80% decrease in flea population in less than 24 hours. Within two weeks I have seen it wiped out. You apply them in the Spring and Fall with a hose end sprayer. Takes about 20 minutes to do a normal size yard.

Cedarcide cedar oil is my next line of defense. There are two types of spray they carry: one for people, pets, and inside your home, the other is for the yard. The yard one is applied with a hose end sprayer, where as the people, pets, and home one is a trigger sprayer. They also have some great pocket sized ones you can take with you for outdoor activities. This can also be applied to their collar.

My final line of defense is a couple products from Petwellness blends. Natur-Repel oil is applied to dogs either by putting in your hands and rubbing on or get their spray bottle. I like the rub on as I can make sure I get to the undercarriage of my Basset easier. This can also be applied to their collar.

For ticks if one should happen to get past my defenses I use Bor-L-Immune which you would give after you have removed a tick from your pet. Instruction are on the bottle.

Since I did not use heartworm meds on my previous dogs, nor do I have any plans on using it on Rupert, I will be doing the HWP from Petwellness blends as well. I test for heartworms Spring and Fall and follow the directions on the HWP.

Since all of these require a little more work than just doing once a month it may take a few to get into a routine, however in the long run you, your family, and your pets will not be exposed to harmful and deadly chemicals.

For the Petwellness Blends: Natur-Repel Oil, HWP, or Bor-L-Immune