# Herbal essential oil for fleas and ticks



## tnborn (Mar 18, 2005)

Hello,
I have tried lavender and pennyroyal essential oils for my dogs to get rid off fleas and ticks. So far, they still have them. I thought about trying tree tea oil. Does any one have any suggestions? My border collie is getting ticks bad. I am constantly pulling and yanking ticks off. Should I feed her something different besides store bought dog food? 
tnborn


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

I read somewhere that to much tea tree oil can be toxic to dogs. Will see if I can find that info again.

We have a terrible time with our BC mixes and ticks. Best thing we've found is to have them shaved at the beginning of the summer. They look real funny all summer, but it helps us keep the ticks off them and they stay cooler (we're in MS and the humidity and heat can get real bad).


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I have a border collie and have never had a problem with ticks or fleas. I should say HE hasn't had a problem and therefore, I haven't :haha: 

I have read that dogs on a natural diet (raw meat type diet) do not get parasites. This is because they are in better health, have better immune systems. Grocery store food is low quality, full of filler. If you fed a premium dog food, like Max Nutro Natural, or Flint River, or something in that price range, your dog's overall health will improve. I don't know if it would keep the bugs off, but it's worth a try. At any rate, there'd be less poop to pick up  

To get the fleas and ticks off, I have used apple cider vinager (on another dog, before switching to Max). Put dog in tub, wet down with warm water, use gentle shampoo, preferably a homemade one, lather and rinse. Then, give a vinager and water rinse. One part vinegar to three parts water, or stronger. The bugs just fall off. If they aren't falling off, you need more vinegar. Keep away from face.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Have you tried sevin dust? It is reportedly natural, what I have been using on my chooks and it has seemed to work quite well. I hadn't thought to try it on the dogs until I read it here, but will do so now. Thankfully haven't had bad fleas or ticks yet this summer.


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## tnborn (Mar 18, 2005)

Hey Rave,
that is a good idea to shave her. She might enjoy being cooler.  
tnborn


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## GoldenMom (Jan 2, 2005)

I feed raw and my dogs still get ticks if I take them walking in the woods. Personally, I just go over my dogs once a day (petting/scratching) and remove any ticks I find (and yes my dogs have quite a bit of fur). It's a pretty safe bet that if you get them removed before they start to engorge they probably won't be able to infect your dog with anything. I don't know of anything that's really good at repelling them. Heck, ticks still get on dogs treated with Frontline, etc. (they're supposed to die before they attach). Shaving would probably help a lot, just so you could see the ticks easier. Make sure if you shave close to keep the dog out of the sun for a couple of days or use sunscreen-they can get burned, too.


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## countrygrrrl (Aug 4, 2003)

I use K9 Advantix, and it is great! Started using it last summer, and haven't seen one tick on the pups since.

I used Frontline for a long time --- it's good, but ticks can still attach. One thing really good about it is that it also kills ear mites in a lot of dogs.

If you live in a heavily tick infested area like I do (grrr), the K9 Advantix is worth considering.


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## #1 DogMom (Jun 14, 2004)

Brewers Yeast and Garlic are great, natural alternatives. I get a brewers yeast tab. at PetsMart and just chop up a garlic clove and feed it to them. I do this everyday and it really seems to work. And I also agree with those that recommended a high quality dog food. I found one that is comparable in ingredients to Wysong, but without the really high price tag. It's called Canidae. Made w/ human grade ingredients, too. You can check them out at www.canidae.com Good luck w/ your pups.

Leanna


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## Bella Moon (May 17, 2005)

I just put some hot coconut oil on my hair for a good soaking and decided to pour a bit on my terrier as well. She keeps scratching. We'll see if this does the trick.

Annabella~


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## MelissaW (Jun 18, 2003)

Ticks are a pest I haven't conquered (now we use Frontline), but fleas have been easier. They seem to hate black walnut trees. If you have any near your house (or can plant some), they really stay away. Also, some dried tansy sewn into a collar (make something like a big ponytail scrunchy and stuff it) works well to ward them off.


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## kesoaps (Dec 18, 2004)

No clue if it works for ticks, but Catnip Essential oil makes a great insect repellant. I've used it on us humans and on the horses for flies rather successfully. It's dreadfully expensive, however, so not many folks want to try it.


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## tnborn (Mar 18, 2005)

I like frontline but it is expensive, but it is effective. I may go back to it. I am going to try the catnip essential oil and some tansy. IF this doen't work, frontline her I come.
tnborn


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

tnborn said:


> Hey Rave,
> that is a good idea to shave her. She might enjoy being cooler.
> tnborn


Shaving will not make the dog less likely to get bugs or help control fleas, what it will do is take away the dogs natural protection agains the suns rays and make it more uncomfortable in the hot weather. The coat insulates against heat and cold alike. I had a collie yrs ago that was a rescue, had to be shaved due to demodectic mange, we had to be careful about sun exposure and he did not tolerate the heat as well.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

Our ticks are awful out here so we feed garlic everyday.We all eat it and the ticks still get on us, but I see a differance in the amount that we find on our selves or our pets.


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## canadianmandy (Nov 11, 2005)

Im haveing major tick problems to... when we lived in Pa in a city it was fleas... never saw a tick... didnt even know what they looked like... Moved to Mo and Its an endless battle .. I cant use the stuff you put on there back B/c we have a 1 and 3 year old and its toxic and they love petting are poochies. We are thinking Frontline to. We found a good cure for fleas and we are going to try it on ticks. Its called neem oil it smells but its natural and worked great on fleas. We also shaved Buddie (she is retriever/lab/shepherd (looks like a pure retriever) and very thick thick hair) We did not buzz her all the way we gave her a coat like a Lab .. It was very refreshing for her (she was soo hot) She did not have problems with the sun b/c we left hair on and you could not see her skin. We are planning to cut her hair again when its actually spring (we have confusing weather) Its easier to check for ticks if the hair is shorter. so it will make my daily task of checking for them easier! In the summer I will have to show before and after pictures lol!
~`*Mandie*`~


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## Pyrenees (Oct 23, 2004)

tnborn said:


> I thought about trying tree tea oil. Does any one have any suggestions? My border collie is getting ticks bad. I am constantly pulling and yanking ticks off. Should I feed her something different besides store bought dog food?
> tnborn


Easy on the tea tree oil...it can be absorbed through the skin in sufficient quantity to cause toxicity. The only natural product that has shown any effectiveness against ticks is neem. With fleas...garlic can be a slight deterrent, but you have to go chemical to get any meaningful results.


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## affenpinschermom (May 10, 2002)

I use Neem oil for ticks, too, but whoops, I've also been using the home made tea tree oil soap I have. I doubt the concentration of it was enough to hurt, but my little dogs are under 10 lbs. so I don't want to take any chances. I won't use it anymore. The neem oil has really helped.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Willowynd said:


> Shaving will not make the dog less likely to get bugs or help control fleas, what it will do is take away the dogs natural protection agains the suns rays and make it more uncomfortable in the hot weather. The coat insulates against heat and cold alike. I had a collie yrs ago that was a rescue, had to be shaved due to demodectic mange, we had to be careful about sun exposure and he did not tolerate the heat as well.


I agree that shaving does not make the dog less likely to get ticks or fleas, but it sure makes it easier to see them attached to the dog! And we do not shave to the skin. I leave at minimum an inch of hair on the dogs and, since my dogs spend a great deal of time indoors, I am able to monitor their sun exposure. 

My dogs have always seemed to tolerate the heat and humidity better if they're trimmed for the summer. We have such a long season that all their hair has grown back by the time it gets cold here.


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