Getting Rids Of Fleas

[JurgenG]

My dog stay in a small Bangkok garden when I'm not there. I just got him back today and he's is full of fleas.

It's a small garden in the middle of the city, where do the fleas come from ? It is possible to clean the garden (10 x 40 m) so he won't get fleas any more ?

What I worry is there is a new residence nearby and the garbage room bring rats. Because my relatives are Buddhist (!?) they dont' want to put trap to kill the rats. Is it possible that the rats are responsible for the fleas ? What else should I worry about ? and how to get rid of the rats in a "buddhist way" without poisoning my dog ?

[Cuban]

There are chemical/oils that you can place on your dog's fur coat to deter fleas & ticks called Frontline and Advantix, there are some Chinese fake versions in the system so buy with care.

Avoid frequent bathing, dogs can be clean if showered 2-3 times a year, but comb and brush daily.

There is a general guidance in many dog centric books/web-sites that say that garlic is toxic to dogs, we feed out dogs a small raw clove of garlic once a week and that alone seems to be effective in keeping most fleas/ticks at bay. We live in a rural area.

You can buy metal box traps for rats, about 60-70 Baht at a hardware store, so you can trap and release. What you might choose to do is get a few of these traps so that the relatives can trap them without killing, and then you take them to the countryside to release them for a idyllic life. If however you occidentally drop the metal cage trap with rat enclosed into a bucket of water for about a minute or so you save on a car journey. Just dry the cage before returning to the relatives so they can maintain their image of ratty running wild in the countryside playing with the snakes.

[xen]

It is funny with fleas that if your dog has fleas then you won't have them. If you happen to get rid of your dog, not that i am suggesting that , but you will find your house will be full of fleas. The fleas will normally be attracted to warm blooded creatures. The rats will breed the fleas if your dog doesn't.

My stepdaughter comes home from school a few times a year with lice. She has long hair which i threaten to cut off if she wants to keep lice as pets but a lot of parents don't seem to give a toss about whether their kids are breeding grounds for lice,and and so she gets lice regularly , but to get back to what i was going to suggest was i have been bringing lice mixtures from Oz which get rid of lice very quickly and may do the same for fleas and they are natural just containing eucalyptus, tea tree and rosemary oils. I think much better for living creatures like yr dog than some of the flea killing chemicals on sale here. Perhaps you could experiment with spraying your yard with these oils as well.

[wayned]

Sevin dust is a very effective insectacide for controlling fleas and ticks. Goolge it for further info.

[kimamey]

There are chemical/oils that you can place on your dog's fur coat to deter fleas & ticks called Frontline and Advantix, there are some Chinese fake versions in the system so buy with care.

Avoid frequent bathing, dogs can be clean if showered 2-3 times a year, but comb and brush daily.

There is a general guidance in many dog centric books/web-sites that say that garlic is toxic to dogs, we feed out dogs a small raw clove of garlic once a week and that alone seems to be effective in keeping most fleas/ticks at bay. We live in a rural area.

You can buy metal box traps for rats, about 60-70 Baht at a hardware store, so you can trap and release. What you might choose to do is get a few of these traps so that the relatives can trap them without killing, and then you take them to the countryside to release them for a idyllic life. If however you occidentally drop the metal cage trap with rat enclosed into a bucket of water for about a minute or so you save on a car journey. Just dry the cage before returning to the relatives so they can maintain their image of ratty running wild in the countryside playing with the snakes.

I'm never sure about this Buddhist stuff. Go to any food market and it's covered with dead and living animals. I'm pretty certain that when they buy live fish, frogs, lizards and crabs they aren't going to keep them as pets. I've heard all the excuses as well. 'It's food'. ' I didn't kill it someone else did and I'm just eating it'. Buddha just said you should try not to kill' (they don't seem to be trying very hard). There's a Thai word to explain it but I don't know the English word (hypocrisy seems to fit to me). Buddhist values here and religious ones in general everywhere are very flexible when needed.

The idea of the traps are a good one if you have somewhere nearby to release them. Obviously not too close. I can't remember the distance needed to stop them returning but I'm sure Google can help. You're idea of drowning them however is repulsive as is deceiving people. A quick death with a meat cleaver is better although I probably wouldn't do that myself.

[kimamey]

Sevin dust is a very effective insectacide for controlling fleas and ticks. Goolge it for further info.

Just Googled it and I'm not sure if it's safe on dogs. It certainly appears to work on fleas though

Edited March 10, 2013 by kimamey

[Cuban]

Rodents often/always carry fleas etc.

Please explain, with the aid of a diagram should you wish, how you will hold down a rodent on your chopping block and then (I assume) decapitate it with a meat clever that you will then wash and use for preparing your food.

Death is death, it's selective application is what allows one individual to survive and progress.

After death it becomes food for something else, after my death I will either be worm-food or burnt and some form of plant food - either way it's the circle of life.

[Sheryl]

Frontline spot on treatment once a month. Make sure it is Frontline for dogs as there is also a product for cats and the chemicals differ. It comes in different packages according to the size of the dog, you apply it to the back of the neck (so that dog doesn't ingest it by licking) and do not bathe dog for about a week after applying.

Can get at any vet and also some pet shops.

[BookMan]

This topic makes me itchy

[LeCharivari]

Frontline, as described above, plus anti-flea powder if necessary. There's nothing wrong with shampooing a dog regularly as long as you use a suitable dog shampoo - NOT a baby or human shampoo. Try to use one with between 0.5 to 1 % permethrin to clear fleas.

If you're worried about vampires, use garlic; if fleas, use Frontline and a shampoo with permethrin.

[topt]

Frontline, as described above, plus anti-flea powder if necessary. There's nothing wrong with shampooing a dog regularly as long as you use a suitable dog shampoo - NOT a baby or human shampoo. Try to use one with between 0.5 to 1 % permethrin to clear fleas.

If you're worried about vampires, use garlic; if fleas, use Frontline and a shampoo with permethrin.

Do some shampoos actually contain Permethrin at those levels? The reason I am surprised is we use it in an aerosol insectidide but only as 0.06% plus another active at 0.12% - curious as just seems very high to put in a shampoo?

[LeCharivari]

Frontline, as described above, plus anti-flea powder if necessary. There's nothing wrong with shampooing a dog regularly as long as you use a suitable dog shampoo - NOT a baby or human shampoo. Try to use one with between 0.5 to 1 % permethrin to clear fleas.

If you're worried about vampires, use garlic; if fleas, use Frontline and a shampoo with permethrin.

Do some shampoos actually contain Permethrin at those levels? The reason I am surprised is we use it in an aerosol insectidide but only as 0.06% plus another active at 0.12% - curious as just seems very high to put in a shampoo?

Yes (they do), Dog shampoos designed to kill/control fleas and ticks have high permethrin levels - Chainguard 1 is one with 1% which is widely available and 0.5% is normal in these type of shampoos. 1% is the normal strength for. prescription shampoo for people with head lice (zen, take note!) and 5% is the normal strength in creams for treating scabies.

Aerosols have a far lower level as there is a much greater chance of breathing and ingesting an aerosol than a shampoo, and permethrin is barely absorbed through the skin.

Dog shampoos are far more "purpose specific" than human shampoos and they should be chosen and used based on breed, length and type of hair and coat, skin problems, allergies, ticks, fleas etc. Some shampoos, such as Malesab, are actually poisonous and are labelled as such.

The idea that a "baby" shampoo is better for a dog because it is somehow "gentle" is a popular one but it is simply nonsense - human skin and hair, whatever the age, and dog's skin and hair are totally different (sweat glands are just one example) and so are the requirements for exfoliation. Some medicated shampoos such as Kezole/Ninazol/Ketaconazole can be used on dogs as well as people, but in general they are not interchangeable and its important to choose the right shampoo (and how often you use it) for the individual dog or any animal - permethrin, for example, is highly toxic (lethal) to cats and a cat could die from just licking a dog that has been shampooed with a shampoo containing permethrin; its also toxic to fish, so you should never spray an insecticide with permethrin near a cat or in a room with fish tanks.

[LeCharivari]

...

I'm never sure about this Buddhist stuff. ... I've heard all the excuses as well. 'It's food'. ' I didn't kill it someone else did and I'm just eating it'. Buddha just said you should try not to kill' (they don't seem to be trying very hard). There's a Thai word to explain it but I don't know the English word (hypocrisy seems to fit to me). Buddhist values here and religious ones in general everywhere are very flexible when needed. ...

An old chestnut, but its no more illogical or hypocritical than the Western attitude to killing and euthanisia - and in many ways its far less hypocritical than a view which supports euthanasia for animals who don't have any choice in the matter but denies the same "humanity" to people who are terminally ill, in pain, and who have made a positive choice to die, or who support the death penalty but would not execute someone themselves, or who declare war on other but would never actually take part in it themselves.