Every summer season, the debate rages on about the considerable dangers of topical flea and tick products. If you would like to avoid these toxins but still want to give your pet some protection, here is an easy recipe for a safe and effective flea and tick powder, using only three ingredients:
Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
NEEM (dry form)
Yarrow
Simply mix the three together and rub the dust mixture into your dog’s coat. Use some caution with DE as it can irritate the mucosa. Once the dust settles however, there is no harm.
DIATOMACEOUS EARTH
Diatomaceous earth is a remarkable, all-natural product made from tiny fossilized water plants. Diatomaceous Earth is a naturally occurring siliceous sedimentary mineral compound from microscopic skeletal remains of unicellular algae-like plants called diatoms. These plants have been part of the earth’s ecology since prehistoric times. It is believed that 30 million years ago the diatoms built up into deep, chalky deposits of diatomite. The diatoms are mined and ground up to render a powder that looks and feels like talcum powder to us. It is a mineral based pesticide. DE is approximately 3% magnesium, 33% silicon, 19% calcium, 5% sodium, 2% iron and many other trace minerals such as titanium, boron, manganese, copper and zirconium. Continual breathing of any dust should he absolutely avoided.
This DE is not the same thing as the DE used in swimming pool filters. Pool grade DE is treated with heat, causing the formerly amorphous silicon dioxide to assume crystalline form. Pool grade DE should never be used for pest control.
To insects DE is a lethal dust with microscopic razor sharp edges. These sharp edges cut through the insect’s protective covering drying it out and killing them when they are dusted with DE If they ingest the DE it will shred their insides.
NEEM
For centuries the Neem tree has been known as the wonder tree of India. Because of its wide variety of applications it is commonly called the “Friend and Protector of the Indian Villager. Modern research studies have discovered that it contains both alkaloids and liminoids, each with an array of medicinal properties. For instance, oneliminoid (azadirachitin) has been found to be 95% effective when used as a pesticide and insecticide. NEEM is also useful
for wound healing.
YARROW
Yarrow acts as a repellant and also helps to soothe the skin.
Mix these three dry ingredients in equal parts and pour them into a shaker jar. To apply to your dog, ruffle the hair back to expose the skin and apply small amounts working your way from the rear to the front. If you are using this mixture for ticks, be sure to cover the neck area. Rub it in briskly. For a medium sized dog, you should only need to use about a teaspoon of the dust. Apply the dust to your dog every month.
If you are treating for fleas, wash all bedding and apply the dust to every animal in the house. Once bedding is washed, you can dust beds and any carpeting with the mixture.
This mixture will also work to repel flies and mosquitoes!
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Dogs Naturally – who has written 204 posts on Dogs Naturally Magazine.
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{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Where does one obtain the ingredients for the flea & tick powder (diatomaceous earth, NEEM, yarrow)?
Mountain Rose has nice herbs and you can order online. You can also get a ready prepared Parasite Dust from Buck Mountain Botanicals.
Just wanted to know that you should be careful in recommending Buck Mountain Botanicals. I just called them to get info on the parasite dust, and was having trouble maneuvering their website. The guy said to me”"I can’t help you more than I already have” and hung up on me. So I called back and said “I just called and don’t appreciate that you were so rude to me” and was told “F*** you” and hung up on.
Thank you for your feedback JulieAnne. I must admit I chuckled a bit at that because it is very much in keeping with his reputation. I personally know the quality of the products at Buck Mountain and although I myself am very big on customer service, I feel that their products merit consideration despite their customer service simply because they are very good quality. I would strongly suggest trying to find a reseller to avoid such treatment in the future! Having said that, have you read our blog article on making your own flea and tick powder? It is very effective and quite similar to the parasite dust…and you can ask us questions, we are very nice people
Thanks alot. Yes, that is what I am reading right now and am looking into where I can buy the ingredients. I just subscribed to your magazine as a friend has been posting your articles on her facebook. So many good articles to read! I need to go to bed early tonight as I have an agility trial in the AM but I am hooked to your facebook page, reading all the articles you are posting! Lots of things relevant to my dogs – I have a 9 year old scotty who is developing mild arthritis and am looking for some natural ways to prevent it from getting worse and from helping with pain management (although it doesn’t seem to be preventing him from doing anything, so that is good). Can’t wait for my 1st issue to arrive, and I look forward to learning alot about natural treatments available for dog owners!
You buy the DIATOMACEOUS EARTH (organic make sure it is) at feed stores.
NEEM and YARROW at your local health food store.
Hope this helps
I mean food grade
Will be trying this on my reg dairy goats as they have “winter” lice…can’t remember if that is the biting or sucking type, but they have one which is affecting their milk production. It’s still toooooo cold to bathe them here in south-central ID (would be nice to see 60+…haven’t yet).
Please let us know your results!
what is the ratio of each ingredient to use?
Mix these three dry ingredients in equal parts and pour them into a shaker jar.
would you recommend applying it after swimming? sometimes in the summer my dogs swim daily for some weeks, so would i not want to apply it those weeks they are swimming alot since it will just come off in the water?
Where can I find these ingdients.
where can I find the ingredients for the flea and tick remedy.
Are there any retail outlets where you can buy the ingredients? I do not use credit cards.
I looked on Mountain Rose web site and they do not carry these items.
can i use this on my cats?
simply yes, one thing for all who use this, make sure you apply it outside. That way the pet can shake a bit, for it will, and not get it all over the place. And please do not get it in the pets eyes.
Can I use this on a dog that says in the house? Is it ok for kids to be around?
Thank you
Beth
Yes it is safe
dose it work on cats? where can you find the ingredients? thank you rachel
Does this work on Cats?
If these ingredients cost less to buy than the flea/tick treatment I’m using I’ll give the a try. With 3 dogs topical treatments get expensive. One concern is that one of my dogs has a nervous habit of licking one hip and leg until it is soaked, and he gets colitis from anything that grows above the ground except rice, so could it affect his digestion?
DIATOMACEOUS EARTH is very good for your pets, so there will be no problem, but make sure it is organic.
CAN THE FLEA TREATMENT BE USED ON CATS TOO?
Is this flea powder safe to use on cats and ferrets?
You can get diatomaceous earth at feed stores for about a buck a pound. I use it all the time to control lice with my birds. I have also used it in my dogs food to control parasites and worms. As for the neem and yarrow you may have to go to a health food store to find them.
How much diatomacious earth do you give your dogs for internal parasites?
I put about 1/2 a tablespoon in their food. More if I know that they have been eating something else besides what I put in their bowls. Go to http://www.earthworkshealth.com/ for some great info on using de.
Found your site today. Your information is helpful already… Thank you from my sweet Sadie Beagle, and myself. Sadie has been unable to tolerate any flea & tick treatment since she accepted/adopted us in January 2003 [not quite 4 months old].
my dogs swim alot during the summer. would i need to constantly reapply the powder if they get wet? sometimes they get wet everyday of the week.
I would reapply it, yes. You might want to look at using essential oils on the collar so you don’t have to constantly reapply!
I notice that seeveral folks in these posts asked if this combination is safe for cats, who of course groom themselves connstantly. I would like to know also, Is this safe for cats?
Is the flea treatment safe for cats?
Can this be use on cats?? or do you have ingredients for cats?
Can it be used on cats and/or kittens?
This article is written for dogs. You might want to discuss this with a qualified professional before using it on your cat.
Food grade DIATOMACEOUS EARTH is safe for cats too. And it can work not to bad all by it self, for this.
With regard to the homemade flea and tick powder, is there any chance that you ran this recipe past a vet to get their opinion on possible side affects?
This recipe is courtesy of Terry Fox PhD, a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medicine Association and a member of the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association. If you wish to run this recipe by your own vet before using it on your dog, by all means, do so.
Thank you!
Thank you for the info. Very Helpful.
You may find some of these at garden supply stores. We have found Neem and diatomaceous earth at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Yarrow you may need a specialty store, such as a co-op or homeopathic style. Just enter the name of the ingredient into a search engine, that’s how we found them. And cats are sensitive to insecticides and pesticides, so never use dog treatments on cats; even aspirin can kill a cat.
NEVER give garden or pool grade Diatomaceous Earth to pets. It must be human grade. Cherrybrook and Pinnacle Farms also carry it.
Love the AVHMA. I found our holistic vet on their site! BTW I found neem powder at http://neemtreefarms.com/
Yarrow can be found here http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/y.html
I also asked my holistic vet about DE for one of my pups mange. She gave it the okay.
Can you use this on dogs that have tested MDR1 positive?
You can get all three of the ingredients for this powder at http://www.starwest-botanicals.com/ I ordered the ingredients from them and the experience was great. I was just really glad to find all three things in one place and in amounts that weren’t too large. I used this flea and tick repellent all last summer on my dogs and I didn’t find a flea or tick on any of them at all this year. I also gave some to a friend who has three German Shephards that would always have ticks after a hike around their property. The first time they used it, no ticks on any of them!
I have been told that Neem should not be used on a bitch who is pregnant or about to become pregnant as it is used as a contraceptive in India….
How often do you recommend applying this for effective treatment?
Regarding your response (“I must admit I chuckled a bit”) to julieanne bovat May 13, 2011 at 7:35 pm post about terribly poor, rude and apalling customer service( as shown below):
I find your response very unsatisfactory; maybe if someone in your position contacted him and let him known it was being posted, he would apologize and change his totally unacceptable behavior. I think you should re-consider your post, stop promoting his business unless he changes (makes me wonder if you have business connection with him) and not chuckle about the rudeness of hanging-up on a customer and the use of profanity.
julieanne bovat May 13, 2011 at 7:35 pm:
… The guy said to me””I can’t help you more than I already have” and hung up on me. So I called back and said “I just called and don’t appreciate that you were so rude to me” and was told “F*** you” and hung up on…
Dogs Naturally May 13, 2011 at 7:45 pm
…Thank you for your feedback JulieAnne. I must admit I chuckled a bit at that because it is very much in keeping with his reputation. ..
is DE that has calcium added which can be purchased at TSC safe to use for this http://www.tractorsupply.com/red-lake-earth-reg-diatomaceous-earth-with-calcium-bentonite-20-lb–1019864#BVRRWidgetID
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