# Diatomaceous Earth?



## TinyDogMafia (Aug 24, 2011)

Hi. I was wondering if anyone used Diatomaceous Earth on their dog for flea treatment?

We are having a heck of a time with fleas and cannot get rid of them. 

I purchased some food grade D.E. to put on the carpet, but was wondering if it could be sprinkled onto their coats as well?

Thank you in advance if you are reading this!

-Karin


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

D.E. is the only thing that finally killed the fleas in my apartment (inherited when I moved in; long story short, a flea bombing and 2 professional exterminations later, they still came back - one thorough treatment of DE and I haven't seen them since... not inside at least, except for when my dog was bringing them in from the yard).

Food grade is supposed to be safe to use on their coats, but it makes their coats really dry (as I found out when my dog was bringing in fleas from the yard this last year). I would do a thorough application of DE to the carpets, couches, etc., sprinkle some on their bedding (after washing everything), (and, be sure to vacuum up any loose powder afterwards) and use a monthly flea treatment on your dog(s) instead of applying DE to them directly. If it is still warm outside and you have a yard, you should probably also apply beneficial nematodes to the yard to kill any flea larvae out there that your dogs might be bringing in from outside.

The combination above works well for me to keep those nasty bugs at bay... if you can't use monthly flea treatments due to sensitivity, one thing that I have found that works well for spot treatments (I wouldn't bathe my entire dog in it) is a product called Lice Freee (http://www.licefreee.com/). But, it's not specifically for fleas OR for dogs, so use at your own discretion.

Good luck! I hate those nasty bugs!!!


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## TinyDogMafia (Aug 24, 2011)

Thank you so, so much for your reply. I will do as you say. It is still warm here in Florida and it has just been a terrible year for fleas. 

I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Many thanks again!


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Once you treat the house, I would also try a Dawn detergent bath. You have to soap them up and have the water come up to their shoulders, but I've seen it work and much as people say it can dry their skin, the one time I used it, my dog had the cleanest, shiniest hair. Good luck getting rid of the little critters.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Tractor Supply has food grade in 30 pound bags pretty cheap.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Geri, I have used dawn on all the outside dogs and occassionally on my little schnauzers. Didn't hurt them nor their hair. Might dry out the skin if used weekly.

I put the DE on Rosie when she was a puppy. Her hair was so dry, terrible mistake, but put in the carpet or in the yard where they potty is perfect. I actually had the pest control people come and spray my fenced area and Rosie doesn't get to go outside that area except on rare occassions. I will have to have it treated every spring, but well worth it. If I could keep the squirrels out, I would never have to treat it again.


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## TinyDogMafia (Aug 24, 2011)

Thank you all so much for your great advice.

I have some Dawn, so Binky is going to get a nice sink bath with that today. I have never seen the fleas so bad before. Poor girl is going crazy and so am I. Just when I think I have it under control. they come back with a vengeance.


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## Becky Chittenden (Feb 4, 2009)

About once every two months I use dawn for a clarifying shampoo followed by a conditioning one and conditioner. I don't think every once in a while would do any harm


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Lucille, that's what my vet said. Squirrels are the culprits and they're all over the yard. They bring the fleas. And all of our furbabies (4 dogs & 3 cats) have been suffering this year. I bought Capstar for the cats because they get severe allergic dermatitis from flea bites.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I believe it's the squirrels too. We took a big Red Oak out of the back dog yard a couple of years ago that used to have frequent squirrels in it. It was on the North side of the house, so we never got any shade from it for any benefit, and the leaves were always a fight. 

I used to spray the yards with dilimonene, but since taking out that tree we haven't needed to do anything, and haven't seen a flea since. The other sides of the house have thick, big hardwoods, but no squirrels ever come anywhere near the dog yards anymore.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Rosie is going through a flea stage right now. She is on comfortis for fleas, but they have to bite her first before they die. So she goes out to potty and comes back with a flea, then she scratches and bites and I comb through the fur and can never find one. Then it must die and all is quite for a while. When I had an outside dog, the squirrels didn't come in the back yard. Now they are playing right up near the house and one the front porch. Rosie sits and watchs them out the window. And another thing is the leaves were raked last weekend and that always stirs up the fleas that are bedded in them. Hopefully it will settle down again. I hate to treat the yard until spring.


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

When we lived in FL, we used Borax (found in the laundry section) on our carpets. You sprinkle it down and sweep it into the carpet with a broom. After 30 minutes, we vacuumed. It helped. We moved into a place with an existing problem. Ick! Fleas actually jumped about as we swept the carpet. We had to borax the place a couple of times.


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