Question:
I was reading a letter from one of your readers about holistic remedies for flea infestation in the home and on the pets. I thought I would let you know what we do.We tried everything from powders to sprays to even hiring a professional crew to spray/treat our home -- no luck. Finally, someone told me to put a pan with boiling water and Dawn dishwashing soap in each room. The idea was that the fleas would be attracted to the liquid and drown in it. Well, it worked. Keep repeating this process until the pans come up clean.As for my cats and dog, I tried all sorts of treatments, but to no avail. Then, one day, I realized my dog's skin was very dry and I had some Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil, so I rubbed a little on her backside. While doing so, I saw a couple of fleas. When the oil got on them they seemed to die instantly, so I used more. It didn't seem to hurt the dog so I tried it on the cats, and I'm glad to say that last summer we had no more flea problems. I plan on doing it this summer before it gets out o
D.H., Castleton, NY Jul 17, 2005
Answer:
Thanks for passing along your harmless methods of flea control. Tips from my readers are always welcome in order to reduce the use of harmful drugs. One reader wrote that planting pennyroyal in her garden helped clear her yard-loving cats of fleas, and other readers have had success with Avon Skin-So-Soft products, which fleas and other insects seem to detest.
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