new in the woods, flea/tick prevention for my pets?

[4cuddlebugs]

Does anyone out there have any great prevention of our woodsy little pesks?
I have 2 dogs and a cat. We lived in Utah until recently and there is not a concern there. We are now in the woods in PA and I have asked neighbors who have said that drops that you rub into their backs work well. BUT I have 2 and 4 yr old boys who occasionally roll around on and hug the dogs. Some concern w/toxicity of the drops and my boys.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kelli:

[Hera]

Probably anything that deters lice will deter fleas, I'd imagine- thyme oil, lavender, tea tree... You can get "flea powder" made of diatomaceous earth, that is safe but it is a very fine powder that is probably not great to be breathing all the time. I've seen natural pet-care stuff in Wild Oats, you might want to google and see what you come up with...

[3boysmom]

I posted the same question a while ago...no good answers. I ended up buying a spray at Whole Foods by Ark Naturals called Neem "Protect" spray. It smells great and basically contains Neem oil and citronella. You spray it on your pet every 7-10 days. I've been using it for a while now and the dog actually seems to like to be sprayed with it and she smells great!

[Stacie]

We plant penneyroyal around the house and yard. It helps keep flees away. Dont know anything to keep away ticks.

[BusyMommy]

My sister uses beneficial nematodes around the house on the lawns and it works great. Don't know how it'd work in a wooded area, though.

Sorry!

[blueridgewoman]

We've been giving our dog brewer's yeast and garlic supplements, which definitely takes care of fleas- she's played with my partner's brother's dogs who are covered in them, and we even had an outbreak with our cats from which she emerged unscathed. OTOH, we've pulled eight ticks off her already!

I've looked at the chemical stuff, and I'm not happy-- I would be especially concerned if I had kids. I know that people rub herbs on their pet's fur, or you can also rub brewer's yeast in. I think it's also important to feed a healthy diet and supplement with fatty acids, etc.

My vet recommends a pretty thorough brushing once a day, especially after they've been outside playing in tall grass to get the ticks to drop off. Since our dog is white and loves to have her belly rubbed, it's easy for us to do a pretty thorough check each night too.

No easy answers, I suppose.... I've been considering getting the Lyme disease vaccine for our dog and just living with the ticks (which, let me just say is hard, because the little buggers scare the daylights out of me.....ew!). Hope you find a good solution!

[4cuddlebugs]

Thanks for all the replies. I am not sure what will work best for our family.
I have heard that cider vinegar w/each meal is a deterent but I don't know. I am going to look for natural remedies books for pets, maybe find ideas that way too.

All ideas are appreciated

Kelli