With our four golden retrievers and three inside/outside cats we add a pinch of homemade flea repellent to their feed and have not had a problem. Ever. Even when bringing new animals into the house.
To one half pound of brewers yeast add one oz of kelp powder, one oz of wheat germ (these first three for skin and coat) and one oz of garlic powder - not garlic salt! (the garlic is for the fleas).
If a new rescue is flea infested when it arrives, it takes about three days for them to move off the animal and another week for them to stop hopping around the house looking for unspiced blood. (We add garlic to our meals too when this happens!) Frontline and related compounds work well, but with as many dogs as we go thru it gets too expensive. Besides, ever try to keep a retriever away from ponds, streams, mud puddles, etc? [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
<font color="blue">Besides, ever try to keep a retriever away from ponds, streams, mud puddles, etc? </font color>
Very difficult to do [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] If I'm remembering correctly, swimming is only off limits untill it dries. I usually apply it right before bedtime (dogs are crated at night).
I may have to try your concoction. It sure would save some $$$$$$ How often do you feed it to them? Does it work for ticks?
Your home remedy sounds great but what would be the mixture? How many pounds of dogfood do you mix it with? I like your idea here. We currently use the advantage flea system and it too is expensive. Does your special mixture work on tics too?
I keep it refrigerated in an empty cottage cheese container and add just a pinch at every feeding. That size container lasts about four months with the seven mouths (and occasional rescue guest) to feed.
Not sure about ticks. We don't have them at our altitude and lattitude...yet. That said, I have had tremendous success cutting down on trespassing by giving up on the No Trespassing signs and instead using a Tick Infestation Area sign, complete with 50k magnified images of a deer tick. Tourists see that and turn right around! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]