Amelia has a really bad case of fleas and we are trying our best to rid her and the back yard of them today. At about 3:30 this morning she was absolutely moaning in agony and I could take it no longer; so I went out and gave her a "yard bath". Put the shampoo straight onto her dry and let it set then wet it with the hose and lathered it up good and then waited to rinse it off. The shampoo I used also contained lanolin to ease the itching. Once I got her all rinsed off I kept her on the leash awhile and didn't let her roll in the dirt until she was partly dry. Then I came in and went back to bed. Once we were up and about I put a flea collar we had bought last night onto her. Then Scott mowed the back yard and spread Spectracide; something we did not want to do as that kills ALL bugs - even the beneficial ones and will affect the birds that enjoy our yard as we try very hard to avoid the use of chemicals but Amelia is miserable and now with Bernadette also visiting the backyard we had to do something drastic.
 |
| Amelia acting goofy as she is feeling a bit better this afternoon. |
You can see where Amelia has dug the hair from her tail end because of the beasty critters. I plan to pick up some Advantix next. We've tried Frontline and it has little affect.
 |
| She even looked like she was grinning. |
 |
| Bernadette being SUPER cute. |
Bernadette will get her stitches out Monday. Her next appointment will be with a groomer to be shaved so that we can also get her flea free. The cats will be getting flea collars and perhaps some Advantix or Frontline as well. And I will have more carpet ripped up and out of here before next weekend!
 |
| One of the volunteer sunflowers that I transplanted to the vegetable garden from under the bird feeder. |
I love the happiness that exudes from this sunflowers petals.
Almost forgot... this was the pie that I baked for Scott; yesterday was his 52nd birthday. I only had 2 cans of peaches in the house so I had to add a can of fruit cocktail - it's usually mostly peaches anyway and the pie turned out delicious. I love the antique pans with the "extra" bit around for these juicy pies as they always seem to be a bit messy. The pie went over BIG TIME! Scott doesn't care for cake at all so was thrilled with the pie.
I know what you're going through as we are fighting fleas here as well. They are tough little buggers! I can't find any effective natural way to get rid of them so we are going to have to resort to using some kind of pesticide too. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe had to lime the yard where the fleas were congregating last summer as the dogs were going crazy. It's the lime you use in the garden to raise ph levels when your soil is acidic so doesn't hurt the dogs. Spread about a cupful per 2 sq mtrs (or yards) and leave it for a day then water it in. Apparently fleas like an acidic environment so the alkaline effect of the lime kills/damages both flea and egg.
ReplyDeleteWe also wash the dogs weekly in tea tree oil shampoo if you can find it. Wash dog, leave suds on for 10 mins then rinse dog and comb out the dead/dying fleas. Make sure you spot test the tea tree oil first as some dogs are allergic to it.
Hope these alternative treatments work for your dogs if you try them.
Have a nice summer,
Robyn
On the advice of our youngest daughter who breeds and raises Great Danes & Boston Terriors...Use ADVANTAGE..found at any pet store...works better than any of the other flea products...
ReplyDelete~~HUGS~~
http://blessingtheelements-mi.blogspot.com
That is such a neat pie pan! I've never seen one with a drip tray like that! Now I'll have to keep my eyes peeled as we are just entering yard sale season.
ReplyDeleteThat sunflower is SOOOOO happy. It made me happy just to look at it. I have one (volunteer) growing in my yard under the feeder as well, but it is no where near to blossom yet.
I love the sunflower! It just screams "sunny day in summer" to me. I'm glad Amelia is feeling better now -- poor girl! ~Laura
ReplyDelete