Broken Hartz

Broken Hart Logo

A grassroots organization called Broken Hartz is making news.  This organization works to spread the word about the harmful effects of Hartz products to your pets. Hartz makes commercial flea and tic products for cats and dogs.  Hartz adds ingredients to their products that have been reported to cause harmful side effects, even fatalities, to cats and dogs.  The mission of Broken Hartz began in January 2012 and serves to provide direct protest to the actions of Hartz Mountain Corporation.  After being in business only eight months, Broken Hartz's message has reached 85 countries.  They claim to tell you everything that Hartz does not want you to know. 

Symptoms of Chemical Poisoning in Your Dog

Symptoms of chemical poisoning in your dog can range from very mild to severe. The mild symptoms can be difficult to detect and are often extremely subtle.  The can include sleepiness and decrease in appetite. Once your dog recovers from the chemical poisoning, his symptoms will disappear, but it can take several days before the poisoning works its way through your pet's system. 

More severe symptoms include loss of coordination,  muscle tremors or shakes, and increased salivation or drooling.  

Highly toxic chemicals can be very harmful to your dog and can even cause death.   If your dog exhibits any of these symptoms, call the Animal Poison Control Center at 1-800-548-2423.  Be sure to have the bottle with toxic substance with you when you call so you can supply the needed information.  Read the Montana State University article by Cecil Tharp, Pesticide Education Specialist, titled Chemicals and Animal Safety.

Lawn Care

If you have fleas coming into your home from your dog bringing them in from the outside, spend sometime working on lawn care. This includes mowing your lawn on a very regular basis to keep the flea population down. Fleas and other animals will hide in grassy areas around your house, so cutting your grass will eliminate their hiding places.  Trimming your weeds, shrubbery and garden and raking all of your leaves off your lawn.  Fleas love to hide in areas of your yard which receive little or no sunlight.  So expose all areas of your yard to sunlight as this will kill fleas hiding in your lawn, waiting for the opportunity to hitch a ride on your pet's body into your home.

Lemony Scent

Try combating fleas with lemon. Fleas do not like the scent of lemon or any citrus flavored odor.  Buy some standard size lemons and cut a few into thin slices and boil them in water over a hot stove and then let the lemon mixture sit overnight.   In the morning, take some of the lemon mixture and pour it into an empty spray bottle. Spray areas of the house where fleas are suspected to hang out. Also, you can spray your pet lightly with the mixture, but not too much, as it could hurt your pet if you douse them with the lemon mixture. Be sure to gently rub the lemon mixture into your pet's fur, being careful not to overdo it. 

Brewer's Yeast

Brewer's Yeast

Another way to kill fleas naturally on your dog is by using yeast.  Brewer's yeast is considered a safe natural remedy for getting rid of fleas on your pet and home.   Fleas do not like the taste of yeast. They have a strong aversion to it. One way to use this natural remedy is your to feed a small amount of yeast to your dog by gently sprinkling a small amount of yeast over their food and mixing it in.  It does not take much to do the trick, so use it sparingly. You can also rub some nutritional or brewer's yeast in your dog's skin.  If they lick it off, that is fine, as it will give a “yeast” flavored taste to your dog's skin and breath which will scare away fleas. As for the dosage, it is recommended you use approximately 1 teaspoon small breed dogs, 2 teaspoons for medium-size pooches, and 1 tablespoon for large dogs. Again, use it sparingly, as a little goes a long way. The reason why fleas have an aversion to yeast is the thiamine that is used abundantly in yeast. Fleas cannot survive in areas that have thiamine in them. Brewer's yeast can be found in grocery stores, pet stores and feed stores. 

What is the Life Cycle of a Flea?

The life cycle of a flea is very complex, but if you have a basic idea of the cycle of a flea, you will be in better shape to know how to combat them in a natural way.  The first stage is called the Definitive Host which is your dog.  The flea has three pairs of legs which aid in the flea's ability to jump from one part of your dog to another part and eats off the blood of your dog.  A female flea lays up to 50 eggs per day on your dog.  The eggs will fall off your dog and on to the carpeting, bedding, soil and floorboards. Next, the Larva stage is where semi-transparent parasites move along eating flea feces.  Pupa is the last stage before the flea adult.  The adult flea can emerge from the cocoon in three to five days or sometimes, it can stay in the cocoon for a year or more.

Electric Flea Traps

Electric flea traps or plug-in lighted flea traps can be very effective in nuking the fleas. Electric flea traps are great for reducing the flea population in the particular area in which they are used. It is highly recommended to use electric flea traps next to where your dog lies his fury head to rest at night. The great thing about these flea traps is that you can visibly see how many fleas you are capturing and killing. Most electric flea traps will drastically reduce the flea population in just one or two weeks. However, it is recommended that unless you have only a small flea problem that you combine flea traps with other effective natural methods for flea control.