Garlic, not only good for keeping vampires away, it also works quite well for fleas

A huge part of the caseload for most vets comprises skin problems and although we deal with alternative medicine, it’s no different for our practice. A small percentage of these cases will be hormonal based, non-itchy conditions with hair loss, more correctly termed alopecia. Most will, however, be dogs and cats that itch, scratch and bite incessantly. Irritating not only for you, but also for your pet.

The causes? Well some of these will be allergies, either to food ingredients or to environmental allergens such as house dust mites, pollens or grasses. The majority will, common things being most common, fleas. This is especially so at this time of year when it’s really hot and when it’s vitally important to think about how to tackle the impending flea population explosion.

So, one of the questions I am asked frequently is simply, is there a natural way of dealing with fleas? This question always reminds me of a lady I know with 15 cats. She uses no conventional flea treatments at all to keep the fleas at bay. Her secret is to give each cat garlic everyday with a pinch of brewers yeast, both mixed in with their food. She hoovers regularly to pick up any flea eggs and larvae and puts dried lavender in their beds. For her and many, many other pet owners this approach works really well. Although it does not actually kill the fleas, it does make the animals unpleasant to live on, so hopefully the fleas will go somewhere else to live. My advice then is simple: if you want to avoid using chemicals, try this first. If it does not work, then you can always look at the various conventional approaches. The best person to ask for advice, as always, is your vet.