Ticks, Fleas, & Bugs, oh My! How I Protect my Cat, Self, & Home with Natural, Non-Toxic Products

Well folks it's that time of year again! The warming months bring us many wonderful things here in New England, like birds, frogs, and summer rains, along with less desirable elements such as mosquitos and ticks. And, rumor has it that this coming Tick Season is supposed to be particularly brutal. Hooray.

Ticks are my newfound nemesis since moving out here last year. Prior to that, I'd lived in areas that didn't host the evil bastards in such profusions. My super awesome companion animal/kitty friend/Thunder-Buddy-For-Life, being a Norwegian Forest Cat, has a long, dense coat that ticks just love to get up in and crawl all over like they're in Brazil at Carnival or something. And it's not just her I'm worried about, it's myself and fellow Pink Monkeys that reside in the house as well. We all love to get out for moderate hikes and walks.

So, how do we protect ourselves and households? Staples like natural bug-repellent candles, screens that don't have holes in them, keeping the grass around your home short, planting bug repelling plants like Mint, Thyme, Lavendar, and Calendula, and wearing long socks tucked over pants prior to hikes (I know it's very unsexy, but Lyme's Disease is far more unsexier!), are all great starting points. For many reasons, including a rather strong chemical sensitivity, I avoid freaky chemicals like DEET at all costs, even if it does work really well. So what does one do for pest repellent and extermination? Certain essential oil blends such as doTERRA's TerraShield and Purify work wonders as an insect repellent when mixed with Witch Hazel or Apple Cider Vinegar and sprayed onto the skin and clothing.

Summertime Lifesavers!!

But pets, especially cats, tend to be extremely sensitive to essential oils. I learned this the hard way, when, after acquiring my first bottles of the afore mentioned oil blends, I liberally sprayed everything in my room in a natural de-bugging ecstasy. Freya got sick shortly thereafter, almost reminded me of when I have a sensitivity reaction, but cat-style. Which means she proceeded to have sneezing fits and puke everywhere. Poor baby! I felt so bad, but thankfully figured out the trigger quickly, and after washing everything I'd sprayed she recuperated.

So, for my Freya Cat, I have found what seems to be the ultimate solution. Not only does it work very well, the products I use are affordable and accessible! You may even already have one or both in your home, though if you are of the latter population I suspect you already use it for this application as well ;)

My Thunder Buddy <3

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH
"D.E." for short. A classic homesteading staple, and one of my favorite latest personal discoveries! Basically ground up silica, it acts like a desiccant when it comes in contact with any pest that crawls across it. Picture when someone pours salt on a slug. Gross image, but that's pretty much the idea.

I've found the easiest way to apply D.E. to Freya's coat is to dip her brush into a container (designated solely for this purpose of course), then brush it into her coat from head to tail, working it as close to the surface of her skin as possible. Sometimes I'll brush against the coat, then brush back with the flow of her fur to really get it in there. I do this before she goes out, and at the end of the day. This may be a hassle for those cats that aren't as patient as mine, or folks that have more distractions or busier schedules. But, the routine only takes about 20 minutes total out of my day, so I'm confident you could find some time to squeeze it in. It's definitely worth the effort because I think you'll also be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Diatomaceous Earth. Easier to use than spell ;)

And it does work! When I started using it last year I noticed shriveled up dead ticks mixed into the balls of fur I pulled off her hairbrush, and very few actually getting to dig their ugly heads into her precious skin. They still get in every once in a while, so one must be diligent of checking your pet daily, or as frequently as possible, for any bloodsuckers that may have made their way through.

You can also use D.E. around your home for similar effects - sprinkle it in your garden, on window and door sills, anywhere you'd like to create a crawling bug barrier. Works for bed bugs too! It's also useful as a detoxing agent, dewormer, adding to your homemade deodorant and tooth powders...the possibilities are seemingly endless with D.E.! To top it off, I got a 10 pound bag of Food Safe D.E. for around $12 using Amazon Prime. (When purchasing, make sure you're buying Food Grade D.E.!) Which means I'll be set through the Zombie Apocalypse.

10 pound box of D.E. Foot for scale.

For further reading, and a host of all sorts of other useful information, check out one of my favorite blogs of all time: How To Use Diatomaceous Earth - The Prairie Homestead.


RAW APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
"ACV" for short. Another favorite household product with countless uses.
MUST BE RAW/UNPASTURVIZED TO WORK. Usually there will be "floaties" in raw vinegar. This is good. Those floaties are bits of the "mother culture" used to create the vinegar. A brand you've probably seen that I love is Bragg's. Bugs don't seem to like it at all. Except those little annoying black gnats, they seem to love it. For those dudes you can put some ACV in the bottom of a narrow necked bottle, like a plastic soda bottle, and it makes an excellent trap for them. They will fly in and drown in the vinegar! For my cat, after I brush the D.E. into her coat and prior to letting her out for the day, I apply some ACV to a cloth or paper towel and lightly wipe her down with it. I also add a few drops to her drinking water. This acts as an insect "repellent", and it's also good for her digestive system. I'm a fan of multi-tasking! I'd imagine that Witch Hazel would work just as well, I've just never tried it, and haven't researched how kitty friendly it is.

I also use ACV around the home for pest control. We have a few puddles that tend to stay around all summer, the ideal place for mosquitos to breed. I pour about a quarter cup or so into each puddle, after every new rain, and it completely prevents mosquitos breeding there. The wasps seem to avoid the mud around them as well.

I have many, many other uses for ACV that I will save for future posts :)

They key to these and most natural remedies is that you need to be diligent. You must use the techniques everyday, make them part of your routine, and they will work marvelously. But you can't do them occasionally, or even moderately, and expect them to work effectively.

For the safety of my Freya, my home, loved ones, and self, I feel the small efforts involved with natural pest control are worth the big payoffs.

Thanks for reading! Hope you find this information is as useful to you as it has been for me :)
What are some of your favorite, natural insect/pest control methods/products?

Love & Light
Renata Carmen 

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :)