Foiling Fleas

Fleas can lay up to 25 eggs a day – in one quick month, ten adult fleas could generate thousands more.

Control:
A good, long bath will drown many fleas. Groom your pet regularly, outside, with a fine tooth flea comb to remove the blood-thirsty guests. Don’t crush fleas with your fingernails – no matter tempting. They could be carrying diseases or parasites.

If you’re snagging more fleas than usual, it’s time for sterner measures. Dust your pet with pyrethrum powder, a botanical insecticide made from dried flowers that you can buy at some nurseries. It will temporarily paralyze the fleas. Then stand the pet over newspaper and comb out the immobilized fleas. Gather up the newspaper and burn it.

To make a non-toxic flea-killing potion, pour two cups of boiling water over two sliced lemons. Let the mixture sit overnight and then sponge it on your pet. Or score the skin of an orange and rub the citrus oil right onto the animal.

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