From: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore)
Subject: Fleas, Ticks, and Your Pet: FAQ
X-Last-Updated: 1992/07/30
Followup-To: poster
Summary: This is a FAQ on ridding your pet and home of fleas and
         dealing with ticks.  It is posted every fifteen days.
         Additions and corrections are always welcome, send email to
         one of the addresses below.
Supersedes: <fleas-ticks_711262815@athena.mit.edu>
Reply-To: tittle@ics.uci.edu
Organization: University of California at Irvine: ICS Dept.
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 05:00:42 GMT
Expires: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 05:00:11 GMT

Archive-name: fleas-ticks
Version: 1.4
Last-modified: 30 July 1992
Periodicity: 15 days

Copies and updates of this FAQ may be obtained by anonymous ftp to
pit-manager.mit.edu (18.172.1.27) under
/pub/usenet/news.answers/fleas-ticks.  Or send email to
mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu with "send
usenet/news.answers/fleas-ticks" in the subject line, leaving the body
empty.

This article originally appeared in the FAQ for rec.pets.cats.  I
subsequently put together a FAQ for rec.pets.dogs and became annoyed
with maintaining two versions.  Thus, I split the topic off into its
own file.  It will be posted more often, as this seems to be a general
topic of concern anyway.  It is crossposted to rec.pets, rec.pets.cats
and rec.pets dogs.  As the summary line indicates, I welcome additions
and corrections to this article (use the email addresses given at the
end).

There are many people who helped out with the original construction of
this article.  They have been thanked in the rec.pets.cats and
rec.pets.dogs FAQs, although not specifically, so I no longer know who
to thank for the initial information in here (you can let me know if
you recognize your work in here and I'll put you down).  All editing
is mine, and any errors should be attributed to me (and brought to my
attention for correction!).

Thanks to: Brad Christofferson, William S. Currie, Gene Dolgner, Jim
Graham, Jon Krueger, Kerry Kurasaki, Dana Massey, Jolly C. Pancakes,
Julia Tien, Lesa Hobright Turner, Michael Waldvogel, Janeane L. Yeh
and Frank Yeh Jr., and Rich Young for their comments and suggestions.

A good deal of information came from a posting by Dave Butler which I
saw and saved several months ago.  Kay Klier has proved an invaluable
source on potential toxicities of different chemicals used in killing
fleas.

Table of Contents

I.  Fleas
    1.  In general
    2.  Natural methods
    3.  Spraying inside
    4.  Treating outdoors areas
    5.  Dipping your pet
    6.  Combing your pet
    7.  Powders
    8.  Borax and salt
    9.  Vacuum
    10. Flea collars  
    11. Newborn animals
    12. Toxicity
    13. Systemic products
    14. Homes with pregnant women or crawling infants
    15. Preventing flea infestations in your next home
    16. Conclusion

II. Ticks
    1.  In general
    2.  Removing a tick
    3.  Infections or abscesses
    4.  Disposing of ticks
    5.  Where you pick up ticks
    6.  Combatting ticks
    7.  Lyme disease vaccination

References and Addresses



I.  Fleas

1.  In general

Fleas can enter the home in many ways, even if your pet is not or only
rarely allowed outside.  They can hop in from your yard, hitch a ride
on you, or even be left over from previous inhabitants (larvae can
remain dormant for astonishingly long periods of time).  

Since fleas can be carriers for worms and diseases, keeping your pet
flea-free helps to keep it healthy.

To check if your pet has fleas, part its hair and look for:

  * Small bits of brown "dust," attached to the fur itself.  The fleas
    excrete digested blood.  See if the dust dissolves into a red
    liquid upon contact with a wet paper towel.
    
  * Skin Irritation: flea bites or scratching and biting may leave
    red, irritated skin, and even bald patches in bad cases.
    
  * Small, fast moving brown shapes are fleas.
    
Dried blood in its ears may indicate ear mites and you should consult
your vet to find out what the problem is.

Adult fleas spend only part of their time on your pet: they leave to
lay their eggs elsewhere.  Remember that households with no pets can
still be infested with fleas.  Favorite places to lay eggs are
outdoors, dustbunnies, rugs, bedding, etc.  A good preventive method
is to put down towels everywhere your pet normally lies and then wash
those towels once a week.  Deposited flea eggs are therefore cleaned
out regularly.  Regular vacumming and emptying of the vacuum bag also
helps, independently of any method or methods you choose to do.

There are several ways to kill or discourage fleas. Some are synthetic
chemicals, some are considered "natural", and both work with varying
degrees.  No one method is 100% effective, and you will almost always
have to combine several approaches to get the results you want.  Some
methods are applicable for indoor pets, but useless for indoor/outdoor
pets.  You need to choose the set of approaches that best addresses
your situation.

You must keep in mind the life cycle of the flea.  From egg to larvae
to adult is between three to six weeks: to get rid of fleas in your
house, you must break this cycle.  As a practical matter, this means
you will almost certainly have to repeat your efforts in several weeks
to catch the fleas from the larvae that didn't get destroyed the first
time around.  This is also why it is important to address the problem
of the eggs and larvae as well as the adult fleas.

2.  Natural methods

These tend to be of the "folk-remedy" type.  Some people swear by
them, others do not get any results.  They tend to work better at
keeping fleas _away_ rather than killing or eliminating present
infestations.

Fleas dislike several types of natural chemicals.

  * You can buy cedar shampoo, cedar oil and cedar-filled sleeping mats.

  * Let outdoor pets sleep on a well-used horse blanket.

  * Fleas love dry skin: prevent dry skin by giving your pet Linatone
    (or any vegetable oil) with its food and avoiding excessive
    shampooing.

  * Put pennyroyal (the herb) leaves about the house or get a bottle of
    the oil. You can put the oil on your animal, on its collar and in
    its bed.

  * Garlic and Brewer's Yeast: Feed it in small doses to your pet and
    and the resultant body odor may repel fleas.

3.  Spraying inside

You can spray your house.  There are a number of commercial foggers
and other devices which you set off in your home.  Generally, you and
anything live will have to vacate for a period of time.  This can be
effective; it depends on if the chemicals involved will kill fleas,
flea larvae, or both.  Your vet will be a good source of information
on effective brands, or you can have this done professionally.

Remember that a hand-held sprayer will be more effective than a
fogger-type application simply because you can make sure all the
hard-to-reach areas are properly treated.

Having your carpets professionally cleaned WILL NOT get rid of the
fleas, unless they use something that is meant to kill fleas.

Remember that carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture are the prime
places for depositing flea eggs.  Some people have success ridding
their home of fleas by removing their carpets and replacing with
linoleum or hardwood floors.  This may or may not be a feasible option
for everyone, though.

In general, pyrethrins are "low intensity", relatively safe, and break
down quickly (some on contact with sunlight). They can normally be
used safely with puppies, kittens and in sensitive conditions.
Organo-phosphates are "heavy duty" and last longer. They should be
used with caution as they are usually toxic. Any pesticide should
belong to one of the two categories and the box or label MUST indicate
whether the product is pyrethrin or organo-phosphate based.

Precor: (methoprene) This is an insect hormone that interrupts the
  life cycle of fleas by preventing flea larvae from maturing.  It is
  not a poison, even to fleas, but they cannot reproduce.  It's used
  as an environmental spray either by itself (in which case it will
  take several weeks to show much effect) or combined with adult
  pesticides (like pyrethrins) for a quick wipeout.  Because it is a
  hormone, fleas will not become resistant to its effects (it would be
  like humans becoming resistant to estrogen and testosterone).  You
  can buy the stuff at your local hardware/gardening store, and spray
  the diluted (according to directions) liquid everywhere in the
  house.  This will not kill fleas by itself unless you combine it
  with something immediately lethal, but it will break the lifecycle
  and the fleas will go away in a few weeks as the mature ones die and
  the immature ones fail to develop.  Such an application lasts about
  4-5 months.  Precor cannot be used outside because it breaks down
  rapidly in sunlight, but there are new formulations, such as
  Fenoxycarb, that show promise for outdoor use.

  Precor can be difficult to find.  Check with your vet and check
  various pet stores and hardware stores.  A possible source is
  Gardens Alive!  It has what looks like just Precor--the description
  doesn't mention anything else mixed in with it.  It's called Vigren,
  $9.25 per oz (mix with 1 gallon of water, covers 1500 sq. ft) or
  $7.95 for three or more.  Address below.

Sectrol: this is microencapsulated pyrethrins (low toxicity to
  mammals).  This works well in conjunction with methoprene.  Spraying
  your home with this combination should be good for about 5-6 months
  before reapplication is needed.

Duratrol: this comes in both a spray (for the house) and a dip for the
  immediate problem on your pet.  The smell is reported to be minimal
  and the effectiveness high.  You only need to leave the house for
  1/2 hour to allow the spray to dry (rather than up to four hours for
  other sprays and foggers, for example).  Duratrol consists of micro-
  encapsulated chlorpyrifos -- essentially Dursban in "tiny time pills."

Foggers: When choosing a fogger, note that the directions call for one
  can per X no. of UNOBSTRUCTED square feet.  In practice, that means
  one can per major room.  You can increase the effectiveness of the
  spread of the fogger by setting up fans to move the air around
  before you trigger the foggers.  If you have a forced-air furnace,
  turning the thermostat switch to "on" or "fan" instead of "auto"
  will help circulate the pesticide throughout the house.  Foggers
  have a real problem in penetrating enough to do any good, though.
  They just don't reach under furniture and other inaccessible places.

4.  Treating outdoors areas

When treating the area surrounding your house, remember that fleas are
not found in your driveway gravel or in the open.  The larvae do not
survive high temperatures.  They are found in shaded areas, like under
porches, decks, car ports, at the edges of woods, and especially in
places where your pets lay down outdoors.

Dursban: You can use Dursban for ridding the yard of fleas.  Home
  Depot will have the generic stuff.  Spray according to the
  directions on the label.  This is fairly toxic stuff.  The generic
  name is Chlorpyrifos.

For those with outdoor pets, diatomaceous earth, boric acid and silica
aerogels can be used to treat your lawn for fleas and ticks.  These
chemicals were lauded by the Apr 92 _Sunset_ magazine in their list of
least toxic chemicals, sprays and dusts, which were discussed for
those people who want to control pests more naturally.  These are not
poisons, and kill by clinging to, scratching and and destroying the
waxy exteriors, or dessicating the pests.  _Sunset_ does point out
that these chemicals should not be inhaled as they will irritate or
abrade the lungs in the same way (which isn't a big problem once
they've settled into your lawn).  Diatomaceous earth is an abrading
agent (much like borax).  Use natural grade rather than pool grade
diatomacious earth.  Boric acid is also a abrading agent.  Silica
aerogels are dessicants, and kill the insects through dehydration. 
It is recommended that these chemicals be used in powder form to kill
fleas and ticks.

5.  Dipping your pet

For an immediate flea problem, you can bath your pet with a
flea-killing substance to get rid of the fleas on its body.  But
remember, such "dips" usually sting when applied to open irritations.
Animals have been known to bite, climb up your arm, and even urinate
all over themselves, so be prepared!  

Be very careful to only dip animals at least two, preferably three
months old, and be especially careful to use appropriate dips.  That
is, do not use dips marked for dogs on cats!

Avon's Skin-So-Soft lotion is reputed to repel fleas (as well as
mosquitos on human).  After bathing your dog, put some lotion in the
rinse water.  They will smell like the lotion, and the application
will last for a few weeks.  This may be a problem for pets that groom
themselves.  Another way to apply it is to put a 1:1 lotion:water mix
in a spritz bottle and mist your dog with it.  Some people report
excellent results and others do not.

**Dipping alone will NOT solve the more general problem of the flea
infestation.**

6.  Combing your pet

Flea combs with fine teeth that snag fleas are commercially available
It is helpful to have a small dish of ammonia-laced water on hand to
kill the fleas on the comb rather than trying to nail each one by
hand.  Use a metal comb; the plastic ones are too flexible and allow
the fleas to escape.

This by itself will never rid your pet from fleas since flea larvae
are not deposited on your pet but on bedding, furniture and carpet.
It is, however, a useful way to keep an eye on the flea population.
You can estimate another 1000-5000 fleas are in your house for every
flea you find on your pet.

7.  Powders

Flea powders are handy, but there are many types and some are rather
poisonous.  Check the poisonous list below for ingredients that cause
serious problems (for cats).  When using powders, it is not enough to
just powder your pet: powder its bedding, under furniture cushions,
and in the vacuum cleaner bag.

Do not let your pet ingest flea powder of any sort.  This can be
tricky with pets that groom themselves, such as cats and ferrets.

8.  Borax and salt

Also known as sodium polyborate, sodium tetraborate, sodium borate.
The chemical is related to boric acid.  This is present in a variety
of household products.  Sprinkling 20 Mule Team Borax, the kind you
use in laundry (*not* the hand soap Boraxo; the soap added to can be
toxic to your pet) *or salt* on the carpet and upholstery will dry out
the deposited flea larvae.  The procedure is to vacuum the house,
sprinkle borax or salt using a sieve on carpet and upholstery (and
under the pillows, under the furniture); sweep with a broom to settle
the borax into the carpet and then vacuum lightly.  Some people leave
it on for a few days before vacumming, but this runs the risk of
abrading the surface of the carpet.  Don't let your animals eat the
stuff (though a very small amount won't hurt them).  If you use borax,
you may need to adjust for this when cleaning your carpets by using
less soap.  The effects of a borax treatment seem to last about a year
or so.

Drawbacks: Borax, in the soap form, seems to abrade carpets.  In
addition, there are documented cases of long-term low-level exposure
to sodium polyborate resulting in conjunctivitus, weight loss,
vomiting, mild diarrhea, skin rash, convulsions and anemia and other
similar allergic reactions in humans.  If you're using borax as flea
control, and your pets (or family) are showing loss of appetite, eye
or skin problems, anemia or kidney problems, you may want to switch to
another flea control method and see if their health improves.  Do not
apply it to damp carpets as it can take the color out.

Borax is not advisable where you have pets which groom themselves,
e.g., cats and ferrets.  They can ingest enough to harm them if the
borax is not settled deeply enough into the carpet.

9.  Vacuum

Put flea powder in the vacuum cleaner bag to kill any fleas that you
vacuum up, otherwise they will crawl back out.  You should change the
bag in your vacuum cleaner after a round of flea-cleaning in any case.
Moth balls can also be used, but they are pretty toxic.  Sometimes
people put flea collars in the bag, but it is not clear that this is
effective, and if the collar contains dichlorvos, is NOT recommended.

10. Flea collars  
  
See Consumer Reports, September 1991.  Flea collars aren't effective
and may even be bad for your pet's health.  Some of the herbal ones
smell nice and that's about it.

Ultrasonic and electronic flea collars are not known to work.

11. Newborn animals

Very young animals can die from overinfestation of fleas.  They are
small enough that they can become dangerously anemic within hours, and
are young enough that they will be poisoned by dipping chemicals.
Consult your vet immediately if you have a less than 8-10 week old
kitten or puppy with a bad case of the fleas.  **Do not attempt to
"dip" them, you can easily kill them this way.**

Consider that one flea consumes 1/10 cc of blood in 24 hours.  For
every flea you see on your animal there are, conservatively, 10 more.
So, if you can see 10 fleas on your animal, that translates to 100
fleas.  Multiplied by .1 cc/24 hours = 10 cc / 24 hrs.  In other
words, if you can find 10 fleas on your animal, it is probably losing
somewhere in the neighborhood (probably more) of 10 cc's of blood a
day to fleas.

Symptoms of anemia: if flea-infested baby animals become lethargic,
weak, and pale, you may have *only hours* before they die.  A good
test for anemia is to take your finger, lift the upper lip, and press
gently but firmly into the upper gum. The gum will turn white for a
moment and then return almost immediately to a pink color. If the gum
stays white for more than a couple of seconds, anemia is indicated.
Take them to the vet *now*.

If they do not yet appear anemic, use a flea comb on them.  You should
take steps to prevent infestation by keeping the mother clear of
fleas, and regularly (at least every other day) changing and
laundering the bedding.  While you should not dip them in chemicals,
giving them a plain soap-and-water bath can help remove the fleas from
their body: wash the bedding at the same time and then use the flea
comb regularly to keep fleas from taking hold again.  The mildly
insecticidal shampoo Mycodex (tm) can be used on kittens, but requires
flea combing afterwards because of its mildness.

12. Toxicities

According to Steven A. Melman and Karen L. Campbell's "Flea Control"
(Chapter 9 in August's volume), pesticides that have caused serious or
fatal illness in cats when used at dosages effective against fleas
are:
         
Carbaryl (=Sevin)
Chlorpyrifos (=Dursban)
Dichlorvos (=DDVP, Vapona)
Dioxathion (Delnav, Deltic)
Lindane
Malathion
Naled (DiBrom)
Phosmet (=prolate, Kemolate)
Permethrin
Propxur (Sendran, Baygon)
Pyrethrins (but microencapsulated pyrethrins have no listed problems)
Ronnel (=Korlan)
Tetrachlorvinphos (=Rabon)

13. Systemic products

Proban (cythioate) and Prospot (Fenthion) are not licensed for use in
cats in the U.S.  They may be used on dogs.  They work on the
principle that if you poison the bloodstream, the fleas will die after
ingesting the poisoned blood.  Several problems: first, you *are*
introducing a low level of poison into your pet's bloodstream, and the
long-term effects are unknown.  Second, this does not help at all the
pet that is allergic to fleas and cannot afford to be bitten in the
first place.

14. Homes with pregnant women or crawling infants

Specific recommendations from "Flea Control" for houses with pregnant
women or crawling infants are for a combination of microencapsulated
pyrethrins (Sectrol from 3M) and methoprene.

15. Preventing flea infestations in your next home

Since flea larvae can lay dormant for surprisingly long periods of
time, it is always possible for you and your pets to get fleas by
moving into a house or apartment in which the previous occupants had
fleas.

If this may be the case, you can prevent the potential problem by
spraying the place *before* you move in, if at all possible.  If the
place has been uninhabited long enough that all the adult fleas are
dead, a spray for larvae (Precor, Duratrol, etc) should be sufficient,
otherwise use sprays that will also work on the adults.
Alternatively, you can use this opportunity to treat the *entire*
carpeted area with borax before you have furniture in the way.

16. Conclusion

In general, you will have to use a combination of some of the
approaches above.  You will also want to launder any bedding and other
launderable items to rid them of fleas at the same time.  If you comb
your pet regularly, you will be able to spot an incipient increase of
fleas and make pre-emptive strikes.


II.  Ticks

1.  In general

Ticks are small rounded arachnids that cling to one spot and do not
move.  They have inserted their head under the skin and are engorging
themselves on the blood.  Diseases carried by ticks means that you
should have yourself or your pets checked after you find ticks.  One
the one hand, ticks are a little easier to deal with since they remain
outdoors, and do not infest houses the way fleas do; on the other
hand, they carry more dangerous diseases and are harder to find.

2.  Removing a tick

When you find a tick, use tweezers to pick up the body and pull
s-l-o-w-l-y and gently, and the mouthparts will release.  Ticks carry
a lot of rickettsial diseases, including Lyme disease and Rocky
Mountain Spotted Fever, so you should wash your hands thoroughly with
soap after handling a tick.

DO NOT touch the tick with the head of a hot match or cigarette first
since this can cause the tick to regurgitate into your bloodstream,
increasing the chances that you may catch a disease the tick carries.
Smearing petroleum jelly on the tick to suffocate them has the same
problem.

Lyme disease is carried by tiny deer ticks, which are the size of the
head of a pin.  You must look yourself or your pet over very carefully
to find these kind of ticks.  Other ticks can be as large as
peppercorns.

3.  Infections or abscesses

If you have left the head of the tick in your pet's skin, chances are
there will be an infection or an abscess in a week or so.  Try
disinfecting the area thoroughly with 70% alcohol (it takes about 5
minutes for alcohol to sterilize an area).  Ethyl alcohol is less
toxic than rubbing alcohol; vodka or any high-proof liquor will work.
Then apply a combination antibiotic ointment.  If an infection occurs
anyway, take your pet in to the vet to have it drained.

4.  Disposing of ticks

To dispose of the tick, drop it into alcohol to kill it, then dispose
of it.  Flushing them down the toilet WILL NOT KILL THEM.

5.  Where you pick up ticks

Adult ticks can remain on deer and other mammals through the fall 
and winter.  If you spend a lot of time outdoors during this period, 
be sure to check yourself, your family and your pets daily for ticks.  
If you hunt or trap, check areas where you cache your game for ticks 
that may have fallen off during handling. 

A helpful practice is to wear long pants tucked into white socks; this
way they crawl up the *outside* of your pants and you can spot them in
the field.  Also wear a hat: they can drop from trees onto your head.

Ticks like long grass on the edges of woods (especially deer ticks,
since this is a habitat that deer like, too).  They crawl up onto the
grass blades and cling to you as you walk past.

6.  Combatting ticks

If you have heavy infestations of ticks in your area, spraying your
backyard against ticks may be a good idea, especially if your pet is
indoor/outdoors.  

One way to combat ticks is to raise Guinea hens, which eat ticks.
Trivia: Actress Christie Brinkley got Lyme disease from a tick on her
own property, and she now raises Guinea hens.

7.  Lyme disease vaccination

There is a vaccination against Lyme disease for dogs that is now
available.  One for people is coming out now as well.



References and Addresses

_Tiny Game Hunting_
A good reference on how to get rid of fleas.

Gardens Alive!
Natural Garden Research Center
Hwy 48 - PO Box 149
Sunman, IN 47041
812/537-8650.  

----------------
This file is not copyrighted.  Please feel free to forward copies of
this to anyone you like.  I only ask that you keep the document
intact, including the addresses below so that any recipient knows
where to query about possible updates.

Cindy Tittle Moore
Internet: tittle@ics.uci.edu  UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucivax!tittle
Bitnet  : cltittle@uci        USmail: PO BOX 4188, Irvine CA 92716
----------------
Xref: sparky rec.pets:2627 alt.folklore.urban:19369 talk.bizarre:22647 alt.sex:24734