The Flea Days of Summer? Cassie Evans Takes On Pests With Earth Friendly Company

this week’s menagerie

I know we have more dogs than most (fostering…not hoarding), but this summer has been particularly awful for fleas at our house in Hollywood Heights/East Dallas. I have never had an issue before and we foster dogs all the time, but this summer I found fleas on ALL of the dogs, including our little old lady. You don’t mess with my little old woman!If ingested by a pet – and they are easily ingested while grooming – fleas infect pets with tapeworms. We have enough fosters that we aren’t in the market to start fostering parasites as well. Not to mention fleas are parasites themselves. (I’ll be courteous and spare a photo of these parasites.)

Whether it’s from walking them in the neighborhood or from my own backyard I don’t know, but I became a woman on a flea mission. After shaving all of our Cavalier King Charles spaniels (which many consider a crime), bathing everyone (including the cat), and washing every linen on hot with bleach (in case one little flea fell off in the house), I did some research online. Apparently, fleas can lay eggs anywhere, even in the cracks between wood planks in the floor. Living in a house of almost all wood floors, I lost it.

Terrified of using chemicals (I’m also pregnant) and having to exit the home with all pets for awhile, a friend came to my rescue with an all-natural solution. Eco Friends Pest Control is owned by Lin Ellis, and she came over 2 days later, on a Saturday, after sensing the panic in my voice. A pet lover herself, she used eco-friendly products containing essential oils from plants (VERY strong concentrations) after loving on all our pets.

Using the Essentria product line, the botanical compounds work by blocking octopamine in the target insect’s nervous system. Lin basically mopped my entire house with the product and sprayed base boards, sofas, and mattresses, as well as under furniture where fleas can hide dormant. My home smelled minty fresh for days! She also treated my yard with garlic-based granules, which were flushed into my soil with the next morning’s rain storm. Not only have I not seen 1 flea since, though we have a new foster dog (a giant, sweet female St. Bernard if any of you are St. Bernard lovers), but I have seen a reduction in other bugs outside in my yard. My neighbors even commented on how great my house smelled and one asked if I was baking just based on the scent of my yard. Lin also gave me some great house cleaner recipes to use at home that are vinegar based. I much prefer the dog days of summer and am so grateful for this eco friendly option!

Duchess, the St. Bernard.