sd (03/31/83)
The ultimate solution to the flea problem is to plant eucalyptus trees. I'm not kidding. I have a cat and dog who suffered from the usual flea problems at my former residence. No amount of powdering, dipping, and use of flea collars ever seemed to do any good. Three years ago I moved to a house that has several large eucalyptus trees. Within a week all of the fleas had disappeared from both animals, and to this day have not returned. A distinguishing characteristic of my trees is that they are constantly shedding bark, leaves, seeds, and flowers, depending on the time of year. All of these pieces are permeated with a rather aromatic oil. I assume it is this oil that rubs off onto the animals fur when they roll around in my tree debris. Since I hate yard work my pets are exposed to a constant and relatively high level of this stuff. If your climate doesn't support eucalyptus trees (I live in So. Calif.) this won't be of much help, but you might go to a health food store and try to find some bottled eucalyptus oil. Then spray your pets' sleeping areas and anyplace else they hang out. No guarantees implied here. With regards to the effectiveness of flea collars, they are another rip-off like all other over-the-counter nostrums. According to my vet, the chemicals are indeed lethal to fleas, but the concentrations are so low (to prevent injury to pets and humans) that the fleas just laugh it off. The real danger is that some pets are allergic to these poisons and may exhibit severe reactions despite the low concentrations.