The summer always brings lots of bugs and brings them in your house. This year fleas where out of control in numbers much higher than usual. Whats worse is fleas in particular reproduce in a lightning fast fashion. Lets look into some herbal pest control.

For a few days I was getting some bites on me, which isn’t all that unusual with keeping windows and such open in the summer time and the bugs etc….. I was starting to get a few more than what I would consider normal and I got the bug spray out and sprayed my perimeter to keep the bugs from entering the house and keeping them outside where they should be. Sitting next to my dog on the couch watching Discovery Channel I’m sure, a little bug jumped on me. This repeated itself and then I put 2 and 2 together and figured out my dog, Chester, has fleas!

Herbally, we can deal this. Lets start with your pet and the fleas. Cedar should be no secret to most people. Its used to keep moths out and boxes to keep bugs out in general. However, it kinda is a secret and I don’t know why. Cedar is great and you can buy Cedar Oil. Cedar Oil is great because it kills almost every bug and it is safe. You can coat your dog in it and your entire house.

Fleas feed on blood like mosquitoes and ticks, but they need to live in the environment like your dogs coat. Adult fleas will live on your dog, but many will venture off here and there to hang out on you and bite you, or they jump onto carpet thinking its another dog and hang out there until your dog comes by and they jump back on. Flea eggs don’t stay in your dog’s coat and fall out. This creates a large amount of flea infestations anywhere your dog goes. This means that not only does your dog need to be cleansed of the Adult fleas, you have to kill the fleas all over your house so they don’t just hop back on your dog after you cleaned him. This is what happens to many people who simply clean their dog with a flea shampoo and then their dog just gets re-infested.

I took Chester into the bathroom and cleaned him up really good in the shower. I left him in the bathroom to dry off and hang out. My infestation wasn’t really bad and I knew the bad spots were the bedroom and front room. I took the cedar oil and covered the carpet in the those areas really well and also the couch in the front room. I then removed the sheets and blankets and put them directly into the wash machine. Now that a good bit of Cedar oil has neutralized all my bugs in the house including the fleas, its time to finish with the dog. I have a clean dog so now its time to coat him with the cedar oil too. If your house was stinky before it smells awesome now! Now about me.

When I get bug bites I use Dimmak Herbs Echinacea Blend. Echinacea plus the Chapparal and Hong Hua in the bottle as a tincture do an excellent job in drawing the poison out and astringing the bite which makes it itch free as well. This time around the tincture wasn’t working. I was applying it over and over and over daily with only brief relief. After the time I realized that the problem was flea related and the Echinacea Blend tincture wasn’t working it came to me that I was having a REACTION to the bites. So I changed up products. I started taking DM Assist internally and switched between Itch/Rash Salve (for anti-histamine) and Aloe Salve (for spreading rashes and skin irritations) all from Dimmak Herbs. I was able to settle my reactions and the fleas went away. Another Natural Victory!

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Have you seen the commercials on TV or seen on the web about these Full Bars? You eat this bar and Drink 8oz of water 30 minutes before you eat and you will eat less food and lose weight. Are you kidding me? This is the biggest joke since the pet rock!

The logic has truth to it. By eating 3oz or so of natural food and a large glass of water and wait some time before you eat, you will eat less. Not only have you given your body a chance to take in a semi-filling meal, but you could also work to speed up metabolism. This isn’t really anything new, but some guy is now advertising a way to do it. I was thrilled at first, then I went to the web site. The bars are all natural, but really not full of much! There is soy protein added for protein, not a lot of fiber, a small anount of a few vitamins, and they are being sold for like $3 a peice! Are you serious?

The theory here does work, and I would advise people to try it but forget blowin $3 on that guys lame bar. Instead take a look a Clif Bar
http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_clif_bar/
When you are taking in less food you still need the same amount of Vitamins, Minerals, and everything else. Just from looking at the Clif Bar you can see all of the good stuff they have in there.

I even have a better idea. Why don’t you try this tactic with a peice of bread that is very high in Fiber. Find the loaf of bread with the most amount of Fiber and some vitamins and such, eat a slice 30 minutes before you eat and see how you do.

Asian culture has been doing similar things in their daily diet for years. For example, the Japanese traditionally have Miso Soup and some type of salad like Sea Weed salad about 10-15 minutes before the meal comes out. In this case you are taking in some Fiber, warm liquid to warm the digestion, minerals in the soup and allows you to not start eating on a totally empty stomach.

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No reason to read this article because you already know the answer? However, my answer is not Ginseng, nor Echinacea. My herbal ruler can do many things and do them well. In fact, my herbal ruler has a very unusual property up its sleeve. Let me explain why my picks aren’t the popular Chinese Ginseng or the Western Echinacea herb which are widely considered the king herbs globally and are in demand that also carry a high price tag.
Echinacea is a powerful herb from the west known as Echinacea Purpurea. Echinacea is a mild herb and has little side effects even in huge overdoses, and sometimes is recommended in large doses. Echinacea has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and impressive antibiotic properties to boot. Both of these properties make for its powerful properties it’s used for: Infections, Blood Cleaning, and Acute Inflammations and Sores. Upon first signs of infections or the body being invaded by about anything Echinacea can start to be taken in large doses and tapered off. Blood cleaning is a very popular thing to do now days and Echinacea is the staple in that regimen along with similar, but not as potent herbs. Cleaning out toxins, relieving swollen glands, and lowering fevers makes for a great monthly cleanse and a program for cancer patients as well. In the world of first aid Echinacea is a great remedy because you can use it internally and externally right on the sores, cuts, wounds, boils, or any skin condition and get treatment for both ends. I love my Echinacea, but it’s not the winner. Echinacea is not a tonic; it is used for acute conditions and loses any long term effectiveness after 10 days. It does not build up immunity as people believe, except for a short time where you would use it to actually treat a condition. Echinacea is endangered and considering the doses needed sometimes, can make it expensive. Because Echinacea is primarily to treat inflammation and acute conditions, it is most effective against coldness and deficiencies. Therefore, it must be used in combination with other herbs to make it work on those that aren’t suffering internal heat.
Ginseng, know as Ren Shen, is probably the most popular and well known of all herbs. In Chinese Medicine we classify this herb as a Qi Tonic. Ginseng warms, moves, and tonifies the Qi in the body and spreads it out through the body. For westerners this herb is known to increase energy, support an active lifestyle, and build up a healthy body. One thing I do give Ginseng is the fact that it not only does all of these things, it is useful in emergency situations including controlling blood and encouraging blood flow. It is used in China in I.V. form for hemorrhage, shock, and keeping consciousness. Ginseng is both powerful and one of the few herbs where it can be used by itself. So why isn’t this herb getting the credit of the king herb? Well you know I wouldn’t give you something this easy did you? Ginseng is also difficult to prepare when wanting to use it alone for tonifying. It requires a separate steamer and special preparation. Ginseng is very expensive and is often sold powdered from immature root and probably mixed with other herbs. Although this herb has these bleeding disorder qualities, it cannot be used in initial stages; it should not be used when there is an attack of sickness, and shouldn’t be used with caffeine. With the world hyped up on coffee and energy drinks how can I put this on top :).
And now for the moment you have been waiting for. My personal choice as the herb to rule them all is- San Qi. San Qi is known as Tien Qi, Notoginseng, and Pseudoginseng. What is this herb used for? San Qi stops bleeding, reduces swelling, alleviates pain, and breaks up blood stasis and clots. Yes, I said that this herb stops bleeding AND breaks up blood stasis and clots. San Qi can be used for one or the other or both. When used to stop bleeding you need not worry about thrombosis or stasis. For instance some women take herbs containing San Qi for heavy bleeding (menses), but they don’t have to worry about menstrual clotting. When used for stasis there isn’t a worry about thinning out the blood. This herb is great for injuries where there is swelling and bruises but it won’t result in thinning of blood. Topically San Qi can be found in almost every popular external herbal application for pain, swelling, and to move blood. Herbs like this are excellent because they are pretty specific on application, but are versatile at the same time. San Qi should be taken internally and externally for a dual action purpose by working on the problem from the inside and out.
This herb has a pretty celebrated history of its effectiveness on the battle field. Stories of soldiers injured in battle were able to stabilize themselves with the San Qi and then make their way home. I’m talking about some serious wounds that have supposedly been treated with San Qi. To this day this herb is specifically indicated for gun shot wounds in the Materia Medica.
Externally the herb works to clot wounds immediately and becomes part of scab and is the outside of it, and it won’t come off until the scab does. It should be applied as a paste moistened with a touch of water and it is because of this you need to take care in covering the wound. If you place direct loose gauze over this application the gauze will be permanent to the paste. Powdering over the paste will be effective in keeping the wound from bonding to your covering.
Want to see this herb in action?

http://www.dimmakherbs.com/wounddemo.html

I wrote about this herb here as well:
http://blogofherbs.com/herbs/deep-laceration-home-remedy-fix

Want to get some pills and powder for your First Aid needs? Visit Dimmak Herbs and look for their Dimmak Clot at www.dimmakherbs.com
San Qi should not be taken internally in pregnant women.

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