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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In a newly published article of mine entitled Echinacea Letting You Down? Use as Directed I discuss some points on Echinacea and its correct uses. I would just like to take a second and give out some more information about this wonderful herb, as it is quite popular and many people use it (please read the article on how NOT to use it).

There are a few different types of Echinacea, but their properties and almost identical. I recommend Echinacea Pupurea as it is a little less expensive and less endangered. Also, the leaves and roots and sold as the herb, but I would recommend the use of the roots only for best results of your usage! Echinacea is considered a ‘Mild Herb’ and really has no toxic properties. This means you can pretty much take it in mass quantities and have almost no side effects. If in fact you do choose to go crazy with it, you should add ginger and licorice to the combination to harmonize it. Remember Echinacea is an herb directed and inflammation and acute problems. This is why concentrated doses over a short period is best. During acute stages you can take a full dose of formula every 2 hours the first 3 days. This will probably have improved the condition greatly and you may then move to spaced out dosages for the next 3 days or so.

This doesn’t mean that Echinacea has no use in the Chronic formulas. Echinacea is widely used in Cancer treatments. This is because Echinacea does not lose effectiveness of certain of its properties, in this case a cleaner. A potent blood cleanser is perfect for many conditions and cancer is not an exception. A blood cleanser will purify the blood, clean out the lymph, clear inflammation,and clear up skin sores all of which are important to a cancer patient. Echinacea with a host of other excellent blood cleaners can be used for months straight in order to help clear up conditions.

Another great use for Echinacea that I love is using it for a pet ear wash. I make an extremely potent tincture with Echinacea and some other herbs, boil off the alcohol and wash my dog’s ears with it and it works wonders. Echinacea is great here as all of its properties work perfect for the condition. Anti-inflammatory to reduce the inflammation casued by irritated ears, anti-biotic to kill bacteria, anti-septic for a cleansing action, and fights infection. I actually make a Doggie Ear wash that I sell to local pet stores, and everyone loves it!

Leave your favorite Echinacea uses in the comments!

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