Flea Eating Predators | Flea Repellant Plants

– Natural Home Flea Treatments for Cats –

Cat fleas love to feast on our cats, dogs and other domestic animals…and us!

So WHAT eats fleas? 

ANYthing?

Ahhhh… justice!  There ARE  Flea Enemies that eat those blood-sucking dastards!

Cat Flea Enemies – Non-pesticide Flea Control

For some additional natural flea treatment for your cats, welcome some insect friends to your flea control regimen.

Any non-toxic means of fighting and eliminating the flea foe is a Huge Plus for all of us on this planet!  Mother Nature does provide natural antidotes to problems we encounter –and Fleas DO have their enemies.  Besides us!  These Natural Flea Fighters will be happy to assist us in flea control and take out this pesky parasite!

Here are some of the most common Cat Flea Foes! 

FLEA–fi–Foe–fum…I smell the blood of a FLEA undone!  

Lady Bugs – Natural Flea Remedies

Outdoors, you’ll find some flea fighting friends in the common lady bug.  If you don’t have any of these flea predators in residence, you can purchase a small number at your local garden center (or conveniently below) that will develop several thousand lady bug larvae within a month, ready to go to work on flea control!

Lady bugs have good appetites.  They’ll consume around 50 – 60 insects in a day, so are great natural flea treatment and insect control.  They like to snack on soft-bodied insects like mealy bugs, mites, aphids, thrips and – YES! –  cat FLEAS!!

Want to Attract Lady Bugs to Your

                    Yard and Garden?

Here are a few recipes for some Lady Bug food that will attract these cute, ravenous little flea fighters to your yard or garden.  Aim to attract these natural flea remedies to where your cats lounge in their protected outdoor area. 

If you have other garden flowers and vegetables you want to protect as well, add the lovely Lady Bug to your natural flea and pest treatment armory.

                 Free Natural Flea Control!
                                                                                                                     

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                                                              HOMEMADE FLEA TREATMENT
                                                                                RECIPES

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• » COME HITHER SWEET SPRAY «
             (Lady Bug Love Potion)

USE:  10 TBS. of SUGAR to 1 QT. of WATER.  

– Mix the sugar and water well in a spray
   bottle. 

– Spray this “Lady Bug Love Potion” on
   plants in areas where your cats
   frequent or lounge.

 

This tasty solution of sugar water appeals to these ‘ladies of the garden’…and will attract a bunch of these hungry little munchers quickly.

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• » WHEAST «
  

Another option to attract lady bugs to your pet area and gardens:  This recipe is similar to what commercial insect breeders mix up to feed lady bugs and other beneficial pest predators.

Wheast is  a whey and yeast mixture.  This recipe skips the whey and opts for components you’re more likely to have on hand:  SUGAR and YEAST.

You can use this recipe in two ways — as a paste or a spray.

Paste:  Mix equal parts of both ingredients with enough water to make a paste.  Apply the paste to some garden stakes – or popsickle sticks –  and place around the plants and areas you want the ladybugs to work in.

Spray:  Dilute the mixture with enough water to use as a spray in your spray container.  Spray it all around the garden and cat-lounge and play areas.

Watch for your little ‘eating machines’ to arrive…and then treat them right!  Keep fresh dishes of water handy and reapply the solutions if you notice that they are disappearing.

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• » RAISIN TREATS for V.I.P(redator)s «
  

Share the raisins you use on your morning cereal with your ladybug friends!  They’ll love the sweet, nutritious treat and have more incentive to come live  — and stay — in your yard and garden where they are treated like special family — which they are!

– Take a small handful of raisins and cut
   them in half.
 
– Soak in water for 5 – 10 minutes until they
   are plumped up nicely. 

– Then dab off some of the water, but leave
   the rest to keep them a bit moist  and
   arrange them in a flat dish or on a stone
   or board in the garden. 

– Replace as needed.

Your  little beneficial winged bug buddies will feel like they’re getting the ‘royal treatment’ and  be happy to stick around and go after those fleas — and any aphids they can find!

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TIP:  To KEEP these beneficial flea fighters in YOUR garden, make the conditions right for them! 

Leave a dish of clean water out under the plants for the lady bugs to drink from. Change the water frequently to keep mosquitoes at bay. Watering your plants will also leave little pools of water for these flea enemies to quench themselves, but water evaporates, so replenish, especially in dry weather.


TRY THIS for a natural,  lovely way to provide water naturally: 

Plant the ‘cup plant’ (Silphium perfoliatum). This pretty plant will catch and hold water in its leaves to serve up to your resident ladybugs !

So entice  these natural flea killers with some sugar food and water to go with it!  Otherwise…they’ll fly elsewhere looking for better service!

Build a Beneficial Bug ‘Condo’-Natural Flea
            Control

You can also plant a special hedge around the areas where your cats frequent and plant a variety of  plants that will also attract ladybugs as well as other beneficial insects.

If  this plant hedge is kept weeded and tidy, it will deter more pests and attract more ladybugs and other  insect ‘friends’.  It will give them a nice home of their own to overwinter, to pop out to feast on fleas in the area, as well as any that might be within up to 1000 feet from your own food crops.

Plant native perennial shrubs and  grasses and even trees if you have the space.  Milkweed is one such native plant that harbors aphids, which make ladybugs lick their chops!

Get a list from your local County Extension department for native grasses and shrubs that will attract these benign and helpful little ‘ladies’…since there will be differences from region to region as to what grows natively.

A local University  may also be able to help direct you to good choices as well as knowledgeable garden suppliers.  You want to diversify so that flowers are produced by different plants all season.

Check the Poison Plants List links below, however, to be sure they are SAFE to plant where your cats will spend time! Once they arrive, if all is comfortable for them, these natural flea remedies will stay and eat up the nasty fleas ..and other insect pests that have come to dine on your cats and/or plants!

Beneficial Nematodes – Natural Flea Treatment

This little microscopic worm does a big job for its size. An effective tool in your natural flea treatments kit, it can consume a huge portion of the flea population in a matter of hours and is not costly. Beneficial Nematodes are usually introduced to your garden with a garden sprayer or a hose end sprayer or even a watering can,  and will become active in about 24 hours.  Once the flea population is gone, the nematodes will die off.  So if you get another cat flea infestation, you’ll need to re-introduce these effective flea predators to the garden.

CLICK ME for Sprayer Info!

Before spraying on the predatory nematodes, water the soil with about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water…and then with the same amount after spraying on the organisms. This helps them to get through the soil more easily to search out the fleas. These little workhorse critters do their best cat flea control in sandy soil.

CAUTION: ONLY use nematodes if you haven’t applied chemicals. You’ll kill them off before they get the chance to show you their stuff!

Fire Ants for Flea Control

OUCH!  These red colored ants can do a great job for you in eating up the fleas, as long as you stay clear! If you notice large ant hills, you might want to alter your route! Fire ants can bite and leave red blotches that burn and itch.   But…they feast on flea larvae as well as other nasty pests such as ticks and cockroach eggs. Fire ants, though, are often feared more as problems than considered friends for our cat flea control regimen.

Spiders Help With Flea Control – Indoors and Out

Spiders set their traps and welcome any kind of ‘company’ to dinner.  Well… as dinner.  They’ll eat anything they catch, including fleas!  Yeaaaaa!

Indoors, while they don’t go hunting for fleas, they’ll certainly devour any that end up in their web. While not the most effective flea predator, spiders don’t usually get out of hand and stay in their favored corners and out of the way places and  are welcome  additional flea control options.

Fleas like hidden areas, so if they mosey into the right spot, they’ll be a nice dinner for a resident spider.  And we certainly don’t mind if they catch any stray mosquitoes or house flies that make it inside either!

So if you can manage to overcome any inklings of arachnophobia you might have, consider  (non-poisonous) spiders your friend!

Free natural flea treatment for cats!                               Many ground beetles are also ravenous eaters and will gobble up fleas for free!  So..be careful applying ANY type of pesticides, be it the more natural Diatomaceous Earth (DE) or anything else.  You don’t want to kill off the beneficial insects that are working for you 24/7 to eliminate fleas and other bad guy pests!  You’ll end up spending more money ..and likely produce more misery.. not to mention the environmental damage.

Any foe of the flea is a friend indeed!

Flea-Repelling Plants

Garden Plants as Natural Home Flea Treatments

Along with the bug buddies you can depend on to help with your Flea Fight, Mother Nature has provided some extra lovely gifts to add to your yard and garden that will assist with the battle.

Keeping fleas away is better than fighting them face to face, so why not add some extra sources of flea deterrents that also add beauty and value to your home and yard?   Various types of mint plants will repel fleas and  leave you smelling nice if you – or your cats- brush up against  the leaves.

Just as with people, some members of the family can be more ‘rogue’ than others.   Some mint plants should NEVER be planted where your cats, dogs and other animals will be spending time, while others are perfectly safe. (ie.  Pennyroyal  (NO!) vs. Lavender (YES) – both ‘mints’.)   If your pet happens to chew any of  the leaves of the non-toxic members, they won’t come to harm.

The volatile oils that can be produced from some of the plants carry danger of toxicity.  When concentrated, they can do great harm and even cause death.  If a cat chooses to chew on a leaf of one of the following and has any sort of reaction, it won’t be harmful..and your cat isn’t likely to do it again!  If they chew too many…then reactions may ensue.

ALWAYS watch your cats, dog and pets for reactions around these plants, Safe or not…Watch for digestive problems and skin reactions for instance.  Know what plants you have so that if a problem arises, you can advise your vet or emergency center and swift action against poisoning can be taken.

TOXIC GARDEN PLANTS FOR CATS (and other pets and animals)

There are some other plants that do repel fleas well and are widely touted for use around pets to repel and control fleas…but they are TOXIC and should NOT be used around your cats or dogs.  And one needs to be mindful of lost pets, strays and friendly neighbor pets allowed into your garden that can also be harmed.

Stay away from planting these  common garden plants for natural flea control:   (There are others — these are most common –)

• Citronella
• Eucalyptus
• Fleabane (perhaps better known as Pennyroyal)
• Fleawort
• Rue
• Sweet Bay
• Tansy 
• Wormwood (Artemesia)
• Geraniums and Chamomile are two other common favorites for gardens, but are toxic to cats and other animals. 

If you are adding new plants to your home or garden, and simply can’t live without a potentially harmful plant because you love their scent, flowers and beauty, simply  plant in restricted areas where your cats and pets will NOT be allowed to go – and where they cannot get in by themselves!   If you already HAVE these plants established, create barriers or enclosures for outdoor sojourns to keep your cats confined and away from their dangers. 

‘SAFE’ PLANTS THAT REPEL FLEAS 

The Mint Family

Pennyroyal is a member of the mint family and is very effective in repelling fleas.  However — it is NOT safe for use around cats.  It appears on the POISONOUS PLANT for CATS list at the ASPCA and is widely known to cause severe reactions if ingested.

While this plant is literally plastered ALL OVER the internet as a ‘natural flea repellant’ and Recommended for use with cats as well –It should Not be!  Too many assume ‘natural’ to mean safe – and  don’t know to ask themselves how dangerous anything like plants or oils could possibly be.

I’ve seen reports where others claim using it around their cats  – with an air of ‘dissing’ others’ concerns. They proclaimed ‘ no harm came to their cat’…even when it was ingested.

REMEMBER:  There are exceptions to every rule…things that are safe for most may not be safe for all.  There are always possibilities of individual exceptions.   And because one or a few animals may have escaped harm…does NOT mean others will.  The majority of cases have shown again and again over time to cause HARM. 

There is a REASON they are on the Poison list!  And in such reported cases, we  have no way to know what amount may have been ingested, what other circumstances may have been in play…the overall health and age of the animals, etc.  We might get lucky that our cats aren’t interested in the plants.  But should that risk be taken?  Behaviors and preferences can also change suddenly.

There are plenty of choices to use to help as flea repellants and flea fighters — and absolutely no reason to take chances with the life of an innocent animal with substances that are known to be toxic, no matter how desperate we may feel.  And we can all be at THAT point with a nasty flea infestation!

Always check out the extensive POISON PLANT LIST at the ASPCA before you purchase new plants for your garden or inside your home!  It could save your cat’s life..and you a lifetime of guilt, regret and deep grief.

Lavender, for instance, is also a member of the mint family, and is ranked as a safe choice for cats in the garden.  It is lovely, has a beautiful scent and repels fleas as well as ticks!

Caution:  Keep in mind that the ESSENTIAL OILS produced from even the “Safe” plants, however, can do harm to cats, dogs and other animals.  Use of ‘safe’ plants in the garden and the leaves around the home and yard are one thing — using Volatile (Essential Oils) derived from them on or around cats is another!

Mints Anyone? Try Some for Natural Flea Control

Mints are invasive, so it’s best to plant them in pots where you want them to do their magic.  Place them around a perimeter or within the area of where your cats lounge.

Add  other members of the mint family.  Sage and rosemary  (plant the HERB..NOT Rosemary Bog or Rosemary  Pea..they are toxic to cats and dogs!) are lovely, yet effective in the garden.

Lavender, too, is a member of the mint family as mentioned, and along with lemon grass, which is not, will also repel mosquitoes. (AND ticks!)

And what cat won’t love you forever if you plant  THE favorite mint of all time?  Catnip!  Ohhhh  Yeah!!!  But beware..it will attract other cats  from elsewhere…so best to plant it in a  confined, perhaps fenced area…not near or in your prized flower beds!

Add marigolds (non-toxic versions) to round out your little Flea-Repellant Garden Selection and you will have fleas warning each other to stay away!

Mints in general smell wonderful, can be used in other ways, such as in sachets around your home for the fragrance and flea-repellant attributes and can be calming for people and pets.

Keep in mind that Moderation is Always in Vogue.

• If something works, MORE is not always –and perhaps not usually  — better!  Remember, cats are efficient groomers, love to chew on plants and are great at hiding illnesses.
  
  
• Use ANYTHING in moderation whether a prescribed medication…or a ‘natural’ – ‘safe’ home remedy.  Too much of anything can harm both people and pets.

    Additional Flea Repelling Benefits

• Gather some of those leaves from your mint  family plants, dry them and make fragrant sachets to put in  pet bedding and around the house.
  
  
• Sprinkle the fresh leaves around your house foundation and at your entry ways to make a clear, aromatic statement that “FLEAS ARE NOT WELCOME HERE”!
  
  
• Indoors, pull up the welcome mat as well.  Scatter dried leaves  on your carpets and near baseboards and under your  furniture – all favorite flea hideouts. Fleas will prefer moving elsewhere and  not coming to visit.
  
  
• You can make fragrant potpourris by adding some leaves of your choice along with your favorite rose petals.
  
  
  
• Use your catnip leaves to make some ‘spicy’ toys for your sweet felines!  Add some to the sachets mentioned above as well!
  
  
  

  These plants along with your ‘good’ bug buddies,  can help cut down on flea misery and allow your  cats wonderful sojourns outside to dream in comfort the kitty fantasies we would all love to share!  

Always check out any plants you plan on adding to your garden or indoor houseplant selections.  Have some already you’re not sure about?  Check out the EXTENSIVE LIST at the ASPCA! You may save the life of your beloved cats, dogs and other animals — and a lifetime of guilt, regret and deep grief!

If in Doubt – Check it Out! —

  Don’t Know? – Then Go !

HERE:

 

•  ASPCA TOXIC | NON-TOXIC PLANTS
    
  http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants?plant_toxicity=non-toxic-to-cats
  
  
  
• CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION
  
  http://www.cfainc.org/CatCare/
  HouseholdHazards/ToxicPlants.aspx
  
  
  

The Lists are Long!
 
Choose Plants that Repel Fleas Carefully

There are just oooodles of plants that can cause toxic reactions in cats, dogs and other animals …including us.  There have been cherry trees, apple trees, narcissus and morning glories growing for years on and around our Oasis Sanctuary here with nary an incident in over 20 years.   Even poison ivy which keeps recurring after bold attempts to eliminate it!  I’ve been  Amazed to learn that such plants listed can cause reactions in our sweet pets!  

Some plants may cause minor irritations and temporary reactions and cats and other pets and animals may be fine after an episode.  Many cats will have no interest in any of the plants listed…others may become suddenly fascinated with any on the list they never bothered before. 

Some cats and animals may have an innate sense of what is dangerous in some instances, but we can’t count on that.  Again, individual variations are inevitable.  And a cat may become disoriented due to an illness or age, or suddenly realize they want to check out that plant with that neat jumping insect on it!  So knowing what dangers lurk in the home, yard and gardens is prime.

→ If your cat has caroused in some toxic plants, wash off with warm water and soap any plant residue or compounds on the cats fur you can see immediately and rinse very well.  And get medical attention for your cat.

It’s difficult to avoid everything…but no sense in adding more to the arena when it can be avoided.

  The knowledge of what is in, on and around the home and yard that can cause problems for your cats, dogs and other animals is Valuable and Important.

If your cat or other dependent pet should exhibit signs of poisoning, you can rush them to medical attention with the list of the plants they possibly may have come into contact with, if you don’t know.

Some Contradictions?

There are also contradicting lists for some plants from different resources.  Sometimes it is a particular strain within a type of plant that is toxic, while the others in a family are not.   

For instance, marigolds are listed as non-toxic at the ASPCA…but at the Cat Fanciers Assoc. they are listed as toxic.  I’ve included both resources above so that a double check can be made.  If one shows up as toxic, the other not…look at the scientific and common names listed on the ASPCA site to choose the non-toxic forms to be safe.

Eliminating what we can  – and not introducing other known hazards is responsible guardianship…and will help assure that we enjoy years more of Love and Snuggles with our sweet cats, dogs and other pets.

NEED MORE HELP?

  —Learn How to Kill Fleas with Other Natural Fleas Treatment strategies and Home Flea Remedies.

NATURAL FLEA TREATMENTS FOR YOUR CAT!

Click Image for More Details!

     Diatomaceous Earth – Food Grade

Beneficial Nematodes	Live Lady Bugs for Garden

VIDEOS –  NATURAL FLEA TREATMENT for CATS

Here’s a Video Tip about Diatomaceous Earth:

NOTE:  Not mentioned in the Video..but ESSENTIAL!  Use ONLY Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth.! The type used for aquariums and pools is HARMFUL to pets and people!

 How to Use Beneficial Nematodes – VIDEO

 KEEP YOUR CATS HAPPY WITH THEIR OWN
PRIVATE  PLANT STOCK TO CHEW!

Help keep your cat safer by satisfying his or her need to chew plants — with their OWN PRIVATE STOCK Indoors or Outdoors!

Check out these choices…and grow some safe and nutritious greens for your cats to enjoy!
(Click Each Image to read descriptions for details and benefits of each: toxin cleanser, vitamins, minerals, digestive aids..)

Preserve your Indoor and Outdoor Plants from Kitty’s Tastebuds!  Give them some Healthy Supplements with various Cat Grasses!

                                                                                                                   Indoor Plants for Cats 

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