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I have an inside cat that periodically has flea problems. The fleas must be getting in via friends of mine that have pets. I believe the cat is allergic to flea bites because it gets bumps on its skin where it has been bitten. So, I have been using Frontline monthly to keep the fleas at bay and keep my cat comfortable. Frontline is exspensive and it is something that I have to continually buy.

Does anyone know of a sustainable alternative to keeping fleas off of a pet?

Linger
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    I totally read the title here as "how can I get rid of the fleas I keep as pets?" – Shog9 Jan 31 '13 at 18:48
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    Ha, no that's is not what is meant at all. It try not to keep fleas as pets. I have updated the title, hopefully it is clearer. – Linger Jan 31 '13 at 18:53
  • My mom was just telling me recently about an aunt adding a bit of garlic to the pet food occasionally as flea prevention. I do not have the specifics, but she said that it is working well for them. – Prymaldark Feb 01 '13 at 14:50
  • Why do you consider Frontline unsustainable? Is it just the expense? – 410 gone Feb 01 '13 at 19:13
  • The expense is part of it. However, there has to be something safer and more readily available around the house that can be just as effective. – Linger Feb 01 '13 at 20:03
  • Yeah, I haven't found any effective method yet other than Frontline or equivalents. Which I'm really not fond of. At all. But then again, getting bitten by fleas also sucks. If I find a good solution I'll be sure to share it. @EnergyNumbers It's not just that it's expensive, it's a pretty unfriendly pesticide and poison. I'm not fond of putting it on my dog or having it in my environment. – Daniel Bingham Feb 04 '13 at 21:41
  • Here's the main ingredient of Frontline: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil

    It's a wide spectrum insecticide that is also highly toxic to many other animal classes. It is one of the pesticides implicated in colony collapse disorder in Bees. I hate using it. But the alternative is to be assaulted by fleas, which isn't sustainable either. Right now I'm just hoping that the relatively low dose I apply to my animal doesn't find its way into the wider environment and actively looking for an alternative.

     – Daniel Bingham Feb 04 '13 at 21:45
  • @DanielBingham thanks; Linger - would you like to add that info into the question? It's very useful context – 410 gone Feb 05 '13 at 06:34
  • @EnergyNumbers, What info? Are you talking about what Daniel Bingham wrote? Anyway, feel free to edit the question to make it better. – Linger Feb 05 '13 at 13:38
  • @Linger - yes, if what Daniel Bingham wrote is also your own concern re the sustainability of Frontline. I didn't know if it was or not, so I thought it best to leave it to you to edit in, if you consider it appropriate. – 410 gone Feb 05 '13 at 13:45

1 Answers1

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A dog and cat owner friend of mine discovered Cedarcide (https://cedarcide.com/) last year and has successfully kept fleas out of her home and off her animals (they make products for home and pet application) for the past year, after several terrible bouts of infestation and unsuccessful (and noxious, toxic, unsustainable) treatments with flea pesticides. And her home and pets always smell delightfully of cedar! Yum!

Highly Irregular
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