CathyandAudrey avatar image

Also Judy, about garlic

do you add garlic to their food to keep bugs away? I am not using topical flea stuff anymore, and so far we dont; have any fleas, but I would like to keep it that way.
Do you use a rosemary/lavender spray to repel bugs also?

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Cathy and Audrey  

judy wilson's picture

yes to both.....

i like to use fresh garlic but you can buy some from spingtime their a holistic store on line...and they have great products....i get in the winter my pure honey....plus wilson has a bad knee and i use their joint relief....

so you can use either raw fresh or buy the tablets it takes about 30 to 60 days to be affective thats why i use all year around....

CathyandAudrey's picture

Can you clarify amounts?

fresh garlic per meal/day :  ?

fresh honey per meal/day : ?

your recipe for rosemary/lavendar bug spray? Where do you get your essential oils?

Also what did you say you used on rags outside for mosquitos? The mosquitos have TAKEN OVER my front porch, we can't even get in our own door at night cause if we leave he light on so we can see they swarm it, and if we don't leave the light on we can't see to unlock it. Also we have a newborn in the house now and I want something I can put all around the tent on the deck to keep them away. It does have a screen, but they still find their way in. We have tried the oil you put in torches to burn, but I don;t want to have to rely on flames near the baby.

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Cathy and Audrey  

Julia's picture

I'm noy Judy, but I'll share my amounts... =)

I give a fresh chopped clove of garlic a day (in the morning, so I don't have to smell it all night long.)  :)

I give a dollop of honey with each meal.

I make my own bug spray of lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, geranium, and peppermint oils.  I actually mix it with vodka... it dries fast, rather than water. :)  You can mix it with rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, distilled water, even just water... whatever.  And you can make any kind of mixture you want.  Just one drop of oil in a small spray bottle.  It's potent stuff.

I've never really researched deals on essential oils, I've just bought mine from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/aroma/ess.html I liked them, their prices seemed decent. :)

Around the yard, I sprinkle diatomaceous earth, which I gave to Gretl internally as a puppy for any tummy bugs. 

Hope that helps!

Julia

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CathyandAudrey's picture

yep! Very helpful!

So you fill a small spray bottle with vodka, then add one drop of each oil? Or do you dilute the vodka?

 My husband is NOT going to be happy if I use his Goose for bugspray. ;-)

Just kidding I will get some cheaper stuff.

The skeeters around here are HORRIBLE this year already. I have to do something to keep them away. What do you do for heartworm prevention?

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Cathy and Audrey  

Julia's picture

Don't get me wrong! LOL...

I have my Ketel One in one part of the freezer... and then I won a bottle of Svedka in a raffle and never even opened it until this spring for Gretl's spray.  :)  LOL!!!

Like I said, distilled water, witch hazel, rubbing alcohol... they're all recommended on various sites I've read. :)  I just happened to have a bottle I was never going to drink... hehehe.

I just drop the drops into the bottle with the liquid.

My heartworm prevention is the spray, the garlic, and the diatomaceous earth. :)   If it was particularly bad when I would take Grover to a really mosquito heavy area, I always carried a bottle of Avon's Skin So Soft with me.  It's SO greasy and slippery, I don't use it regularly.  But for extreme circumstances, I've always relied on it.  My mom was using it on me as a kid 30 years ago... :)  Works great!

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CathyandAudrey's picture

Julia where do you get your DE?

I just ordered a buch of oils from the site you sent the link for. I didnt' even check to see if they had DE!

I would have to use the skin so soft daily, big yuck if it's that greasy.

I have a feeling that with all this stuff I am going to be spraying Audrey with she's going to need more than her normal 4 baths a year!

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Cathy and Audrey  

Julia's picture

From this shop/seller on ebay!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Natural-Food-Grade-Diatomaceous-Earth-6-lbs_W0QQitem...

 

Liz, Gretl's breeder, linked me to her.  :)  Great price, huge amount.  LOL!

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CathyandAudrey's picture

OMG that is a good price!

the other place I found sells 12 oz for that! SWEET!

So how frequently do you feed it to Gretl?

and do you belong to any holistic bulldog groups? Someone from here recommended one to me and they are very helpful.

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Cathy and Audrey  

CathyandAudrey's picture

hmmmm...VERY interesting!

The place I just told you about IS the SAME place as the e-bay seller! I wouild have been pissed off if I had paid for 12oz and later found out I could get 6 pounds from the SAME folk for the same price!

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Cathy and Audrey  

judy wilson's picture

julia great info

its always great to get alot of people involved in holistic approach...and the different things people use....i like your bug spray...may try it out!!!!