From:
jbecker@dot.co.pima.az.us
Date: 2003-05-12 19:08:30 UTC
Subject: RE: Ferrets and flea treatment/prevention
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <2048448.1052766510041.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
To get fleas off of our ferrets we once tried pure, undiluted Pennyroyal Oi=
l on the ferrets collars with scary consequences. About 15 years ago I mov=
ed into a house with a TERRIBLE latent flea infestation (discovered that pr=
evious tenants ran a Great Dane puppy mill indoors for years). Since we had=
cats and ferrets, the fleas flared up big time, although the vermin STRONG=
LY preferred cats and roommates legs to me or ferrets. We put out heated so=
apy-water flea traps, removed all animals every two weeks for house fumigat=
ion, "dipped" the cats , and put a drop or two of Pennyroyal Oil on the cat=
collars. Although the fleas kept coming, within two months we had the pro=
blem seemingly manageable. When I observed more fleas dining on my two ~1-=
yr-old ferrets, I put a drop of the oil on the ferrets collars. During the=
previous weeks the ferrets had repeatedly been exposed to the cats with pu=
re Pennyroyal oil on their collars plus Pennyroyal plants (in pots near our=
beds!) without ANY observable reaction, so after putting the treated colla=
rs on the ferrets I let the them go on their way. When I saw the two ferret=
s about 30-40 minutes later, they were awake but zoned-out and almost compl=
etely limp. Since the vet was over 40 minutes away and I believed they may =
have ingested something poisonous/dangerous, we immediately left for the ve=
t. About halfway into the drive, I calmed down enough to recall the Pennyro=
yal oil I had put on their collars an hour before. I immediately removed th=
e collars and before we got to the vet the ferrets were recovering quickly.=
The vet thought both ferrets seemed fine, so he probably thought I was nut=
s... The ferrets didn't vomit or get diarrhea.
We moved, leaving the fleas for the next tenants to deal with... I now lea=
rn more about any herbal remedy I use. =
Regarding the use of pennyroyal and ferrets, you can plant pennyroyal aroun=
d your house to keep the fleas out of your yard. This works very well unles=
s the problem is already established indoors. Pennyroyal, aka "fleabane," i=
s a lemony-peppermint scented perennial ground cover that does well in temp=
erate climates; herbal info at http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNotes/Herb/=
Pennyroyal.htm
=
=