Garlic Pills for Fleas & Tick- Any Reviews?

[GoPotty]

Has anyone used garlic or garlic pills to prevent Fleas and Ticks? My vet was against me using it but my breeder told me it was fine. I read the past posts and it said it is okay in small doses. I have the pill form.

Do I use this year round? I just got my puppy and she is 10 weeks old and I notice that mosquitoes or nats have been coming in the house. It was in the 60's today but kinda damp and humid out.

[YellowJakesMom]

Personally I'm not in favor of giving my dogs any sort of allium (garlic, onions, etc.) as they're all toxic at varying doses. I don't think it works, either, having tried it for myself to repel mosquitos and ticks I think some members use neem oil or diatomaceous earth (?) as natural methods to repel fleas/ticks. That being said, lots of people do it and seems like their dogs are fine. It just strikes me as kind of silly to give something that we know is toxic (garlic) to try to avoid something else toxic (topical flea products).

As an aside, I hope you're using some form of heartworm prevention if you have mosquitos right now.

[GoPotty]

Hey YellowJake- Yes I gave her the heartguard this past weekend. I know I have to give it the same time to every month.

What do you use for your dogs? Frontline? Is it hard to apply? I asked my vet but he didn't even mention anything to me the first visit.

Personally I'm not in favor of giving my dogs any sort of allium (garlic, onions, etc.) as they're all toxic at varying doses. I don't think it works, either, having tried it for myself to repel mosquitos and ticks I think some members use neem oil or diatomaceous earth (?) as natural methods to repel fleas/ticks. That being said, lots of people do it and seems like their dogs are fine. It just strikes me as kind of silly to give something that we know is toxic (garlic) to try to avoid something else toxic (topical flea products).

As an aside, I hope you're using some form of heartworm prevention if you have mosquitos right now.

[bearbuddymarie]

I live in MA where the ticks are plentiful !
We only seem to have a problem in the very early
winter/late fall. If you go to the BOG website, they
have studies on how garlic is not toxic. Please read
and inform yourself, I am not the only one who uses
BOG with great results.

Springtime Inc - All Natural Supplements for Horses, Dogs, and People, Springtime Inc. Supplements, Springtime Inc. for Horses, Springtime Inc. for Dogs, Springtime Inc. for People, Chondroitin sulfate, Glucosamine HCL, MSM, Vitamin C, Bioflavonoids,

[YellowJakesMom]

Hey YellowJake- Yes I gave her the heartguard this past weekend. I know I have to give it the same time to every month.

What do you use for your dogs? Frontline? Is it hard to apply? I asked my vet but he didn't even mention anything to me the first visit.

Good job on the Heartguard I use Advantix on one of my dogs. It's quite easy to apply, just a squirt between the shoulder blades. My other dog has very sensitive skin and a hard time with topicals, so we flea comb frequently and comb through for ticks after we go in the woods. If you don't like topicals or have little kids that make using topical tough there is an oral monthly flea control (Comfortis). It doesn't do anything for ticks though.

And yes, small doses of garlic and onions aren't toxic (or at least, they're not toxic enough that we see the heinz body anemia yet), lots of pet foods contain garlic. High doses of garlic, however, are toxic. I don't know how much garlic is in each freeze-dried garlic scoop or garlic capsule or garlic powder. Not a chance I'm willing to take with my dog. But yes, lots of people use garlic capsules

[rayluckgoo]

I was under the impression that only raw allium products were toxic and would cause Heinz body anemias and that cooking denatured the toxin?

I've used cooked garlic to help ward off fleas and ticks but it certainly never did the trick in bad flea and/or tick years.

[YellowJakesMom]

Interesting, I haven't heard that before. I was under the impression that cooking didn't change the toxic compound (n-propyl disulfide).

I mainly wish it worked for me - as I love garlic and mosquitos always seem to love feasting on me!

[SarahJN]

Garlic is an option, and a couple of people have had good results, it seems.
My Vet told me that the only products that you would worry about being toxic are cheap Flea Treatments - for example, in England, we have a brand called Bob Martin, which is sold in Pet Shops for £3 (about $1.50 in American money, I think...I can never remember the exchange rate). This was proven to provide no protection at all and has resulted in poisoning at our local surgery. I'm not sure how correct he is.
One book I read recommended Bicarbonate of Soda as a deterrent on the coat, but it's quite abrasive and I wouldn't recommend it. We use a brand called "Stronghold," which protects against all fleas and ticks, and also against heartworm. It costs about £24 for a three month dose, and saves us so much time because Millie has a flea allergy.
I've heard of neem and those other natural deterrents, but I haven't used them enough to know. I would recommend Stronghold if they do it in America - but ask your Vet for advice.