# Alternative Medicines



## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

Has anyone tried any of the alternative medicines eg herbal based for the preventative and treatments of mice for fleas ticks mites and worms?

If you have how sucessful were they in preventing or treatment of the aforementioned?


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## bonsai (Oct 14, 2012)

Hello propetz.
I've never heard of alternative parasite treatment before.
I prefer going to a vet if I have any suspicion,to let make a microscope analyse.
Then you could be sure with which species you have to get along and you get a fitting spot on for your mice.
Not every spot is useful for every kind of parasite so it's neccessary to know which kind your mouse exactly has.
All Spot Ons I know,are really strong and a kind of poison,I would never use preventativ whithout vet control.
If there are really herbal alternatives I would be interesting in any experiences,too.


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## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

Hello bonsai

Many thanks for your response, the reason for my enquiry is after seeing a product on eBay and reading the following website.
http://www.folkloreproducts.co.uk/


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

Not usually mice, but we often see dogs and cats (and to a lesser extent rabbits) with stonking doses of parasites after the alternative medicine/homeopathy/herbal remedies/supermarket stuff has failed.


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## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

Kallan, I do know what you mean, I find that the reason for the stonking doses of parasites may actually be due to the owner not actually doing the preventative measures in the first place and try the alternative after the animal is already infested thinking like most of saving money probably.

I was asking to see if by using preventative alternative medicines does actually work with the various infestations, I guess it is something that is a personal choice thing as I do know qualified vets that would recommend alternative preventative medicines but obviously even they prefer making their money by the conventional treatments.

I am keeping an open mind as if alternative medicines are to be used it must be as a preventative course that is continuous from the start and followed up as recommended rather than waiting for an infestation.


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## ThatCertainGlow (Jun 23, 2012)

I'm not sure if this qualifies as 'alternative medicine', but to prevent mites, etc from crawling up into cages, diatomaceous earth (DE) the food grade kind (important!), does actually kill assorted insects, including mites that are forced to walk through it. Such as, a thick, un-broken line of it around the entire perimeter of the shed you are building (inside), or the room including doorways, ceilings, etc., where mice live. Needs to stay put, and can't get wet. When we installed baseboards for my room, I put it in fairly thick behind them, before nailing.

Obviously, if bugs can get around it then they will, but I keep a layer on my window sill and while they could crawl up the sides, and dodge it, many don't, so the bodies do pile up. For windows, I'd do something like Provent-a-mite (not natural/alternative, but safer then most similar things) all around the opening and re-apply ever 3 months. Don't have anything alive in that room before/during/after spraying it, until it dries, and wear a mask if you have problems. Not the directions, just my paranoid overkill opinion. :roll: I've not used this yet, but I read it's the safest long-term solution for horizontal areas. Written in assorted places by people treating their house from some really tenacious parasites.

I've thought to spray this in the large bins (and the lids), that will hold all the bedding. Letting it dry completely before dumping in the bedding, should keep it from causing any issues, and still kill a number of different insects. I think if you have the bedding in there for at least 3 weeks before use, then you might be able to forgo the freezing/baking of massive amounts of bedding. On the same note, you could apply DE in a thick band all around the outside of the bin, instead, unless you have a flying pest. Should do the same thing. But definitely more annoying, because if you scuff the line at anytime, it's not a sure thing anymore.

For detached shelving, like wire shelves, putting the legs in short drinking glasses or similar, filled with DE, prevents anything like mites/ants, from getting up the shelves. I wouldn't put it near the cages, or anything, as it's dusty, and anything dusty is no good. A stacking meal-worm farm placed in a tray filled around the edges with DE, should keep mites and assorted crawling insects out. You can obviously get the same, or faster results, with things like sevin dust, but I'm allergic to being around most anything with a chemical smell, sevin dust included, so I'm happy the DE stuff works.

Side off notes: nothing I've ever fed to cats that was meant to be gentle, natural, and a flea repellent had enough of an effect to reduce the parasites to zero. For that, my 'alternative medicine' is a good vacuum cleaner; applied every day, to every single surface and cranny. Plus high temp laundry, often. I did use one very effective alternative item, but it was pricey at the concentration I applied it. 
I'm not sure what they are marketed like, or even if they are over there. Here they are called things like grub killers, beneficial nematodes, and such. I used heterorhabditis bacteriophora at the rate of 50 million to .5 acres. There were stray dog packs, and fox families moving through the rural area I lived in, and the fleas were coming in on anyone who went outside. That whole year there wasn't a single flea, and the garden was so much easier, about a month after application. Unless you have some sort of serious reoccurring problem outside, I wouldn't bother though, due to price and it does kill things you don't mind. You need to keep any ground moist for them to continue working. Some places don't sell healthy/live ones very well, and dead ones are no good. (Don't use chlorinated water with these either, kills them.)

I did actually find an oral medication that worked, and didn't seem to bother either me nor the cats, but it's not alternative. It's called Capstar here, and doesn't work for people who keep having a re-infection of fleas, or are dealing with mites. However, it works fast, doesn't hang around in their system and didn't make my very sensitive cat seem ill.

-Zanne


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

Before I knew about Ivermectin, the vet prescribed a wash in a diluted liver of sulfur solution. Besides the face that mice shouldn't be bathed, it stunk, badly. BUT it did work!


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Good cleaning and storage of food and beddings are probably a better preventative. I don't use any preventatives and I don't have problems with mites.


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