| |  | | Dogs and Mosquitoes
Answered by: Kerry Hackett
Question from: Sharron
Posted on: April 08, 2006
We have a Black Lab and recently moved to a house where we think there will be a mosquito problem (we hope not) any suggestions what we can put on the ground or plant to keep mosquitoes and other bugs away from our Lab and the house? How would neem be sprayed around on the grass & plants or even the dog?
I have not heard of any complete protection from mosquitoes but I will offer the following as suggestions: some feel that feeding a dog fresh minced Garlic (Allium sativum) at 1/4 teaspoon once a day may help whilst others promote a powder made of Wormwood (Artemesia absinthum), Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), Rue (Ruta graveolens), Southernwood (Artemesia abrotanum) and Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) sprayed onto the non-haired parts of the dog twice a day (these herbs are quite strong and can be toxic if ingested in more than very small amounts, so do avoid a situation where your dog can eat or lick these). There are also herb and essential oil products such as "Take-A-Hike", found at the following URL: http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=HerbWild/outdoors.html It must be applied every few hours as it doesn’t have a long lasting residue. I would ask you to apply it in places not easily licked by the dog as essential oils can also be toxic if ingested. However, should your dog (or you!) be bit by mosquitoes, homeopathic Ledum palustre 6C or 30C is quite effective in the reduction of inflammation and itchiness. As for spraying neem, again I would watch it’s ingestion. It may be more effective applying it (diluted) by hand as the oils can clog up a spray applicator quite easily. In addition, some people find neem irritates their skin; you may want to do a test first before covering a large area.
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