It WORKS, folks!

[rabbitgirl]

Ok, maybe it's a fluke, and if they end up withfleas after all I'll let you know. But so far Melaleuca oil rubbed ontothe fur works miracles as a flea REPELLENT!!! I've been testing it forseveral weeks.

Just watch out for the eyes....and they hate the smell....

Rose

 

[bunsforlife]

Urm... what is Melaleuca oil?

Interested in this so I can have something anti-flea on hand... just... in... case.. hehe

 

[rabbitgirl]

ahhhh....also known as tea tree oil, very potentaromatic oil extracted from some Australian tree. It's an essentialoil, which means the liquid evaporates quickly. It has a smell likepine trees and kerosene, and fleas apparently don't like it.

you can find it at health food stores. Drip a drop or two on the backfur, rub or comb it around. Repeat on belly. It doesn't take much asthe smell is pretty strong.

I may be weird, but I like the smell! It's sharp and woodsy. We alsouse it on our skin for acne or to keep wounds from getting infected.Powerful antibacterial.

Rose

 

[Gabby]

rabbitgirl wrote:

ahhhh....also known as tea tree oil, very potent aromaticoil extracted from some Australian tree. It's an essential oil, whichmeans the liquid evaporates quickly. It has a smell like pine trees andkerosene, and fleas apparently don't like it.

you can find it at health food stores. Drip a drop or two on the backfur, rub or comb it around. Repeat on belly. It doesn't take much asthe smell is pretty strong.

I may be weird, but I like the smell! It's sharp and woodsy. We alsouse it on our skin for acne or to keep wounds from getting infected.Powerful antibacterial.

Rose

it works for ance? i've heard of using it for fleas but not about acne

 

[BunnyMommy]

Great tip, Rabbitgirl!

Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[Cher]

Well I'll be hornswaggled, the unexpected things you learn on a daily basis!

Cher

 

[pamnock]

I would do further research into it's safety and any testing that has been done on it.Foundinfo belowstating that some animals have experienced toxic reactions. Remember that even *natural* substances can produce toxic reactions.

"Melaleuca oil is derived from the Australian tea-tree, Melaleuca alternifolia. It does have antibacterial and antifungal properties and has been used for those purposes topically on dogs and cats. Inappropriate application of products not intended for topical use may result in toxicity, with animals showing signs of incoordination, weakness, tremors, and depression. The efficacy of this agent to repel or kill fleas has not been established at this time.
Reference: Nicholson SS. Toxicity of insecticides and skin care products of botanical origin. Vet Dermatology 1995:6;139-142."


"Tea tree oil (melaleuca oil) is being marketed for the treatment of many disorders in humans and in animals. The active ingredients in tea tree oil have a similar structure and action as turpentine.
Unfortunately, melaleuca oil is potentially toxic and not innocuous as has been suggested.
Animals and humans are getting poisoned from topical use and from accidental ingestion of tea tree oil. Ingestion of approximately 10 mL by a young child caused rapid loss of consciousness.
I have numerous reports on file of toxic reactions from tea tree oil being used topically to treat fleas in animals. Application of "a couple of drops" on the skin of dogs has resulted in shaking and kittens have died from topical application for fleas.
It is also highly toxic to the avian species. The owner of a love bird applied one drop of tea tree oil to a bleeding blood feather of her lovebird. Within 10 minutes the bird collapsed and was on the bottom of the cage. The bird was rushed to the vet. Fortunately, with intensive care treatment, the bird recovered uneventfully.
There is an excellent review article on the toxicity of melaleuca oil in animals in Veterinary and Human Toxicology. Unfortunately I don't have the reference handy, but the article discussed the similarities between the structural formula of melaleuca oil and turpentine and showed that percutaneous absorption caused toxicity in dogs.
In summary, Melaleuca oil is potentially toxic and its safety for use in both animals and humans should be questioned."
GillianWillis- Pharmacist-toxicologist



Tea Tree Oil and toxic reactions on cats:

http://www.thelavendercat.com/generic32.html

http://www.tea-tree-oil-use.com/pets.htm

 

[Buck Jones]

pamnock wrote:

Iwould do further research into it's safety and any testing that hasbeen done on it. Foundinfobelowstating that some animals have experiencedtoxic reactions. Remember that even *natural* substances canproduce toxic reactions.

Thanks for the heads-up warning, Pam. Forewarned isforearmed. Just love having you around to keep us pointed inthe right direction(s).

Buck

 

[Gabby]

pamnock wrote:

Iwould do further research into it's safety and any testing that hasbeen done on it. Foundinfobelowstating that some animals have experiencedtoxic reactions. Remember that even *natural* substances canproduce toxic reactions.

I was just reminding someone of that the other day, she was using something "all natural" and she like it's organic and all natural, and I said yeah but some of our most natural things are the most poisnous. it was some kinda of natural bacteria that eats stains and oders from your carpet but at least it did have a warning on it that the bacteria needed to be rinces very well for the safty of your pets

 

[rabbitgirl]

whew! We've used it on our skin and inwoundsfor years, and the only thing I see on the bunnies isoccasional patches of dry skin (which is why I put it on the fur notthe skin). Bubby seems to have sensitive skin and he tends to get thosepatches if I'm not careful.

But I will say, it healed Bunbun's big chemical burn from the fleatreatment. I saw improvement very soon after using. But long-term usecan be drying to the skin. When we use it on acne, we use it on a spotonce or twice and then use Vit. E or another food-grade oil to counterthe drying effect. Like salicylic acid, it can cause flaking.

Thanks for the warning! I hadn't seen anything that warned of possibleill effects. I know it is strong stuff, as I mentioned. Must be usedwith care!!!

If worried about toxicity, I would wager a guess that other essentialoils might have the same effect but haven't tried it yet. My nextexperiment will involve garlic powder, which IS innocuous.

Thanks Pam,

Rose