# Has anybody used Cedar oil? Please help. I'm nervous is it safe for Maltese?



## ffalcon (Sep 30, 2008)

Hello! I'm a newbie on this forum even though I registered years ago. My maltese has recently contracted fleas, which has been awful. She's never had fleas in her life (she's 6) and I've never given her any spot on flea treatment because the pesticides scare me and she has MVD. 

I've tried to keep her inside since the fleas are outside, but somehow myself or one of my roommates wind up bringing in a flea or two on our clothing I suppose. I've been spraying my bed and treating furniture, doors, etc with a vinegar cedar oil mixture that has been working really well at repelling and killing the fleas if I find a live one. But as soon as the door opens, and my Daisy rushes to the door to greet whoever is coming a flea or two jumps on her. I got kind of desperate tonight because she was still scratching so much from the bites and put a few drops of cedar essential oil on her. However, I instantly regretted it. She seems fine, but she doesn't like the smell at all. I looked it up and cedar oil can be toxic to cats, so no I'm worried about Daisy. I don't really want to give her a bath as I just gave her one yesterday, so I tried to wipe it off the best I could wit some wet wipes. 

But now I'm not sure if I overreacted or not? She's sleeping next to me, but now I"m afraid she might have an allergic reaction. Is anybody familiar with allergic reactions? About how quickly do they occur. I feel so stupid that I did this. And all the sources I've found online are no help because some say cedar oil is safe for dogs and cats and others that it's not. 

I'm worried now because I've sprayed it all around the house to repel fleas and thought I was being safer than using pesticides or insectides. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially about what natural and safe products you use on your babies.

Thanks in advance.


~worried and frantic
Daisy's Mom


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## ckanen2n (Jan 2, 2012)

No experience with cedar oil, but I would give her a bath and call your vet in the morning.


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## sophiesmom (Apr 21, 2006)

A coworker of mine used dawn dish washing to give her dog a bath and said that the fleas died almost instantly!


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

I don't know if this pertains to cedar oil but my daughter has a rabbit and she said that you're not supposed to use CEDAR shavings for any kind of small animals like rabbits guinea pigs, hamsters etc.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I hate to tell you, but people are probably not bringing fleas in. The fleas are probably living in your home. Adult fleas lay 50 eggs a day which fall off and hatch in your carpet. In a few short weeks you can have a full blown infestation.

Products like Advantage, Frontline, etc. kill all the life cycles of fleas. I used both safely on my Lady who had multiple serious health issues.

When you talk to your vet today about the cedar, speak to him about getting her on a good preventative. You may have to have your home exterminated if that doesn't work, though.

Fleas | University of Kentucky Entomology


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## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

I understand your reluctance to use a pharmaceutical type of flea med since your little one has MVD. Cedar Oil is not toxic to dogs and is one that is most commonly used in holistic flea treatments. You do want to dilute it though. 

You may want to look into Diatomaceous Earth.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Crystal&Zoe said:


> I understand your reluctance to use a pharmaceutical type of flea med since your little one has MVD. Cedar Oil is not toxic to dogs and is one that is most commonly used in holistic flea treatments. You do want to dilute it though.
> 
> You may want to look into Diatomaceous Earth.


It is rare to have an allergic reaction to pure essential oils. But most of the oils need to be diluted. In my Aromatherapy book for animals they don't use Cedar wood for flea control. They use a blend of Clary Sage, Citronella, Peppermint and Lemon in a base oil of hazelnut or sweet almond.

Now like Marj, I don't think that a flea jumps on your dog just by opening the door or your roomates bring them in. Maybe your apartment is infested. In that case I would spend a day and night somewhere else and have the apartment fumigated.


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## ffalcon (Sep 30, 2008)

Thanks for your concern. I did give Daisy a bath the next morning and she was completely fine other than her not liking the smell.


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## ffalcon (Sep 30, 2008)

sophiesmom said:


> A coworker of mine used dawn dish washing to give her dog a bath and said that the fleas died almost instantly!


Thanks! Yeah the dawn definitely helped to kill the couple of fleas Daisy had. The problem has just been picking up new ones outside. = ( Thanks for your response.


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## ffalcon (Sep 30, 2008)

pippersmom said:


> I don't know if this pertains to cedar oil but my daughter has a rabbit and she said that you're not supposed to use CEDAR shavings for any kind of small animals like rabbits guinea pigs, hamsters etc.


Thanks so much for your message. I took Daisy to the vet yesterday and the vet said the cedar oil was fine as long as its diluted (even though he thought it wouldn't really work), but I think I'm just going to skip it for now anyway. If it isn't safe for small animals like you said, then I don't want my maltese around it either.


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## ffalcon (Sep 30, 2008)

Ladysmom said:


> I hate to tell you, but people are probably not bringing fleas in. The fleas are probably living in your home. Adult fleas lay 50 eggs a day which fall off and hatch in your carpet. In a few short weeks you can have a full blown infestation.
> 
> Products like Advantage, Frontline, etc. kill all the life cycles of fleas. I used both safely on my Lady who had multiple serious health issues.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your message! Daisy went to the vet yesterday and the vet assured me the cedar was fine but doubted its effectiveness. I've vaccummed and cleaned all our bedding, rugs, etc inside. It's just the outside, which remains a problem as I don't really want to use any harsh chemicals out there. The vet recommended frontline plus, but I'm still concerned about the long term effects. I'm going to try sentry natural defense first and see if I have any luck with it. The vet said it was completely safe but he wasn't sure about the effectiveness. I'll let everyone know if it works.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

ffalcon said:


> Thanks for your message! Daisy went to the vet yesterday and the vet assured me the cedar was fine but doubted its effectiveness. I've vaccummed and cleaned all our bedding, rugs, etc inside. It's just the outside, which remains a problem as I don't really want to use any harsh chemicals out there. The vet recommended frontline plus, but I'm still concerned about the long term effects. I'm going to try sentry natural defense first and see if I have any luck with it. The vet said it was completely safe but he wasn't sure about the effectiveness. I'll let everyone know if it works.


After you vacuum, be sure to throw the bag out or if you have a bagless vacuum, I would wash the canister thoroughly in Dawn. If you vacuum up live fleas, eggs and larvae, they will still hatch in your vacuum.


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## Maisie and Me (Mar 12, 2009)

One of my friends just discovered fleas on her 5 lb. poodle 3 days ago. She forgot to apply the Frontline last month. At first she found 2 but couldn't catch them. She applied the frontline and then called her Vet. The vet told her she should have bathed her first and then apply the Frontline. She told her to turn her baby over on her back on a white towel and look for more and for flea dirt, small brownish red tiny balls. She saw a lot of flea dirt and then began finding more fleas ( it was hard because the dog is black.) The vet said to keep a cup of VERY hot water beside them and drop[ the fleas in as she found them and they died rapidly. The vet said to sprinkle Borax on the carpets, floorboards and beside heating vents. The doctor said to cut up a flea collar in several pieces and put it in the vacuum cleaner to kill residual fleas. Of course my friend had to wash and dry in a hot dryer "everything". She has to vacuum every day and empty the canister in a plastic bag and tie it up. The vet said it would take approx 2-3 days for the frontline to kill all fleas and eggs and that it could take up to 3 months to totally get rid of all the fleas
Her little poodle does very well on frontline as do my little poodles and my maltese. This is what my friend chose to do instead of fumigating the house.
Oh and if you found 2 fleas on the dog the probability of many more is great. Good luck.


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## Maisie and Me (Mar 12, 2009)

I fogot to say that she was to vacuum uo the borax in 2 hours after application and keep the dog off the floor!


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## Rocks (Jul 9, 2012)

Its interesting that Dawn is so highly recommended. I remember when I was doing wildlife rescue at an oil spill many years ago the vets working the rescue used Dawn to clean all of the animals we brought into the rescue shelter. All of the volunteers were upset by this because many of them boycotted the makers of Dawn because of animal testing but the main vets there told us all that after testing everything they could find Dawn was the most effective and safe way to remove the oil. We treated everything from geese, ducks, heron, beavers, turtles and more all using Dawn to remove the crude oil and we saved many lives.


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