But was there ever dog that praised his fleas?
William Butler Yeats

When we welcomed Karma into our home we also unknowingly adopted a traveling circus of fleas, which then incubated and multiplied and basically tried to take over our house and lives.

I am not squeamish by any stretch of the imagination, most bugs don’t bother me, but as a kid I was once swarmed with fleas— they were on my legs so thick it looked like I was wearing tights. And jumping around. OMG. I can still barely even think about it. I don’t like fleas. At all.

So getting rid of the fleas became a nearly full-time endeavor for a while, and it was awful. We had to bomb, there was no way around it (happily it was summer, so I was able to take the kids away and the house aired out thoroughly before we returned). We had to vacuum incessantly, wash the dogs in horrid pesticide-laden shampoos that made my hands swell and hive and peel, wash every bit of fabric everywhere in hot water, and so on and so forth.

It bit.

Not wanting to subject the dogs or our kids or me to that kind of toxic warfare ever again, we’re going to be a bit more pro-active about keeping the dogs bathed and flea-free. Flea and tick shampoos are wicked toxic and should only be used in the event of full-blown infestation (in our case, after 10 days away when the flea populated was allowed to grow unchecked). These treatments are most dangerous when layered— think house bomb + spot tick/flea treatment + flea bath. It’s way too much for your dog and not great for you to be exposed to either. And, of course, there’s that whole issue of bottles to be disposed of and pesticides going down the drain.

In less severe cases or for prevention, a plain old bath & shampoo on a regular basis followed by a flea combing/ de-ticking is sufficient.

 

 

The BarkLogic line of tick and flea prevention and treatment products smells like lemongrass (disclosure: my favorite scent for anything) and contain pest-repelling ingredients like rosemary, cedarwood, borage oil, rose hip oil, oregano oil, thyme, orange peel tincture, chamomile and tea tree oil. These same essences and oils, by the way, will also help to keep insects at bay if you spray them around your doorways and such.

BarkLogic sent me Organic Tick & Flea Pet Wash and Organic & Silky Pet Coat Conditioner to try. I have to start off by saying just how nice the bottles are. They’re a really high quality stainless steel and could definitely be reused.

The shampoo lathers up nice and thick— it really didn’t take much to soap up Karma, and that’s a lot of dog. It also rinsed away quickly.

 

 

I was a little skeptical about the need for conditioner on a dog. My dogs are foul beasts, mud rollers, and conditioner seems a bit silly. But in this case it’s another layer of scent, another line of defense, and you know what? Dang, that dog was soft as all get out afterwards. Her tail was all fluffy like one of those big long dusters you use to clean overhead fans. (I hope you know what I’m talking about because I got nothin’ more in the way of descriptors.)

BarkLogic products are:

• hypoallergenic
• made with organic ingredients
• eco-friendly
• pesticide free, non-toxic
• manufactured in the U.S.A. using locally sourced ingredients
• contain no synthetic fragrances or colors
• no fumes
• no animal ingredients, dairy and soy Free
• are biodegradable and recyclable.

Boo yah.

BarkLogic is part of Logic Product Group, which also carries bedbug and lice solutions. The website’s About Us page connects you right to the owner and includes an invitation to contact her directly with any questions, which I love.

All I know is I didn’t hive up after using it on both dogs, they looked and smelled great, and we have no current flea problem. So most importantly, these products WORK.

And I didn’t have to tell the kids they couldn’t play with the dogs after we washed them, which is wonderful since they don’t listen anyway.

 

 

Nice product, nice company. The website is chock-full of gross facts about the bugs they protect against. Full of WIN.

Make sure to hit up Logic Products on Facebook or on Twitter to get the skinny on upcoming product discount codes, giveaways and new product launches.

Ever get infested with fleas? It’s embarrassing, no?

 

Disclosure: I received BarkLogic pet shampoo and conditioner to try for review purposes. I was not compensated in any other way, unless you count flealessness without hiviness, which is priceless.