The How to Get Rid of Things Blog

Fleas are a tricky bunch, and I don’t think I need to add that they are a main source of horror for dogs and dog owners alike. The tricky part: there can be a million of them, and they can get anywhere and everywhere because they are small and because they take various forms (adult, egg, larvae, pupae) that aid in their elusiveness. Even if yours has not yet had them, it’s good to know how to get rid of fleas on dogs because - besides that they can cause some serious problems - it’s not fun to be outsmarted by a flea. My favorite way to get rid of them? A flea trap. You can kill two, er, fleas with one little dish of water: you catch some fleas, and you get to satisfy that slightly evil, conniving side of yourself. You can even stake out the area, maybe film the massacre as a precautionary tale for other bold fleas. For how to make a flea trap and other ways to get rid of fleas on dogs, check out my latest article.

If you’re a pet owner and live anywhere in the vicinity of these black and white little beasts, chances are you have already had to get rid of skunk smell on dogs. Maybe you’re one of the people who tried Febreeze, or beer, or women’s douche (yes), and perhaps you had luck. Perhaps you failed miserably and have just grown accustomed to tasting skunk in your orange juice and even when you brush your teeth. However, if you want to get rid of skunk smell on dogs right away, for good, you need to be prepared. No more running around like a maniac and cursing the gods for putting you in this mess, when all the while your hideous mutt is sliding himself sideways along your white daybed, shaking his drool all over the pillows and starting to bite them even because he doesn’t know what to do either. No. Get rid of skunk smell on dogs like a pro. One day the skill will get the respect it deserves, and you will be ready to get rid of skunk smell like nobody else. Except maybe me.

Want to know how to get rid of ear mites? Well, shucks, you’ve come to the right place. As part of the series of articles I’m working on regarding the topic of mites, getting rid of ear mites is part two, or part three–if we’re going chronologically. Ear mites, thankfully, are not a very difficult subject. In fact, there’s hardly any reason why you should go to the vet for an ear mite infection, unless the ear mite infection has gotten so bad that your pet has started to walk in circles–or just lay on the floor to keep their balance. The loss of balance is an indication of an infection of the middle ear, and should be addressed immediately by a trained veterinarian.

Mineral oil is how you get rid of ear mites.

Supposedly, the average cat spends between 10% and 30% of its waking hours licking itself. But my cat Piper is no average cat. She’s a little neurotic, and has been known to lick bald patches into her fur. So getting rid of hairballs is a topic I know a thing or two about. Lately, because it’s spring and the cats are shedding more than usual, I’ve had to be especially vigilant about using my knowledge of how to get rid of hairballs. There are several potential solutions to a hairball problem, and you may have to try more than one method - or a combination of methods - before you pinpoint the best way to prevent hairballs in your cat. This article offers lots of tips, so you should find something there to help you get rid of hairballs.

I think this will be the last article I write about worms, unless there’s some other really infectious worm that I’ve missed, but I think roundworms is the last of it. How to get rid of roundworm really focuses on pets because a roundworm infection in a pet is far more common in the U.S. than a roundworm infection in humans. Although, I do mention some ways to get rid of roundworm in humans as well, because it’s estimated that almost 2.5% of the American population is infected with or carrying roundworm. What can you do to avoid a roundworm infection? Don’t play in other people’s poop. The same goes for your pets, particularly Fido and his nasty little habit.

Roundworm, in pets, is harder to get rid of because it’s harder to control or predict the worm’s life cycle. Where did they get the worm? From their mother? From a mouse? From another pet? These are questions and problems I’ll help you resolve.

As promised, I bring to you the next installment in the getting rid of worms series: how to get rid of tapeworms. Tapeworms aren’t really a problem for humans, which is why I put it in Pet Care, because the focus here is on pets and the primary cause of tapeworms, fleas. If you want to get rid of tapeworms, you need to get rid of fleas. It’s that simple. Without an intermediate host (like fleas) tapeworm eggs will simply lay dormant in the dirt and eventually decompose.

And that’s a darn good thing. Because leprosy…aside from being kinda icky (not to be confused with ick) isn’t so easy to cure. Fin rot on the other hand, as long as it’s properly diagnosed, is pretty easy. I’ve been keeping fish for many, many moons now. When I first started out, and for a good long while thereafter, I lost fish (expensive ones) to what I now know was fin rot, simply because I didn’t know what I was dealing with. It’s all to easy to get misinformed. Was it a virus like the fish guy said it was? Was it a fungus? It can also be very difficult, or even impossible to explain to the dude at the fish store what’s going on with your fish. Most of the time, they don’t really give a damn. They just want to sell you something and get you on your way so they can keep drooling over the latest issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist. So here’s a little something I hope will help you out. Check out How to Get Rid of Fin Rot. Good night…and good luck.

It is my pleasure to introduce to you the newest member of our team and his first article for us entitled “How to get rid of ick (ich).” Eric is a biology graduate, has worked at pet stores, works in a wild bird store right now, and is a very funny person. He drew that fish. You have to have a sense of humor to let someone like me put your artists rendition of a fish on the intertron. We looked forever for a good picture of a surprised fish, but we couldn’t find anything. Anyway. Please stop by the Staff Contact/About page, and welcome Eric to the web. Eric will be working a lot with the new Pet Care section we have up. He’s hoping to have at least one new article every week, but don’t hold him to it. He’s a busy man with 2 cats, 10+ fish, and his wild birds.