While not against use of synthetic drugs for many things, my preference is to use whole foods whenever possible, including ginger for dog heartworm prevention.
While I lived in Oregon, I hadn’t had to even think about heartworm because of the low incidence, but once I moved back to Delaware, everyone seemed gung-ho on year round preventive medication. Depending on where you live, heartworm preventive may be irrelevant to you and your dogs. So if you want to see what the incidence of this disease is in your neck of the woods, you can check out Companion Animal Parasite Council’s Interactive Prevalence Map. Just click on your State to see the latest data.
Traditional Preventative For Heartworms In Dogs
I then began reviewing the traditional meds used such as Selemectin (brand name Revolution), Ivermectin (brand name Heartgard), and Milbemycin Oxime (brand name Interceptor). Each of these medications have their origin in natural products in the environment, simply processed in a way to make them no longer “natural” in order to allow patenting them. Ivermectin is derived from soil bacteria called Streptomyces if you were unaware. I have also used Revolution from time to time. It is produced through the fermentation of a genetically modified strain of Streptomyces avermitilis. So both have their basis in nature.
Interesting to me was the fact that these meds killed intestinal worms as well as heartworms in dogs. This got me thinking that whatever herb I could come across that killed intestinal roundworms might have a decent chance of killing heartworm microfilaria as well.
I began my search of the internet for herbal intestinal roundworm remedies. Some seemed a little more reliable, reasonable and rationale than others.
As a retired RN, any of the natural heartworm remedies I found would need to be at least remotely grounded rational thought in order for me to accept it.
The info I found on the web about herbs posed a problem. How did anyone know what actually worked? And what would the doses for canines be? (Sometimes finding doses for humans was tough too).
I had to satisfy myself with anecdotal information or a few very small international studies. There really aren’t any double blind studies done. After all, what drug company wants to prove herbs you can buy in the local health food store will be effective for heartworms in dogs?
It was a matter of taking a leap of faith that what was claimed to be effective, actually was and begin my own testing.
Some Herbs Can Be Toxic
I slowly compiled a variety of herbs that appear to work on intestinal roundworms and therefore may be decent remedies for heartworms in dogs as well, though some more toxic than others. Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it can’t kill you. You remember Socrates and hemlock, right?
The Grand Experiment
Pros and Cons of using Green Black Walnut Hull Extract
Green Black Walnut Hull Extract…. Sounds like an oxymoron and quite a mouthful, eh?
This is an old time remedy made from Black Walnut hulls which were harvested while still green. (Now does the name make sense?) It was traditionally used for the removal of intestinal worms in people and is also used for canines.
It has a long history and you can find website after website talking about the effectiveness anecdotally.
Similar to the green black walnut hull extract for heartworm would be the long-used combination herbal remedy of black walnut hull, cloves and wormwood.
This was originally recommended by a Dr Hulda Clarkia with a long standing reputation among her followers.
You can find background easily on the ‘net. Her theory was that worms caused cancer and removing worms prevented or cured cancer. She stated the use of these three herbs would kill flukes, pinworms, threadworms, hookworms, round worms, tapeworms and treat candidiasis. Which if it can do that, I figure it can probably kill heartworms in dogs too.
More recently, the connection between cancer and parasites is being re-examined with some positive results antecdotally. I’m speaking specifically of the fenbendazole-cancer cure connection, so her theory may not be so far fetched.
Dr Clarkia felt the green black walnut hull and wormwood together killed any kind of adult worm and the cloves were to kill the eggs of worms. I have yet to find results of any clinical trials she may have performed. Treatment for humans was 3 times a day for 2 weeks with a 1 week break, then repeat the treatment 4 times. So that’s a 12 week course of herbs.
Canine Dosing
I found dosing information on one website for dogs using the black walnut hull, cloves and wormwood combination:
1 drop green black walnut hull extract for every 10 lbs daily, build up to the number of drops for every 10lbs as they can tolerate it. (a 20 lb dog would get 2 drops, a 30 lb dog would get 3 drops, etc.).
After a week on the green black walnut extract, add a small pinch of the wormwood capsule to the dog’s food daily.
After a week on the green black walnut extract and the wormwood powder, add a pinch of the cloves to the dog’s food daily.
Apparently, you then keep this up daily forever.
To Give Or Not To Give. That Is The Question
My main issue experimenting with this extract for heartworms in dogs is there are a few places that mention its toxic effects on the liver. For that reason I wanted to put it on the “back burner” and see if I could find something equally effective with less possible side effects.
After all, I am dealing with adult dogs, puppies, and bitches in whelp or nursing, so I want to err on the side of caution.
How About Garlic Killing Heartworms In Dogs?
Could garlic, used by dog owners for many reasons, also be used for heartworm? It’s considered by many to be an effective flea, tick and mosquito repellent if put in a dog’s food regularly. It’s commonly included in commercial dog dietary supplements along with brewer’s yeast.
If for no other reason, less mosquito bites = less chance of heartworm.
Garlic has a good reputation for human use. It is anecdotally been used for eons to rid humans of intestinal worms, why not as treatment for heartworms in dogs? In “Trends in Parasitology” the effectiveness of garlic as an intestinal parasite treatment was demonstrated.
I have purchased brewer’s yeast with garlic from time to time and the dogs seem to really like it and have no ill effects from it.
But after a while and a bunch of reading I gave it the thumbs down as a heartworm treatment, and stopped giving it to my dogs for any reason. Read my page on garlic for dogs here.
Ginger for Heartworms In Dogs
I was able to dig up a small trial on ginger for heartworms in dogs that showed a ton of promise. Another trial done several years later also substantiated this effect of ginger for dog heartworm.
Now, granted it has not been replicated beyond these two studies far as I have found, but it is a start.
So these two trials were conducted using ginger for dog heartworm preventation AS WELL AS a treatment for the actual pre-existing heartworms in dogs. The first used alcoholic extracts of the herb which was injected subcutaneously (100 mg/kg) in dogs naturally infected with heartworm. There were 12 injections total.
This reduced microfilarial concentrations in the blood by 98%. WOW!
The second trial, in 1990 used aquaeous extracts and also found it to have microfilaricidal effects on heartworm. I didn’t see specific percentages of efficacy in the abstract however.
In 1990, it was also found to kill Anisakis larvae in the lab environment. Anisakiasis is a common parasitic infection in Japan largely from widespread consumption of raw seafood.
I did not find any studies done on humans however.
Ginger is considered pretty harmless when it comes to side effects when used in humans at reasonable doses. It has been used safely for thousands of years.
Very high doses however can affect normal blood clotting factors, causing abnormal bleeding and it also may affect blood pressure or fetal development. Because of those issues, it seemed wise to administer low doses and stop use of ginger a few weeks before any planned surgery.
One study shows an effect of ginger on rat fetuses producing “increased embryonic loss” (smaller litter) and more advanced skeletal development with increased weight of female fetuses.
Another study on humans showed no ill effects on the pregnancy with the use of ginger.
I decided using ginger for dog heartworm would be the safest most effective herb to use for my purposes.
Deciding On A Dosage
I have found ginger as a remedy for motion sickness in dogs to be:
For raw grated product give 3 times a day:
• ¼ teaspoon for toy breeds
• ½ teaspoon for dogs under 35 lbs
• ¾ teaspoon for dogs over 35 lbs Ideally it is to be given three times a day.
For capsules, give three times a day:
100 mg for every 25 lbs. (total 300 mg per day)
The dosage used in the 1987 trial for heartworm was 100 mg per kg of weight which would amount to about 1200 mg for an average 25 lb dog, considerably higher.
But that was for treatment, not preventative. And I have no idea how they came up with that dosage.
I figure I would use a lower dose orally (maybe around 400-500 mg per dose) and monitor intestinal worm activity. I figure it would be a good starting place for using ginger for dog heartworm preventative.
You can obviously find raw ginger root at the grocery store, but if you are looking for powder, you can buy powdered ginger here. This is where I get most of my herbs and no, I don’t get any commission if you purchase.
I avoid getting any dried herbs from the cooking isle in the grocery stores because I feel they are not as fresh as buying from an herb store.
Frequency of Dosing Ginger For Dog Heartworm
This is a total guess on my part. But if 12 injections can do the trick in the trials, I’m thinking either 2 weeks of oral supplement at the therapeutic dose, or a lower dose daily as a supplement.
UPDATES On My Use Of Ginger For Dog Heartworm
2016: Having done this for a while now, I’ve reduced the frequency of the 1/2 tsp of powdered ginger (mixed in my home made food supplement) to 3-5 times a week year round. So far, lab results have been negative for heartworms in dogs, and fecals have been negative for intestinal worms. Only time will tell how this experiment will pan out in the long run.
2018: All heartworm and intestinal worm tests for my dogs are still negative.
2019: All heartworm and intestinal round worm tests for my dogs are still negative.
2020: Got lazy and forgot to make more food supplement for a few months and ended up with one dog testing positive for intestinal worms. Heartworm was negative. Treated all dogs with fenbendazole and got everyone back on the food supplement.
2021-2024: Still no intestinal parasites or heartworm. Reduced frequency to 3 x wk.
2024-2026: I’m considering this to be the way for me to go from now on.