Fleas are not just an itchy nuisance to you and your dog, but they can transmit diseases, cause allergic reactions, and infect your dog with nasty parasites. Once you spot a flea, it’s crucial to get rid of them quickly, but as shop bought flea treatments have become more expensive, many dog owners prefer a natural solution to their flea problem.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to get rid of fleas on dogs naturally, with simple and effective home remedies and even looking at their diet.
Understand fleas to get rid of fleas!
It’s essential to understand the lifecycle of fleas. Many people see a flea on their pet and fixate on killing the adults, thinking that has eliminated the problem. But fleas have four life stages; egg, larva, pupa and adult, and the adult flea on your dog represents just 5% of their lifecycle. So, to tackle the flea problem you must break the lifecycle of fleas by treating your dog and the environment.
How to get rid of fleas on your dog naturally
Step 1: Use a flea comb
If you suspect your dog has fleas, we recommend combing daily with a flea comb. Once the fleas are under control, it’s a good idea to use the flea comb weekly. We suggest brushing your dog in an empty bathtub or outdoors. This way, any fleas that escape or eggs dislodged won't immediately transfer to your furniture or carpet. Brushing in the bathtub also allows you to rinse away any fleas or dirt down the drain.
Top Tip: After every few strokes, dip your comb into water mixed with a drop of dish soap to effectively remove any fleas and eggs that you catch.
Step 2: Bathing
Flea bites are irritating and, in some dogs, can cause a severe allergic reaction. Bathing your dog will not
only relieve the itching but flush away any fleas. We recommend adding any of the following natural ingredients to your medicated pet shampoo. Once you’ve made up your shampoo mixture, thoroughly soak your dog with water, then apply the shampoo liberally and massage well into the skin and fur. Leave the lather on for a few minutes before rinsing off. Bath dogs with fleas twice a week.
Lemon juice: Squeeze half a cup of lemon juice into two cups of water, then add a squirt of your pet shampoo and mix well. Use this mixture to wash your dog thoroughly.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Add one cup of apple cider vinegar to one cup of shampoo and mix with 2 pints of warm water.
Essential oils: Mix 2 drops of your preferred oil into one and a half cups of warm water, squirt in a dollop of shampoo and mix well before applying. You can use any of the following oils. However, a warning, some essential oils are toxic to dogs and cats.
Safe essential oils include peppermint, lavender, cedar-wood, eucalyptus, lemongrass, citronella, rosemary, basil, geranium, clove.
TOXIC ESSENTIAL OILS – DO NOT USE ON DOGS
Tea tree oil, penny-royal, wintergreen oil, and pine oils.
TOXIC ESSENTIAL OILS – NEVER USE AROUND CATS
Tea tree oil, penny-royal, oil of wintergreen, pine oils, oil of sweet birch, citrus oil (D-limonene), Ylang Ylang oil, peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, clove oil, and eucalyptus oil.
Step 3: Sprays
Now you have washed the fleas off, you’ll need to make sure they don’t come back. Spraying your dog’s coat with ingredients fleas hate helps keep them at bay.
Apple cider vinegar: Mix six cups of apple cider vinegar with four cups of water, add a pinch of sea salt and spray over your dog liberally. Keep away from your dog’s eyes.
Lemon: Cut a lemon into quarters and steep overnight in boiling water. Discard the lemon pieces, pour the water into a spray bottle and use to spray your dog.
Essential oils: Fleas can’t tolerate certain essential oils, so this makes them an ideal flea deterrent. Always dilute the essential oil with a carrier oil, water, alcohol, or lotion. A rough guide to dilution is 1-2%, which equates to 1-2 drops of essential oil per teaspoon (5 ml) of carrier oil. However, some oils are much stronger and require a weaker solution. Mix the essential oil with the carrier liquid and spray the coat.
Carrier oils include grapeseed, coconut, jojoba, sweet almond, avocado.
Step 4. Dips
This is a brilliant solution for tackling fleas in the hot weather.
Fresh rosemary dip: Steep fresh sprigs of rosemary in a pint of boiling water for a couple of hours. Pour this solution into a watering can and combine it with up to 8 pints of water. Take your dog outside and water them with the rosemary solution, leaving them to dry off in the sunshine.
Step 5. Massaging oils
We hope by now you have eliminated most fleas on your dog, but you can still get rid of any stragglers by making your dog a repellent environment. And there is one oil that stands head and shoulders above all others.
Coconut oil: You can buy coconut oil in solid form or fractionated, which is the liquid form. Coconut oil has multiple benefits; it’s antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-fungal and antiviral. It’s a light oil that doesn’t clog pores, allowing the skin to breathe. Use it on its own as a massage oil, or as a carrier oil for essential oils.
If it is solid, warm up a small amount before use.
Step 6. Dry treatments
If your dog hates bathing, make up a dry shampoo with the following ingredients:
1 Cup of Baking Soda
1 Cup of Corn flour
2 to 4 drops of Lavender or Lemon Essential Oil
Work the dry mixture into your dog’s coat and leave for a couple of hours before brushing it out.
Getting rid of fleas in the house and garden
Step 1: Wash everything your dog sleeps on
Wash all dog beds, blankets and rugs in a 60-degree wash every week.
Step 2: Prepare your carpets before vacuuming
Baking soda: Sprinkle baking soda on your carpet, floor areas and in all corners (you can also use salt). Leave for an hour before hoovering, then empty the outside hoover immediately.
Diatomaceous Earth: Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder of microscopic, fossilized algae. It’s a natural detoxifier and gets rid of parasites. Sprinkle layers in hot spot problem areas. Leave for 2 days and then vacuum and empty outside immediately. When using, always buy the ‘food grade’ option and wear protective googles and a mask.
Step 3: Spray outside areas
Did you know that fleas and other parasites live and breed outdoors in warm, damp areas? There’s no point treating your dog and the inside of your house when they have access to the garden.
Nematodes: Nematodes are live microscopic insects that live in warm, damp soil. They attack parasites like fleas by injecting bacteria into the flea larva, preventing them from hatching. Make sure you buy the beneficial nematodes and follow the instructions on the packet.
What to feed your dog to get rid of fleas
Step 1. Boost your dog’s immune system
Parasites don’t like animals with a good immune system. Adding the following to your dog’s daily diet is an effective way to make them unattractive to fleas.
Brewer’s Yeast: Brewer’s yeast contains B vitamins that repel fleas. Add one teaspoon for every 30kg of weight to your dog’s food.
Apple cider vinegar: Add one tablespoon of vinegar to your dog’s water bowl to fight fleas from inside out.
Garlic: Garlic is a natural deterrent to fleas. Read our article about garlic and how it is safe for your dog.
Omega oils: You can find omega-3 and 6 fatty acids in oily fish like salmon and mackerel.
Keep in mind that seeing adult fleas is just the beginning - there are also eggs, larvae, and pupae that have yet to hatch. You must tackle all areas if you want to get rid of them completely.
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