Every dog owner is more or less scared of fleas. Unlike other pests, fleas feed on both, you and your pet. They can also quickly grow in numbers and take over your property. All that topped with the fact that it is not that hard to get them, especially with a dog, is quite scary.
However, we all take good care of our pooches. We invest in regular fleas treatment and flea repellents for dogs, but is there something else we can do? Something that won’t harm us or our pets in any way, won’t be expensive, and can still prevent pesky bloodsuckers from infesting our homes.
Note: Don’t skip the traditional flea treatments. If you are wondering which treatment to choose for your dogs, read this post. Home-made and DIY treatments are just for additional protection, especially while you are outside having fun. According to the 247 flea control experts, for your home, it will be best to benefit from professional treatments now and then, like fogging for instance, which applies a small dose of pesticide that won’t affect pets.
Natural Flea Remedies for Dogs With Herbs
There are a couple of home-made solutions known. You may or may not believe they work, but the truth is that they won’t cause any harm, for sure, so you might as well try them out.
One of these repellents is the home-made natural flea repellent spray for dogs.
Lemon Spray – Thinly sliced lemon left in water for overnight and moved into a spray bottle. You can spray your pet’s bedding, their favorite spot on the carpet and around the neck. This sounds more like a cleaning solution and it will make your home smell fresh. However, lots of insects are actually avoiding the fresh smell of lemon. So even if it does not have a large effect on fleas, it will protect you and your pets from mosquitos. Plus, your dogs’ bedding will smell nice and fresh.
Rosemary is a widely-used natural flea repellent
Rosemary Anti-Flea Powder: You can grind the herb into powder, occasionally combined with peppermint, fennel, and rue. You can use the powder to sprinkle your pet’s bedding, the entrance of the dog house, the entrance of your home, etc.
Rosemary won’t fight off a full-blown flea infestation. But it works well as the first line of defense, for when you are walking your dog in the park, leaving it to socialize with others.
Flowers as Natural Flea Repellent for Dogs
A couple of flowers can also prove successful against fleas:
- Lavender
- Spearmint
- Chrysanthemums
- Penny Royal
These can be planted around your outside dog house. It will look pretty and keep fleas away. That is a WIN-WIN situation right there! You can also plant them around your fence to keep passing by fleas at bay. You can use extracts from those flowers as a repellent, as well. A couple of drops on the neck would be more than enough.
Speaking of flower extracts and oils we must mention the citronella oil.
Natural Flea Repellent Essential Oils
Citronella Essential Oil: It is an oil extracted from the stems and leaves of Ceylon Citronella. It is perfectly safe for pets and humans, in fact, it is a leading ingredient in a lot of store-bought spray solutions for campers or other nature enthusiasts. You can also add this oil to your floor mopping solution to bring the flea protection even higher.
Use the same method of application with any other essential oil made from the above-listed flowers.
Edible Natural Flea Remedy for Dogs
We have covered a couple of ways how to treat fleas from the outside, but is there anything else we can do? Some dogs enjoy being sprayed at with nothing, no matter how good it may smell. But there is one thing that no dog can resist, and that is a good treat.
Mix your dogs’ favorite taste with brewers yeast. For instance, coconut oil. The coconut oil is just for taste, you can implement on this with something your pet loves to snack on.
Apparently, fleas don’t like brewers yeast. When giving your pet this homemade “candy” its blood enriches with the smell and taste of yeast, therefore turning it into an undesirable target to fleas. Even if it does not work in your case, it will purify the blood of your pet. That is achieved through vitamin B1 (Thiamine), which is commonly used for vegan nutrition. So even if it does not repel the pests it will help fight with the flea saliva and prevent it from developing allergies and disease.
Additional Tips and Tricks
- Give your pet a quick brush of coat every evening or at least three times per week. Soak the brush in water, lemongrass, thinly sliced lemon, and peppermint. In other words ” Lemonade Bath “. It is better to do this outside of your home.
- Keep your lawn in good condition. Fleas and other insects like to hide in high grass so when you let your pet play in the “jungle” it can accumulate pests.
- Boric acid mixed with Gentian Violet solution – This will soothe your pets’ ears if they have been bitten a lot by fleas. It has an antiseptic effect and the boric acid will kill every flea that returns to the crime scene.
Final remarks
There are plenty of natural options to repel fleas from our pets. This should not make us let our guard down. Take your companion to the vet regularly and don’t skip annual flea and tick treatments. The natural methods should be used as an additional step we take against parasites, not as a substitution to official methods.
Fleas can cause irritation and infections to your pets. They can also infest homes and become a major nuisance. Don’t take any risks. If you ever spot fleas in your home, or your pet shows signs it has fleas, take measures against them as soon as possible. A professional flea treatment of the property, done in an early stage of infestation, will easily sort the problem out.