Natural Flea Control


If you own a dog, flea control is an issue you have to deal with each year. The first bit of advice you should be aware of is is you don't need to use the toxic chemicals that are sold by many well-meaning veterinarians or that are sold in pet stores. In fact, it is a mistake to use them. These products state right on the package to keep away from children at all times. If it will hurt a child it will hurt a dog as well. This page contains several home remedies for flea control. You can use one or two of them together and you should be fine.

The first thing I want to mention before getting into the actual nitty-gritty of getting rid of dog fleas is that if your dog is healthy, they are less likely to get fleas. Fleas like weaker dogs for some reason. Maybe they taste different than a healthy dog. Feed your dog a diet and you may not have anything to worry about when it comes to flea control. If you find that your dog does have fleas these are some of the treatments to send them packing. 

  1. Apple Vinegar and Water Mix: Mix 1/3 vinegar with 2/3 water. After you have given your dog a bath, pour the mixture on your dog and massage it through the hair. Do not rinse it off. Squeeze the excess liquid out of your dogs hair and towel dry. Your dog will not smell like vinegar after their hair is dry. However, the fleas can still smell the vinegar and they hate the smell. They will stay away for as long as they smell vinegar. During warm weather this is a great natural flea control technique. You may need to mix up some vinegar and water in a spray bottle to go over your dog a couple times a week during flea season.
  2. Lemon and Water Mix: Soak a lemon in a cup of warm water for a few hours. When cool, pour this mixture into a spray bottle and periodically spray your dog with this mixture. They will smell lemon fresh and it is a great flea control technique. Fleas hate the smell of lemon too.
  3. Lavender Oil Spray: Mix several ounces of water with a few drops of lavender oil. (you can get this at a health food store). Pour this into a spray bottle and periodically spray your dogs fur. They will smell nice and again, fleas hate the smell of lavender.
  4. Use a flea comb: Comb your dog daily during flea season with a flea comb. The small space between the teeth of the comb will remove as much as 50% of the fleas on your dog. You need to use this technique along with one or two of the other natural flea control methods to keep you and your dog happy.
  5. When your dog is inundated with fleas, mix some Dawn dish washing soap with water (about 25% Dawn and 75% water). Use this as a shampoo. You have probably seen the ducks and other water animals having oil washed off of them with Dawn. It will get rid of fleas too. It is gentle enough to bath your dog in. Just make sure you rinse it all out. Afterwards, use one of the spray mixtures to help keep the fleas away.
  6. One last thing that some people do is to feed their dogs a tiny bit ofgarlic. You know how people smell after eating garlic; dogs are no different. Fleas do not like the smell of garlic. Many people say that garlic is a toxin to dogs. I am not sure if this is true or not. Use your own judgement.
    There are enough things here for you to use as natural flea control techniques. Try a few and see which ones you like best. Just remember, you should not ever use harsh chemicals on your dog. Nature has many alternatives.


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