How to Get Rid of Fleas – Get Them Off Your Pet Naturally
Fleas can be hard to control. Fleas cause irritation and itching which can also lead to secondary problems such as tapeworms, dermatitis, and plaque. It is important to know how to get rid of fleas naturally before trying any chemical flea products that may be harmful to your pets and humans. This blog will teach you how to get rid of fleas naturally.
Getting rid of fleas on your pet is not going to treat the overall problem of fleas. You are still going to need to get them off of the carpet, yard, dog bed, etc. I will have specific instructions on these areas in other blog posts.
Dog Diet
The most overlooked factor to keep fleas off of your pet, is their diet. If your dog or cat has a severe flea problem, it is probably because their health isn’t as good as it should be. Many commercial pet foods are not nutritionally acceptable and contain harmful additives and by products. By feeding your animals high quality natural food products or raw food, you are dramatically reducing the risk of them getting fleas. A healthy animal is not attractive to fleas in taste or smell.
Brewer’s Yeast
Fleas also dislike the flavor and smell of yeast (brewer’s yeast or nutritional). Simply add this ingredient to your dogs food diet. Doing this will make your dogs blood very unpleasant to fleas.
Use about a teaspoon of natural or brewer’s yeast for dogs under 50 lbs. For dogs heavier than 50 lbs, use 1 tablespoon.
You can also buy garlic and Brewer’s yeast tablets at your local pet store. I actually received a $500 gift card by entering my email here (Thanks stephCC!)
Wash your Pet
Wash your pet often with an herbal shampoo. Non-medicated shampoo also kills fleas. Never use flea shampoo on your puppies or kittens, use dish soap instead to help repel fleas instead. I would even be careful to use any flea shampoo that is not natural at ALL. Traditional flea killing products are toxic and can be harmful to your pet and even yourself.
Neem Oil Shampoo
I recommend you try Neem Oil Shampoo. It is a very safe and effective way to kill fleas on your dog. You can buy a mixture of it or you can find Neem Oil at any health food store.
- Mix an ounce of Neem Oil with 4 to 6 ounces of water and 2 or 3 ounces of white vinegar.
- Cover your dog with water then apply the mixture.
- To spread the neem oil further, you can brush your dog.
Flea Comb
Combing your dog daily with a flea comb will also help get rid of fleas. Make sure you comb into a bath tub, toilet, or some place where the fleas will die and not regenerate
Environment
The best way to get rid of fleas is to treat your home and dog simultaneously in order to completely get rid of fleas. Check out my other blogs to find out how to get rid of fleas in your home and yard.
The Flea Life Cycle
The first stage in the flea life cycle is the least harmful, but also the root of the problem with fleas. During the egg stage, female fleas leave egg deposits on dogs, cats, people, and surfaces. Fleas lay up to 50 or more eggs in only one day. This starts a cycle which leads to females leaving more eggs. It is important that this stage of the flea life cycle is prevented.
The next two stages of the flea life cycle are the larvae stage and the pupae stage. This is the growth of the flea within the egg. The larvae stage lasts from two days or more, with no chance of the eggs hatching during this stage. The most problematic stage of the two are the pupae stage. The pupae stage can last from two days up to two years! It is very hard to kill fleas during these stages, as they are protected from chemicals by the shell. However, particularly potent chemicals such as Flea Stoppers can kill fleas that are still in the pupae and larvae stage.
The last stage in the flea life cycle is the adult stage. These are what cause the problems for our dogs, cats, and even humans. Many products such as Frontline are effective in killing adult fleas.
How to Get Rid of Fleas In the House
Attacking the Flea Problem on All Fronts
When it comes to getting rid of fleas, it is important to you treat all areas in the same day. It is useless to treat your home an not your pet or your pet and not your home since they will just re-infest each other. This means killing fleas on your pet, killing fleas in your yard, and killing them in your house all at the same time.
Step 1 – Wash Everything
First collect all rugs, dog beds, bedding, curtains, drapes, anything that is removable and washable, and wash them in hot soapy water. Soapy water will kill the eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults.
Step 2 – Vacuum
The next step is to vacuum. This will get rid of many fleas very quickly. You will be vacuuming up eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult fleas. When you vacuum make sure you get between cracks, under furniture,rugs and beds, sides of the carpet, and any areas where your pet likes to sit. Fleas love to get out of the light and into darker areas.
Step 3 – Salt Kills Fleas
A unique way of killing fleas that has proved to work for many people is to sprinkle salt all over your carpet. Ordinary table salt will dehydrate the fleas and flea eggs and kill them. It is a safe and cheap way of getting rid of fleas.
Here’s how to get rid of fleas:
- Before you get to the rooms, sprinkle salt in all areas between the rooms. This will make sure the fleas can’t escape to unsalted carpet.
- Sprinkle the salt all over the carpet by starting at the sides of the room and moving towards the center. You will also want to move around furniture to make sure you can salt in those areas too.
- After you have covered the entire floor with salt, let is sit for a day or two. The fleas will eat the salt and die.
You will want to repeat this process a few times to make sure you kill every flea in the house.
Remember the best way to get rid of fleas is to treat all areas at the same time to prevent re-infestation! Check out my other posts and learn how to kill fleas on your pet and in your yard.
Getting Rid of Fleas – Eliminate Fleas from Your Yard
Killing fleas in your environment is very important for your pets health and happiness. You are going to need to get them off of your animal, out of your house, and out of your yard. Each place will require different strategies for removing them. In this post, I will be giving you tips on killing fleas in your yard.
- Removing fleas from your backyard is essential for keeping them off of your pet. The first thing you will want to do is kill fleas on your animal.
- The next step is to clean up your yard. This means cutting the grass and removing weeds. I also recommend flooding your yard periodically to remove flea eggs and kill larvae and drown some of the parasites. You also need to make your yard as sunny as possible by trimming bushes and trees. Fleas hate the sun and this is a very effective way in removing them from your yard.
- Fleas usually hang out in places where your animal frequents. So you will need to safely spray insecticides such as Frontline in these areas. Try to keep your pet away for a few days while it is at work. If you want to be completely safe I recommend nematodes. These are tiny worms that like to eat flea larvae without damaging trees or plants. Grub-Away Nematodes can be found at a garden supply store or online. Mix the package of nematodes with water and spray 10 million nematodes per 600 square feet ( the package will help you understand how much to use).
- Another natural way to kill fleas is to use Diatomaceous Earth. Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is great because it bring absolutely no risk to your pet, yet it kills fleas by dehydrating them. Simply sprinkle it on your pet, in the carpet, and in dry outdoor areas where there may be fleas and it will dehydrate any flea that comes in contact with it within 72 hours. Just make sure you are using Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth and NOT the pool filter grade which will harm your pet if ingested. I also recommend feeding them a teaspoon of Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth per day for a few weeks to eliminate tapeworm which they almost always have after ingesting fleas. Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth can be found online or at some garden centers.
- You may also try placing cedar chips in shaded areas. This is another natural way to get rid of fleas since fleas hate the smell of cedar. They also hate the smell of Pennyroyal. Simply spread some on your animal or in flea infested areas to repel fleas.
It can be a tough battle to remove the fleas from all areas simultaneously. the main goal is keeping the fleas off of your pet. Without blood, fleas will not survive. However, if you don’t remove them from your yard and home, they will latch back on to your pet. So you will want to focus your efforts in each area to completely eliminate fleas. I hope this site will be a good resource for your battle against fleas! Good Luck!
