A flea infestation
A flea is a small mite that feeds on the blood of your dog. They are unable to fly but can jump from one dog to another host, where they lay many eggs. Transmitting many diseases and infesting your home, they are a terrible pest.
Your dog itching is normally a certain sign of fleas being present. So is spotting an actual flea either on your dog or on yourself. An adult flea, on average, will live between a few weeks up to many months. There are many old wives tales and home remedies that abound to get rid of and prevent fleas. Many people prefer not to use chemicals and drugs to treat these bugs, so here we suggest some natural products.
Eliminate fleas on your dog
Begin with a bath. Bathe your dog with water and make a lather with an organic shampoo. Leave this shampoo solution on the fur for several minutes, to allow it time to kill any fleas. Now rinse well to remove any traces of shampoo. Next, follow this with a rinse of apple cider vinegar. Mix 6 ounces of apple cider vinegar with 4 ounces of warm water. Add a tiny amount of sea salt and place in a spray bottle. Fleas don’t like this as it creates an environment that is very acidic. Begin to spray this home remedy solution all over your dog. Avoid the eyes and pay particular attention to the underbelly.
Once the dog’s coat has dried, comb the coat thoroughly with a flea comb with narrow teeth. To avoid pain, ensure that your dog’s furry coat isn’t tangled. Repeat this action weekly to remove any dead fleas or the odd stray one from your dog’s coat.
Rather than placing a commercially, chemically produced collar on your dog, make a solution of a few drops of tea tree oil, lavender oil and water and place on a neckerchief or bandana. Wrap this around your dog’s neck to keep the fleas away.
Remove dog fleas from your home
Machine wash your dog’s bedding, towels, and blankets and in fact everything that your dog comes into contact with. Likewise, place any items that will fit into your tumble drier, and give them a 15-20 minute cycle. This will help to kill off any adult fleas, eggs and larvae that are in his environment.
Vacuum the carpet daily and once completed, empty the dust bag immediately. Fleas live in dark areas, and you don’t want them to crawl back out of the vacuum cleaner. In addition, the use of a steam cleaner will clean your carpets and upholstery. The more extensive your cleaning regime, the less likely the flea infestation will remain.
Home remedies to get rid of fleas from the garden
If you’ve already found fleas in your home, there is a high possibility that they are also out in the garden too. Cut back any overgrown bushes and hedges and mow the lawn. Fleas thrive in damp, dark places, so clear out as many twigs and dead leaves from underneath the shrubbery. Allow natural sunlight into these shady areas of the garden. Add some flea-repelling plants to the borders. Sage, peppermint, lemongrass and rosemary contain natural oils that are an efficient flea repellent. Fleas don’t like garlic, so make an effective spray by placing several bulbs of garlic in hot water. Leave to soak overnight, then strain into a spray can. Treat your patio area and lawn for the best flea eradication.
Repetition is the solution
Any flea infestation can be an enormous problem, but you certainly don’t need to take the route of chemical treatments, sprays or spot-on medications to erase them. Use these natural home remedies in your garden, in your home and on your dog. They are not only very effective, but they will keep your dog chemical free. Finally, home remedies will eradicate your flea infestation, but in order to be effective, they need to be repeated regularly. Natural therapies will take a while longer to eradicate a flea problem than chemicals will because obviously, chemicals are much more potent. Be persistent with your treatments, be patient and your flea issue will be resolved. You certainly don’t want the fleas to return!
