Fleas are one of the worst types of parasites that can infect your dog. Fleas are particularly prevalent during the summer months and have many harmful effects on dogs. They can cause scratching, irritation, allergic reactions, and skin infections. Once fleas infest your dog, they can spread throughout the house and lay eggs on your couch, carpet, and everywhere else in the house. There are many natural ways in which you can get rid of fleas on your dog and from your home. We are going to discuss several such natural methods in this article.
Natural ways are great remedies when you see early signs of flea infection on your dog. But if your dog is severely infected by fleas, it might need immediate medical attention. A severe flea infestation can cause skin allergies, bald patches, and skin inflammation or redness. Your dog might scratch and chew at its skin resulting in redness, wound, and infection. If the conditions are severe, your veterinary doctor will prescribe medicines such as Capstar flea killer for dogs.
Capstar is a fast-acting pill for dogs with fleas that get administered orally. It contains an active ingredient called Nitenpyram that can start killing adult fleas within 30 minutes of administration and continues to work for the next 24-48 hours. Capstar can kill more than 90% of adult fleas within 4 hours of feeding it to your dog. Make sure that your dog is not allergic to Nitenpyram before you administer Capstar pills. You can discuss your dog’s allergies when you speak to your vet. Capstar is also not suitable for puppies that are less than 4 weeks old or have less than 2 pounds of body weight. Side effects are extremely rare.
How to Get Rid of Fleas Naturally
But if your dog has just started scratching and you feel that there might be fleas, look for signs under the fur. Fleas usually infest dark places, such as inner thighs and under the belly. You might also find small dark crumbs of dried blood on the skin. These are some of the natural remedies you can also try.
Flea Repellant Sprays
If your dog likes to be sprayed with water in summer, you can mix different things with water to get rid of fleas. Essential oils such as citronella, eucalyptus, and rosemary can be quite effective in repelling fleas. Some essential oils like tea tree oil repel fleas but can be toxic for your dog if it is not diluted properly. You can also use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice with some salt to the spray. Both are excellent at repelling fleas and also make your dog’s coat shiny. Avoid your dog’s eyes when using these sprays.
Baths
Most dogs love baths, and you can use them to drown the fleas. Fleas cannot fly, but they have a strong pair of hind legs which helps them jump great distances. So plain water is not effective enough to drown them, as they can jump out of it. Add some organic shampoo and work up a lather to drown those fleas. You can add rosemary extracts or neem oils to the bath that are flea repellents. You can also dilute these essential oils and apply them to your dog’s coat directly.
Flea Combs
Flea combs are a natural way to remove fleas on your dog. Their design is very effective in removing adult fleas and eggs from your dog, but it does not kill them. You can dip the comb in some lemon juice to make it more effective.
Specific Foods and Drinks
You can try to feed diluted apple cider vinegar to your dog to get rid of fleas naturally. Make sure that your dog does not mind the taste of vinegar. You can add one teaspoon vinegar to 4 cups of drinking water. Apple Cider vinegar can not only get rid of fleas, but it can also improve your dog’s health, including its skin and coat.
Wash Your Furnishings
Getting rid of fleas from your dog is not going to be enough. As we mentioned before, once you have fleas on your dog, parts of your house will have fleas and eggs too. If you want to make sure that your house is completely free of fleas, you would have to administer some extra measures. Make sure you wash and tumble dry all the furnishing that your dog spends time on, such as beddings, towels, mats, cushions, so on and so forth.
Disinfect Furniture
You should also disinfect all of your furniture. If you have a carpet in your house, you can sprinkle baking soda and salt on your carpet to kill any fleas and eggs. Leave it overnight and vacuum it the next day. You can also steam clean your carpet, or use a disinfectant spray. If you have a backyard, it will be a great place for fleas to hide and breed. You can clean up your backyard or garden and get some flea repelling plants, such as spearmint, lavender, or chrysanthemums.
Our Final Thoughts
Now that you know a few natural ways to prevent and get rid of fleas on your dog, you can take action to help out your pet. You certainly don’t want to go through this mess again. Take the actions now, to forever get rid of fleas naturally.
