Pet owners dread fleas and if presented with a flea infestation can be terribly confused. The biggest question these days is how to get rid of fleas naturally.
Pet supply stores will sell a number of flea collars. It’s virtually impossible to know which to use and almost impossible to know all of the active chemicals in these collars. When I was young our pets regularly wore an off-white plastic flea collar. We had no idea what the active flea thwarting ingredients were! These days we wouldn’t consider hanging a “chemical belt” around the necks of our beloved pets nor would we consider letting children near any such thing. Today the chemicals used in many of these major popular brands may be poisoning our pets, and marginalizing our own health at the same time. So what sort of home remedies for fleas are there?
More and more people are seeking natural or homeopathic alternatives to the issue of dog fleas. In many cases you can create household flea remedies with ingredients you already have at home. Some of the most commonly used natural dog flea remedies are listed below:
- For the adult dogs, you could try an olive oil bath. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the fleas will drown in the olive oil. Start from the head and work your way back so the fleas don’t move to the face where it’s really hard to pluck them off. You then just shampoo the oil out and the dog fleas wash down the drain. It will take a few shampoos before your dog’s coat feels oil free.
- Other people say garlic works wonders to prevent dog fleas. Some users of this solution suggest using a garlic supplement while others use a fresh garlic clove and mix it into the food. Garlic is controversial so check with your vet.
- Another solution is the use of household salt. Sprinkle it all over the house and let it sit for a week or more. Apparently fleas don’t seem to like salt. Your dog will lie on the carpet and, in the process, salt will get on his coat. This seems to drive the fleas away as proponents claim that shortly thereafter the fleas will be gone.
- Talcum powder has long been known as a natural remedy to treat dog fleas. Using baby powder for fleas is a simple process … just cover your dog or cat with baby powder and this will smother the fleas. This remedy is often recommended for puppies or kittens that are too young to be treated with any flea chemical. A similar remedy uses baking soda. As before, start at the head so that the fleas will move towards the back of your pet and eventually off.
There are many natural alternatives to treating/preventing dog fleas. However, with all matters pertaining to the health of our dogs and cats, please check with your doctor about potential side effects.
This article was condensed from an article previously written by the author and can be found at : how to get rid of dog fleas naturally, where you can find more information on pet flea solutions as well as other pet health issues.