Natural flea control remedies for pets include apple cider vinegar, borax, dish soap and salt.These remedies can safely be used on pets or around the home.
If you have pets, likely you have dealt with fleas at one time or another. Not only are fleas a nuisance, they can transmit disease, cause a pet constant misery and even cause anemia in a severely infested pet. A dog or cat that is constantly scratching is not only uncomfortable, if the skin is broken during scratching, infection can result. Fortunately, our readers have submitted dozens of options for effective natural treatments for fleas!
Traditional over the counter and prescription flea treatments commonly come with side effects ranging from mild to severe reactions, not to mention the expense of such treatments. “Flea Bombs” can also cause side effects for pets and their owners. Chemicals used by professional pest control companies have been linked to severe side effects in some people. The top home remedies for fleas that you will find here at Earth Clinic are much safer and much less expensive for you, your dogs, and your cats. It is likely that you have one or more of these treatment options in your home right now.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Our most popular natural remedy for fleas is apple cider vinegar. Please see this page for four ways to use apple cider vinegar for fleas, plus dozens of our reader testimonials about its effectiveness.
Learn the Gentle and Effective Way to Apply Apple Cider Vinegar for Fleas
Watch Earth Clinic’s video demonstrating two effective methods to apply apple cider vinegar topically. Your pet will love you for it! We will also show you how to make an apple cider vinegar solution to use for fleas.
Dish Soap for Flea Control
Our readers have had great success with dish soap to get rid of fleas. Dawn has been the preferred brand.
Topical Use of Dish Soap
Many readers just give their dogs or cats a bath, using the dish soap instead of shampoo. Using a flea comb when grooming after the bath will help to remove dead fleas after this treatment.
How to Make Dish Soap Flea Traps
Fill several shallow pans (a pie dish or cake pan will work well) with warm water and a squirt of dish soap. Ideally, you will put these traps near pet sleeping areas with a light above the water. The light will attract the fleas. The soap breaks the surface tension of the water so that the fleas cannot get out.
How to Get Fleas out of the Carpet – Naturally!
One of several safe natural products can be sprinkled in to your carpet to get rid of fleas. Choose (one or more) of the following and sprinkle it into your carpet. Work it in to the carpet with a broom. Reapply after each time you vacuum for at least 2 weeks. Hold your sprinkling container low to the ground and wear a dust mask to avoid getting the powders into your own lungs. (And do the sprinkling when pets are outside or in another room to avoid irritating their lungs!)
Borax – Borax is found in the laundry aisle of your grocery store. It is safe for pets. Borax is part of Ted’s famous Mange Cure and can also be used topically for external parasites. You can use borax instead of soap in a flea bath for your pet.
Baking Soda – Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is found in the baking section of your grocery store. Large warehouse stores have large containers of it, which is useful for large applications, and then you will have plenty on hand for all manner of non-toxic cleaning around your house. An extra advantage to baking soda is its carpet freshening abilities!
Salt – The least expensive salt you can find is fine for applying to carpets to get rid of fleas.
Diatomaceous Earth – Diatomaceous Earth, also known as fossil shell flour, kills bugs by dehydrating them. This can be found in most farm stores.
Are Essential Oils Safe for Flea Control?
A number of essential oils have been used to get rid of fleas. Tea tree, lavender, peppermint and cedar essential oils have been helpful to get rid of fleas. But essential oils are a more expensive option for flea control. They are also more likely to be irritating to pets. There is growing concern about the toxicity of essential for the use of cats. If your cats have fleas, avoid the use of essential oils to solve this problem. There are many other natural remedies that can be used instead.
Have you used a natural remedy for fleas? Read on to find dozens of creative natural remedies for flea control that are safe for pets and their owners!
Has anyone tried using Borax to mop with? We don’t have carpet but wood floors. Would greatly appreciate any feedback.
I found that diatomaceous earth and tea tree oil were not effective for a flea infestation. Luckily, I tried lemon juice spray and was amazed by how effective it was.
I took a few small whole lemons, skin, seeds and all, and blended them with some water (not too much) and strained the mixture. I spray some on my hands and rub it into my kitty from head to tail. I also spray it outside and indoors. Smells great. She licks it off and is perfectly healthy and much happier now that the fleas are gone.
Plz read my post under tea tree oil for more info.
* apply 2x per day morning and evening, comb or brush through fur. If I miss a 2nd application, the fleas do begin to accumulate.
I've noticed that when I spray the lemon juice around the perimeter of my place that spiders run too.
i do find the occasional flea on her but nothing like when I was just using tea tree oil and/or diatomaceous earth (picked off about 50 fleas during bath time). I will continue to experiment until I find the best recipe/method for flea elimination and will check back.
I have used Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) in my pets' food for about 4 years for internal parasites. I also use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon 'organic' apple cider vinegar (ACV) per quart of drinking water all year. NO fleas or tics, the ACV causes sour blood… fleas/ticks don't like sour blood!! I like this better than putting DE on their fur. My one cat had severe fur loss on her hind end and weird pumps all over her skin, I 'think' the fleas caused this. Since using ACV in my pets water, her fur is thick. I also give Krill Oil in their food.
I have had a massive flea problem with cats and dogs in the house and I used diatomaceous Earth. It's messy but it works. There is lots of information on the internet about it and it is available to buy on Amazon.
I was hesitant to try tea tree oil on my kitten after having read some warnings here.
I must stress that tea tree oil must be used in low-potency!! Even one drop might be too much, and so should be added to carrier oil.
in taking any product, one should always start small and monitor the effects, and increase as needed.
My neighbor tried it first. He was the one who actually insisted. Our kittens were both three months at the time. He has a kitten from the same litter as mine, so they are the same age, but his is male and larger. He said the fleas vanished, so I tried it on my kitten. I clumsily poured a few drops from the bottle onto her and was worried to death, grabbing a rag to clean her. Then I saw her licking the tea tree from her fur and I freaked (i love my cat! ). But no sickness whatsoever. And fleas truly did disappear.
So, don't make the mistake I did! And potentially have it not turn out so well.
First try one 1 drop of tea tree to 1/4 tsp carrier oil. I used olive oil. Monitor results. If it works, then no need to increase. If it doesn't work and health is good, increase dose slowly and never pour over your animal! Unless you are sure your dropper is safe
Good luck and best wishes!
July 27, 2108 Update:
With further experimentation, I found tea tree oil does not work. plz read my other posts for more info , including success with lemon juice.
Flea season exploded two months ago and I found that tea tree oil did NOT help in the least, so I would like to amend this rating to either 1 or 0 (that would take more experimentation). Possibly back when I posted this initial review, colder weather was setting in and I mistook the seasonal decline in flea populations as a sign of tea tree oil's effectiveness for flea control.
I was treating my cat (10 months old) daily with a drop's worth (placed on my finger and then applied) of tea tree on the back of her head and another at the base of her tail, along with food grade diatomaceous earth rubbed in all over. It really didn't seem to show much improvement. She had bald spots where the fleas were eating her and for awhile, the only remedy was bathing her 2x a week, where I would remove dozens of fleas at a time.
Luckily, I did find what worked to my amazement! Homemade lemon spray. Throw a few lemons (skins seeds and all) into a blender with some water and strain into a bottle. Apply the spray to your hands and rub into your animal's fur all over, from her furry cheeks to tail. She licks it off and is perfectly healthy. Occasionally, I'll find one lethargic flea that is easy to pick off, but it works exceptionally well. Also, spray the lemon everywhere you want, outside and in the corners of the room. As always with any new protocol, start off with small quantities on your pet to make sure there are no adverse reactions.
I am working on this Lemon Spray recipe (possibly adding other beneficial flea repelling ingredients) and will re-post when I am satisfied with the results.
I have a French Bulldog and I fight yeast infection and hair loss every year. I decided to take him off flea chemicals but having a tough time finding a cure for it. I have been bathing him with baking soda then tree oil shampoo and finally a organic apple cider vinegar rinse. So far it has been been working. I also give him a teaspoon of Diatomaceous Earth every evening in his food. Anyone have any better cures?
Hey Mstee,
Dealing with seasonal or inhalant allergies can be tricky. You might keep a diary to see what allergens are in your area that are blooming to see if you can pin point a trigger; if you find, say, a correlation between the fir trees blooming and a break out you might consider herbal thuja or stinging nettle. You do not say what you feed, but the diet you feed has a direct affect on your dog's immune system. A food allergy can be harder to pin point as many diets contain many different proteins. You might consider alkalizing your dog's drinking water with baking soda, and also rotating it every few weeks with Ted/s Borax protocol for dogs. The treated water will help balance the PH which in turn makes your dog's GI track unattractive to systemic yeast – this in turn helps restore healthy gut flora which aides the immune system. Borax water also helps knock down yeast and staph. You might also consider a single protein source for the food and see if you can rotate from beef protein to chicken protein and so on, to see if you can pin point a food allergy. You might also consider colostrum to help boost the immune system, and turmeric and quercetin and herbal Yucca Intensive [must be taken with food] to combat inflammation. Please let us know how it goes!
I've had incredible good luck ridding my cats of fleas with lemon juice. You can dunk a flea comb into a small dish of juice until the tines are submerged and comb daily until no more fleas are seen. Or you can just pour it on your pet and massage down to the skin 'tho when I tried this on one of my cats, I did dilute the lemon juice by 1/4 with water.
Before spraying on furniture and carpets, check a small area to make sure it won't stain. I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars I've spent on topical treatments, pills, shampoos, sprays etc. and nothing worked. Then a friend suggested lemon juice, which did make sense, since it's a key ingredient in citronella candles, horse fly wipes etc. to keep bugs away.
I had used diatomaceous earth before, but it seems when using it this time, it hasn't been very good at controlling the fleas on my dogs? I put it in an old baby powder container. I applied it while stroking the hair up in the opposite way and applied heavily! Still it did not control the fleas, so I continued with the application daily. I also brushed them daily before each new application. Still, I was not satisfied with this product.
I sprinkled DE all over my carpets. It was a powdery mess. The dust from it was overwhelming. I had it in my daughter's room & she has asthma. She could not breathe in there. (It said to keep on for a day before vacuuming up, so she had to sleep in another room.) It took forever to get it all vacuumed up. It made a mess of my vacuum internally. All that work & I noticed no change in the fleas. Putting it on the pet too was about impossible. How do you get dry powder to stay on a dry pet that won't be still??
Hello Michelle,
Your experience sounds spot on – DE makes a huge mess if you do it right, and you do have to sleep in another room while the dust given time to work. If you still are loaded with fleas, you may not have done enough dust, or applied to all the areas that needed it. You might find the lamp trap easier to use and more effective for your situation. Get a small desk lamp and place it on the floor that you want to treat. Put a white plate under the bulb on the floor, and add some water with a few drops of dish soap added – mix it so the soap is dispersed but don't get it all sudsy or full of bubbles. Turn the lamp on and turn the room lights off and then check to see what you have caught in the morning. I find this to be a very effective way to catch fleas and quickly clear out an infestation from a room. I have a lamp trap in each room of my house – they work on mosquitoes as well as fleas and tend to catch any insect. Keep your house well vacuumed, wash pet beds and human bedding frequently, and deploy many lamp traps to help rid your house of fleas. I also find the easiest and most effective way to get rid of fleas on pets is to give them a flea bath followed by a blow dry and flea combing to remove any fleas that survived the bath. Good luck and please keep us posted!
To get rid of flea eggs or keep them from hatching, use moth balls in your vacuum bag. The flea eggs do not hatch. I was told about this years ago by a professional bug man.
Borax kills fleas. Just powder furniture and carpets and floors. Let it set the longer the better. I waited one week before vacuuming.
FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth is excellent at repelling and killing fleas ON the cat and can be sprinkled on carpets and floors (make sure you get as close to the walls as possible. You can sprinkle it directly ON the pet and rub it in and it will not harm the animal. Use only FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous earth…found at feed stores and some pet stores. The regular kind is poisonous. The food grade is natural, very effective, and odorless. BE careful with it, as it is very powdered (like powdered sugar) and will fog up the air, so I use an old ketchup dispenser to gently apply to animal and floors. Leave on floor for a day, then vacuum. On pets…it kills fleas, larvae, eggs…by dehydrating them.
I mixed some white vinegar and orange peels in a jar about a month ago. I just started using it on my dogs, and it really works to get rid of the fleas on them! I just pour some in a saucer, take a cotton ball and saturate it, and rub it on their skin, especially down their back, and around their tail, and it kills the fleas that come in contact with the vinegar. I was surprised that the mixture actually killed the fleas, but it did. When I rubbed the cottonball over a flea, it died. I will keep this mixture on hand now all the time.
Amythest in the cat's water-bowl did nothing.
A dish-soap bath killed all the fleas, but gave the cat a nasty eye-infection when water got in her eye. She was an old cat who always had very bad flea issues. The other 2 cats didn't have flea issues, but this 1 cat got it bad w/ sores…
It seems like she lost the use of her hind legs after the dish-soap bath. It killed the fleas, but, perhaps it isn't the best solution for the long term. She didn't last much longer after I started bathing her regularly. She was comfortable and not scratching all the time. Her skin healed up, but perhaps the fleas were a side-effect of a deeper systemic root-cause. Probably. Too bad whatever that root cause is, this site hasn't seemed to find it yet.
I tried the amethyst crystal and it does work! I want to point out I too had the same issue with the stone not working after a period of time. It didn't seem logical for something to just stop working so I experimented and found out what worked for my kitty.
My cat has a horrible time with the fleas in FL. They are unlike any other place I have lived. Frontline doesn't work & just makes my cat sick. The crystal was worth a shot and would cause no harm. Within a week I saw a difference and there were no more new bites. This lasted for about 2 mo. and then the fleas started again. In case anyone is thinking its due to a change of seasons, no that's not the case. There is no down time in FL when it comes to fleas.
I don't believe the stone just stops working but perhaps our pets chemistry changes. Either way I decided to add another stone I had at the house to the bowl. It is blue calcite and once again it worked. It is a complement to amethyst with its metaphysical properties. I was so happy to see it work again, but about 1 1/2 mo. later I was back to square one. It stopped working.
Ok, so this time I bought another amethyst. Yes, now there are 3 crystals in the bowl! I know it's crazy but its working and my kitty is not scratching.
I am going to do as another writer suggested & recharge the stones by moonlight over night. I was doing it by sunlight and I guess that may be wrong in this case.
Anyway, to anyone who says nay, experiment a bit before you give up.
Hi there, I just read your post about Amethysts in your pet's water. Recharging is what I thought they need. : ) But full moon doesn't come too often, haha. A smudge stick made of sage is the best solution for cleansing not just crystals but your house as well. I use smudge sticks and incense on a regular basis and some crystals not only feel energised and revived but my Lemon Chrysoprases even change their apearance. One can literally see the difference! Another way to cleanse your crystals is with a singing bowl. Crystals respond to sound as well. You can also hold them under runing water. The most important thing is to have a clear idea of the outcome. Intention is what starts the process. : ) Because they are in daily use, I'd make sure that your Amethysts are cleansed at least once a week. Good luck and lots of joy with your animal and crystal friends!
I learned many years ago that if you sprinkle Borax powder (you can find it in Walmart) on the carpet. Leave for approximately 24 hours then vacuum. This will kill any fleas as well as the eggs. I do this once a month. Very effective.
For fleas – set out a shallow pan of water with dawn dish liquid (few drops mixed in) place a table lamp over it in a dark room, A night light works too. The fleas are attracted to the warmth of the lamp and jump in.
I use DE on my cat and I find two dead but the rest that I pick off of her are moving and not dead. I read not to put too much because it will make her skin dry. I'm stuck on what else to put on her maybe because I dont want to dry out her skin. I'm trying to find something for the flea eggs and adult fleas and I get like quite abit off her but not really infested yet or in the house yet, they just seem to stay on her only! Any suggestions? I'm reading on here ACV is good for fleas but not sure if it does the eggs too? She's an older cat and don't want to use any chemicals on her, don't really know what else to do really. Can you help me?
Thank you.
Black walnut extract, 4 drops in her water and a few drops on her.
Black walnut is toxic to cats. In the past I read articles that said to use it but recent research disagrees. I then asked my vet and he said it is toxic.
I use apple cider vinegar in their water, but also citrus peel infused white vinegar topically, for flea control.
Citrus peels have two organic chemicals called limonene and linalool which kill all stages of the flea's life cycle.
Just pour a 1/2 gallon (or really as much as you want, cause it can also be used for general household cleaning too) – of white vinegar into a large glass, covered container and throw in whatever citrus peels you have – oranges, grapefruit, lemon, lime… doesn't matter which or how much…as long as it's completely covered by the vinegar. Stir or shake it up every once in awhile and give it a week or two. Leaving it in sunlight will accelerate the process.
I use the solution, once a week, as a final rinse (don't rinse it off) after their baths. The citrus chemicals kill any fleas they may have picked up and smell of the vinegar, though not detectable to us, once the dog is dry, repels the fleas for the rest of the week.
The solution can also be put in a spray bottle for occasional spot treatment and it can even be used as a cleaning solution around the house!
For fleas – You can sprinkle 20 mule team borax on carpet (keep pets away and leave an hour.. Or less) then vacuum. The borax will also kill fleas in vacuum bag.
For dogs with any nervous or stress related condition, including fleas, rub one drop lavender on pads of each foot or rub a drop on ears. They calm down, stop licking and scratching.. And sleep. (Do not use cheap scented perfume oils, these are toxic! Only good quality essential oils.) Some oils actually repel fleas and ticks. Don't use too much, they are potent and dogs don't like strong odors.
I treated a flea infestation using diatomaceous earth. I sprinkled all it liberally over the cats regularly (once a day), and used a fine sieve and sprinkled it all over my floors – carpeted and wooden and tiles – and left it to sit for a week. I vacuumed it up and then treated it again to be certain. It cleared up a really bad flea infestation really well.
My two dogs are loaded with fleas; had them on trifecta's and still have fleas. Can I put sulfur granules in my yard? I have 1 acre and a quarter size yard; need something inexpensive and that will work
Spray a solution of white vinegar and water on dogs you will soon get rid of the fleas as they won't be able to feed of the dogs . It works and very cheap but don't spray near dogs eyes.
Hi Carol, Diatomaceous Earth, which you can buy at garden supply shops and online, is a great remedy to use outside for flea control. You'd need to look up directions on how to apply in the yard for fleas, but I lightly dust for food grade DE on all our pets around their tails and along the spine every few days. It's fabulous flea control remedy.
Hey Carol!
It sounds like the fleas in your area have developed a resistance to Trifexis; since the product is not working on the fleas, you might want to discontinue using it on your pets.
There are many all natural products on the market for flea control for large areas; consider cedar granules, or sprays made from cinnamon oil, cedar oil or clove oil. These sprays and cedar granules are very effective but need to be regularly re-applied. I would also consider predatory nematodes/beneficial nematodes. I don't know if these products fit into your budget, but you can also make up these sprays yourself if you google for instructions. Diatomaceous earth is very affordable IMHO but I would not use diatomaceous earth in the outdoors myself because it could potentially impact and kill off the good bugs like honey bees.
Do a google search for: "all natural Flea Free"; cedarcide; beneficial nematode; homemade natural flea spray; etc. – and you will find many products and helpful information to control fleas in your yard.
Hello Carol,
Artemisia Combination from Nature's Sunshine will make your dogs bodies an extremely unfriendly environment for fleas. I've been using it for my 4 Boston Terriers and haven't seen fleas for 2 years. I split one capsule between them once a month in winter and once a week during the warm months.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is the best thing invented!!!!!!
I had a bed bug problem and tried everything. I have kids so I had to keep sleeping in my bed or risk bedbugs following me to their room. A real horror story until I found out about food grade Diatomaceous earth and tried it. There gone! I put it everywhere in the electrical sockets and to this day their still gone! I recently had a little flea problem and now mix some of the earth into my dog food and dust the dogs to keep the fleas off. My sister in NY had bedbugs I sent her some earth and it worked on her house too! I purchase a 5lb bag a year ago when I had the bedbugs and I still have 3/4 of the bag left since it doesnt take much when applying. When I first found a bedbug I called an exterminator and he quoted me at $450 to treat and that he would come back as often I needed. Once it took me 1-2 weeks to figure it all out and I invited him back he was astonished and asked me what I used 😉
Before you put pesticides and pay those high bills try it. I went a little crazy by applying it while opening all windows. Once I sprinkled everywhere with a mask on I vaccumed and put on baseboards …etc . amen they're gone. I still apply the earth underneath bed and places you can't see just for peace of mind. I hope this helps someone.
Will Ted's mange cure work on fleas?
Hey Lyndy!
The mange remedy will kill fleas on your dog during the dipping process, but you will also need to eliminate fleas in your pet's environment as well. If you are infested in the house, you might try a simple flea trap using a small lamp placed on the floor over a white tray or white plate filled with dish soapy water. Leave on over night and check for fleas in the morning. This trap is very effective at removing adult fleas and when used regularly can remove all the fleas from your home -and thus avoid reinfesting your dog.
I remember this remedy from my grandparents, what a great idea. I'm going to try this again, I had forgotten all about this. Thank you.
I have recently learned of using Borax to get rid of fleas and I am wondering if it is safe to make a spray with the Borax to use on our cats? If so, how much Borax should I mix to the water? Thanks for your help!
I had that thought too but couldn't find a 'recipe' anywhere for the right mix for Borax water. Then I finally came across something that said Borax that gets wet loses effectiveness because it's actually the physical properties of dry Borax that kills fleas…therefore wet Borax is completely useless! That said, dry Borax didn't do me much good but I'm pretty sure it's because my berber carpet didn't allow the powder to go deep enough to reach the eggs down there…seems to work well for everyone else though.
I've been spraying a mixture of (equal parts) apple cider vinegar/witch hazel/lemon juice all over the carpet every day and the problem is much better! You have to keep it up though because success seems to come from a cumulative effect, not necessarily an 'on contact' sort of fix. Still looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck!!
For the borax to work on carpet you need to sprinkle everywhere & leave it for at least 3 days. Otherwise it won't do anything. After 3 days or more, vacuum. Then sprinkle it again. The recipe for a spray borax is "Teds Mange Cure". Just search it here on E.C. It 100% works for fleas as well as mange. My dogs get rinsed after every single bath with Ted's recipe. They've never had mange. I've always used it for fleas. Hope this helps. Nikki
No need to use essential oils on pets, no need to risk it. Flowers of Sulphur is an excellent ancient remedy which is very cheap and easy to use. It is actually very healing for the skin, never harmful, just the opposite (good for so many ailments, worth googling).
Sprinkle it with a flour sprinkler on floors, bedding, pets, repeat as necessary.
We had a very warm spring/ summer in UK this year and I had fleas first time ever on my house cats and it quickly turned into a huge house infestation! However, FOS seemed to have worked immediately, eased the itch as well. I happened to have FOS at home as my husband uses it for his psoriasis.
I hope it helps, I was devastated when I realised the scale of infestation but after a thorough vacuuming (vacuum some FOS to kill the ones in the bag) and sprinkling all seems to be fine now.
I also put a piece of amethyst in their water bowl as I like the sound of it 🙂
The vets prescribe very dangerous chemicals, which are proven to contribute to feline cancer.
Best wishes everyone.
My 12 year old Lab is going crazy chewing at her legs until they bleed. This stems from flea and or other insect bites. Is is possible the topical flea meds. I give her monthly are no longer working? She just had the last application no more than 2 weeks ago and I found a flea on her just yesterday. They really do not seem to alleviate the flea issues any longer. The problem has gotten progressively worse. Is there a natural, perhaps better remedy I might try? I have resisted taking her to the vet because my last visit was upwards of 600.00, ridiculous in my estimation. So anything you might suggest would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you, Teri
Put white vinegar in spray bottle and spray dog every day, fleas will die but be careful of dog's eyes
Hey Teri!
I am curious as to what your $600+ vet bill bought you – could you share? And is your dog an indoor or outdoor dog? If she is an outdoor dog please consider bringing her indoors as this will greatly reduce the opportunity for her to be bit by so many insects. If she is an indoor dog and still flea infested, please consider using a flea trap to reduce your indoor population of fleas.
While the fleas may have bitten your dog on the legs, it is not a typical place for fleas to feed; think root of the tail, or around the neck. I wonder if your dog doesn’t have a staph infection on her legs; you might try Ted’s Anti-fungal/Anti-staph rinse for her to see if that brings her relief. You might also consider alkalizing for her; this helps balance her PH making her less appetizing to fleas and other biting insects. You can start off with a crisis dose of 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda into 1 liter of water and have this be her only drinking water for 5 days; after that drop the dose down to 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda into a liter of water as a maintenance dose.
Good luck and please report back!
Have fed Wysong foods with tons of fresh and thankfully, no fleas. Have used Cedarcide spot on with great results occasionally.
Hi Theresa,
Thanks for responding. Right after I posted the question I started reading some of the other posts with similar issues. I was very surprised to repeatedly see apple cider vinegar as an option. Just so happened I had a bottle. Since it was 1 am and I couldn't go shopping for an alternative, I figured what the heck! Well, it worked surprisingly well I'm happy to say. I just need to keep up with the applications. I let a few days go by and she started in on her leg again. With all the healing sores and this new one she looks like she was attacked by wild animals. So that's the story I'm rolling with, I believe it was a bear! Ha. She seems to like this scenario better than the truth.
As for the 600.00 vet bill, I received for my dog, 2 fabulous trips to the vet, a fun an exciting ear culture, accompanied by 2, yes 2, types of drops for her ears and last but certainly not least, a brand new bottle of exotic ear wash. It hurts less if I laugh!
Many blessings, Teri
p.s. I also started her on probiotics, will keep you posted. Seems to be working.
My dog was treated for a bad flea allergy with a shot of steroids to help reduce the itchiness. She had a heartworm test, and the vet suggested putting her on Trefexis because it kills fleas (Frontline had become less effective) and because the coyotes are a vector for heartworms which they picked up after rescue dogs from the South (with heartworms) came to SoCal after Katrina.
The alternative — to not give her the Trefexis — seemed a bad choice after her terrible flea allergy and her suffering. So ate the Trefexis and did not throw up (I gave it with a good meal), and I've been giving her the step-down dose of steroids every day as directed.
Within 24 hours, I noticed small wet spots on the carpet. They are showing up where the dog has been sitting or lying down for awhile, so I don't think she is actually intentionally urinating; I have never seen her squat in the house and she's a well-behaved, house-broken dog. So I'm sure she's a bit incontinent.
I assumed it was the Trefexis, because I've given other dogs steroids in the past, and never had incontinence show up as an issue.
I've seen posts by other owners, and several people reported incontinence as a side effect of Trefexis. I don't remember seeing that as one of the potential side effects when I read the pamphlet before agreeing to give Trefexis, but having been in human drug trails myself, I KNOW that not all the side effects that participants report get listed on the package and label.
Hey Letitia!
Thank you for sharing your experience with Trifexis. As you say, not everything gets listed on the label, so thank you for providing details on this side effect of incontinence in your dog.
I did a google search with “trifexis side effects urination” and quickly found a forum where another experienced urinary issues with their dog not concentrating the urine; when taken off the Trifexis the problem resolved.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
I found one of the very best inexpensive tick and flea repellents. I put small amount of peppermint oil and part lemon juice and the rest with water. All this summer we had absolutely no ticks/fleas or anything. I sometimes spray right quick around the area where they go out to go to the bathroom, but as long as they are covered not important to spray outside.
I was really surprised to have a FLEA TRAP I learned about on this website work GREAT! Those critters die EASILY in just a little bit of soapy water! I set up a flat dish with HOT water and a few drops of dish soap then arranged for a hot desk lamp to stay focused over the soapy water and all other lights in this attic room OUT. In the morning the plate was SO FULL OF DEAD FLEAS I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! I did it two more nights and then NOTHING. THANK YOU EARTH CLINIC! You just want the room to be quiet and uninhabited while you do this of course so the light also can't be knocked over because the plate really needs to be on the FLOOR.
Side effect reported
Our 12 yo lab/pit mix is having side affects from the use of NexGard Flea and Tick treatment. He is in very good health as a rule . He had a vet check about a month ago. All was fine. Since giving him the flea mess we have noticed a loss of appetite, lethargy and dry flaky skin. This is by no means the norm for our baby. How long will this last? Are there any natural alternatives for flea and tick control. Seeing our dog like this is heartbreaking …
Deb from Roseville. Mi — as you may see in one post of mine below, natural orange cleaner which is essential oil of orange, kills even mites and is good for the coat. If it was my dog, I would not pay for poisons for fleas. Perhaps you may want to use charcoal or ESSIAC to clean out the poison now in the blood.
Namaste, Om
Hey Deb!
Om posted an excellent reply – re: Activated charcoal and Essiac tea to clean out the blood. I would also try to get him to take in as much liquid as possible to flush the chemicals out. In addition I would bathe your dog to remove as much of the topical as you can.
Also, since you have a senior with these symptoms you may wish to return to the vet and run a blood panel to rule out any complications with the liver or kidneys. The sooner you catch these things the better.
I have successfully treated my home for fleas but every time we went out in neighborhood, new flees to comb out. I put amethyst in water dish, first 1-2 months no change. After 3 mo. No new fleas, skeptical, since winter is low flea time anyway. Now warm flea weather is here & still no new fleas. When I use flea comb also NONE on her at bath time. Fantastic results, just took time for her VIBRATIONS to match the amethyst. We will see as summers flea season builds but normally by now, 80 degree weather, we would have a problem. Love nature.
I would like a diet change (willing to make it at home) for the allergy and something by mouth (no weird flavors, tried that) to rid him of the fleas. My cat won't let me touch him. He's apparently allergic to fleas. I can't get him to eat any vet prescribed flea pill, nor am I able to put the drops on his neck but one drop at a time while he's eating (this produces issues with his approaching his bowl, if you can imagine!)
I had to "wait " until he was in bad shape to get near him and take him to the vet. He's fine but beginning to scratch again.
I would like a diet change (willing to make it at home) for the allergy and something by mouth (no weird flavors, tried that) to rid him of the fleas. Thanks.
Greetings. I am not sure why you are looking for a diet change for your pet for fleas. To rid of the fleas, you should look into FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth. Do not confuse it with the stuff they use in swimming pools as that one should NOT be ingested.
Food grade diatomaceous earth can be purchased at feed stores. It is considered a natural non-toxic flea control. It works by dehydrating the insects. It is NOT a chemical that poisons. You can rub it into the cat's fur, sprinkle it and rub it into the cat's sleeping areas or on carpets etc. If your cat licks it, it won't harm him as it can also be used directly into their food as a natural de-wormer.
If your cat won't let you rub it into his fur directly, you could sprinkle onto a towel and wrap your cat in the towel, then work into the fur. It can have a drying effect on the skin. Take precautions to not breath in the dust while applying as it is an irritant to the lungs. Good luck and please let us know how you make out.
A year ago. I feed my 2 dogs tons of food grade diatomaceous earth for 2 months. I have seen how they detox. I mean at some point I can see a piece of leather(I don't know how to explain in other words.) will fall off from their skin. and I saw some gunk in their stool. And then I noticed after 2 months both dogs are alot calm. one of my dogs used to chase his tail alot. Guess what? comepletely stopped. After this experience. I give my dogs DE at least once a week. Other supplements are extremly difficult to feed them. I just mix big 2 table spoon with organice whole milk. They absolutely love it!
I rub into their ears too. this will go to their internal and also kills the bugs. I highly recommend DE for anyone who has pet. It is a must!
I tried the amethyst stone in my dog's bowl and my cat's bowl. I've had it in there over a month now and it doesn't work at all. My amethysts are large and still part of the rock itself so I know the quality is good. Time to try something else.
I have 2 cats that both became infested with fleas. I put frontline on them a little more than a week ago. It did not work. They still had fleas, much to my astonishment, being as frontline is supposed to be good stuff… Not to mention, expensive! I just got done giving them both dawn dish soap baths. Got them wet, lathered them up very good, head toe, very good and thoroughly. Then let them sit for a few minutes in the lather. I almost immediately saw all the fleas dropping off, dead. Rinsed them down the drain and now I have a huge weight off my shoulders!
I started using food grade de a few days ago and I was wondering how long it take to first see results? It's only been down 5 days so far and it seems like the fleas are only getting bigger, so I don't know what to do.
DE is a great product -but don't use to offen as it will dry out the skin. If this is used on a cat I would also use a flea comb. The De will not kill the flea eggs
If this is for a dog I recommend a natural product called EVOLV. Website: wondercide.com for products and information. It's a spray.
I did try on the cats but since they don't like to be sprayed I have put some on a cloth and wiped them down with it-but, I prefer to use the DE on them.
Give fresh raw garlic as well. (NOT to be given to cats). Dogs only!! Small dogs half a clove. Large dogs 1 clove. Daily
I just tried the amethyst stone for fleas. Although a nice idea, 2 weeks in and nothing. Stone bought off of new age store on ebay. 1 inch in width, unpolished in stainless steel bowls.
I use dawn dish liquid to wash my dogs and it instantly kills most fleas.
Someone used boric acid — Stop!!! Mature cats know not to lick it, but kittens are killed.
I too was skeptical about amethyst, but thought if I could pick one up on ebay for under 2 bucks, what could it hurt? I have an enameled bowl, probably over metal, I put it in. I won a cheap bid for a beaded necklace, though I bid on several different amethyst pieces… Natural rock, rings, beads… I was pretty amazed that for the last 6 months now, I have not seen one flea… For all the “know it alls” who claim they have a bridge in Arizona for sale, hahaha, you can keep it along with your closed mind!! Or those who say it can’t work, you are wrong… I don’t believe in fairy tales, or magic or much of anything, but this worked, I don’t know how or why, it just worked and my cat is flea free!!
I just got a Kitten and I might not be able to keep her because the fleas are so bad. My friend tried the amethyst stone but it didn't work, I was thinking it might be because she bought it in the wrong stage. What stage did you get yours in?? I really wanna keep her so if you could get back to me asap or email me that would be great. Thank you.
Hey Savanna!
Sue posted in June, so in case she doesn't see your request I will offer some advice.
Amethyst comes in different grades, the highest being a jewelry grade with the deep purple color and clear with no milkiness in the stone. All grades of amethyst *should* work for repelling fleas. That said, out of the responses in this topic I counted 13 – including you – who have tried the remedy; it worked for 8 folks, though did seem to wear off on their dog the second year, and for 5 folks it didn't do a darn thing. It doesn't seem to matter if its the 'raw' chunk of crystals or a nicely polished high grade stone. Drat, I say, for those it didn't work for, as it does seem too good to be true to toss a crystal in your pet's water bowl and be able to forget about fleas!
Now, for your kitten – no need to get rid of your cat because of fleas, just give that kitty a bath!
Extensive directions on how to check for fleas and treat your home for fleas as well as bathe your cat are in this post, if you scroll through it until the end [ignore post title, it covers fleas I promise! ]:
http://www.earthclinic.com/pets/ear-problems-in-cats.html#RN
For those trying the amethyst just in case this might apply, in using stones to help in healing, every so often you have to recharge the stone, to do so set it outside all night in a full moon. Myself I don't understand it all but the moon has been proven to be like a strong magnet. The energy in stones can become depleted so give it a try won't cost you anything but the time to walk outside.
I spoke with a witchy healer I know and she said the same; recharge the stones. It may be that the cases where the stones did not work at all simply needed to be charged before use!
Things to remember: every pet is different! Every flea season different too. Some pets can be allergic to chemical and/or natural treatments. I've found that natural prevention works better than natural treatment. Once you have an infestation, its very hard to rid naturally! Few years ago there was a mutant infestion in my area of Indiana. Chemicals were even having a hard time with the fleas. Know your area and possible infestation season. Know your pets and their possible allergies. Try new remedies in small doses first. Communicate with your vet! Prevention is easier than treatment. Good luck
Hi there, we have 3 rescued dogs and they are all on 1 heaped teaspoon of minced garlic a day. I buy the jars. Garlic in olive oil. Fresh garlic is better but it is more work! They never have fleas. The vet didn’t believe they are not on frontline or something like it, until I told him about the garlic. Apperently the garlic gives off an enzyme the fleas don’t like. Garlic is healthy anyway. Give it a go.
Does the dose depend on dog weight??
Garlic keeps fleas off a dog. I capsule a day. Some use garlic salt on their food.
I have 5 SHIH TZU"S used to have 8. Using all natural remedies and through web pages. My oldes Shih Tzu is 16 1/2 years young.
He has a wart on hisd lower fron leg. I know when I had a wart on my thumb crease I used a garlic and tee tree oil and it fell off about 5 years ago.
In reference to Garlic it can be very poision ist to dogs . I wanted to put it on his wart (older dogs get warts) and if it goes through the blood stream it break down their immune system and makes them enemic and they could die from it.
Also on http://www.herbdoc.com they also told me the same thing. I use eye bright for his cateracts which amanda from 5leafpharmcy told me to use 15 drops of water to 1 drop of eyebright 2weeks and continue each day with less water till you get at 15 drops.
After about 1 1/2 months from having a complete white eye cornea the black rim outer part is shwoing. I do this for 3 times a day every day. Amada said they have excellent results with it. She study under this Dr. Shultze and does heart, liver, kidney problems for dogs. Her dog greens are excellent. Just some extra natural things I do for the pups.
Be very careful with the garlic.
Terry
In our former home, we were totally infested with fleas brought in by our two indoor/outdoor cats. We spread non-toxic borax powder on our carpets and rugs, broomed it in, left for a few days and then vacuumed. In about a week… No more fleas ever! Not in the house, not on the cats, not in the furniture. We treat it yearly and have had no fleas for ten years. The cats still go in and out but neither one has had any fleas since. This product is not boric acid which can be toxic. Borax powder is available in many pet stores.
I used neem tea to relieve my dog of fleas. I made a strong batch, soaked an old t-shirt and rubbed it all over the dog. By the next day, he was no longer scratching. Thanks to whoever posted about using neem!
Hello, I’ve been reading alot about flee control, and I’m seeing that giving my dog (LabPit mix 4months old) a bath in DAWN dish soap or adding garlic to her diet (sprinkling power over her food or cutting cloves) helps, or by bathing her and/or rinsing her with VINIGER works. Could I try the combination of these things?
I have been bathing my Sapphire with Adams plus for animals, it works for that day, killing ever stage of flea, tick, and lice, but I want something that will save money, more natural, and that will keep the pests off my baby girl. Ive been reading people see good results from trying one of these methods, how about the combination?? How much garlic or Vinigr should I use? Please help!!
I would dilute the vinegar, 1/ cup in a gallon of water for the final rinse.I noticed when my dog got sprayed by a skunk I had to do that else she was sneezing and it was too strong doing it straight on a rag..not near the face..
OMG, I cant believe it, it works!!! All I did was dab a dropperful (twice in once week) around her ears, in betweem her shoulderblades and behind her neck, and shes relaxed, calm mellow, happy and not scratching, I cant believe!!!
Every year my Dog has a horrible time with fleas (Large shepherd), to where she doesnt sleep thru the nite and she licks the hair off her hindquarters, and shes bald and scabbing. Awful.
I had been using finely powdered brewers yeast sprinkled in her dry food (like cinnamon toast, twin labs brand) for a few years and it worked like a charm, but it seemed to stop working.
I did some research online herd rave reviews, except one lady claimed Neem oil killed her dog, as the dog had licked it off its fur, and went into convulsions and died. So I was sure to place the oil where she couldnt lick it off, I was nervous, but desperate, and Ive used Neem oil on myself over the years with great results (yeast infections, etc, lol! Healing skin rashes, ear mites for the cat, and ear infections on my 5 year old)
I was very skeptical, but First I gave her a bath, and rubbed a small amount thruout her fur when she was dry. Then dabbed a dropperful or two in proper areas. She seemed better, then a couple days later, I did it again.
Shes great now, cant believe. Shes not scartching at all.
I need to know where to get some of this neem oil??!! I have 2 dogs & one lives n the house & other outside??!! The outside dog comes inside at least once a day, mostly twice a day!! The inside dog goes outside several times a day?! Will this help with my situation & where can I get some! ? HELP HELP FLEAS ARE TAKING OVER MY HOME & MY LIFE
Whole Foods Market may carry it – give them a call:
(423) 702-7300
301 Manufacturers Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37405
If they don't carry it you may be able to find it at your local whole foods co-ops, or stores that carry natural products and essential oils.
A proper flea bath will help the pets, and if the fleas are in your house try a shallow pan like from a microwave meal – white is preferred so the lighter the better – and add to that some dish soap. Put the pan on the floor near a night light or even a desk lamp put on the floor will work. The light emits heat, the fleas are attracted to the heat and the white of the pan, and they will jump in the water. The dish soap dissolves the flea's body oil making them sink and drown. Any dish soap will do, but something like Dawn works really well. The flea traps work best at night, but leave them out all day and check and change often.
First off let me say that Earth Clinic is my “go to” site for getting informaion and answers and help. It is my starting point on whatever questions I might have. – I start here, google what I’ve found, and end up right back here again. This is an amazing community of people helping people.
I have recently had a bout of fleas on my poor dogs. There were only a few so I didn’t know what it was for a couple of weeks. I kept checking them for fleas or mites, but never saw anything. They were miserable, would welt up, then get better. Then the cycle started all over again. After discovering the fleas, I did a test. In small, separate containers I put, hydrogen peroxide, aloe vera juice, white vinegar, and apple cider vinegar. I deposited a few fleas in each container. Surprisingly, they lasted less than 5 seconds in the aloe vera juice! The others took considerably longer… They swam in the white vinegar for about 20 minutes, in the ACV for about 5 minutes, and in the hydrogen peroxide for about 5 minutes. I had a 1 gallon container of organic 100% aloe vera juice so gave both boys a sponge bath in it… Really soaked them down. The welts have diminished quite a bit and they are finally resting comfortably.
What a genius idea! Is the aloe still working?
For fleas – rub your pets with waxed mrytle leaves, then throw some small branchs of leaves behind furniture and in front of your return air handler. Fleas, mosqitoes and ticks do not like the smell and will find their way out of your place. It is a wild evergreen that can grow to 18-20 foot. Some people will have a skin rash if they touch it. It has a light evergreen smell but does not look like an evergreen tree it has leaves. It grows along ditchs and in dry areas. If you crush the leaf in your hand and it smells evergreen you found it.
My dog started to get really bad fleas and she was constantly scratching. I needed something to hold us over until a few days after her bath so I could give her frontline so I tried mixing about 10 drops of lavender essential oil with water in a spray bottle and spraying it directly on her and brushing it through. She stopped scratching almost completely the second day I used it. I don’t think I’ll be using the frontline anymore.
I have a Golden Retriever that was itching all over, I checked for fleas didn’t see one. Vet found some droppings around her tail said to give her a flea bath and an antihistamine for her flea allergy.
That worked for a day or so—-then found some research on Oil Soap for fleas—same one for furniture–and a lot of successful reviews–so I bought some and diluted 1/4 cup with 3 cups warm water–rubbed it in real good all over–rinsed her off-her coat was soft smelled clean-
she itched for an hour or so——then no scratching at all, and her belly had been red-now just pink–it worked. She’s sleeping better and all night. What a cheap fix—then read cedarwood oil with a carrier oil kills fleas—–use that as a spray and this is 2 weeks now—no problems. I see a lot of Vets recommend the Oil Soap, wonder why my Vet never heard of it. It doesn’t say anything on the bottle, just for furniture. So check it out on the internet. Molly had a great flea free thanksgiving and no more antihistamines-Bonnie
We discovered, after fighting fleas from June until November, that our DRYER WAS HALF THE PROBLEM! We were dragging back in loads of folded, clean laundry full of clean, fresh, healthy fleas every time we washed bedding, towels, clothing, robes, blankets, pillows, you name it. CHECK YOUR LINT TRAP TO SEE IF THEY'RE ALIVE. Ours were.
All the more reason to remove ALL lint from the lint trap after using the dryer each and every time! And, one could also clean the lint trap in white vinegar. I also have been adding Eucalyptus liquid soap to my wash which kills fleas. And, it smells good! (The smell does not stay on the clothes).
I read the comment about the Dryer and I don't know if their dryer is on a 'cooler' temperature or not, but I've been killing fleas left & right by throwing anything that can be put in the dryer & dried on High Heat. I clean the lint trap after each time, yes, and ALL of the little buggers are DEAD, FRIED FLEAS. I do like the Eucalyptus smell idea though. I've been chipping my Euc tree and spreading it on the yard and it seems to help in the front, but my little girl doesn't go out there so will have to bring some around the back. Also going to use Cedar Chips on the yard & in flower beds as they are good mulch and kill a number of pests.
A lot of the other ideas on here sound pretty good, another faux pax was the Borax boric acid. Borax 20 Mule Team powder soap Isn't "boric acid". Boric Acid is very toxic as someone else said. Borax is Laundry detergent & heavy duty grease remover hand soap. But it does kill them in your carpets.
A substitute for Diatomaceous Earth is the 'ashes' from your fireplace really well burned down to powder. Not as hard on humans or pets I wouldn't think. (Used in old days in process of making Soap.) Does 'puff' a bit when you mow the lawn.
Lemongrass is the plant that Citronella comes from and trimming the leaves off, then boiling them for 30 minutes and letting the liquid cool and using the liquid as a Rinse for your pet works great. Soothing and the Fleas Flee down the drain. Depending on how much plant leaves you have, I had a 4 qt pot and a 2 qt pot full of leaves that I filled with water on each. Set the water to heat up to boil, then simmer at just barely bubbling 30 minutes. Keep adding water to keep the level at the same as you started. At the end of 30 minutes, or you can do for longer if you want it more concentrated, let it cool then take out the leaves. Pour solution into pour bottles, spray bottles (for bedding, or onto pet – it smells like lemons) or into a 'yard sprayer'. In between baths you can use this to 'hit the hiding spots' and comb through with flea comb in the bath tub. However, the batch I've made is a yellow color, it didn't seem to change her champagne color hair but test it on 'white' pets in a inconspicuous place first just in case. You can leave this on the pet, furniture, carpet, bedding. It will wash out and you can reapply as often as you want or need.
Still fighting the fight! What was Noah thinking letting 2 Fleas onto the Ark???
I went to the pet store the other day and I told the clerk that despite using Advantix or Frontline my dog still have fleas. He told me that fleas have developed a resistence to them.
I have found regular baths with shampoo and a lice or flea comb works well. To get rid of an infestation I suggest a trick a friend of mine told me about.
Get a white shallow bowl like a pyrex. Fill it with soap and water. Place a lamp next to it and turn off all other lights.
The Fleas will jump in, the soap and water will drown them. Works like a charm.
My husband tried the lamp/white saucer trap, and it worked like a charm. While my dogs are not infested, a flea from outside will jump on them and catch a ride to inside the house. My husband said he thought he saw a tiny black speck in the bed with him and the dog, so he thought of the lamp trick; I had been collecting small lamps just for this moment 🙂 He got a small white saucer and placed it under the lamp on the floor with soapy water in it, turned out the lights and shut the door; 4 hours later there was a flea! We then deployed the lamp trap in various locations around the house to see if there were more – nope! Caught all manner of tiny winged things flying loose in the house, but just the 1 flea. I suspect that the flea season is just beginning so I will have the lamp traps working for me from now on, rotating them around the house to catch those fleas who hitch hike their way into my house. Great trap, easy to afford as lamps are just a few dollars from the thrift store, it does not use any poisons and it works like a charm.
From the research I have done, the amethyst raises the vibration of the water, or anywhere for that matter. Things and creatures that vibrate higher are healthier overall. Science has done studies that have looked into the crytal and mineral kingdom being just as alive and intelligent as we are. In fact, silly to some as it may sound, your crystals can guide you in things and you may not even know it was them.
I just put my large grape sized amethyst in my cats and dogs water bowl. My cat, who has the worst fleas, (because they seem harder to treat on cats different systems, ) started acted excited right away, as if I had given him a toy!! I will get 2 more for their 3 water bowls, and also do dish soap (plain) baths as I figure if they use it on animals who have been in ocean oil spills, it makes sense that it does seem to work for a time. Then regular cleaning and D. E. ON THE DOG. CATS HAVE SENSITIVE BLADDERS and they lick themselves constantly…. THANK YOU SO much for the person, people, who suggested the amethyst!!!
Started brushing my dogs and cats with baking soda about 2 years ago. I originally did this as a dry bath. It definitely helped with the smell. But I have also noticed that I have not seen any fleas in this time. Usually I have to treat every year. I brush them once a week. It’s worth a try right?
Baking soda worked this year too! And it didn’t bother my allergy prone dog. Not one flea! I check every time I brush. And there are a lot of dogs and cats around here!
Wanted to share a flea remedy that I discovered by accident. Used DE as a powder on cats for flea control, put about a 1/2 tsp along spine and work into their fur making sure that chin and tail, anus area gets covered. USE ONLY FOOD GRADE. Found it at local farm feed store. Also added DE to cat litter, add one cup to 2 inches of litter along with one cup baking soda to control odor and lightly mix it on. Do not breath DE dust. Also mix DE with laundry Borax flakes and use on floors, carpets, and in baseboard cracks to stop all pests, along with fleas. Use a broom or carpet rake to work powder into deep fibers and leave it after a week vacumm it up and re-apply. Worked great for massive flea outbreak in South Florida Summer of 2011.
I have a dog and a cat. Both spend time indoors and out. Earlier this summer I had a terrible infestation of fleas in the house. Tried many things until I came to read about useing Diatomaceous Earth (food grade). Sprinkled it throughout the house on the carpet (that’s all my house has except for in the basement). Left it there for two weeks (had to leave, otherwise would of vacuumed it up sooner). Two weeks and serveral days later I have finally gotten rid of the fleas. No more bites on my ankles (which had cleared up in the two weeks I was gone). Animals don’t have them either. Before leaving I was already putting the DE in my pets hair and will continue to use it as a deterrent for fleas and ticks. I’m sold on the stuff. Dog might have Ear Mites but so far the DE doesn’t seem to work.
It (DE) also appears to be working well for getting rid of spiders… no more spider webs on the stairs leading to the basement (split entry house).
Looking forward to seeing how this stuff works on our pets during tick season.
I’m having a flea problem in our bathroom (small just where the toilet is) I put DE all around the toilet bowl and some on the floor itself. But the fleas still jumping on me. Why are they in the bathroom anyways? That’s actually where they’re are the worst. They’re still jumping in the DE. Does it take a few days or is there another solution? Thanks.
We had fleas that kept biting in the bathroom. It turned out that possums were under the bathroom area of the house and the fleas were coming up through cracks.
Rae Ann, did you pour salt down those cracks?
Try neem oil for mites. It's working on my latest batch of stray kittens that lost hair between ears and eyes with tiny pinpoint red scabby dots. Vet told me she'd have to do a scraping to determine which med to prescribe. It's possible neem kills all mites by suffocation. Thick food grade coconut oil kills lice by suffocation…may kill mites too. Be very careful not to get neem in their eyes because it is an eye irritant.
Regular table salt mixed with baking soda. Sprinkle on your carpets and let sit for awhile then vacuum it up. This is also safe to rub on your pet. I also heard apple cider vinegar but havent tried it.
Garlic for fleas:
I've breed dogs for over 20 years large, and small bread dogs. And other then bad breath me and my wife noticed that the fleas are simply gone. The chemicals were getting expensive and I didnt really feel they were really safe. I mean come on, a chemical you apply once a month. I live in florida where there is a lot of insects, period. All I can say is we see the proof with no ill side effects.
I use minced garlic that I bought at sam's club.
How much garlic would I put in her food without hurting her?
I have 3 Chihuahuas 1 that weighs 13 pounds two 12 pounders and one 6 pounds. How much will I need for them?
Use freshly peeled garlic, chopped up and allowed to REST for 15 minutes [very important! ]
5 lbs – feed one sixth teaspoon
10 lbs – feed one third teaspoon
15 lbs – feed one half teaspoon
20 lbs – feed two thirds teaspoon
30 lbs – feed one teaspoon
Using the 20 mule team borax from the laundry section works well for carpet, but you must work it into the carpet with a broom and let it sit for at least 2 weeks without vacuuming. This is done to kill the eggs, if you vacuumed after a couple of hours and do not reapply it will NOT stop the cycle. The key is to let it sit for 2 weeks then reapply every time you have vacuumed during flea season..This was told to me by my vet years ago, and it works great!!!!!!
Do your pets have to stay out till you vaccum up the borax?
Does your pet have to stay out until you vaccum?
I met an old indian lady many years back that had great advice for fleas and it has worked very well for me and is non toxic.
Simple salt on carpet dries them out. Leave on carpet for a few days and then vacumn. Just a sprinkle dont go crazy. She also said mothballs in the vacumn bag will kill if not already dead. This works. However since then I have read that breathing mothballs is not good so reasearch a little more. I only use 1-2 mothballs cause the vacumn does put that scent out.
Hi Everybody,
I have a mild flea infestation and I want to lay salt on my carpet. I live in a large home and can not lay it down for a few days then vacuum then lay it down again, it would just be too much for me as I work 12hrs a day. I know salt attracts moisture so I was wondering if anyone knew how long I could leave it on my carpet before it starts getting wet.
Thanks
Hey Eley,
You might try a lamp flea trap – no fuss and no mess.
About the flea problem. I have tried watering down tea tree oil and spraying that on my two dogs bedding and carpets. We are finding less and less fleas both on the animals and bedding. I think that being an oil, it takes out the oxygen and smothers the little b’s. Good luck
An amethyst stone put in your pets drinking water will totally eliminate FLEAS! Just drop a stone in the water and no more need for expensive treatments. I don’t know why or how it works–it just does. I have used this method for two years and have not seen a single flea. My daughter was using expensive treatments once a month and still having an infestation of fleas, and she was even having to use an exterminator once a month.
She tried the amethyst stone and for a year now she is flea free!!
Try it and you to will be a believer!
I make my own carpet powder (for sprinkling on my rugs before I vacuum). I mix half borax (20 team mule) and half baking soda along with a few drops of essential oils (I like lavander and a touch of lemongrass).
I feel like this will keep down the bugs (like mites, fleas and maybe any other gross things! – because we have pets), absorb odor and add a fresh scent. I also put this mixture on our sofa (the cat sleeps on it… ) I then put on rubber gloves and rub it in, then vacuum.
Just wanted to add beneficial nematodes to the flea arsenal (maybe it’s already here somewhere). Several years ago, the big name flea treatment applied to the back of the pets neck just stopped working for us. We got infested. We used borax & DE in the house (too much carpet), but outside we used nematodes. I purchased a bulk supply with 3 types of nematodes and have continued putting them out every spring. These fabulous parasitic worms also kill June bugs, termites, fire ants and other creatures that spend at least part of their life cycle in the earth. Here in zone 7, I spray them 3 times @ 5 day intervals in early April.
Please do not ever put coconut oil, water or food in the microwave!! It distroys all of the vitamins etc and body goes into attack with all food and liguids in microwaves. It kills plants with microwaved water for instance. I quit using microwaves 3 years ago after I learned it helps to/does kill living beings. Coconut oil easily warms up at room temp and immediately melts once on hands or tongue.
Coconut oil is also outstanding in ridding and preventing fleas and ticks on cats and dogs. I've witnessed it with both my own cat and puppy. For my cat I leave out a teaspoon on a plate and she'll lick as much as she needs. If she finished that up I'll put more out. If she doesn't eat all or refuses it then I know she doesn't need anymore at this time and I toss it out so it doesn't go rancid and collect dust. Sometimes she'll eat a lot for a week or two.. To sometimes won't eat any for a week. Dogs I just give a teaspoon once or twice a day during warm/hot months and randomly in winter and fall.
If their fur has fleas I coat their fur with coconut oil, use a fleas comb to rid fleas and then shampoo. Fleas and ticks cannot tolerate the smell of coconut oil and by their eating it goes through their pores. They can't move in the oil so is easy to rid them. This method not only saves one money, but from harsh pesticides that are no longer effective as they once were, helps save your pets health.
Make certain cats are not cold for the oil will make them much cooler while oil is on. One may need to wash them twice. Coconut soap is good to wash off of cats. Must try to get all oil off cats because it will collect dust and go rancid.
I've personally heard vets tell me not to use coconut oil that it doesn't work. Yet they never tried. They insist on meds like human doctors to make them money. I've had two vets tell me that coconut oil does work and they also give me many holistic remedies. One yet I took a homeless cat in to get checked out I told him about coconut oil and he asked me not to tell anyone so he doesn't lose money. That angers me quite a bit. He'd rather poison animals and something not effective rather than something healthy and works.
Just wanted to say – I saw several people mentioning to take care to dispose of the coconut oil before it goes rancid. I was wondering if anyone saw it go rancid – because coconut oil supposedly does not go rancid.
You can try using Dawn Pure Essentials dish soap on your pets and around the house for pest control
For Pets:
-Get a flea comb:
-Fill a large bowl with hot water and some dawn dish soap
-Dip the flea comb in the water solution and brush through pet
-Dip the flea comb back into the water;continue this pattern
For house infestations:
-Leave a few bowls with hot water and dawn dish doap around ares such as beds, couches, carpet for a few hours. The fleas will be attracted to the warm water and the soap will stick to them making them stuck in the water. They will die.
Hope this helps!
I too have had the experience of living with itchy dogs. 10 pound Chorkie suffered all night and day. She is one of what began as six dogs so flea prevention is crucial. Our family is now down to 3 dogs due to old dogs going over the rainbow 🙂 THE Chorkie and our two Blue Heelers/Healers.
Here is our story: flea treatment from a vet, 150.00 per month. Grocery store dog crunchies, 20.00 per month, chorkie illness, 210.00 per one time only. then it occured to me to come here as I do for my own health and well being.
After reading all the information here I realized that while fleas are no day at the dog park it was not my Twinkie’s trouble nor was the alleged flea allergy that cost $210.00. She received advantix and a 6 month cortisone/steroid shot along with a pat on the head and well wishes. Advantix left a huge lesion on her shoulder for more than 2 months.
To spare my readers of a long and emotionally driven story I will now get to the point. I changed the diet stopped the chemicals and got over my fear of over bathing my dogs
My dogs get homemade dog food that changes every week. A scant splash of ACV, Oatmeal, salmon fresh parsley fresh, canned pumpkin, garlic and coconut oil, one week, brown rice farm fresh organic free range eggs parsley garlic coconut oil the next. Turkey black beans and rice you get the picture. It cost no more than 5 dollars a week for me to cook it up while I prepare our family meal. The two heelers also get a couple fish oil capsules, Twinkie will not eat it under any circumstances.
They get a bath once a week with baking soda, anti fungal dog shampoo and a nice rinse of ACV. A drop of lavender oil on each neck every night. We have seen a huge improvment in the scratching. The heelers smell so much more like dogs and the ears are getting much better. Everyone’c coats are soft and silky and we are all sleeping much better. Healing is a process just as the illness is. Stick with it and trust in our mother earth to provide all we need for health and wellness.
love,
HiaAma
Did you mean a welsh corgi? sorry, off topic.
But I was wondering if you ever tried benadryl for your dog, cause I use it on mine and he doesn’t scratch and his sores are all gone. Its helped, but your using nothing but nature remedies rather that chemical stuff right?
If thats the case, have you tried c and d vits. As well as vitamin e? Cause that helps encourage moist skin as well as soft fur.
I don’t know how you feel about adding a cap full of vegitable oil to your dog’s food but it also is a great remedy for skin health. If this helps, no dog likes taking medicince. Lol. But if you put the vitamen in something like cream cheese or peanut butter, or even a tim-bit donut for Tim hortons, it works.. But anything with the consistancy of cream cheese or peanut butter works. I just prefer using cream cheese, cause a little of it goes along way. Plus, the dog stopped stealing my cream cheese buttererd bagels, lol.
At least, as far as I know, but I’m young, and still learning. And you seem to know alot more than myself.
Grind salt in a blender or food processor until its a powder and sprinkle everywhere even on pets. You will see the fleas jump up and then die! Wonderful, fast & cheap! Good luck. I just sprinkled my whole apt. I have 4 month old twins & a 7 yr old and we tried advantage, vacuuming & knockout. When I found out salt worked I had to try it and I watched those blood suckers die lol. They have bitten me all over my body and have started biting my 7 yr old. I was desperate and frustrated. I was about to give up my cat. I wish u the best!
Here's what's finally gotten my dogs' horrible allergies under control: she's allergic to flea bites and the harmful spot-on treatments had ceased to work, so I took her off and put her on chewable garlic and brewers yeast tabs. They stopped biting her after a few weeks. Combed her everyday to get them off her. I have a huge yard and cats that are indoor/outdoor and are able to wander over to the neighbors' yards so they bring them in. Diatamacious earth on the lawn lessened them but still have to do lots of flea combing. Put the dog on holistic grain free food and at night she gets raw- the chicken in the big sausage kind. Tried various shampoos and AVC rinses, so-so. Tried enzymes etc. Found a spray called Dermacton and a bar shampoo they make. Shea butter oil and essential oils that have moisturized her coat and also repels fleas. She stopped itching like immediately and smells devine. She doesn't really like being sprayed but seems to know it helps. This past week she's been scratching some more and I think it's because she's been off the raw food. So… It seems to be a combination of keeping her on the raw food with a pinch of kelp added, washing her feet to get rid of the stuff she walks through and spraying her every other day or as needed with the spray. The spray has definitely made the biggest difference though. Just wish they'd lower the price.
Use cedar chips as bedding instead of straw. Cedar is a natural flea repellent.
I have to agree with Angie, Waverly, Oh. She recommended using cedar shavings instead of straw in a dog house. I bought catlitter cedar shavings and also used it to insulate my rosebush with it for winter. Surprisingly the following year for the first time my rosebush didn't have a bug anywhere on it or holes in the leaves as it previously had year after year. It is sold as catlitter and may be great to retard fleas and other critters too. Ellie
I find that diatomaceous earth works well for flea control. I have used it on my cat and both my dogs and have not had any problems since!
It is all natural, easy to use and much less expensive than other alternatives.
Just sprinkle the DE throughout your animal's fur, especially on their backbone. The diatomaceous earth will kill the fleas by lacerating their exoskeletons and dehydrating them.
Both pure DE and brands containing calcium bentonite or montmorillonite will have the same effect.
I noticed that you are recommending adding garlic to every meal your dog eats to help prevent flea and tick infestations. At one point, I was a small business owner and one of my products was all-natural dog biscuits. Despite the fact that most DIY dog biscuit recipes call for garlic as an ingredient, I found out through further research that this is actually very harmful to the dogs. Garlic, onions and many other alliums contain a particular natural chemical that builds up in a dog’s kidneys over the course of their life. This build up can eventually lead to kidney failure or death for the animal. It has also been known to cause a rare form of kidney cancer in some dogs. This is something that I thought you should know….
Thanks, Josh
Garlic is still being disputed as a safe food for pets. There are conflicting results on a cat's ability to break down the chemical compositions in the garlic, remember their liver isn't as powerful as ours and even the pollen of an easter lily is enough to cause liver failure. Until there is more evidence of garlic being safe, I would recommend each reader to do their fair share of research to make that call, as there are reports of garlic (in any form) being highly toxic to both cats and dogs.
Also, Diatomaceous Earth is a great product if used properly. Readers need to learn of ALL the precautions on how to properly administer as a pet/home flea prevention method. Using it on carpet gives easy access to the pet's eye causing severe irritation and harmful damage. Since their face is constantly inches from the carpet, breathing the stuff in will happen. This can cause severe lung irritation.
I buy FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous. I use it as a de-wormer for my pets. But this "food grade" is HUMAN food grade and I use it as a supplement for myself (no, not as a de-wormer lol). It has great benefits for us, just research it before you use it, but is does some remarkable things.
When I use it in my carpets, I don't use enough to make a dust when I walk. I do it when my pets are out of the house (outside on porch or getting groomed, at the vets). I don't let them back in until it is settled in the carpet and wiped up, off the counters and floors.
When bought packaged as a human supplement (high grade, pure DE), the package clearly states "Keep from eyes and DO NOT BREATHE". This applies to our animals too. I would recommend not applying it directly on their skin, as some may suggest.
When using natural oils, again be sure to get food grade, high quality essential oils. DO NOT apply it directly to their skin, as they have a different PH than we do, and they often cause severe skin irritation. Even we humans use carrier oils when applying it directly to their skin.
Again, a cat's liver can often not handle many of the essential oil and have a hard time processing them. Their liver is just not as strong as we seem to think. AND YES! They do absorb the oils through their skin, which eventually gets processed by their liver. WE HUMAN DO THIS TOO. Anything that is absorbed by the skin gets processed by our organs. Skin is the largest organ we have. Nicotine patches work by being absorbed through the skin. Normal flea treatment works like this. After it is absorbed, it gets into the blood stream and viola! It's in. So do your research. There are conflicting reports when it comes to your pets ability to handle essential oils.
So be careful what you put on your animals.
I know I sound like a downer, but I'm just trying to inform people to do their research and decide for themselves. When there are conflicting reports, one needs to take precautions.
Fleas are a pain. I know. I have 5 long haired cats and a dog. It's a constant struggle. So far, there is no one answer. Good luck to you all.
Please provide evidence for your claims, garlic is widely used by dog owners with no negative outcomes, the warning against garlic only seems to benefit profit hungry vets.
Facts: The primary toxic ingredient in garlic and onions is n-propyl disulfide, an oxidant. [Other toxins are S-methylcysteine sulfoxide, methyl disulfide, and allyl disulfide]. Compared to humans, dogs and cats are more sensitive to “oxidative damage” on their red blood cells. Dogs have more “areas” on their red blood cells that oxidizing agents such as n-propyl disulfide can attach to. This attachment is recognized by the body as a foreign invader, and in the attempt to remove this invader, the body also destroys the red blood cell. This is called “hemolysis” – the breaking down of the red blood cells. Garlic is more toxic than onions – with raw garlic, toxic ingestion is around 1 gram per pound, and with onions it is 1 gram per 5 pounds. To put this into perspective, if you feed 50 cloves of garlic to your pet in one sitting you will induce hemolytic anemia in your pet.
Hey Mark! Check it out: https://www.sojos.com/learn/articles/pet-mythbusters-5-pet-food-myths http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1677&aid=2414 I have used powdered garlic in home made food for my dogs with no ill effects. While garlic may be toxic to dogs in large quantities, the health benefits of garlic in small quantities is widely proven. http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/06/garlic-for-dogs-health-benefits.html
Big Pharma takes over veterinary medicine; dogs and cats drugged with chemicals for profit
http://www.naturalnews.com/021935_pet_health_veterinary_medicine.html
Pet health is now in rapid decline
The result of all this is that our dogs and cats are sicker than ever. Ask any vet who's been practicing for more than ten years: They've never seen such an increase in the rate of liver disease, nervous system disorders, cancers and diabetes. Ever wonder why?
Found on Earth Clinic's garlic for dogs page:
THE DOCTOR OF NATURAL PET CARE ND, Ph.D. AKA ……..'THE EXPERT'
Garlic, the Facts,
by Lisa S. Newman, ND, Ph.D.
Since 1982, Dr. Newman has been a world renowned pioneer in the field of natural pet care. The author of nine books."
"When it comes to your pet's health, do you want to follow facts or fears? Unfortunately, garlic has come under attack. This is primarily as a result of garlic's close cousin onion's reputation for triggering hemolytic or "Heinz factor" anemia (where circulating red blood cells burst) through its high concentration of thiosulphate. With onions, a single generous serving can cause this reaction. Garlic simply DOES NOT CONTAIN THE SAME CONCENTRATION of this compound! In fact, it is barely traceable and readily excreted (not stored in the body).
Despite this fact, garlic is falling victim to mass hysteria spread through the internet. Yes, there are 51,174 sites devoted to warning about the "toxicity" of garlic, this hysteria has even prompted the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center to place a warning on garlic although there is little scientific data to back this claim other than the fact that thiosulphate is also found in garlic. Yet, there are also over 400,000 sites still proclaiming its benefits, many of them from reputable holistic veterinarians who have widely used garlic in their practice for many years! How can an herb suddenly turn so bad?!
There is no doubt that onion, due to its concentration of thiosulphate, will cause Heinz factor anemia. In addition, as stated by Wendy Wallner, DVM, "Onions are only one of the substances which can cause Heinz body anemia. Other substances such as Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and benzocaine-containing topical preparations can also cause Heinz body anemia in the dog." The latter probably accounts for many cases as it is prevalent in creams often recommended for allergy-suffering pets due to its ability to numb the itch. It is absorbed through the skin and builds up in the blood stream. This other substance is likely to have been involved in cases where garlic was suspect.
For centuries, as long as humans have been using herbs, garlic has been a primary remedy turned to in a majority of cases. For as long as people have been using garlic, they have also been feeding it to their animal companions. Its properties have proven far reaching, easy on the body and safe to use. In the past fifty years, during the rebirth of holistic medicine in the United States, garlic has been in the forefront. Every text that I have researched on herbal health which mentions pet care has recommended it, especially for its incredible anti-parasitic and anti-septic properties. In my own experience, garlic has also benefited pets with cancer, diabetes, liver, heart and kidney disease, uncontrollable staph infections and a host of other conditions, as well as been a staple in my recommended preventative protocols. It has been widely used by hundreds of thousands of pet owners with no reported negative side-effects – except its effect on their animal's breath – until now.
This is the point;
garlic has suddenly become a "suspect, " not proven the culprit.
Do not let mass hysteria determine a holistic care program for your dog or cat. Follow hundreds of years of "proven use" rather than recent "suspicions" in regards to this miracle herb, as garlic is known to be. As with anything, do use garlic in reasonable doses, and do know that you can trust history over hysteria. ——
Mark, everything said very true.
Mark (Exeter, United Kingdom)—
Just to thank you, Mark, for your post. You said it and yet, people still believe and trust the veterinarian association. Health is a business and disease is desired for profit.
Let us hope these days be shortened.
Namaste, Om
Many to most of the health issue in our pets today are due to over vaccinating. Check for information on Dr. Ronald Schultz. He the leading expert on animal immunology world wide. Is currently in Wisconsin. His and others studies have proven that annual vaccinations are not just unnecessary, but very harmful. One DHPP (dogs) or FVRCP (cats) at or after 16 weeks of age immunizes them probably for life. Challenge studies have proven immunity for at least 9 years and titer studies 15 years. Most of the other optional vaccinations like bordetella, leptospirosa and such are not needed and also quite harmful.
I am so happy to read this! Finally someone with common sense about garlic!
Garlic is 100% safe as long as you don't feed one garlic (like 15 cloves) to a Chihuahua or so 😉 My dogs get garlic, they are both small sized dogs, and they get half a clove per meal, twice a day.
Against flees and ticks I prepare an oil, with the cloves of 1 organic garlic, chopped, some ginger cloves, and about 1/8 of the bottle with AVC, then fill it up with (organic) sunflower oil (you can use any oil of course), let this stand for 24 to 48 hours, shake every few hours.
When ready, simply add a few drops to your hands and massage it in the coat of your dog, that is enough to keep any flee and/or tick away for at least 24 hours. Repeat daily!
I never have flees or ticks or other nasty small beasts that hunt my dogs. This recipe is great for cats too. I wouldn't try it on your canary or parakeet, but even for rabits and of course for horses (use more than a few drop, I'd say a hand full of oil), any animal that can get flees/ticks!
use a pie plate filled with water and add a few drops of dish soap to discover fleas in the house. I agree with the borax natural treatment to rid the house. Both my cat and dog get a garlic oil supplement vitamin down their throat once a week and absolutely no fleas on their mugs. Hallelujah!!!!
Does anyone know the correct dose of sulphur for dogs and cats to prevent fleas
Louise, sulfur might be most effecive as a dusting agent in your yard. It repels fleas and other insect pests. A light dusting in the yard, once every three months, should be effective in keeping fleas away. Because sulfur does not disolve in water it will take quite a while for this to wash away in rain or during watering. You can add it to your pets food in the form of chicken egg, either raw or cooked. Eggs contain beneficial amounts of sulfur. Meat and dairy also contain beneficial amounts of sulfur. Three foods that dogs and cats seem to love by the way. Cheers, Liam
Two products from Cedarcide, out of Texas, work well. PCO to spray in the yard & Best Yet spray not only for your pets but, yourself & children.
It is cedar oil based & works wonderfully.
I forgot to mention that Cedarcide's Best Yet spray can be used on carpets, flooring, furniture. It does not stain. However, I do not think I would use it on silk or fine damask. I used it in a room with a 75 gallon salt aquarium, making sure the spray did not go into tank & nothing was harmed. The aroma of cedar does not linger for long.
My last dog never had fleas and we never used a thing on him, so I was really baffled when my current dog had a significant problem. I had my last dog, a chocolate lab, when we lived in a house that had slopes in the back yard covered with Lavender and Rosemary. Everyday he rolled around in the herbs, and seemed to enjoy the heck out of it, and would sun himself laying in the middle of them. I always thought it was because they were soft and made for a nice cushion. But, I think he was giving himself a flea treatment and I really loved the way he smelled when he came back inside.
After we moved, we got another lab who plays a lot with dogs in the neighborhood, and we were faced with a very significant problem!! I use a very dilute amount of lavender oil on her, combined with the orange peel treatment, premium raw dog food diet, and lots of vacuuming. You do have to keep up the routine to keep the fleas from coming back, but we have not been bothered with them since.
I have used the orange rind on my dog who had a significant problem with fleas. I rub the inside of a peel all over her and then rub it in. It makes her smell heavenly meanwhile but really does a number on the fleas. I also made a spray by boiling 7 or 8 rinds down and filtering it. It is unbelievable how well this works. This and vacuuming seemed to eliminate our flea problem.
I was told by my vet to use just plain old mild dish detergent to wash my pet. Honestly, I’m afraid to use any over the counter flea rememdy after my 1 yr kitty got so sick and had seizures. She is an indoor cat and I only let her out for 5 minutes while watering the garden and she got infested. I first used Sargeants squeeze on for cats and kittens and she started bouncing off the walls and was throwing up all night. And on top of that it didn’t kill the fleas. So a few days later I went and got some Hartz Ultra Guard Flea & Tick Powder for cats and rubbed her down. The next day she started having seizures and had to be rushed to the vet. I can’t tell you how bad I felt and how scared I was. I don’t know why they sell this toxic stuff.
I gave the kitty a bath today after a day of rest and just used mild baby shampoo. I hope this does the trick because I will never use Flea Powder or Spot applications again.
Don’t use Sargeants or Hartz!! Very toxic!
HARTZ HAS BEEN ON RECALL FOR MANY YEARS BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN TAKEN OFF THE SHELVES. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BEST TO BATH HER WITH DISH LIQUID AT LEAST UNTIL YOU FOUND THIS SITE. I BOUGHT SOME NATURAL HERBAL FLEA AND TICK REPELLENT IN EITHER WHOLE FOODS STORE OR NATURAL HERBS, WHICH I PREFER NATURAL HERBAL STORES BEST. I DID A TREATMENT ON A KITTEN I FOUND ROAMING THE STREETS IN THE COLD WINTER NIGHT, SHE LOOKED LIKE DEATH ALREADY, SHE WAS INFESTED WITH MANGE OR WHAT EVER BUT IT TOOK ME SOME TIME TO SEARCH THIS SITE AND I THOUGHT I GOT RID OF THE MANGE UNLESS THERE IS ANOTHER TYPE OF INFESTATION GOING ON, BUT I’M BACK TO GIVING HER MORE OF TED’S REMEDY TREATMENTS ONLY THIS TIME ITS WARMER OUT SO THERE ARE MITES AND ALL KINDS OF BUGS IN THE HOUSE.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR KITTY
I have a beautiful conure, but the lady on the first floor in our apartment building has 3 cats. They must have been loaded with fleas, because I brought them into my own home after they hitched a ride on my feet. The landlord knocked on my door and handed me a “bomb” to kill the fleas. I don’t want to expose my little parrot to chemicals so I phoned her vet. I was told to use Arm & Hammer. Get a few boxes and sprinkle it everywhere. The fleas are drawn to the salty taste of it and the next day I could see their bodies were completely flat. They had dehydrated and died. Of course, yours truly tasted like a potato chip, but that didn’t stop me from doing it again in one week. After vacuuming up all the Arm & Hammer, I never saw another flea. It worked great, was inexpensive, safe and only caused a tiny bit of inconvenience.
I’ve heard that Stash Earl Grey tea gets rid of fleas in the home from several people now. I haven’t tried it yet, but thought I’d put that out there for anyone who needs another idea to try. Open the bags and sprinkle on the carpet. Vacuum up in a few days. Sometimes the pets will even roll in it, which helps keep the fleas off them, as well! For those with very light carpets, please test small area first…. although this tip came from someone with white carpets and she had no problems.
For fleas in the house, throw banana peels down around the areas where the fleas are concentrated. Leave them until they’re black & dried up. They emit something that kills fleas as they dry. Is sounds gross but the peels don’t get nasty, they just shrivel up & get hard.
Banana Peels also seemed to help as well as putting a bowl of water in each room with a night light (fleas would jump in and drown)…Also Ants came into the house and I realized they were hunting and harvesting flea larva or cocoons in-between floor boards or in rugs and taking them back out to their nest… Great thing that nature helped us! We also tried amethyst and we also used masking tape to capture any flea that hopped on to us. Religious combing of both our cats in morning and evening and cat baths too…. Also vacuuming… First infestation ever and boy was it a horrible long experience… But banana peels really did seem to be the turning point for us….
I've read that you can use the desk lamp and dish wtih soap but I modified this to be more successful at least in my case. I have found that CLEAR containers work much better than opaque. Fleas seem to be attracted to white so under each clear container I have placed either a white paper towel or a white piece of printer paper. The best light source has actually proven to be an LED battery powered lantern (dorcy) and I have placed a small bowl in the clear container with the lantern sitting in it. Then put water in the clear container with a few drops of dish soap. The separate bowl for the lantern keeps it from getting wet but attracts the fleas quite well. I have also had luck with the clear dish and soap with white paper under when I have just used a glow bracelet or stick. Pink or red sticks don't seem to work but those that are white or green attract them like crazy. Using the above methods I have caught around 200 fleas in the last 3 days since I started setting these traps–I set two with lanterns and 3 with glow sticks/bracelets. I am hesitant to use an actual lamp or anythign with a cord since my cats tend to knock things over which could prove quite dangerous. The battery powered LED lanters work better than the glow sticks but the glow sticks are nice in that you can just toss them in the water and they work without risk of damage.
I'm printing this out & going to Party City for green glow sticks. THANKS.
When we first moved to Tennessee, our "new" house had wall-to-wall carpet upstairs, our bedroom shared by the dog of course. We noticed that where the sun hit the rug, there were fleas hatching into yucky little worms. By hit or miss, we came up with a simple and very cheap solution! Get a dinner or sandwich plate (light color like yellow or white) put one drop of dish soap and fill with water. Then place the dish on the floor under a desk light that you put on the floor and aim the light at the dish. In a few hours the warmth of the light attracts the fleas and they jump in the water and drown! How simple and safe!
I have two Golden Retrievers that had a serious flea condition. After washing the dogs with flea shampoo and I then went around the entire carpeted house and lightly sprinkled Borax (yes, the 20 Mule Team type)on the carpet. I sprinkled extra on the dog’s bedding and areas where they hung out. It was amazing but I got rid of the fleas completely within a week. I later learned that the Borax dries out the flea eggs and they don’t hatch. After a week I vacuumed the house and I never had another problem.
Yes! Borax kills flea eggs! You could also purchase Boric Acid, which is in Borax, since this is what kills the flea eggs! Being that it does NOT kill ADULT fleas, did you know you can combine ordinary table salt, which kills ADULTS but NOT EGGS, with Boric Acid to eliminate all life cycles at once?! It's the truth, I tell ya!!
HOWEVER—–>Many pet lovers opt in favor of sprinkling Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth on their carpets since it's an effective natural remedy and safe for all furry critters- even if they consume it (it's also a natural de-wormer). Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth physically destroys the fleas exoskeleton from the outside, causing the little pest to dehydrate. AND because it works on this physical level, they will never build immunity (Yesss!! ).
BONUS: Did you know F.G.D.E. not only annihilates fleas… it efficiently 'snipers' any would-be invaders, like: Ants, Roaches, Bed-bugs, Mites, Ticks, Crickets, Lice…actually THIS AMAZING BAG OF POWDER KILL ANY BUG IN THE ENTIRE WORLD WITH AN EXOSKELETON!!!
ARE YOU FEELING MY EXCITEMENT PEOPLE?!? IT'S AN ENTIRE BAG OF "AWESOMENESS" and its uses are endless!!
How are these flea control companies even staying in business? I will NEVER study another 'flea control' box label to assess my pets health risks after use. It's just not worth it, and my pets agree.—–>
"Hey…we totally agree." -the Pets
What…of course they wrote that 😉
Please read up on Borax and Boric acid.
Per this Pest Management company:
http://www.dodsonbros.com/blog/borax-and-boric-acid-for-insect-control-228.html
This site goes into detail on how to apply borax for fleas:
http://www.boraxforfleas.com/
The above also recommends the floor lamp flea trap which is now my first choice in addressing any flea infestation.
I had a nasty flea infestation, and the ONLY thing that worked was borax powder. This stuff is amazing! You can buy it at a hardward or gardening store, and it is pretty inexpensive. I take the powder, and sprinkle a lot of it into all the carpets… I find that using a stiff broom to brush it in really helps to get it deep into the carpets. Then wait a few days and vaccuum! The cool part is that borax powder is less harmful than table salt… A win/win if you ask me!
I know the answer: After a long and tough battle with the fleas. I have two dogs and my guy is visiting for two months with his two dogs. Four dogs. We brought the dogs to the dog park and we walk the dogs around a property with lots of grass, trees and a lake. Plus I live across from a Preserve. So, it could be from the community I live or the Dog park.. Not being treated for fleas. Wherever they came from they were extremely hard to get rid of.
I live in South Florida (hot and humid) which does not help. We tried everything. Flea shampoo, washing linens; dogs beds, toys, plus the dogs… Cutting their fur short, vacuuming and cleaning out the vacuum, brewers yeast pills and garlic pills, etc. Finally we did all of the above.. And then I read online… Take Borax, boric acid and sprinkle all over the floor, base boards, etc. Then wash everything in Borax or Chlorox… In hot water. Then leave the sprinkle down mixture down for 1/2 hour or longer. Clean out the vacuum… Then sprinkle mixture inside vacuum bag/compartment..(where the dirt goes). Put pets in an area away from this. Open windows and doors to the room if you can. Then vacuum it up. Cleaning out the vacuum thoroughly when it is done. Then bath dogs, bedding, toys (in hot water if you can) etc. Let shampoo stay on for 20 minutes then rinse. Then spray raid (indoor/outdoor) automatic (in gray bottle) flea and roach spray on your outside property and all along your baseboards of your home( everywhere). Keep pets out of rooms you spray for a half hour. Then vacuum again and air out room during process.. Spray window and outside sliding glass door perimeters as well. Spray dogs with Adam's flea treatment (blue bottle) Douse their fur (do not get near head, eyes, etc. ) Get into skin.. They will not like it but.. For it to work get them somewhat wet.. not soaking just enough so it get them. Bathe again in 3 days or 4 days. Make sure you shower after the whole thing to and wash you clothes and towels in hot borax mixture. Get borax mule 57 or something. It is only about $2.49. Ok, I hope this helps. Bye for now, Nancy;)
I am reading the flea bath for cats suggestions here. Today I only have borax on hand and ACV… I do Not have Hydrogen Peroxide on hand. I have read through Ted’s suggestions for remedies. Will it work to give my cats a bath/dip in only a Borax solution? Do I need the Hydrogen Peroxide for it to be effective? Can I substitute ACV or white vinegar and get the same results?
I also wish to treat my yard effectively. Can anyone recommend a solution they have effectively used? I do not have the Hydrogen Peroxide for the yard treatment recommended either. Can I use plain Borax, liquid or dry???, in my yard. Shall I combine it with something else?
I would appreciate anyone’s experience with this! Best, Ronda
Our German Sheppard was covered in fleas when we adopted him. His whole belly was full of the little black bloody droppings ugh… I read about garlic and began chopping 2 cloves and mixing it into 2 raw eggs and feeding this to him with his supper. I’m telling ya in the next 2 days I couldn’t find a single one!! He stopped itching and was happy. I stopped the garlic thinking he’s fine now, and in only a week he was beginning to get infested again. So I now keep up his supper routine of the 2 cloves of garlic in 2 raw eggs and he’s been flea free ever since. Good/bad it’s quite the controversy, but I’d rather this than the chemicals that are ALL bad. He’s never seemed healthier.
I noticed an article mentions using Geranium, Citronella and Eucalyptus to bath the cat for fleas. I just hope that everyone reading realizes that these are very toxic and poisonous to cats. While I will always go the natural route to aide in matters of health with my cats, you have to become educated as to what plants and essential oils, etc are toxic to our little cat children. There are very good natural cat shampoos that use safe ingredients. And people are getting good results with Diatomaceous Earth. The food grade kind not the Pool chemical kind. This kills the fleas and their larvae without threatening the environment you or your pet live in. I hope that everyone researches carefully what natural means and that not everything that is organic or natural is good for your pet children.
My son has a black lab and she got case of fleas. He wasn’t sure it was fleas because he treats her monthly with frontline. She was in the process of developing mange, he had her to the vet a couple of times but he hasn’t go a lot of money, he lives on disability, so I went on line and found your idea of borax and peroxide. He tried it and she is as good as new. We thank you so much we can’t tell you how much. God bless you and your work. He also put cider vinegar on her spots as you recomended.
I wanted to let everyone know that I have 4 dogs and suffer from the same thing FLEAS. I have tried so many things on the dogs I’m at a loss so I am excited to learn of the ACV but I wanted to let you know of something I use in my house. The stuff is… RX for fleas plus. I have not tried the yard stuff because I have to much yard. Just wanted everyone to know what seems to work in the house and the great thing about this I only do it once a year. LOVE IT…. Now off to see if the ACV works.
What is Borate Powder, and where do you find it?
Hey Linda!
Borate powder could be boric acid powder, could be powdered borax..
You can get the boric acid from your pharmacy, and the borax from the laundry aisle.
FOR: Linda Baytown, Tx…..
Borax = sodium tetra-borate decahydrate
CAS-No. 1303-96-4
The most commonly occurring Borax compounds are:
(Decahydrate means "10 water molecules")
(Pentahydrate means "5 water molecules")
(Anhydrous means “without water”)
All 3 of the above are exactly the same product except for the number of water molecules .
========================
Boric Acid = Orthoboric Acid
CAS-No. 10043-35-3
Boric Acid can also be sprinkled directly onto a carpet or near the infestation of ants, fleas, termites, silverfish or cockroaches as the Boric Acid is abrasive to an insect's exoskeleton.
Boric Acid is an effective insecticide, by acting as a stomach poison in insects (ants, fleas, termites, silverfish & cockroaches).
To prepare poison add 1 teaspoon of Boric Acid and 10-12 teaspoons of sugar to 50ml water. Mix into a syrup and leave syrup near infestation.
To apply the powder, crush any powder that might have clumped up and using a sieve / sprinkle the powder onto carpets, fabrics and upholstery
(If you use a sieve, please do not use it in the kitchen after, as Boric Acid can be harmful when ingested).
Leave the powder down for 1-2 days, this will kill all eggs and larvae, then hover all the powder up making sure none is left.
Mark
FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth & cedar based product, PCO is very effective at killing fleas in your yard.
Natural Flea & Tick Remedy
Hi everyone! After almost losing our Baby Kitty to those dangerous advantage medications, I decided to figure out a way to live without using them year after year. So I did searches and found out about, ” Diatomaceous Earth”. This stuff is miraculous! I found mine at the local True Value Store, but you can also buy online at different retailers. BUY: FOOD GRADE! I spread this in all different areas of my lawn as well, and within 48 hours you have no more ticks or fleas. It harms all insects. I have plenty of flowers bees, and other wonderful insects roaming around, but this gets rid of the fleas and ticks really great. And I put it down on the ground on a NON-Windy day. ALSO: WEAR A MASK TO PREVENT BREATHING THIS SUBSTANCE! It worked great and I will never have to buy pesticide and put it on my animals again!! Late fall I again had fleas on my dog and all I did was put small quantity on his fur and within 48 hours all fleas were dead, then I washed him, the fur was slightly dry, but so well worth it to keep him flea free. After 3 days I washed him and put some good conditioner on him and he felt great. Usually you just have to put the Diatomaceous Earth around their tail and back area. Again in the fall, I put more of the earth around the areas that he lays in and no more fleas, after it rains you will have to put it back down again, but it’s cheap. I also put it on all my fruit tree’s and surrounding tree’s to keep the leaf hoppers off, and my tree’s look great too! Hope this works for all of you looking for a natural approach. With carefully placing it on the ground, I did not harm any beneficial bugs that roamed freely on my flowers. Lot’s-O-Love to all our Animal Lovers out there! Pennie
I've had a bad flea problem for about a week and tried everything but nothing worked. As a last resort I tried salt. Instead of sprinkling it on the carpets I mixed table salt and hot water in a spray bottle. I sprayed all the carpets, furniture and dog bedding. It worked great, as the water dried it left an even coat of salt on the carpets, was easy to spray under beds and couch and was much less messy then sprinkling a layer of powdered salt over everything. Within an hour I noticed that there was a drastic decrease in the number of fleas and it took less than 10 minutes to spray the entire apartment.
Please what is the amount of salt you add to hot water and, you leave the whole mixture without drying it out?
You can add me to the YEA list on the amethyst. My homeopathic vet told me under no circumstances to use the flea and tick poison. Having two cats and a dog I was really afraid I was going to get infested with fleas. I had read about the amethyst for fleas a while back on Earth Clinic and decided to try it. All I had was an old amethyst ring (yes, it was polished) and I threw the whole thing in a big bowl that the animals all share. I probably threw it in there around March. It seemed to be working very well and then a friend who has a gem shop gave me some rough amethyst and I threw that in the bowl also. I left the ring in because it was working and I wasn't going to take any chances. They didn't seem to have any problem with it being in there and they drink from it every day. This was a very bad year for fleas and I am thrilled that it worked. I did have to do a lot of explaining about why my ring was in the animal's water dish.
Yes – it sounds bizarre. I didn't think it would work but decided to try an amethyst rock. I definitely don't believe in healing through crystals and I'm not into anything New Age. I bought a tumbled amethyst – about the size of a half dollar – from an ebay shop. It was less than $5 with shipping. I have 5 cats and a dog and usually spend a fortune in the spring/summer/fall on Frontline treating them for fleas. I started using the rock in April. I treated the cats one time in May and that was to kill ear mites. I have not had any problems with fleas or ticks! In addition, I treated my dog only once this year and that was in May. I was skeptical that this would work for cats and amazed that it has worked for my dog. I could not say exactly how long it took before it began "warding off" the fleas. I leave the rock in their water dish all the time – removing it only to clean and refill the dish. I would not claim this would work for everyone. I've tried many things on earthclinic that haven't worked for me but this is one thing I can say has!
WORKED TEMPORARILY
UPDATE: I'm into my second year and flea season using the amethyst. One thing that has definitely changed – it no longer works for my dog. I've had to treat him twice with Frontline this year (other natural remedies have failed for him); however, I have not treated my cats since last spring – they don't need it. I DO see a flea on a cat from time to time but they do not scratch and chew on themselves as a cat does when it's being bitten. I have five cats and they absolutely have no flea problem – despite being indoor/outdoor and living with my dog who does need flea treatment.
The rock I use is a tumbled amethyst I bought from ebay. The cats drink from a ceramic bowl. I remove the rock only to clean and refill the bowl. If you try this, give it time to work. Good luck!
I’ve long been a fan of DE. I know it can do wonders, but it has been less than helpful with my recent problems. In trying to discourage fleas and roaches when I was on vacation, I spread it on my carpet. Not only did it not seem to discourage the bugs, but my vacuum cleaner started smoking when I vacuumed it up. There was still dust floating around for days (which really isn’t healthful to breathe). I will definitely never try that one again!
Before trying this, I did a bit of research. Although not a lot of people had commented on their results online, I found that nearly everyone who had cats found this to work and maybe half the people who had dogs did. I thought maybe some other circumstances, such as the size of the amethyst, made a difference. I wanted to get a large amethyst, just in the off-chance it was ingested in the water. I bid on two large (3 inch) amethysts on ebay, expecting to only win one. I ended up winning both. I put them both in my dog’s water for some time and saw little, if any difference. So, I’m pretty sure it’s not a matter of the amount of the amethyst. Possible there are different types or qualities of amethyst? Or maybe my flea problem was too extreme to it to help? I’m keeping the amethysts in the water and if I do think it makes a difference, I’ll post here.
I started adding a small amount of home made colloidal silver to my cats drinking water for the recommended health benefits about 6 months ago(maybe a tablespoon per pint). I noticed that he hasn’t come home with any fleas or ticks this summer which was a big problem last year.
Yea – Didn't really believe it would work, but I had tried everything from teatree oil, flea collars, the tubes you squeeze on your dogs back – yet nothing seemed to get rid of my dogs fleas. I read the posts on amethyst and having some amethyst at home, decided to give it a try. I also gave my dog a wash with ACV (only once). I gave my dog a wash a week later, and was shocked to see not one flea. This was months ago now, and have been through the summer months without any more fleas!! My cats also share the same drinking water and they too are thriving without fleas. Can't believe it but it really does work.
Side effect reported
I bought a bottle of brewers yeast at walmart for flea control as I read somewhere it might help.
It made my german shepherd so sick and he got an ear infection right away. I had to take him to the vets to get meds. The vet would not give me oral antibiotics, but gave me ear drops. I wish I had bought fish antibiotics and looked up the dosage from revival animal health or drs foster and smith for him. He ended up biting me really badly because he didnt want the drops put in his ear and I ignored the threat display to get them in his ear and he attacked me…not that it was his fault..he is a wolf hybrid german shepherd and he has a large set of teeth.
Never use brewers yeast for flea control it doesnt work and it causes illness.
ON the contrary, I have a big steel pot I use for all my animals water and every time I fill it up I put a cap ful of apple cider vinegar in it, the best kind is the kind at the health food store but I just use the kind at the dollar store, and it starts working in about two weeks. They dont even notice it is there and it cuts the yeast out of their bodies and the fleas dont really like the taste of it and I also mop with it and I love it for all it does!
For years I have used Brewer’s Yeast until now and that is because it has been difficult to find it here in Puerto Rico. I used to buy it at Walmarts and Walgreens Pharmarcy but it has been discontinued. I have always used it for my dog and her hair is shiny, she is quite healthy. She is always outside and she loves to sleep on sand (major factor for fleas and ticks) and she has no fleas nor ticks. I have used it on all the dogs I have had. The ones that died were of all ages (15 yrs) but never due to anything they ate or that I gave them.
I wanted to add to this a little as well. Some dogs do have a high yeast count in their body’s and giving them supplemental yeast could result in a yeast infection of the skin or ears. But as a general rule, brewers yeast is effective on flea prevention and is very safe for your dogs. If you are concerned that your dog might develop a yeast infection talk with your vet about assessing yeast levels on their skin before you begin.
I had put an amethyst stone in my cat's drinking bowl as soon as I came across the posts on amethysts for fleas. I waited almost a week, but did not see a difference, then I started adding apple vinegar to his bowl with the stone still there. Do you think that I should have waited more and that the amethyst still works with vinegar? By the way, it's been weeks since I had started the vinegar but there are still fleas:-( Thank you…
Salt is a gift, cheap and truly shows how bad your flea problem may be in carpet rooms for sure. Lived in a trailer that was engulfed in fleas, we sprinkled salt around the inside perimeter of the home the next morning it looked like we salt and peppered the floor. JUST BEWARE if you have moisture in the the floor it will draw it up to the surface and make a pasty mess with the salt (worth the mess).
Another natural remedy for fleas is orange rind. Very good for kittens and for your home. I don’t know if it works on dogs. Orange rind contains natural chemicals (pyritherins I think) that kill insects. It must be fresh. Use an orange zester – the large or small gauge. Both will express the orange oil out of the skin. Then just move fresh zest over your cat’s fur and watch the fleas fall dead. You do not have to rub it in- gentle moving it around in the vicinity of the cat works well. Cats really don’t like the orange but it works so well and harms nothing. I zest oranges before making juice and then toss the zest on carpets, let it set about 10 minutes and then vacuum it up. For furniture I place muslin or a sheet on furniture to protect it. Flea free.
I am going to give the amethyst remedy a try too.
Natural Flea, Tick, and Lice remedy
So we have had so many different animals in our family over the years that fleas have been a problem. We have tried so many different products with as many results. All have eventually failed except one. Soap nuts!
A friend introduced us to them for allergies to laundry soap. I found recipies online to make liquid soap out of them. We all now use it as our only household soap (bodywash, shampoo, house keeping,ect..) I bathe the animals monthly with it and stopped having any problems with fleas. We also do not get bitten by mosquitos. I buy my soap nut online, and they last a very long time.They are 100% natural with no side effects and are compostable.
I don’t know why people keep putting stuff on their pets for fleas, all they need to do is use a flea comb, water, with a few drops of ____ dish soap (not concentrate) and keep going over their pets until they are not on them anymore, then rinse them off with warm NOT hot water. Wash the dog in the tub with the dish soap, and get all the fleas off, when you pick them off put them in a bowl of a little dish soap and water. Wash any flea down a hot sink drain and keep the water running so they can’t crawl back up. Do not let the pets back in the area where there are fleas!! Which mean that you FIRST had to clean up a room to put them in after you are done with the flea combs and baths. To treat the room first vac really well, repeat and repeat! Burn the bag! Don’t keep that bag in the house or anywhere they can crawl out! Use a carpet cleaner with very hot water and vinegar, go over everything and under any cushions and under furniture! Once dry go over the carpet and under any cushions and furniture with the vac again, repeat and repeat..Burn that bag too! You will need to keep going back and using the flea comb, water and dish soap on the pets to make sure you got every last one, which means to do it after a few hours again. Repeat the flea comb the next day and keep using your vac. I got rid of the fleas in my home and off all of my cats and dog doing exactly this! It works, but you can’t allow pets back in an area that has fleas, they will only hop back on your pet!
I am going to use the dish soap flea bath method. Can I use "Ajax" brand, or duz it HAVE to be "Dawn"-?? Thank you!
Natural Flea Treatment
Last summer we had an extreme flea problem, all of our animals were infested ! We are always more inclined to use a natural remedy instead of chemicals, as we have a special needs child.
First we started adding a small amount of minced garlic to the pets food (you can also use aged kyolic garlic found in health food stores )
Second, we washed all bedding, and sprayed furniture with a mix of 8oz water with 20 drops each of lavender/tea tree oils.
Lastly, we bathed the animals and sprayed them down with citrus water :
RECIPE : In a large bowl of boiled water , add 2 quartered lemons and 2 quartered limes , let sit covered overnight . Strain liquid into spray bottle and use to spray pets coat( avoiding the face and other sensitive areas) bonus ~ They smell great LOL. I store any left over in the fridge .
Another great idea is to sprinkle carpets with 20 mule team borax at night before bed, then vacuum in the morning . We no longer have a flea problem :0)
BORAXO OR BORAX LAUNDRY SOAP
CAN YOU PLEASE CLARIFY DO YOU USE 20 MULE TEAM BORAXO HAND SOAP FOR FLEAS OR DO USE THE 20 MULE TEAM BORAX LAUNDRY SOAP FOR FLEAS AND SCABBIES?
SOME SAY TO USE BORAXO (WHICH IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN USING). OTHERS SAY NO USE THE LAUNDRY SOAP.
ALSO, PLEASE, CLARIFY CAN THIS BE USED ON CARPET AND ON CATS?
THANKS!
Any idea if the Borax will work on roaches as well?
Hey Linda!
Borax from the laundry aisle will work on roaches, as will diatomaceous earth. However consider doing a google search for “mason jar roach trap” or check out this video on how to make an effective trap at home:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvHiF-ptomQ
Homemade Flea Repellent
You can make an effective flea repellent from lemon by cutting it into quarters and immersing it in boiling water. This is then steeped overnight to get you the repellent. By spraying this all over your pet, especially behind the ears and generally around the head, and also at the base of the tail and the ‘armpits’, you can rid it of fleas.
I am wondering if Grapefruit boiled in pieces in water and then steeped overnight would do the same thing…probably would.
Also as a note…dawn baths, baby shampoo and peroxide mixed together baths, and dove baths afterward are great for killing fleas, and the dove washing makes the skin feel better if it is dry.
Robyn
Can that be used on cats also?
I give my dogs brewers yeast and garlic tablets.1 tablet for every 5 lbs.They love them,eat like treats.I have mini dachshunds from 3 months old to 2 years old. No fleas or worms. Garlic kills the worms and brewers yeast is good for the skin.
Just a bit of warning about using garlic on dogs and cats…. They have found that onions are toxic to animals and galic is in the onion family so be very cautious of the amounts you give as you could be harming you dog and I would never give it to a cat…. Just fyi
You really ought to try cedar oil… Especially- there is a company that uses a special blend that is deadly to ALL exoskeleton type insects (and their eggs and larvae). I had a terrible 2-year infestation. Tried every home-grown remedy and commercial remedy on my dogs and in my home… Spent $100’S of dollars but the darn things were indestructible! After another day on the net, I decided to try a cedar oil based product (so safe I apply it to the SKIN of my 2 yr-old granddaughter as a repellant for fleas and mosquitos) One treatment of my home and dog the hopping, biting critters were magically gone. The stuff is fabulous I think when comes to fleas and bedbugs – IT IS INFALLIBLE! – Dr. John
How did you use the cedarwood oil? Did you mix it with anything?
Could you please give me the name of that special blend of the Cedarwood oil and where I can buy it? Thank you very much.
I would like to know how to dilute the cedarwood oil so it can be applied to the skin as a repelent for fleas and mosquitos. Also what is the mixture of cedarwood for spraying the carpet.
Thank You so much for having this site !! I am having success in only less than a full day using Brewers Yeast against these invisible biting bugs , which I believe to be Sticktight Fleas, I have suffered with them for a year now. I am so thankful to be able to pass along what I consider VERY valuble information. I always knew somehow , the remedy would be something simple and common, Brewers Yeast has been used for decades ( maybe longer ) on all kinds of animals for fleas and moskitoes bothering people. I felt results within 15 minutes of taking it, you will feel them getting active in your flesh!! I slept last night , straight through for the first time in at least 8 months. Don’t give up the Borax & DE in carpets though, it is also valuble in this battle, I will continue using 20 MT Borax in my laundry for some time. My prayers are with you all.
How much brewer’s yeast do you take, and internally, right? Thanks
Brewer’s Yeast works! I started using it early last spring, throughout the summer and into early winter. I never saw a flea on my Bassett Hound. I had my doubts living in a humid, hot climate where fleas thrive, but I never saw even 1 flea. I put about a teaspoon on her food at night (she’s a small bassett, about 40 lbs). She loves the taste! Brewer’s Yeast is natural and filled with other nutritional stuff your dog needs. Give it a try!
I tried the candle in a pan of soapy water to kill fleas and It really works!!! Every night I catch about 20 of the little devils. I am going to attempt to bath my cats with ACV. This should be interesting!! Thanks for the suggestions.
Garlic Oil: I give my 130lb shepherd/dane 3 tablets 2 times a day and when I ran out the fleas where horrible, he had sores and all. started back on the regimene and within 3 days a drastic improvement
Hi, I came across your site while searching for safe & natural flea bath options for our cats. I noticed your garlic food supplement suggestion and thought it would be good to pass this info along to you and your readers:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/garlic.html
The suggestion of garlic on the dog’s food jumped out at me because our boy cat loves to nibble on house plants and we’ve had to spend some time learning about what plants are toxic to cats; Bulbs and many other plant parts from members of the Lily family (of which garlic is a member) are especially bad for cats. -I did not know that garlic was also toxic to dogs but apparently it is as well (I do know that cats don’t have some of the toxin processing apparatus that other mammals have, so they tend to have the broadest risk of plant poisoning.)
Thanks!
Has anyone heard of freezing the bedding of cat (or dog) and other small items your pet uses to kill fleas? I read this somewhere online.
Freezing things only puts them in a dormant state. Sometimes putting in dryer for 30 minutes will kill a light case; like trying to kill lice.
Thank you so much for this remedy! I have 5 cat's, so buying the stuff that you squeeze on the back of their neck can get VERY expensive, not to mention the fact that they HATE it. Last monday morning I was noticing they were all getting pretty itchy again, so I decided to check out the pet section here, and boy am I glad I did! Instaed of spending my usual $100.00, I stopped at a new age bookstore and picked up 4 chunks of amethyst for well under $10.00. By thursday evening they were all itch free,….it's amazing! Not sure how or why it works, but it does!
___ ___dish washing liquid will rid your pet of fleas. There are even some vets who recommend this treatment. Just dont get into eyes. It really works.
This is a warning about Diatomaceous earth: it was extremely effective on the fleas when I used it in my carpeted apartment, however it had dire health consequences for me. I used it on my apartment, vacuumed it up and then left for several days to go out of town. I hoped this would dispel the dust in the air, but it was still there, and breathing DE after a couple of days brought on a severe first-time asthma attack. I eventually just had to move out of that apartment due to the sensitivity it created in me, and I have had an asthma condition ever since. I found out later that DE consists of billions of fossilized remains of prehistoric algae that under the microscope look like little razor blades. This is the effect that it had on my lungs.
Wow- THANK YOU for letting me know this, I have 2 little ones and that would not be good at all..
After finding and reading your web site I found the dish soap worked but I hesitate to use it too often. The night light under a pan of soapy water worked for inside the house. The flea comb has been wonderful. He likes the attention and will readily let me comb him.(Male Cat) Now I dip the comb in 7 dust He hated the dust before but he doesn’t mind the comb dipped in it. I pick the fleas off the comb and put them into soapy water. They drown. The OVER THE COUNTER flea applications on the back of the neck did not work.
I have noticed that the brand of dish soap used to help rid animals of fleas is blanked out.. But I have found that the specific brand is the only one that works on my dogs.. It makes the fleas just pop to the top of their fur and u can rinse them off easily.. So please allow the brand to be mentioned.. Dawn dish soap has been an animal saver in more ways than just fleas.. They have saved animals in oil spills and so much more…
Please can anyone please tell me where I can purchase dawn dish soap, I live in Sydney australia, and I have tried everywhere but cannot find it.
I don’t believe that only Dawn dish soap works. Any dish soap will do. What happens is the soap coats the flea so it cannot breath. (I have read that they breath through their skin. ) Try the dish soap that you have available. I have used whatever I had in the bowls under a night light, or even a few drops in a glass of water to place fleas I have picked off of one of my animals. The fleas will sink with just the few drops mixed in. Good luck.
Baby shampoo. I have used it for years on rescues dog or cats. I bath them in it. It kills the fleas and is gentle on their eyes.
I’m using the ACV on my cat and my dog and so far it seems to be working. However, to treat the infestation in my house I found an easy economical fix. First place 2 drops of dish detergent in a bowl of water then sit the bowl on the floor under a lamp overnight.Each morning I awoke to a bowl full of dead fleas. I continued the process until I no longer saw any fleas. Apparently, the warmth of the light attracts the fleas to the bowl and the solution kills the fleas instantly.Of course you need to remove your pet from the room you are treating to insure their safety.
Does it work only at night? Or will it work in the day time to? Also can it be any dish soap?
diatomaceous earth – is a poisonous vapor producing substance.
In response to doglover in NC, NATURAL diatomaceous earth does not emit a poisonous vapor. All it contains is ground up diatoms (fossils). It is about 86% silicon, so you don’t want to breathe the dust (like any other dust). However it can be very drying, and may cause dry skin. It is included in some dog foods at about 2% by volume. Swimming pool DE is another story, it IS toxic. Do NOT use it anywhere except in the pool filters.
I just got a tiny Chihuahua puppy that was covered in fleas. There has been a major flea infestation this summer here in Mississippi. I already had a German Shepherd, Chihuahua, and 2 cats who are also infested. I just took the puppy and dipped her in a bowl of half water half white vinegar, THE FLEAS ARE OFF OF HER! I left the bowl sitting so that I can put any fleas I find in the bowl and let them die. I am about to dip my other Chihuahua and then spray down the German and the cats. Fleas really scramble and HATE this vinegar. I would rather smell the vinegar than have the fleas. I am also going to start putting it in their water. This is an amazing, cheap remedy. The Advantage, Advantix, Frontline, nothing worked…thank God for vinegar!
Ameythest for fleas. Yea, it really works. Buy a stone from any new age shop for about $1 and put in cat’s water dish. That’s it. You never need to buy a new one. I first heard of this when my cat Zeus who was all cream color took off on me for almost a week. When he came home he was covered in fleas (being cream, they really showed). A friend told me that one of his friends did just what I am suggesting and her cat never has fleas. I was skeptical, but gave it a try. I don’t remember exactly how long it was but it couldn’t have been too long because I never remember worrying about fleas on him again (and he was an outdoor/indoor cat in Florida where the fleas are unbearable). I now have 3 other cats, one who used to go outside and two that never do and I never have any problems with fleas. They all get exposed to fleas, however, as I have a Bassett Hound who get them occasionally and brings them in the house. Obviously this doesn’t work on dogs however – have no idea why. Just must be a chemistry thing.
Economical, natural and couldn’t be easier. Give it a try.
I see no reason why Amethyst wouldn't work after all transistor radios use crystals for amplifying radio waves.
I too have been searching for a natural remedy to rid my 2 cats of fleas. I tried the Vinegar and some home remedies, but none of them worked for me. I refuse to put any pesticides or chemicals on my pets because they are really harmful to them, and my cats have had bad reactions to them. I will not mention brand names, but I finally found success with a store bought product. Go to your pet store and look for a natural flea powder or spray containing natural oils (peppermint, cloves, etc.) that will kill fleas. They are more expensive, but are non toxic to humans and pets and WORK GREAT! My girls are no longer biting & scratching. Be sure to spray or sprinkle the powder over your entire house as well. My cats smell like TEA BAGS but are no longer FLEA BAGS!!! Please do not put poison on your pets. Find a natural remedy.
YEA – Hi all, I have been infected by flea and teaks, now is the raining season in Thailand where I living at the moment. I owned 3 dogs and have a see what is the Flea infection , but like this one I never see before! They was there, a millions and millions!!! I take under control this infestation using Borax, mix 4 part of Borax, 1.5 part of Salt 1.5 Soda. I cover all my garden and all place they the dogs playing. Left over night plus 24 hours. I added to the drink water ACV but not much because the dogs do not liked. Finally I prepare mix Hydrogen Peroxide, ACV, Borax and spraying the dogs.
Now I am on the second week and thats work, thats more then miracle, the dogs are more calm and can sleep over night, and not toxic for the dogs and for the human.
Hope that help, Just do it. Cheers Pierre.
Table Salt to rid your carpets of fleas–Instantly!! It sounds goofy, but it’s true!!! My rugs were infested with fleas!! But this home remedy is not only inexpensive (price of table salt), it works like a charm!!
Just use regular table salt that you buy at the grocery store, or dollar store. Buy the container that is about the size of a small coffee can.
Sprinkle it on your carpets. It should look like it snowed in your living room! Depending on the size of your room, may need to buy several containers. Be liberal with it, it won’t hurt.
It’s ok. You can walk on it; it won’t hurt. No need to leave it on there overnight or anything like that. Just vacuum it up and poof!! No more fleas in carpets!! How cool is THAT?!!
Gotta love grandma and those old remedies!!
I contacted our vet, and was told Garlic was not good for pets, so we never tried it, but I will be trying the ACV in a spray and drinking water.
if you have dogs like we do use homemade lye soap and give them a bath in it every 10 to 14 days apart after the first oneand give them all natural dog treats and then after about a week if they are still scratching some rub some aloe vera on their coats and their stomach and it works thank you. Helen
I TRIED THE DISH SOAP AN IT WORKED. IT KILLED THE FLEAS BUT THE FLEAS WERE HARD TO GET OFF. ALL I DID WAS WET MY BABY AN PUT ALOT OF DISH SOAP ON HER AN LET IT SET FOR 10MINS. WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO GET THE FLEAS OFF HER THANKS
Ok I am trying the bowl and dawn soap. I am using glow sticks. So now my question is I have a flea infestation. Now my question is everybody on the site has animals I don’t have any animals. I do live in a rural area so I have some pests under my house I try and close the holes but the did another one. They say fleas are extremely bad this year. I have a 11yr old and 21 living in the house. I myself have 4th stage metastac breast cancer. So what are your suggestions for me?
Use conditioner just a little, the fleas will come right off. My dogs shake them off in the tub.
We just bathed our 5.5m old puppy with a mixture of Dawn, Joy Lemon and three drops of lemon essential oil. I mixed about 1.5 tablespoons but prob only used a couple of teaspoons. The fleas were jumping off of him onto my dress as I bathed him. We dried him on a white towel that became full of dead fleas. We scanned him and all but one of the fleas we found were dead on his body. He is a very tiny chihuahua, weiner, schnauzer mix and prob doesnt even weigh 5 lbs. I doubt it took longer than 5 minutes to totally bathe him.
If you have access to a black walnut tree, you can get rid of fleas in the house by putting the leaves around the edges of each room. My mother was told this by a wise old country woman in Georgia many years ago and it worked for her. Much later, I came back after a long absence to a severe infestation of fleas in my apartment (also in GA). Black walnut leaves did the trick again. I left them long after they had dried up, a couple of months, and then swept them up and tossed them out. The fleas were long gone from both the cats and the apartment by this time and never came back. I’ve often wondered if the thick green/yellow nut cases (not the shells) would also work, as they have the same strong, staining oil as the leaves, but I’ve never tried it.
I had the worst flea infestation EVER, last year. I have two Dogs, and I live in Ohio, right near the lake, so the humidity here is terrible. The infestation was so bad, my 2 year old was getting bitten all over. I didn’t know what to do. I tried ACV, in their water, and It didn’t really improve anything. Although, I think I was a little impatient, I read that you have to wait 6 weeks for results. Tried Garlic, the kind you get in the jar in olive oil, AND powedered. Did not workat all.
Brewers yeast seems to be working well, so far. I started in March, now it is almost May. They are a lot better now then last year at this time. I also use flea collars, because, I have to do something aggressive for these dogs, they suffered so much last year. My German Shepherd actually liked off all of her hair on her hind side, and was bald. I used Tea tree oil, about a dropperful in some Castile soap for their baths last year, but this year, I’m planning on trying Neem Oil. I’m going to try rubbing it on their fur as a repellent as well. See how that goes. Wish me luck!!
We are getting ready to move to Washington state and I wanted to try and get a head start of protecting my dogs from fleas. I have a begale and 2 mini-dashunds and was wondering how much brewers yeast they should get? I bought tablets, but not sure if they should get the whole tablet (if so how often) or if it should get crushed up (and still how often) I already give they fish oil tablets 2x a week to help w/the dry skin that happens here. Also I’m seeing that my little ones don’t care for the garlic powder on their food, will it be just as effective if it is cooked (say in biscuits)? Thanks for all the great advice on here! Glad I found this site!!!!
Hey, get the big jar, and sprinkle and coat it on their dry food like cinnamon toast. Mix it well, make sure all the dry food is covered. IT WORKS!!! All summer long, NO fleas, amazing. The only thing that works honestly.
I had two kittens that were infested with fleas. I was in a real jam because I had no money to put toward taking them to the vet. I did however have some Tea tree shampoo for humans and decided it was my only option. I lathered them both down in a big deep tupperware container with the tea tree shampoo and let them sit for 10 minutes or so with the lid on the container. they didn’t like it much and meowed the whole time but it was for their own good. then I opened the lid and filled it to about shoulder height with warm water. the fleas were visibly running for high ground and several did try to jump out and even landed on my hands and shirt (wear a white shirt so you can see them) so I knew it was working. once filled to a safe height quickly put the lid back on with the kittens inside. they meowed like hell to get out but I knew they were safe and got thru it. I left them in for 20 minutes or so, took em out, rinsed off and picked a few visible fleas off them. the kittens came out fine, the dead fleas were in the water and I even found dead fleas falling off here and there hours later. the Tea Tree shampoo worked great for me and fortunately my kittens weren’t allergic. I know this remedy isn’t for everyone but if you’re in jam and can handle the cute things whining your ears off it works just fine.
Please never put the lid on a container which encloses animals, as they could easily suffocate!
PLEASE tell me that you were joking. You didn’t really put two kittens in a closed airtight container, up to their shoulders in water for even a half a second? Besides the danger involved, that is one of the cruelest things I’ve heard in a long time. I wouldn’t tell anyone in person or you’ll find yourself facing animal cruelty charges. The “cute things” were “whining your ears off” because you put them through torture. Would you have put your children in an airtight container up to their necks in water? Please, NOBODY take this advice.
Not only is this cruel but cats are highly allergic to tea tree oil. Their skin absorbs everything like a sponge and this is why cats and dogs do not use the same flea medications or shampoos. My neighbor killed a kitten this way and it was a horrible thing to watch a cat have seizures in this manner. This person apparently has no idea how close they came to killing these kittens via suffocation and or poisoning them. Try breathing in an air tight container while you are up to your belly in water, jerk. When an animal is screaming it means something is wrong! These cats were writhing in pain because their skin was burning and they couldn’t breathe! What is wrong with people?
I’ve used brewers yeast[debittered powder] for fleas successfuly.I sprinkle it on my cats food every day[like cinnamon toast].they like it & their coats are very nice too. does anyone know if “nutritional” yeast flakes work for fleas too? ? it’s a little cheaper.
Having problems with fleas on our dog. The vet said the dog was alergic to fleas. The liquid my daughter puts on his neck makes the dog sleepy. I am going to try apple cider vinegar and brewer`s yeast but what is ACV you talk about. Fran Lord
Flea removal remedy: Our indoor Yorkie got several fleas in her fur and they moved so fast that when we tried to catch and kill them they would scurry or hop away. Finally in desperation I rubbed some coconut oil in her fur and the oil literally reduced the fleas to slow motion where we could easily pick them out and kill them. We found that the oil would cause them to stick to the teeth of a very fine comb making them easier to immobilize and kill. I have only used coconut oil so far but feel reasonably sure that almost any cream would work as well.
I have had dogs as pets for more than 50 years and they are inside pets, but are let out to a fenced area constantly during all year and I have found that at spring before the first mowing. I will go to Walmart and get 2 large 0.5 cubic ft bags of cedar chips or bedding and sprinkle it throughout the areas where the dogs will be. I do this before the first mowing and after I mow the yard it will scatter the chips even better and finer.
I never have fleas and to check occasionly, I will fill small bowls with water and a few drops of dishsoap , place them under a wall outlet with a nightlight on overnite and in the morning if there were any fleas in the house, they will be dead and in the bowls. I always do this ritual every year faithfully and never have a flea problem in my yard.
my husband just recently rescued a stray dog from a vet. the dog is about two months old and has been living with us for a week now. i just recently noticed black specs all over the dog in its fur. so i kept searching and i found a flea… i read to use ___ dish soap so i did. i only found two dead fleas and that one that was alive, so it worked…. but i have hard wood floors so i swept and mopped with water, pinesol, and dawn dish soap… i also washed all the bedding in the house. we couldn’t find any dead fleas or alive ones on the floor. do you think we could possibly have a flea problem on our hands… what should we do??? should we use frontline on our puppy and our other dog who doesn’t have fleas??? also is there some type of lotion i can put on the dogs skin because it seemed to dry his skin out??? thank you so much for your time!!!
I was told about JOY dish soap for fleas. I have used it several times on my dogs and it worked great. During bath time, I found dead fleas in the water. I haven’t noticed any drying of the skin. I only used it 2 times for one week. You can also use lavender oil to keep fleas off your pets and their bedding. Just rub a cotton ball with lavender oil down their back. This works for me and it smells nice too.
Lavender oil or any essential oil should NEVER be used on cats. Their bodies cannot metabolize essential oils and they cause liver damage. It’s proved fatal to some cats. More information: http://www.thelavendercat.com/
That’s not true that essential oils are bad for cats, it’s a scare tactic. I was advised by my holistic vet that lavender oil, peppermint oil and cederwood oil were all good for repelling fleas on dogs and cat, I used these oils on my dogs and cats and they worked well. For cats I mix 1 drop of oil to 3 cups of water before applying to cats fur. With dogs I use a much stronger mixture. 10 drops of essential oil to 2 cups of water. I also recommend using coconut oil {food grade} to kill and repel fleas off cats and dogs. The fleas hate coconut oil but the cats and dogs find it very soothing and healing.
question, on the coconut oil do you mix it with water or just put it on them with a cotton ball, I also have chihuahua’s and one has a really bad alligery to anything to do with flea stuff.
That drying of the skin, is not actually drying of the skin…. Someone gave me a dog once that was flea infested, I found out later that the lady that had her before me, purposely did not tell me about the fleas, or that the dog had suffered fleas for the 5 years she had her, and she did nothing about it. So, I didnt think it would be hard to get rid of fleas, so I washed the dog in dawn dish soap, and did a flea treatment in my home. But little did I know… That dry skin I thought she had from the bath, was actually the eggs falling out in clumps, had I know then what that was, I would of done a flea treatment daily. But I was stupid because I hadn’t dealt with fleas before…. So, a woman took the dog off my hands, she was more financially capable of caring for the dog…. Months later, I do not have any animals, but I am getting bit like crazy by fleas. I have no dryer, only a washer, I have been washing my clothes and bedding in hot water, I have sprayed Raid every two days, I put diatomaceous earth out at the baseboards, set traps, and put bowls of pure apple cider vinegar out in each room. The one thing I have noticed, is that they are localized to the bedrooms on the bed. I feel like throwing all my bedding and mattress out. My daguther gets bit a tiny bit, but ME, I look like I have the friggen chicken pox. I am so itchy, and pimples are EVERYWHERE. I vaccumme my bed EVERYDAY and wash my blanket every 3 days in laundry detergent AND in Dawn Dishwashing liquid!! How the hell can they survive with everything that I am doing, I have been sufferring this for months, can anyone help me????? One thing I do have to mention, is I never get bitten unless I am in my bed. Thats the place it has localized to.
They are like little friggen superfleas! Nothing seems to work!! I am also a single mom, I don’t have the money to cab it to a laundry mat, and pay a bunch of money for the cab and then laundry… So I need some advice on how to get rid of these things, like an add on, or a cream for me and my daughter so I can stop looking like I have the chicken pox!!!
This is just a hunch–but buy a bottle of Peppermint essential oil. Put a few drops on some cotton balls. Place in a small ramekin or in paper bowls around the house in the corners, under the beds, etc. You can even put some in the air returns (if you have the right kind). It should kill them. It got rid of some pesky bugs we had and they are the toughest to get rid of. I think it will work. Also, there is a pesticide that's natural that contains peppermint oil called EcoSmart or something like that. Good Luck!
I recommend this effective flea removal technique that has worked for me in the past. Plug a nightlight in near the infested floor area and using a shallow plastic pan or even a cake pan–a large size 9×13 or so fill with water and dishwashing liquid mixed together. The fleas will jump toward that light during the nighttime hours and fall into the soapy water and die. Empty and repeat several days. Continue this treatment until the fleas are gone. If you have a bad infestation you might want to try in several locations throughout your house. Good Luck
I am absolutely AMAZED at how well the salt worked to get rid of fleas!! I recently moved to a duplex with my 2 cats while my husband goes on tour to Iraq. I have never had a problem with fleas and my pets. It was literally in just a matter of a day or 2 that my home was INFESTED! I called my landlord and he had the pest control company come and spray my house. He told me flea eggs can lay dormant for up to 2 years. I am a neat freak, and frequently vacuum especially around baseboards. He said this couldve hatched the leftover eggs and thats why the infestation occurred so quickly. The spray that the pest company did had ZERO effect on the little nuisances, and both my cats, and I were at our wits end! I was being eaten alive and was ready to break my lease and find a new place! I got on here, and read salt would work. I was reluctant to use chemicals because of the fact both my cats are indoor pets and I was really worried for their safety. I heavily salted the carpets (2 large containers of salt for my 1200 sq ft duplex), and used a broom to get it deep in the carpet. I let it sit overnight, vacuumed the following morning, and lightly re-dusted the house with salt. Within 2 days I had NO fleas! I have seen 2 since I did this treatment. I must thank you all for your input, I would recommend salt as a safe and natural remedy for flea infestation, and also as a preventative measure!
Ok, an update on my “magic salt remedy”…so, it seemed the salt worked for the first week or so. I continuously left it on my carpets even when I began to see a significant reduction of fleas. Well, I went out of town for 2 days, left my carpets salted while I was gone, and when I got back, my infestation was out of control! Actually worse than it had been initially, which I really didnt think was possible! Im trying to Borax on the floors now, and am thinking about going and getting alcohol to spray on the floors and bathing the cats in blue dawn dish soap. I hope something works, because Im at my wits end and really cant stand this anymore..I will keep everyone updated again if anything seems to work. Just be cautious of the salt working long term is my advice I suppose
Try diatomaceous earth, which can be found at the big name home improvement stores in the lawn and garden section.
Also, when you vacuum, if using a bag be sure to seal and dispose of it EVERY time you vacuum. Bagless vacs can have the canisters thoroughly washed in hot soapy water – wash the filters too, every time. Fleas/eggs stuck in there will perpetuate the problem if you don't.
Garlic (& other onion-like plants) are REALLY NOT that good for cats. It adversely affects their blood cells.
@Ann Marie (Indianapolis, Indiana USA)
Hi it appears that the myth of garlic applies to cats as well as dogs.
I used to make garlic water and then store it in a 500ml glass bottle refridgerated. For my cat I was pulled up approx 0.2ml of garlic water and squirt and mix into his food. No adverse reactions, but remember having to start at a low dose and build up a little ech day. I also used to boil fresh parsley for 3 mins the strain and bottle that water using a teaspoonof that in food, as parsley would help cleanse the kidneys (Dr Hulda Clark).
Not only is garlic good for fleas but I use it successfully on myself and my dog (bitch) for tooth abcess, we both were in a bad way with a leak rendering us from 'normal' to intoxicated within seconds by posion from the tooth seeping out the tooth & down thraot, using garlic, within 24hrs I was 90% better with the next day normal again, a little longer for pugsley as I had a much bigger dosage, both sorted and with out the liver bashing and flora gut masssacre we would have endured taking 'anti-biotics', a wonderful anti-biotic for family, children and 4 legged friends.
All the nay sayers who post here have read a scare story or 2 written by profit making businesses, selling synthetic copies of organic meds, whose profits will suffer when / if garlics healing potential is whole heartedly acknowledged.
Don't you think the holistic vets and also the pet lovers who use and praise garlic hold more weight than a written statement thats regurgitated by a worry wort?? (intentions may be good but really its holding back the truth based on shoddy research quite frankly).
One more thing, Vets have access to extremely cheap medications that are just as good as the top shelf expensive meds.
Some vets will offer euthenasia if 'bills' cant be paid for due to greedy vaccine, meds extortion fees. The vaccine and pharma corps forbid them from offering the affordable meds to lower income pet homes. If they start to dish out cheaper alternatives then EVERYONE will want cheaper therefore massive profit drops!! Also a vet practice will pay little over £1 per vile of vaccine (USA approx $0.80), so a £70 injection is not only toxic un-needed abuse to your pet but also pure profit for vets. Over half a vets annual income is vaccine related-hence the yearly illegal boosters (dont even accept the 3 yearly vaccine) puppy jabs for dogs and cats WILL LAST THEM THEIR LIFETIME!! Vaccine toxicity will show its self 3 months after the injection- which removes the vaccines from accusation coz 3 months is long time but im sure lots of you will be able to marry current illnesses to a start point 3 monts after a vaccine injection.
please see …..http://www.petwelfarealliance.org/
scientific eveidence and the fight to stop vaccine abuse.
also
http://www.canine-health-concern.org.uk/AboutCHC.html
Thanks, Mark
Garlic is NOT an onion like food!!
I need help finding the product you recommended for ridding your home of fleas. I cannot find this “Diatomaceous” non earth product, nor can I find natural Borax. Could you please give me some suggestions on where to find these products? I have tried the local nurseries, they only have the “earth diatomacieous”. Thank you
I bought my “food grade Diatomaceous Earth” off of Ebay. There’s lots of people selling it there. The private websites wanted a minimum order placed that was too high for me.
Hi, I bought my DE from http://www.herbalremedies.com. They have great prices. I mix it in my cat’s food, and sometimes sprinkle it on their fur but don’t use it on the carpet.
As far as keeping fleas out of your house, vacuum of course, this kills fleas. I mix up a spray that really helps. I use a blend of any of these oils: neem, eucalyptus, tea tree, citronella, etc…and add water in a spray bottle. Add as much oil needed to get a strong smell, roughly 20-30 drops of each oil. I spray this on the carpet as often as I need and lightly on furniture. It helps repel and will also destroy eggs.
I’ve also read you can place liquid dish soap in a plate and put these around your house. The fleas are supposed to be drawn to the soap and drown. You then pick up the plate, dump the fleas and start over. I haven’t tried this, but heard it’s a good remedy.
Also, google for information on http://www.holisticat.com. This site charges for membership, but their old posts are free to read. They have great suggestions on natural pet treatments.
Diatomaceous earth works by slicing apart the vector, being it fleas,…what have you. It’s not for indoor use, and if it works in this way, can you imagine how healthy it is to breathe it in. By all means, try neem oil, if you are looking for something natural and safe.
I have used diatomaceous earth now for a couple of years. It is incredible and safe (as long as you don’t use the pool-grade stuff), and works.
I have used it for fleas by just applying it on a wood floor and sweeping it to get it in the cracks and along the baseboard. I also applied it gently to one of my cats. I use the product at http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-All-in-One-Flea-Remedy/999013.aspx and follow their instructions. There are a lot of reviews of this product on this page.
Believe it or not, I also used this particular DE product to get rid of bedbugs by applying it along the baseboards in all 3 bedrooms. Bedbugs gone – permanently. I used a really small paintbrush to apply and spread it (it was time-consuming and difficult – furniture had to be moved, etc. but it was worth it), and I shaked it as little as possible to prevent any dust flying.
It also got rid of an ant problem I had – I hate killing anything, but I had no choice and over the course of several days the ants diminished until they were completely gone. I applied it in 2 places – where they were coming in my house, and the threshold to my kitchen that they were crossing over.
I am NOT associated in any way with onlynaturalpet.com, just have had great results.
Hi. Thanks for all the great tips and suggestions. I have four cats between the ages of ten and fifteen years old, three of them strays (one feral) and one someone gave me that she’s gotten from a shelter, all indoor/outdoor cats. They’re all healthy and have shiny coats, and we have very little problem with fleas now. In the past I used Frontline and similar products to control fleas during the summer months, but after a bad experience with one of the products I stopped using chemicals. I try to feed my cats better-quality foods, grain-free as much as possible and no by-products. I occasionally mix about half a teaspoon of brewer’s yeast into their wet food, sometimes put a drop or two of apple cider vinegar in one of their water bowls (so they have a choice if they don’t like it – I don’t want to discourage them from drinking water! ), and I use Herbal Flea Free Herbal Flea Powder on them when I see them scratching. Flea Free contains diatomeaceous earth, sage and yellow dock powders, eucalyptus, tea tree and other essential oils (unspecified). I sometimes spray Natural Defense, containing peppermint, cinnamon, lemon grass, clove and thyme oils on bedding and furniture. It says it’s safe to spray on animals but they really didn’t like it and would run from me when they saw the bottle, especially the feral cat, who is very skittish. With the Flea Free, I shake some into my hand out of their sight and then pet them with it. I think what has helped the most is that I sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the floor and carpets about once a month, working it into the baseboards and cracks, leave it on for a day or two, and vacuum it up. I’m careful not to create a lot of dust. (I don’t have to worry about the cats because they take off when the vacuum starts up. ) This has also taken care of the bad ant problem I used to have in my kitchen. So I’m a big diatomaceous earth fan.
I took in a stray dog a couple of years ago that apparently had fleas, and my house was horribly infested for a few days. It was so bad I put the dog and cats outside and resorted to the chemical flea bombs and applications of Frontline Plus, and did a lot of washing and vacuuming. Since then, I’ve used no chemicals at all, just the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Good luck and best wishes to all.
I found my DE at Home depot it is very important not to get the pool grade but the safe one is food grade if you had vapor problems then you got the pool grade. I found it by the insect sprays and bolms for the house. They try to direct you to the pool isle and most dont even know that its there or what its for so you may be better off looking they also sale it on homedepot.com in liquid or powder form and the brand I found was in a 4 lb yellow bag and the brand was “Safer” hope this helps. The one on line that has the liquid spray is a different brand but you cant get that in our local store. Hope this helps someone.
I found my DE at Home depot it is very important not to get the pool grade but the safe one is food grade if you had vapor problems then you got the pool grade. I found it by the insect sprays and bolms for the house. They try to direct you to the pool isle and most dont even know that its there or what its for so you may be better off looking they also sale it on homedepot.com in liquid or powder form and the brand I found was in a 4 lb yellow bag and the brand was “Safer” hope this helps. The one on line that has the liquid spray is a different brand but you cant get that in our local store. Hope this helps someone.
Skin Allergy Remedies for Pets
Lavender Essential Oil Spray.
This works so well my dogs actually ask for it! I just use about a 1/2 oz of pure lavender essential oil in a spray bottle filled the rest of the way up with water. In the summer, my bichon and lab both get ‘hot spots’ on their paws and seem to become a little obsessive about chewing on them, especially at night. When it gets to be too much they will walk over to my night table and whine until I open it and give them a squirt or 2 of this mixture and they calm down, stop itching and go to sleep. Lavender is a natural bug repellant too, and is also great as an antihistamine. There have even been times when my lab will go get the bottle and bring it to me… can you believe it!
This is a highly effective recipe for essential oil healing. Equal parts Frankincense, Lavendar (Antiseptic), Tea Tree (Germacide & heals skin disorders), Mandarin (Repellant), Patchouli, Rosewood (Healing). To this add 10X Grapeseed as the carrier oil. Due to the minute molecular structure grapeseed oil pulls the EOs into the skin to promote healing, stop itching immediately, restore healthy skin and coat. I Dilute with water and shake vigorously as I spray it into the coat. Massage it into the skin and the dog will get instant relief. I do not recommend for cats only because I have no experience with cats.
Thank you for the information. My question is, how many drops of EOs do you use?
my gran used to breed dogs for crufts many years ago, she told me she never brought flea or worm products but used cloves of garlic chopped up and put with the dog food once a month,i was dubious about this old wives tale, but there is always an element of truth in the old tales, ive tried garlic on my four dogs, ages ranging fom 16 down to 5 months, they are all healthy, havent seen no fleas or worms, im a believer.
How much garlic a day for fleas for my puppy 2 months old?
i have use garlic on my dog for years and they have no fleas and very heathly.and havent had to treat my home for fleas in years and i bath them in tea tree shampoo that adds to help flealess in tenn….just a speakle of garlic powder on their food each day
Not allowed to mention brand names. Do a search for cedarwood oil, there is a company in Texas and that is all they sell is Texas cedarwood oil. This stuff is a God send. It even kills bedbugs, headlice, fleas, ticks on contact. I have used many natural products for fleas , this is safe for even the youngest or pregnant animals. This stuff is only toxic to pests. Completly safe for humans. It smells good too. Got tired of toxic stuff on my 4 yorkies. It is all natural. One of there products is for soldiers in iraq , kills sand fleas. Also bugs can not get immune to this, unlike chemical products, bugs develope defences to. This is the only product I use for pests. I am not afilliated with this company in any way.
How much and how was this used??
The above-mentioned product, food grade aromatic Red Cedar Oil is combined with melted Quartz Rock, and comes properly and proportionally pre-mixed and needs no dilution, additions, or calculations. The company also sells spray bottles and fogger machines (or look for 2nd hand on online auction sites or local garden stores) for treatment of large indoor areas (this product apparently not good for plants or gardens). They provide suggestions as to how much is needed for covering the square-footage you wish to eradicate of fleas – I usually get a little more to have on hand for incoming fleas from the outdoors or other people’s pets as well as to use as mosquito repellent for myself. It is anti-bacterial and non-toxic to humans and pets of all ages. I find the smell is great BUT pretty pungent, so your human and non-human cohabitants may not wish to be present during application or for several hours after; ventilation helps reduce the intensity allowing all to return later that same day to the now flea-free area! I am not in any way affiliated with this company but endorse their product fully.
This summer has been the worst for fleas. Have been fighting the critters for a few months on our lab and cocker. spot-on chemicals did nothing. I’m done spending money on monthly treatments and have read some of the research that is a bit scarey. I called the company of the one I recently used and was told, “the product works, your dog must be picking up new fleas daily. ” So what good is it if they stay covered in fleas??? I am currently using the cedarwood oil I bought on line from a company in texas. It came with a 1oz. Spritzer you can refill from the jug. easy to use. It works as well as advertised, will kill a flea in seconds. We have used it frequently on the dogs with no harmful side affects. The only draw back is that it doesn’t continue to work for any length of time. If the problem is bad, like ours has been this summer, the fleas return. But a heck of a lot cheaper and safer than spot on treatment. The 32 oz bottle should last quite a while. We’ve started a more aggressive approach with some of the ideas we found here, I. E. Brewers yeast, ACV, etc.. The cedarwood oil spray has worked well, but as you probably know…. the little critters tend to stay out of sight most of the time.
Just so you know.. “melted quartz rock” is actually petroleum distillates. Ie: paint thinner. I bought this product back in 2010 only to find this out when it arrived & I read the label. “Ingredients:10% Cedar Oil, 90% Petroleum Distillates. ” Needless to say I was beyond disappointed.
For the past two years I have been using a wonderful natural insect repellent for my dogs. It is a completely natural product using Lavender, Cedarwood, Rosewood, and Patchouli essential oils in an organic base of olive oil, shea butter, and beeswax. The product is excellent and smells great.
Cedar is toxic for all animals – including humans. Breathing in the scent can cause/trigger asthma, Upper Respiratory problems, and more. It is especially toxic to cats. It is sold as litter and bedding – but SHOULDN'T be. It is commonly used for rodents for bedding. Those rodents live roughly HALF as long – as rodents who are not bedded on Cedar. All soft woods emit toxic chemicals in their essential oils. If you can smell the wood aroma – it is toxic. (Including Feline Pine Litter – which HAS killed some cats.) ALL essential oils are toxic to cats – to varying degrees. Cedar and Tea Tree Oils are ESPECIALLY toxic. If you research this info on the internet – it's hard to find – but it's there! (eg. search "Toxic effect of Cedar" or "softwoods" et al.
Jackie
I found out about dish soap years ago it works great. Kills the fleas instantly. But yes, they tend to run to the eyes and mouth area to escape the suds. My Mom was a dog groomer and taught me a way of protecting the eyes from the sting of soap,put a drop of MINERAL OIL in each eye before bathing the animal. the animal will not get soap in their eyes and you can make sure you can get close without hurting them. Now you still need to be careful around the nose and mouth areas. So try to put a barrier of soap around them so the fleas will not go there. Keep in mind though that you do not want to get Dawn in their nose or mouth, so be really careful when rinsing off. Try a wet rag in these areas. Also Dawn does tend to dry the skin out, so the animal may start itching the dry skin. If you put Avon’s Intensive Treatment Lotion on the animal it helps with their dry skin and really lushes the coat. It also repells the fleas for several days, but it does make the coat oily when you first put it on, after a day tho the oil soaks in. You will notice a HUGE change in a very short time.
Dawn will also kill lice and mites. If you have a bird mite problem, wash the cage down with dish soap and spray the bird with a mite spray specially for birds.
I really love ___ for killing fleas. As a matter of fact, when I see someone at the store looking at flea shampoos I stop them and tell them not to waste their money, just buy a $1 bottle of ___. It kills fleas instantly and you don’t have to have your animal sitting shivering waiting for 5-15 minutes with the flea shampoo which does not work anyway.
The dawn works great, but only kills the fleas not the eggs. The avon stuff kills the fleas but not the eggs .I have found that rubbing alcohol 90 percent in a spray bottal kills fleas dead and can be gotten at any drug store or walmart store and has no side effect or won’t hang around long. Can be sprayed on bedding, floors, your body, and sprayed and rubbed in on your pet as long as you stay away from their head and face
I have a Chow German Shepard mix & a Lab both are outside dogs. In the summer months we had a problem with the biting flies, which causes bad sores on my dogs. I used (ACV/Water)1 cup of apple cidar vinear to 2 cups water sprayed my dogs every other day and it helped a lot. Don't spray on open wounds.
I also have 2 small dogs and a cat inside the home that have fleas I use 70-90% full strength rubbing alcohol put it in a spray bottle and spray the carpets and all cracks and crevices of floors (carpets and tile) not good on wood. Not good around birds, I saturate one room, close the door and then go to next room.
Important:
* Put birds in a room that isn't being treated.
** Do not stay in the sprayed rooms leave until carpet/floor dries.
Once I had a flea my arm and ankle I spritz the area with the alcohol and the flea died instantly.
A word of Warning: Rubbing Alcohol can discolor certain wood stains and some paint. We used it and it left streaks on our woodstained doors and walls. Test it out on a small area before you spray the whole floor!
First of all I want to say “NEVER” try anything on your pets you won’t try on yourself. I won’t give anything to my pets that I wouldn’t take myself. The best rule of thumb is use human grade (whatever)you’re using on your pets! I’ve noticed a lot of comments on Diatomaceous Earth. I would like to say that the only grade that is good for animals is the same grade that humans use, Freshwater, food-grade DE. If it doesn’t state on the package that it is certified, food grade then you don’t want to give it to your pets, period! I also noticed that on this site someone mentioned the use of “Neem Oil” it is a really good oil to use that is 100% natural. If anyone is interested in finding out more about Neem Oil go to, http://www.organixsouth.com or call 1-888-989-Neem(6336). This oil is good for human use also for dry skin and scalp treatments. The one that I use is Thera Neem ,skin soothing 100% pure cold pressed. I’m one of their customers and have no affiliation with this company and I’m not getting anything for this endorsement, this is just great stuff!
I came to this site looking for a remedy for the three cats we have. For the first time in two years of having them they have acquired fleas. I know I had allergy reactions to the Hartz formula for dogs so I switched to switched to frontline and no longer let the dogs on our bed. But keeping the cats off the bed wasn’t going to happen so I needed a remedy that I wouldn’t react to so I went to search for a natural one. After all fleas have been around for ages. I found this site to the answer to my prayers and my animals. I first tried dish soap. The cats didn’t seem to mind it. I used a flea comb to make sure they really got lathered up with it. I started at the very top of the neck with just the dawn, as a contributor suggested. Because the fleas will move upward to where they can go where there is no soap. Then I wet the cats down. Then I lathered them up real good. The dish soap killed them! The cats have no fleas. I’m going to spray them down with Apple Cider Vinager to make sure they stay off of them before I let them outside. (The dogs are inside with no fleas) I will report back how well the ACV works at keeping them off but I’m confident it will. Thank you for having this site!
I TOTALLY agree with ___ Soap for killing fleas! It worked so well that fleas seem to “run away” from the suds — I’d started sudsing my dog’s back around the shoulder blades, then washed his neck. Next I was going to start on his ears, but when I lifted one of his long floppy ears, I was mortified to see hundreds of fleas lined up next to each other to escape the soap. It looked like small brown fish scales at first, they were so close together; it actually nauseated me a little to see it.
I poured out a LOT of ___ onto a washcloth and went to work on the fleas in his ears, then rinsed them under the tub spigot to make sure they rinsed off. But I never bathed him in that order again — I came up with a much better system over time:
I wrapped a soft washcloth around my index finger, then applied a generous dab of ___ to the end. I carefully worked in the soap around his eyes, nose, and mouth area, being careful not to get any soap too near the sensitive areas. I made sure to work the area under their chin too. Then I got the inside of his ears sudsy to prevent the fleas from escaping to that area when I worked the rest of his body. I continued down until I reached his neck area, and all around the neck zone.
Next I did his privates, then tail, then hind legs — I didn’t want the fleas to escape to his private parts like they did in his ears the last time! Finally, I could work the rest of his body in any order I chose to, because I had put up a suds barrier to all the escape areas.
Sherri
My furbabie and I had so much fun playing fetch in my back yard then we came inside and began to itch and saw dozens of flea. Neighborhood cats like to congregate there and I just got this pretty little goldendoodle now we are fighting off fleas. I'm going to try several of these remedies and report back later. Thank you for all the great tips.
We just tried the ___ Dish Soap method for getting rid of fleas. It appears that it worked like a charm. In the past, when using standard over the counter flea shampoos, we would see them crawling and have to pick them off by the dozens. With the Dawn, there were NO crawling fleas–only dead ones. And…the best part of all is that the cats didn’t seem to mind it nearly as much. My guess is that it didn’t sting them like the other shampoo.
Thank you very much for giving us a better and safer alternative for flea removal.
We have used the ___ in a dish with the light for home flea removal in the past. Thanks for the reminder of this “forgotten” rememdy as well. We are about to try it today as well.
Stephanie and 2 grateful cats
This method works great… Thanks so much.
I used ___ dish soap on my cat and watched the fleas drop off of her instantly. I used it also on my dog. The ___ is worth it.
Tea tree oil will kill fleas, on your dog immediately, when mixed with baby shampoo. Leave it on and lather well, and most if not all the fleas will die, and wash out. This will not prevent the fleas from returning. You have to use a collar.
While researching tea tree oil as a skin healer, I noted that tea tree oil can be very toxic to cats. A couple of comments here mention tea tree oil use for cats to help prevent fleas. Thought I should just mention it.
I have been having flea problems also, so I search and search for things to use naturally…Garlic kept coming up…so, I took out the garlic powder, and rubbed it into my cats furr starting around the neck and head area, making sure not to get into eyes and such. Then worked it down under the belly area and back. I waited a few hours, and checked them…no fleas!!
Before vacuuming, pour a half-cup of moth crystals onto an area of flea infestation and then leave the crystals in the vacuum bag until it is full. It will kill fleas and any insect vacuumed.
I buy a bag of the lavender moth tablets at any discount store. They have two tablets in individual packets. I put a packet in my vaccum everytime I change bags to kill any critters I vacuum up. The lavender oil smells good too.
You can make a terrific flea repellant if you steep a quartered whole lemon in a pint of boiling water overnight then spray lightly on dogs back, hind quaters and on belly between front legs. You could probably also make it with two tablespoons lemon concentrate and one quarter tsp. citric acid to a pint of water.
I have been happy with a mixed approach, using soapy water flea traps, sticky lighted flea traps, baths for cat & dog, having them on a Program & diatomateous earth in the carpet. One thing no one mentioned is flea combs. I have found that my cat seems to enjoy the attention and will sit for a long time in my lap while I flea comb her (and pet her ears, which she loves), dumping the fleas into slightly soapy water (and drying off the comb on a rag). It gets a little messy, but it is worth it. I comb my dog, too, but she is not happy about the proceedure. It works, tho, for those fleas that either escaped the bath treatment, or jumped on later. I have also spent time each day catching fleas on my feet & lower legs, & putting them in soapy water. My husband prefers very sticky tape to get them off of him. We are still fighting them, but sooo much better!
We had an absolutely horrific flea infestation on the entire second story of our house (which is uncarpeted, thankfully) and were disappointed by the 20+ flea bombs that failed to kill them, so having heard this from my mom, we filled spray bottles with straight Rubbing Alcohol (just the regular, cheap stuff from any store) and went crazy. We soaked the floor and about two feet up the walls. It worked great, and I mean, GREAT!!! You could watch them die within seconds. Just be sure to open as many windows as possible to provide lots of ventilation while you work; we didn't think it would be safe to use it on our cats or let them (or anyone) in the area for a few weeks until it aired out really well. Oh, and we also laid out ALOT of duct tape (sticky side up) to catch any survivors, of which there were very, very few.
You can use Dawn in a shampooer just put it in the soap container and mix it with water. I also have a spray bottle with flea shampoo and water in it to spray under the beds and hard to reach areas for any fleas & eggs that might have fallen off the dogs. It also works good on furniture and carpet as well for bad cases. If its a mild case like I have now, I recommend water and vinegar solution to spray everything down plus it works as a deodorizer.
Flea and Worm Remedies: My dogs are 2 years old – a red healer and a pit bull. The pit had fleas really bad this year and got worms from the fleas and nothing seemed to work, even flea medication and the wormer. My dog became very irritated by the shampoo so i bathed him in ground up oatmeal, dawn and apple cider vinager, its been almost a week and the transformation is huge, i started giving him 2 tablets of brewers yeast and 1 tablet of fish oil a day since the day of the bath. He still had worms so I gave a clove of garlic yesterday. I’m stilll waiting for the results of that.
Yea: It is true garlic is the trick for fleas. Last lear we treated our three dog repeatedly with the usual brands of flea control but they couldn’t keep up. This year a friend recomended the garlic. He said they have used this remedy for years. Its safe and it works. We mix the garlic in with their food and they love it. I think it helps with tics and mosquitos as well.
how long before you saw an improvement with the fleas?
I am having the worst time with fleas this year. I have bathed my dogs in the lavendar dog shampoos, used advantage 11& armor spot treatments and cant seem to keep them away. My poor choc. Lab has it worst to where she is starting to lose hair. She dosent like the vet every vet I try is patient with her but I do not want to stress her out on top of what she is going through. What can I do. Somebody please help me.
Dogs and fleas…….. Give raw garlic daily. Half to one clove, depending on dogs size. Also, DE. = Diatomaceous Earth. Must be food grade. Mix in probiotic yogurt and feed. DE can also, be used around the house etc.
Salt worked for us too. After using frontline, carpet powders, carpet sprays, baths etc. I put salt on the carpets and used some of those lighted flea traps. That worked the best.
This is the 2nd summer in a row where we’ve had no fleas. Last summer I found a total of 3 fleas on our 2 dogs. This summer, 0 fleas on 3 dogs (we rescued a stray last fall). Has this been the case with other folks in Atlanta area? Because of this, I have not applied any flea prevention liquid like Advantage. This seems strange to me because the dogs go to the dog park every so often and also because the 2 vets that I have seen (one was a holistic vet in Stone Mountain) told me shortly after I moved here that dogs need to be on flea prevention all year round. One of our dogs, Max, did get a hot spot last winter which the vet blamed on a flea bite reaction. But other than that… nada.
If other people in Atlanta are not experiencing this lack of fleas, then I can only surmise it’s their good diet that repels fleas. So… for those that are interested: I feed them the Blackwood lamb and rice brand with a small amount of slightly undercooked ground beef, turkey or chicken and a tiny bit of flax seed oil. The pet grooming store that I was purchasing Blackwood stopped supplying the large bags, so I went to a big pet store chain here and asked what they thought was their best brand of dog food. Turns out to be Blue Buffalo, which I bought (but haven’t yet researched). The 30 pound lamb and rice bag was very expensive, even more than the Blackwood 40 pound bag, but after 10 days on the new stuff, still no fleas. I think the slightly undercooked beef or turkey is a very important component, not just holistic brands of pet food.
My pomeranian can get a sigle flea bite, and itch really bad, my vet gave her predisone, and an antibiotic, also said to use childrens benadryl for her itch, please use according to their weight, just like a child, my pomerain is about 8 pounds, I give her around a l /2 tsp, it is a temporary fix for the itch, believe me, they are in pure torture,
I had a skin problem, I itched for four months, inbetween taking medicine such as benedry, and applying cortozine. You can also apply cortozoine for itch to your dog, really rub in it will temporally releive their itch, and also give them the benedryl. Take to a vet, use flea prevention, I just saw a web site that says use vinegar (diluted), and dawn dish soap. The little animals can’t help this skin condition, please do all you can to help them. Remember, we have to speak for them… I know my little dog would do all she could for me.
Good luck to all you pet lovers…..
Just a note to you and whoever may be reading this on Benadryl, Make sure that it has no Acetaminophen/ "Tylenol" in it, because, Acetaminophen is deadly for dogs. Just in case you don't already know.
We brought a new kitty home and realized that he had fleas. After being infested and trying everything from the store for my dog and new kitty, I came here and found the skin so soft from Avon. It worked AWESOME. And they smell good. My cats coat is soft and I havent found any fleas. Hopefully in a week I will do it again to get rid of any leftover fleas. And then I sprayed my house with the apple vinegar solution. Not very good smelling but that passed. So I am really greatful for all of you and this website, it helped my animals.
I just bathed my 2 8 week old kittens with the vinegar and dish soap recipe. We picked some fleas off. It seemed to work for now. Hopefully no more for quite a while. Thanks for having this posted on this sight. I had been looking for a safe remedy for little kittens. They are comfortable under a blanket with a heating pad.
I'm just updating on the flea bath. We did all 3 of our cat in the vinegar, dish soap bath. It has worked wonders. They are happy cats now. Thanks for the cure. Hope everyone can enjoy this website as much as I am.
I was reading your site as my cats were going crazy. I didn’t have any of the things you recommend to hand. but after reading your shampoo advice, I realized I did have some lavender essential oil so I tried that and a few drops rubbed into their coat did bring immediate relief.
I had used Frontline on my two dogs in the past and they would both run and hide as soon as they saw that tube come out. Both of them had lowered red blood cell counts and the vet said that he didn’t know why. After having read somewhere else that the prescription flea treatments were causing lowered red cell counts, I discontinued it. when the fleas started up again, I read some of the remedies on this website and decided to try the Dawn detergent first to get rid of them. GONE!! Worked like a charm. Since then, I’ve put a little garlic in their food and have been applying lemon juice to their coats (they don’t run from the lemon juice!). I have had not flea one and their red blood cell counts are back up where they should be. I wonder how many more years have been added to my dog’s lives by using natural methods? Thank you so much!
i too used to be a frontline user. until this year. not only did the fleas still run all over my poor old girl but she got a major flea allergy on her pink skin from front line not working. i called them and they tried to tell me i was not doing something right lol . i have worked with dogs for years. used to work at an animal shelter. i live on a farm i think i know. i tried lemon joy last night and dawn before and both killed the fleas. now if i can find something to keep them from jumping on her and ideas out there. have a great day =]
To Connie: I live in Florida which has a huge flea problem and I have two cats that go in and out at will. I use Neem shampoo initially, which kills all existing fleas and their eggs organically. Then I follow with a ACV and water mixture as a final rinse which I do not rinse off. I let ’em loose and no flea problems whatsoever. If it works on my cats, I see no reason why it wouldn’t work on your dogs. I have not seen ANY fleas on either animal and I do this every 4 to 6 weeks.
i was just woundering about the lemon remedy that you put on the pets can you also use that to spray on your furniture too?please help i am in need of help bad .thank you.
What is the mixture for the lemon juice spray. Where can I get the Neem shampoo, oil
I was referred to your site by someone in the discussion of flea treatment, specifically cats.
The information you provide re: garlic and lavendar, rosemary, etc., is in direct contradiction with my knowledge and what was posted on other websites. My understanding is garlic and essential oils such as lavendar and rosemary are toxic to cats. I’ve included an excerpt from one site for your info.
“http://eartheasy.com/article_natural_flea_control.htm
Cats should not be given any essential oils, period.
The use of essential oils with cats is a potentially volatile combination. Cats do not efficiently metabolize essential oils and their use can lead to symptoms of toxicity. In addition to essential oils, cats have known metabolic sensitivities to certain herbal preparations and allopathic
medications. Because the cat’s body does not efficiently excrete essential oils, they can build up to toxic levels. Symptoms of toxicity include vomiting, dizziness, clumsiness, lack of appetite, lack of energy and shock. In addition, cats have very thin, delicate skin. Essential oils are absorbed rapidly into their skin and enter the bloodstream, overwhelming their systems. Cats dislike strong odors and generally keep away from strong scents — even highly diluted essential oils.
Many people find that they can use essential oils on their cats with no obvious adverse effects. Although one or more applications of an essential oil product or blend may not cause immediate harm, the effects of essential oils can be cumulative and manifest themselves at a later date in the form of toxicity for which owners and vets often can find no attributable cause. (source: http://www.aromaleigh.com)”
What’s your response?
Thanks,
Nancy
The best all natural way to rid fleas in the home is salt! It works like magic! Just use your blender to grind regular table salt into a powder. Then sprinkle the powder onto carpet, beds, etc…. use a broom to “sweep” it down deep into the fibers. I let it settle in over night on my carpets before vacuuming it up. The powdered salt dries up the fleas and the eggs. You’ll notice a huge difference the first time you try it. Also, if you are giving your dog a heart worm medication make sure to use Sentinel. Sentinel acts as birth control on fleas. They can lay the eggs but the eggs are dead so that helps clear up the flea infestations in your home.
garlic pills cured my dogs fleas just give it 2 daily
To keep fleas off my 70 lb. dog, I juice fresh raw garlic and add 1/8 teaspoon of it to a raw egg yolk. He eats it joyfully. NO MORE FLEAS. Fleas hate the smell of garlic. I may carefully increase the amount of garlic juice some in the future because he is 70 lbs. He eats his food joyfully. He also loves greens such as Alfalfa powder, Wheatgrass powder, Barley powder, etc. Dogs need greens too!
NO MORE FLEAS. To keep fleas off my 70 lb. dog, I juice fresh raw garlic and add 1/8 teaspoon of it to a raw egg yolk. He eats it joyfully. NO MORE FLEAS. Fleas hate the smell of garlic. I may carefully increase the amount of garlic juice some in the future because he is 70 lbs. He eats his food joyfully. He also loves greens such as Alfalfa powder, Wheatgrass powder, Barley powder, etc. Dogs need greens too!
___Dish soap truly kills fleas! I took in a stray cat and tried using the flea shampoos from Walmart several time and the fleas kept coming back… So my mom told me about it. So we gave the poor cat one last bath and it killed every flea on his body within minutes!! Make sure to avoid the eyes and mouth. A little soap goes a long way. His fur was also soft afterwards!
For those of you who are bathing your pets in ___ Dish Soap. I thought you might be interested in a bit of info.
Toxin Detergents.
Detergents are divided into several categories.
Soaps: Bar soaps, laundry soaps, and homemade soaps.
Anionic detergents: Laundry detergents, shampoos, dish soaps, and electric dishwashing detergents
Cationic detergents: Fabric softeners, sanitizers, disinfectants, and rust inhibitors in petroleum products. This category includes quaternary ammoniums.
Non-ionic detergents: Dishwashing detergents, shampoos, and some laundry detergents.
General Information
Detergents come in a variety of forms with each having a different level of toxicity. Every home has these common products in some form, and all family members need to be aware of the dangers.
Soaps: True soaps are usually not toxic.
Anionic: Slightly to moderately toxic; may result in illness but generally not fatalities.
Cationic: Highly to extremely toxic; 1% solutions are damaging to mucous membranes .
Non-ionic: Less toxic than the anionic and cationic detergents
Signs
Soaps: Vomiting and diarrhea.
Homemade soap may cause corrosive GI lesions (burns).
Anionic: Irritated mucous membranes, vomiting, lack of appetite, diarrhea, and GI distention. May have corrosive injuries in the mouth and GI tract. Eye exposure may result in edema around the cornea reddening and swelling of the conjunctiva and corneal erosions or ulcers.
Cationic: Vomiting, lack of appetite, drooling, muscle weakness, depression, seizures, collapse coma, and burns to the mouth and GI tract. Eye exposure may cause redness and severe corneal erosions and ulcers. Skin exposure may result in hair loss and skin irritation. Non-ionic: Vomiting and diarrhea. Immediate Action
DO NOT induce vomiting if ingested. It may cause more harm. Seek veterinary attention. In the case of dermal contact, flush the skin for at least 30 minutes with running water. In the case of eye contact, flush the eye with sterile saline or water for 20 minutes. Seek veterinary attention while you are performing the decontamination. General treatment: Administration of milk or water in the case of soap, anionic, or non-ionic detergent ingestion, or administration of milk, water, or egg whites in the case of cationic detergent ingestion. If dermal (skin) or ocular exposure occurred, the affected areas will continue to be flushed with sterile saline.
Prognosis
Fair to good, depending on detergent ingested. Keep this and all other medications out of the reach of children and pets. If you think your pet has been poisoned…Contact your veterinarian or one of the Animal Poison Hotlines (listed below) if you think your pet may have accidentally received or been given an overdose of the medication.
**ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center 1-900-443-0000 ($55.00 per case. The charge is billed directly to caller’s phone.) 1-888-4ANI-HELP (1-888-426-4435. $55.00 per case, billed to caller’s credit card only.) Follow-up calls can be made for no additional charge by dialing 888-299-2973. There is no charge when the call involves a product covered by the Animal Product Safety Service. **Animal Poison Hotline – a joint service provided by North Shore Animal League America (NSAL) and PROSAR International Animal Poison Center (IAPC). 1-888-232-8870 ($35.00 per incident. The charge is billed to caller’s credit card only.) Staffed 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
re: fleas in the house: sprinkle 20 mule team borax around the house. it dehydrates all insects.
One reader recommended Borax. Can it be used indoors if so full strength on carpets? I see lots of flea/dog remedies. Can anyone help me with cat fleas? Thank you, Sharon
I read on here you could sprinkle borax and salt on your carpet to get rid of indoor fleas. Would the borax have any effect on indoor cats?
I use Borax in my carpet for fleas and it didn’t hurt my cats, but they didn’t like it on their feet. It works best if you leave it on for a while. What I did was sprinkle under furnature and leave it there. I applied to the carpet that we see and let it sit for 5 hours. I just confined the kitties to a screaned porch for treatment. The borax left a film on the carpet, so wear socks after you vacume. Also vacume before and after the treatment. Empty your bag/canister, and spray filter with tea tree or neem oil. That way the eggs in the filter don’t hatch and reinfest your house.
great information, i am going to try these remedies.
NEY-Borax was terrible. Although it did kill the fleas, it got caught in my loop carpet and I could not get it out. I steam cleaned it 3 times, carpet raked and vacumed countless times. It dried out my skin and caused a weird reaction in my ear. I had to stay with friends because I could not stay at my apartment and eventually had to replace the entire carpet so I could sleep there again. Apparently other people have also had a terrible reaction to Borax. Borax came out, took samples but refused replace my carpet because I did not keep the box.
Can any tell me where I can buy BOREX detergent? I used it for flea control, but can’t seem to find it in my area stores.
You can buy it at a grocery store (I got mine at Kroger). I’m sure Target would have it too. Look in the laundry detergent aisle – 20 Mule Train Borax.
I found 20 Mule Team Borax laundry detergent at Super Walmart in the softner aisle. $3.27 for a big box. They told me they didn’t even carry it and I found it by accident.
W—M–t sells Borax in boxes. Near laundry washing supplies. It works! After hundreds spent on vet bills and latest greatest treatments, Borax did it $3. For fleas, ticks, external mites…mange, etc. Keep away from dogs eyes and don't let them ingest any EVER!
FLEAS: hi, i’ve been using salt in my carpet for flea infestations, i have a cat that goes in and out of the house like 7-11, so i will get reinfestation every once in a while, the first thing i tried was salt, i sprinkle it all over the carpets and leave it there from 3-7 days, and then vacuum it up, and no more fleas.
i had also tried diatomaceous earth but it didn’t really work for me i used permaguard food grade fossil flour, and i was uncomfortable using it cause it is bad for your lungs, so from now on i will only use salt cause if its safe enough to eat i won’t have to worry. i use the cheapest one i could find at 33 cents a can. i bought idolized and unidolized i don’t know if it matters though.
We just bathed one of our cats with the ___ dish soap method and it was amazing. It was like instant the fleas had no time to run and hide and didn’t even know what hit them. By the end of the bath we had a not so happy but flea ridden cat. Thank you so much Michael and Christin
I am considering using a steam vacuum with dawn soap instead of the usual steam cleaner. I am moving into a home that has a horrible flea infestation (thank you, previous owners!) I hope it works.
Hi Marjie, I’ve never checked it out but I read in some hint column or book that if you have fleas in the house and didn’t want to use chemicals (who does) that you should place a bright table lamp on the on the floor, place a container filled with water and a few drops of dishwashing detergent in it about a foot to the side of the lamp. I think the idea was that the light attracted the fleas, which came jumping in the light, landed in the water, which dispatched them to the happy hunting grounds.
re: Flea remedies — You can’t put dawn dish soap in your steam cleaner, it will ruin it. It also will take forever to come out of the carpet.
Re: ___ DISH SOAP – Natural Flea Remedies – To Paul from Oakland, CA – You can try putting a wire mesh or chicken wire on top of the glass pie plate to prevent your cat from drinking the water. Just make sure the weave is dense enough so the cats can’t stick their tongues through the spaces.
My pet recipe: Neem Seed Oil (100% pure only). I use it on everything, when our pets have itching, they scratch constantly and inflict wounds on themselves. If they have tics in their ears, they might inflict a wound somewhere by constantly scratching on the outside.
Neem Seed Oil is against parasites, mites and tics and fleas. It is also anti-bacterial. I used it on little turtles, chickens and cats. These are our only animals. I am so confident with this. I have solved problems, the vet said, were psychological. In one case, it truly was. Our cat was not stopping to scratch herself and inflicted wounds on herself because we had been away for some time and she was traumatized. I solved this problem by using Neem Seed Oil on her wounds first and then I put a little dog-shirt on her (like a T-shirt for tiny doggies you can buy). She was so estranged about the funny thing on her body that she forgot about her licking and couldn’t anyway. After a few days, she got it off herself and had all forgotten her obsessive licking. When I use Neem Seed Oil, I put it on my hands, and oil the animals generously on all the spots necessary. They hate it – but usually one or two treatments are enough.
I tried the 1 oz Neem oil with 8 oz. vinegar in a spray bottle. It is working fantastic. I have 3 cats and are having a bad time with fleas this season. This spray has worked wonderful on them. They are enjoying not scratching and playing around more. Thanks so much for this web site. Keep up the great ideas.
Hi Sue, What is Neem Seed Oil and where do you find it? Is it an essential oil ?I thought cats had a difficult time with oils and some can cause toxicity. I don’t know for sure, only what I read on the net. Magnet
Hi all, Neem oil is really fantastic stuff. But just I little bit of info, its classed as an insecticide, so using this if you have frontline etc on you animal will actually cause the frontline to stop working. Also, the drop things you put on the back of your animals. These actually work in the natural oils on the skin, so they don’t really work until the flea actually bites the animal. Thanks 🙂
??? now we just got the drops to place on the shoulder blades of our cats and I was thinking of doing this neem seed oil…. Help me to understand please… I should not use while using the drops but should after the 1 month of the drop so that it will be the most effective?
I have been sprinkling garlic powder on my dogs (home cooked) food since I got him aged 6 months. He’s never had a flea. Recentley I ran out (of GP) and it was a week before I replaced it (me casually thinking all would be ok) During that week he got worms, when I put him back on the Garlic Powder the worms were eradicated. It works for me.
I have gotten rid of almost all fleas in my yard by applying beneficial nematodes – found at organic garden centers. This helps keep my JRT from getting infested and then bringing them inside with her. ACV is great to keep fleas and other undesirables off of her, and I love the other natural rememdies on this site. I think if anyone loves their animals, they will not use harsh, dangerous, or otherwise bad chemical solutions for problems!
Side effect reported
I have been raising westies for many years, which are a very happy healthy breed. Last spring I bought one of the two major spot on flea products here in the USA and administered it to all of my dogs. All 10 got blisters from it. I asked my Vet what to do and he said I must have gotten a bad batch. Well, this whole year of 2007 none of my females had puppies, thats two heat cycles. They would come into season’ normally and everything seemed right, but could not get bred. I started researching the ingredience on the flea product since they had a reaction to it. Boy was I shocked !!! This product is the first ingredient listed and everything my girls were going through showed up as side effects from this man made chemical. Drastic alterations in thyroid functions, changes in the levels of sex hormones, the list goes on. Needless to say, I spent alot of time and money at the Vets for tests on my girls/boys and they couldn’t give me an answer.I contacted the manufacturer and they denied having any problems with the product. This chemical CAN also stay in the pets system for up to 56 days. So, if you give your dog this product as recommended every 4 wks. you’re double dosing him with chemical. I also have friends that live in diferent parts of Florida who breed and used this product this year. The same thing happened to them, I will never use commerical flea products again.Please everyone, Take a minute and research the ingredience on anything you buy for your pets.
Side effect reported
PLEASE REPORT THE FRONTLINE PROBLEM TO THE EPA. Last week I had the vet put Frontline on both my Yorkie and Silkie.They were perfectly healthy five year old dogs. They both almost died. Started with them being lethargic and edema developed at the application site, this went to seizures, shock, hair loss you name it. Keep in mind that the head person from Frontline contradicted herself by saying “this is impossible and in the next sentence when I told her she would be paying my bills she replied by saying “we handle all such cases on a case by case review” huh? sounds like this is a problem-check out some links by doing frontline poisoning online. you will find hundreds of such reports. Also the UK puts this right on the label–can cause lethargy, seizures, shock, hairloss, sores and death. Gee, too bad our country doesn’t do this–it is the EPA that controls this-have your vet report it too. I am desperately trying to decide what chemical free options to try.
Side effect reported
I would not ever use this AGAIN! I know its supposed to be the best preventative remedy for fleas on pets, but the side effects are just not worth it. After moving into this duplex and it being infested with fleas, I bought Frontline for my 2 indoor cats. I put it on them, and within a few days started noticing little spatters of blood on my tile. One of my cats had a severe allergic reaction and his poor neck broke out in bloody sores! I ended up spending $200 at the vet to get his poor skin back to normal. a month later, he is still scabbing up and has to get frequent (and expensive) steroid injections from the vet. I felt like the worse mommy ever, and my poor boy was in so much pain!
you do not ever have to use poison every again for fleas!!! i have a tiny chihuahua who had fleas so bad that i was bathing and flea combing him twice a day. finally i found grandpa’s pine tar soap and washed him with it and immediately the fleas were gone. it only took one other time to wash him and he has not had fleas since and it has been months. i live out int he country and fleas can get really out of hand here in the summer. this was really a god send for me. try it! you may have to wash a couple of times – but just lather it up and let the foam sit and then flea comb and the fleas just jump off. good luck.
i had forgotten to say that when i first got my little chihuahua that the breeder had used frontline on him and that he had a big red sore that didn’t go away for months on the back of his neck and between his shoulder-blades where they had put it. all his hair had fallen out in that location and he scratched constantly. he didn’t have ANY fleas – but you could tell that the front-line was not good for him in any way. try the pine tar soap! when the frontline wore off and his hair grew back and the irritation went away he got bad fleas and the pine tar soap worked a miracle! no more fleas and no poison necessary!
Pine tar will eventionally give your pet kidney failure. It’s better to wash the animal in ___ [dish soap] , and then use regular table salt or salt water on carpets, furniture and, floors. to keep the fleas out of the house.
Side effect reported
About 9 months ago my husband accidentally gave our 2 cats and the dogs flea/tick medicine that you put on the back of the neck. One began seizing and we rushed her in for treatment. My question is: She now has scabs all over her back & neck. Any ideas on what to do? I am just sure it’s related to the toxins. She has always been 100% healthy. And for the future, I just don’t know what to do to control the ticks & fleas- I will try the natural remedies on this site, but the natural things we’ve tried in the past have been very inadequate.
Side effect reported
I used the squeeze on my 7 yr old lab I thought he was going to die 30 min later. He was foaming at the mouth wouldn’t eat or drink, he just lay there. I called the poison control number on package and they told me it coats their mouth if they lick it. So to give him tuna packed in water and give a bath in dish soap such as Dawn then watch and make sure he didn’t have any other problems.It and other products of this kind can cause diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration. The tuna worked for that but he had an allergic reaction and now has hot spots he did not start getting until after sentry was used. I have tried so many things I hope the acv and peppermint works just tried tonight.
Please Post. After having my house INVADED with fleas…I used the flea bombs, shampooed my rugs, threw any thing I could in the dryer (rugs, bedding, clothes that the kids had left on the floor, etc.) on high heat. The dogs and cats were dosed with the flea medicine that is put on their necks that I bought on line (also available at the vets, but you don’t have to take your animal in to have them checked first and only takes about 2 days to receive in the mail..costs the same)..I could tell that the fleas literally fell off on my cat! I sprayed the rugs with a spray (more than once, but supposed to last for 6 mos.) that I bought at the pet store. I also went to the dollar store and bought nightlights to fit into any socket I could get to in all the rooms infested. Under the nightlights, I placed WHITE bowls of water with just a few drops of dish soap (mix it around, doesn’t matter what kind/color). The soap covers the fleas and makes them sink to the bottom of the bowl. The light colored bowl allows more light to be absorbed, attracting the fleas. Even after everything I had done previously, I was still finding fleas in the bowls (a couple every day or so.) for a few weeks. But, I believe that keeping my pets on the 3 monthly dosage of the flea medication is what finally ridded our house (but, remember, my house was infested) because it kills the fleas on bite, no time to lay eggs. If I found a flea on me, or one of my animals, I would just get a small glass of water, add a few drops of dish soap, place my fingers under the water and release the flea…it sinks…it can’t breath, and dies. (works for ticks also.)
This “light colored bowl of soapy water” also works great when placed next to candles outside to attract mosquitoes!!
For your pet, Fill your kitchen sink with 1/4 body temperature water. Add ___ dish soap, white vinegar and baby oil together to form a bubble bath. Have a baby shampoo ready for their head.
Ease your small dog, or kitten/cat in the bath (use rubber gloves so you don’t get scratched) Immerse the body and not the head!
Pump some baby shampoo on to your hand and rub on their neck and between the ears across their head. The fleas are Dead!
For your HOME: Use ___ dish soap in a glass pie plate with water 1/2 inch deep at several sunny places in front of a door and/or window. The fleas jump in and die. Change the water every day and in less that 1-2 wks ALL fleas are gone. A guy for a pest control company wouldnt charge me because of my little kids and the risk of inhalation of his chemical. I stuck to his intruction and WOW I was flea free! Its cheap too! The ___ dish soap and a hose water sprayer kills bugs off my bushes in Florida (I love dawn dish soap!)
Hi…I really want to try the glass pie plate with ___ liquid and water near the windows..but how do you keep the cats from drinking out of it?….. I’m trying to get the monthly flea med on the cats and they sense my anxiety and they are overdue and scratching —I can’t take it. Paul in Oakland.
Dawn Dish Soap in water helped my son to get rid of some fleas in his home. I came across your website to see if I could find something to help his flea problem. I told him about the use of a low bowl with water and dawn dish soap placed in the corner of a room with a desk lamp turned on at night. He tried it except he used a nightlite. The next morning, a lot of fleas were floating in the water. He is having better success with this method than any other he has tried. Thank you very much for your website.
Last spring I started my dogs up on Advantage flea control, thinking I would need to carry through with monthly application until November. Well, I ran out of it in June and decided to wait as long as I could before reapplying (not a big fan of chemicals). I am still waiting! I have combed off a few fleas in the 3 months, but no more than one at a time, with weeks passing before finding another one. What’s amazing is that they go to the dog park several times a week and theoretically should be covered in fleas! I am guessing it is their good diet and regular exercise. I feed them Blackwood kibble for senior dogs (one of my dogs is young, but she gains weight fast on regular kibble), partially undercooked turkey or beef, and a teaspoon of molasses. I personally think that dogs who are infested with fleas are probably eating low quality kibble… if you’ve done your research, you know the kind of disgusting, cancer causing ingredients in the cheap stuff.
I have a Purebred Turkish Angora Cat that is 18 years old now & has never been sick a day in her life. So experimenting I decided to mix a few drops Pure Lemon Oil into my hand with natural Organic Shampoo & bathed her in that mixture. It rids her of any Fleas and Itching & makes her white long hair shiny & bright! It does not dry out her skin. So I decided to use just a drop or two of pure Lemon, Lavender & Rosemary oil mixed with my shampoo a large amount on my hand & left it on for a minute or so & then rinsed very well. I then Conditioned with Organic Conditioner or Marine Conditioner from the Sea & now my hair stops falling out, the itching has stopped from dry scalp & my hair is thick, very long down to my lower back and shiny.
Yes…to LAVENDER for flea control. I recommend lavender castile liquid soap to bath them in and diluted essential oil lightly applied to their coats between baths. Initially, I started using lavender because I am so sensitive to chemicals. Now, I use it because it works so well.
I own several cats, and I recently moved to a new house where the new sod was infested with flea eggs/larvae. Within 2 weeks we had a flea infestation second to none. My cats go into the back yard which has a Cat Fence-In System, which keeps them in, but they brought tons of fleas into the house. I spent hours online searching for a non-toxic remedy. I ended up using diatomacious earth in the yard, which helped quite a bit. However, my cats were still scratching and miserable. I found that within the true homeopathic remedies of flower essences, “Crabapple” essence took care of the problem. There are others in different lines of homeopathic preparations which work also. I put two drops in their water bowls, and was putting it in their food, but only need to do the water bowls now as they are no longer scratching and chewing themselves raw. There are remedies for earmites, too. I think it’s important to let people know that I am NOT referring to herb oils or plant extracts. Those didn’t work for them. Essences are completely different and work on a vibrational level, which for some sounds unbelievable, but try it for yourself (it’s at your health food store, and cheap) and do research online, with “flower essences” or “homeopathic remedies” for pets, and with some digging you will find it. Please feel free to contact me for further information as I would welcome the emails. Thanks.
Hey thanks…i’m trying the crab apple essence….two drops in the water….how much in the food…?…one…two drops?… once a day?…have you heard of any ill effects? I also ordered “Flea Free”…which is at least not a super deadly chemical like Frontline etc….Paul
Hi… Is this also safe for dogs? I have a 4 lb. Chihuahua and am loathe to use chemicals on her. She got sick when I gave her brewers yeast. Thanks!!
My dog had fleas when she was four months old, and I didn’t feel comfortable using flea medication on her because she was too small for store bought medication, and the stuff from the vet was too expensive. I read that there’s something about lemons or lemon juice that repells fleas. I cut some lemons into quarters, and covered them with boiling water. I let the water sit overnight, and in the morning poured it into a spray bottle. I sprayed her several times a day with the lemon water, and also put some crushed garlic into her food. The fleas were gone in no time, and since lemons and garlic only cost a couple of dollars, I saved lots of money!
I tried to feed my dogs garlic in order to rid them of fleas (according to some postings I read), but it really didn’t work. My boys were sick all night, they threw up and didn’t want to eat. Where I live, flea infestation is no joking matter. I hate to buy the medicine vets recommend because it’s really toxic and not to mention that it gets expensive. I was really hoping that this would work, but it obviously didn’t.
Last year we had a really bad outbreak of fleas in our house. My 2 year old kept getting bites all over her body and my husband and I too. I didn’t want to use all the toxic powders or even boric acid since she has asthma. I got desperate and bought 10 cans of salt from the store and sprinkled it all over the house (mainly the carpet). Let it sit for 4 days and then vaccumed with a vaccum that has excellent sucction and a HEPA filter. THE FLEAS WERE GONE!!!!!. I guess the salt dehydrates them and kills the eggs as well. IF you live in a humid climate don’t leave the salt in the carpet too long as it retains water. Wash all the linens and couch cushions etc….repeat the vaccum every day for 3-4 days to get all the salt out.
I have been reading all of the suggestions and am planning to try some. I don’t have a question or remedy to offer, but felt I must let you know about a dangerous option.
I’ve used Diatomacious Earth for years, I even used it to get rid of a horrific flea infestation in my asthmatic boyfriends house with no bad effects. It works against all insects and parasites. The IMPORTANT thing to note is that POOL GRADE D.E. IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND CAN CAUSE SILICOSIS (scarring of the lungs similar to asbestos poisoning) The only safe D.E. to use is natural pulvarized or ground D.E. that can be found in plant nurseries and food storage shops. This D.E. has NOT been superheated, a process which creates fine threads of silocone glass which makes it a better filtering product, but makes it dangerous to handle or breath. Flour grade D.E. is meant to be used in graineries as a bug and egg deterrant is fine enough to mix with flour. The Regular D.E. can be spread on carpets, or the cracks between wooden floors. Plan on not vacuuming for a while(like a week) in order to allow the D.E. to cut up and dry up the little buggers, and be prepared for a little dust to be produced for a short while as you walk on it. I’ve even heard of it being used a a coat powder and mixed in feed (for horses, cats,and dogs) but I’ve never tried that personally. I sprinked it in the carpets and brushed it in with the broom and let it sit for couple of weeks, them vacuumed and reapplied. This with Advantage treatment took care of all the fleas and there were none for the rest of the year.
Well I’m off to try an ear mite treatment on my new cat. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Hi, I was just about to buy garden grade DE to put in my vacuum bag …when this clerk told me to “get away from there, sir”, saying the stuff is leaking out of the boxes….(you can see fine white powder on the outside of the boxes.) Then this helpful clerk told me to go outside and meet him…I thought he gonna sell me drugs or something, but he told me that he worked in Pest Control in the past and that if you put DE in your vacuum…that it’s gonna come out and you are going to breath it. So in any case—I didn’t get the DE. The clerk was very pro having your house “bombed” professionally etc….P
@Paul from Oakland – Well, there's the reason right there…
I am allergic to fleas really bad. I am also in rescue & can have as many as 10 dogs in my house (and on my bed) at a time. So I cannot afford to have fleas as I break out in hives. For 20 years this is what I have been doing. First I use a baby castle soap that I get at the health food store that has either tea tree oil, lavender or eucalyptus in it. Then every week I spray them outside with this- (I put 1 inch of Avon skin so soft bath oil in a quart bottle & fill with water) I have also sprayed my house now & then with a mixture of water & peppermint oil . I never have fleas. I can’t afford to- my health will not tolerate it. And this also repels the mosquitoes & ticks.
PLEASE NOTE::::
Everything I have read says that tea tree oil and lavendar oil among others are very toxic cats… Please be careful and speak to a vet before putting any essential oil on them!!!
Can you tell me the exact amount of each of wat you put in the bottle to spray on the dogs?
I have given each of my two dogs (retriever family, 2 and 5 yo) a clove of freshly pressed garlic every day in their dinner. They are never sick. They do Not have fleas and I DO NOT USE commerical flea/tick products which are carcinogenic and neurotoxins, and the dogs are doing great. I have not had their red blood count tested and perhaps I should. Another ? for the holistic vet I guess.
I have fed my Dingo cross bred 1 clove of garlic thinly sliced in his nightly bowl of dry food for 3 weeks so far to cure flea infestation. I have tried both top brand remedies available in Australia, (Frontline & Advantage) to no avail.The dog laps it up and the fleas have gone. No side effect so far. He does not smell like an Italian restaurant, however his coat is also very shiny. Is this too much as I have heard that Garlic is both good & bad. Most reports of bad seem to come from Vets who would lose money by not selling/promoting their sponsored product.
Using Lavender essential oil does get rid of fleas on the dogs just like others have said. It will also keep them from getting fleas in the first place. If they do come in contact with them outside, they won’t stay on them long.
Here’s what I do. I make an all-purpose cleaner for most of my house cleaning that keeps all bugs out. Here’s the recipe:
1-cup alcohol
1-cup distilled water
5 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops peppermint oil
Mix in a 24 to 32 oz. Spray bottle. Shake to mix then spray on and wipe with soft cloth, if needed, use a different dry cloth to buff. Use on just about anything and most surfaces.
My dogs, since they were puppies have slept in a wire cage each. They go to bed at night at the same time and they stay in their home cages while I run errands. They feel safe and secure there. I clean the wire cages with this mix and there have been no bugs on or in the cages. We’ve not had one bug of any kind (not even spiders) in our house since I started using this mix.Bugs of all kinds hate lavender. This recipe can be altered without any problems. You may use only lavender oil and omit the peppermint oil. You may use different amounts of any of the ingredients and it will still work fine. Also by using this mix, everything will be sparkling clean.
Thanks for a great site.
We rescued two kittens, just to find out that they were infested with fleas. Since they were so young they could not use the traditional flea baths/powers/creams. This is when I searched (earthclinic) and seen the remedy. I decided to combine a couple of them.
USED:
*Dish soap (Ajax, but any will do).
*Rice Vinegar (this is just what I had)
*Baby shampoo
*tweezers
*Heating pad (optional)
First-what I did was filled up the sink half way with lukewarm (make sure not too hot, because what is comfortable to us is hot to them) I then added the VINEGAR (any vinegar will work!) I put a very good helping.
Second-I dipped the kittens in the vinegar solution (minus their heads) then I began to massage the DISH SOAP on. YOU WILL SEE THE FLEAS RUNNING! They will be running towards the head. This is when you lather the kitten with the BABY SHAMPOO … try your hardest not to get any in the eyes.
Third-Now dip the kitten back into the solution (making sure not to get the head wet) and use a cup or your hands to make sure that you are saturating the fur entirely.
Fourth-This is where it gets tricky. Using a pair of tweezers, tweeze off all of the fleas that you can. THIS IS TIME CONSUMING! But it is worth it! When done tweezing, redip and then rinse off with lukewarm (not too warm) water, and towel dry.
This is when the heating pad will come in handy. What I did was set it on LOW, and put a towel/small blanket over it and then set the kitten down on top if it (first checking to make sure that it wasn't too hot) this is when I went flea hunting once again. This was about an hour process, with two kittens. Once I was finished, I towel dried them very well, and the kittens went right to sleep. I haven't had any reinfestations and I only did this the one time. I have 10 (all rescued) cats and it would be very hard for me if they became reinfested, but so far so good! THANKS!
i tried everything, permetherin, ivamex, tea tree oil, lavander oil, washing bedding,cloths, even tried animal remedies. have battled it for 5 months only with temporary relief. Diatomeceous earth is the one that worked. Its’ a natural remedy that you can buy at a grange coop or garden store. i use it 3 times a day putting it on with a powder puff or big cosmetic makeup brush. careful not to get in eyes and don’t use on face or breath in dust. i used it for one day and noticed a big improvement but i am going to use it for a few weeks to be darn certain they are gone. I washed bedding and vacumed floors, washed rugs all in hot water with soap and borax. I sprinkled mattresses, couches, car seats in vehicles carpets and bedding daily with this diatomecieous earth. Every day I washed used towels, bedding in hot water. the items you cant wash daily (like comforters, pillows) put in dryer for 20 minutes every day.
Be careful! Tea tree oil is toxic to cats!
This is a remedy my grandmother used. It is safe for the pets, and easy to do. Just take a little dish saucer (one that sits low to the ground), fill it with water and add two drops of dawn dish soap. Place it on the ground in the corner of a room along with a desk lamp. Turn the lamp on and let it sit. The water may need to be changed every couple of days. This remedy works well especially at night because the fleas are attracted to the heat of the lamp, so they jump in the water and the soap weighs them down and the drown. Very effective on minimal flea problems.
ESSENTIAL OILS, LAVENDER AND EUCALYPTUS, A FEW DROPS OF EITHER ON BEDDING OR THE BATH WATER GIVE GREAT RESULTS. IT CURES FLEAS AS WELL AS BITES OR CUTS AND SCRAPS. THE LAVENDER IS A HEALING AGENT. NOT TO BE GIVEN ORALLY BUT IT WORKS ON MANY PROBLEMS. I DO DOG RESCUE IN MY CITY AND I ALWAYS HAVE MANY IN MY HOUSE. THIS REMEDY IS VERY HELPFUL FOR ME AS I LIVE ON A FIXED INCOME AND ENOUGH TO GO AROUND IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE. IT TAKES VERY LITTLE OF THE OIL (I ESPECILLY LIKE THE LAVENDER BECAUSE IT SMEELS GOOD AND SEEMS TO BE CALMING AS WELL. THANKS FOR YOUR SITE, IT IS VERY HELPFUL TO ME. GOD BLESS
I am so happy I found your site! I read your suggestion for bathing your pet in essential oils such as lavender, bergamot and cedar. I went on line trying to find a product with these ingredients and found something called Wondercide which you spray on your animals fur – and it is working! I have an older Mastiff who suffers from major flea allergies. Her rear and tail were raw and hairless. All I did was spray the stuff on her and now she is doing great. Her hair is back, she smells better, she is free of fleas, and she is no longer incessantly licking and biting herself. I also sprayed her bed with the product and use it in my home and yard. Our home and family are now finally without fleas. BTW I live in the flea capital of the world – Houston.
Be careful with essential oils like lavendar, tea tree, eucalyptus and others around pets. They can act as endocrine disrupters and are toxic to pets.
SOME essential oils can be toxic to CATS, but not all, and most are fine for use with dogs.
Where can I buy this wondercide. I have four Chihuahuas all under 20 pounds that are in need of defleaing. I'm on fixed income so need help getting rid of the fleas. Thanks Donna
Dear Donna,
Because your dogs are so small and essential oils are so strong (and can be even be toxic) I would find another remedy like apple cider vinegar.
Mix 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar in a bottle. Use a cotton ball to apply some of the solution to the back of your dogs' necks daily to prevent fleas.
~Mama to Many~
Just google it and you will find their main website with a store locator. I do think your best bet would be to use floor lamp flea traps – one per room, and also give your dogs flea baths [use dawn dish soap with white vinegar rinse] all at the same time, and also wash all bedding all at the same time, and to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Cheap but for the cost of your labor.
We have two dogs and four cats. Needless to say, fleas are a major problem in the summer. Upon searching for a flea killing product, we were told by a local store employee to try ___ Dishwashing liquid. She had used it on her animals and claimed that it worked. We were desperate and would try anything reasonable. Sure enough it worked!!. While bathing the animals, we saw the fleas literally running from the soaped areas. We scrubbed the animals throughly with a brush while bathing them, making sure that the soap was completely throughout the fur. We reallly found dead fleas in the water and on the floor after the bathing was done. Wash your animals once a week with this product and the fleas will not be a problem.
I am also going to try the D.E. and, thanks to your post, I will buy it from a garden store. I just wanted to thank you so very much for your very important and vital information about the D.E. from the pool stores.
Also, I am going to try bathing my dogs in the ___ Dishwashing Soap along with baby oil and white vinegar and use the baby shampoo for their heads. I really pray that this will give them some relief. It hurts to see them suffer and we are suffering also. The fleas are in our house too and I am always scratching. It is horrible.
Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful upcoming week.
Do natural dish soaps work as well, or is it something specific to Dawn dish soap? I use seventh generation dish soap and my kitty has fleas. thanks!
Any dishwashing liquid will kill fleas. The ones containing lemon will work even faster. Fleas have an oily surface to them that keeps them alive. Mess that up with a little soap and they suffocate. You can always kill a few fleas taking your four legged friends for a swim. FLEAS CAN’T SWIM AND WILL ONLY DROWN IF IMMERSED IN WATER! I have black labs that swim most every day and fleas are never a problem.
My 3 poodles have 2 tbsp in jug of water each day to prevent fleas. I also use it in their rinse water after a bath each week.
If ACV doesn’t seem to work on fleas, try Brewer’s Yeast vitamin tablets and cedar chips for bedding. Most dog beds have cedar chips inside them, but you can also buy them straight for dog houses and such.
I just wanted to comment on the fleas section. It is true that any shampoo will kill fleas, but it needs to be left on for 30 min. Also, if you have a flea infestation in your house, just spraying your animal wont help. You must treat where the fleas live. See, they only feed on your animal. I have tremendous luck using table salt and food-grade diatomaceous earth all over the house to kill fleas and prevent. The salt (I prefer organic unprocessed sea salt) cuts into the body of the flea and then allows the DE to dehydrate the animal. Salt by itself does seem to work also, I just like a faster approach. Keep in mind though that this means of defense does take up to 2 months to work as some fleas are still hatching. In really bad infestation, it could take longer. I think flea eggs can survive up to 280 days. I would also like to recommend quadruped pet products. I work at a holistic pet care center and this is what we use to bathe the animals. They do not contain(unlike most pet shampoos) any harsh chemicals. Also, all their products are concentrates so it is much cheaper than buying the harmful stuff from pet shops or grocery stores.
Diatomaceous Earth is completely safe to use, as long as it’s human/food grade and NOT pool grade. Most garden stores sell it as well as a plethora of websites. My only suggestion is to not put it on your carpet. Some people have a lot of luck with this, it mostly just made my vacuum cleaner sound [permanently terrible. It still runs fine, there’s just a terrible noise when it’s running and I can’t seem to figure out the real cause (I’ve taken it apart down to the motor). Also, it’s not healthy to breathe in ANY dusts, so wear a mask and remove your pets until the dust settles. Otherwise it’s okay for you AND your pets to consume, it’s okay to put some on your pets coat (although use caution, it can dry them out). It is a natural dewormer and will rid your animals of every worm EXCEPT for heart-worms. You need about 1 tsp for cats and small dogs, 2 tsp for bigger dogs… 1 tbsp for humans. It really has a lot of benefits. I strongly urge you to research it. I’ve found the best remedy for fleas is this… Make sure you’ve found a successful treatment for your animals. I had to switch spot-on treatments because the one I had been using for years was no longer effective. Then you need to treat the infected areas.. Best method for me? Frequent vacuuming. 3-4 times a week, every day if you can manage it. Make sure you throw the bag out or empty the canister outside. I also recommend NOT bathing your animals in chemicals… If you feel it’s necessary to bathe them, try to use something like the original Dawn soap, and make sure the first place you get wet and put soap is around the neck… Fleas will always try to travel up to escape… You should never put soap or lots of water on your pets face, so treat the neck FIRST and get it good and lathered. If you wouldn’t use it yourself, you probably shouldn’t use it on your animals.
For fleas in dogs wash them with boric acid powder or Head and Shoulders. Use white vinegar in the water just a little. Sprinkle Earl Grey Stash tea and fleas will run dogs love it could be the reason they roll in it!