Effective Natural Remedies for Flea Control in Pets

Dish Soap

Posted by Heather (Monticello, IN) on 10/09/2008
★★★★★

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

Posted by London (Sandusky, Ohio) on 10/08/2008
★★★★★

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.

EC: WARNING! Tea Tree oil may be toxic to cats and dogs!

From Wikipedia:

Pet Flea Control use

Tea tree oil has long been used as a method of all natural effective flea control by adding the oil directly to dogs, horses and sheep fur or their bathing water. Use on cats has been known to make them sick and in some cases kill them, this is due to cats licking their fur and consuming the oil.[23]

According to National Animal Poison Control Center, the use of tea tree oil in dogs has been associated with hypothermia, muscle weakness, ataxia, tremors, altered behavior, paralysis. A case report has been published in which three cats had clinical signs and one cat died after being treated with the oil. [24]

Also read this feedback on Earth Clinic: https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/tea_tree_oil.html#TOXICCATSDOGS

Garlic

Posted by Karen (Hillsdale, Mi.) on 10/08/2008
★★★★★

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!!

Don's Flea Remedies

Posted by Don (Southwest, Michigan, USA) on 10/01/2008
★★★★★

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.

Flea Combs

Posted by Lea (Columbia, MO) on 09/29/2008
★★★★★

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!

Rubbing Alcohol for Flea Infestations

Posted by Holly (Bellevue, Ohio) on 09/26/2008
★★★★★

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.

Dish Soap

Posted by Cheryl (Centerton, Arkansas) on 09/18/2008
★★★★★

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.

Cheryl's Remedies

Posted by Cheryl (Centerton, Arkansas) on 09/17/2008
★★★★★

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.

Dish Soap, Garlic and Lemon

Posted by Janice (Seminole, Florida) on 09/13/2008

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.

Garlic

Posted by Simon (Panama City, Florida) on 09/13/2008
★★★★★

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.

Dish Soap, Garlic and Lemon

Posted by Connie (New Liberty, Iowa) on 09/12/2008

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 =]

Salt

Posted by Katie (Westland , MI) on 09/09/2008
★★★★★

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.

Diet

Posted by Deirdre (Atlanta, GA) on 09/09/2008
★★★★☆

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.

Benadryl

Posted by Nancy (Plant City, Fl) on 09/09/2008
★★★★★

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.....

Skin So Soft, ACV Solution

Posted by Tina (St.Louis, Missouri) on 09/06/2008
★★★★★

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.

Dish Soap

Posted by Sue (Hazel Green, WI) on 09/05/2008
★★★★★

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.

Borax

Posted by Sharon (San Clemente, Calif) on 09/03/2008

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

Dish Soap

Posted by Sue (Hazel Green, WI) on 09/01/2008
★★★★★

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.

Dish Soap

Posted by Lawrence (Cebu, Philippines) on 08/19/2008

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.

Diatomaceous Earth

Posted by Paul (Oakland , CA) on 08/13/2008
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

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

Crab Apple Flower Essence

Posted by Paul (Oakland , CA) on 08/13/2008

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

Essential Oils

Posted by Amanda (Trenton, Ontario) on 08/08/2008
★★★★★

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.

Dish Soap

Posted by Paul (Oakland , CA) on 08/08/2008

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.