The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Baking Soda
Posted by Sheila (Wichita, Ks) on 08/07/2012
★★★★★
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?
Garlic
Posted by Josh H. (Portland, Or, Usa) on 08/31/2011
★☆☆☆☆
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
Baking Soda
Posted by Meems (Apache Junction, Az, United States) on 05/29/2011
★★★★★
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.
Garlic
Posted by Mama (London, Ontario, Canada) on 11/09/2010
★★★★★
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.
Borate Powder
Posted by Mark (Exeter, United Kingdom) on 11/11/2015 12 posts
★★★★★
FOR: Linda Baytown, Tx.....
Borax = sodium tetra-borate decahydrate
CAS-No. 1303-96-4
The most commonly occurring Borax compounds are:
- Borax/ sodium tetra-borate Decahydrate =
(Decahydrate means "10 water molecules")
- Borax/ sodium tetra-borate Pentahydrate =
(Pentahydrate means "5 water molecules")
- Borax/ sodium tetra-borate Anhydrous =
(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
Salt
Posted by Bethers (Addy, Washington, Usa) on 04/18/2010
★★★★★
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).
Lemons
Posted by Joy (Fayetteville, N.c.) on 06/26/2011
Can that be used on cats also?
Diatomaceous Earth
Posted by Erna (Venice, Ca) on 09/10/2009
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
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.
Amethyst
Posted by WestWind (Orlando, FL) on 07/27/2009
★★★★★
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.
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.
Benadryl
Posted by Marty (Fort Worth, Tx. ) on 10/01/2018
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.
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.
Dish Soap, Garlic and Lemon
Posted by Jamie Lopez (Lansing, Michigan) on 10/16/2008
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.
Salt
Posted by Sandra (Pasadena, CA) on 05/08/2007
★★★★★
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.
Salt
Posted by Nikki (Fl) on 06/14/2021
★★★★★
Gounded up salt like popcorn salt. The salt is so fine that the flea's legs pick it up and it drys them out
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Deirdre (Connecticut) on 06/07/2021
Hi Gina,
So sorry you are going through this. Please read all the borax and diatomaceous posts on Earth Clinic in the pet flea section (where your post is located). Sounds like you need to treat your backyard FIRST and those two remedies are mentioned for treating flea infestations both indoors and outdoors. You'll have to reapply after it rains, but one of them should help. If you use diatomaceous earth, please note that it must be food grade.
Also, consider a raw food (or freeze dried raw) diet to strengthen your pup's immune system. That might help too. Quality food can make a huge difference in flea control I've discovered over the years.
Good luck. Hope you get this issue solved very quickly.
Salt
Posted by Cindy (Illinois, USA) on 05/10/2021 523 posts
★★★★★
Salt. Cheapo, salt in the round box. Iodized, not iodized, it doesn't matter what kind. Sprinkle on carpet and in corners. I didn't even have to de-flea the dogs who had brought home fleas from the groomer. Always a risk with groomers who offer walk-in nail clipping because those dogs don't get a bath BUT it's not a problem PLUS it's super handy to be able to just walk in and get their nails clipped when, with a 50 cent box of salt, it's never an issue!
Citrus Peel Infused in White Vinegar
Posted by Louise (South Carolina) on 03/06/2016
★★★★★
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.
Amethyst
Posted by Green Lonis (Greenville, Nc) on 10/27/2015
★☆☆☆☆
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.
Borax
Posted by Cathy (Lakeside, Ca) on 02/19/2015
★★★★★
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.
Dish Soap and Lamp Method
Posted by Supertigertv (San Francisco, California) on 08/03/2014
★★★★★
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.
Garlic
Posted by Terry (Glendale, Az) on 07/24/2013
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 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
Aloe Vera
Posted by Dr Howard (CA) on 02/07/2023
Sodium benzoate used as a food grade preservative in aloe. Kills fleas.
