Natural Flea Remedies

When your pet gets infestation by fleas, it is an annoying problem, because getting rid of them is a challenging task. The flea attack is not just confined to your pets only but will spread all across your home. Moreover, cat fleas and dog fleas suck blood from your pet for survival. They also often start biting humans, particularly children. Controlling these tiny brown, wingless insects is difficult as they multiply really fast. You will be surprised to know that one female flea lays around 20,000 eggs in a span of just three months! Natural flea remedies are usually preferred as they do not have any strong chemical content that can cause harm to the pet. Moreover, the fleas tend to get adapted to most of the chemicals that are present in the commercial products with each generation, and as a result they become ineffective.

Natural Home Remedies for Fleas

The best part of natural treatments is that even if your pets ingest these substances while licking their paws or fur, it will not have any adverse effect on their health. Here are a few natural products that can control fleas in your dogs and cats:

Lemon
Take a lemon and cut it into thin slices. Boil two cups of distilled water and pour it over the sliced lemon. Let the lemon soak thoroughly into the water overnight. This will release citrus oils present in the lemon into the water. Now dip a cotton ball into this solution and dab it all over your pet's fur. Make sure your pet do not get wet with it.

White Vinegar
Take equal quantities of white vinegar and water and mix them well. Pour this mixture in a spray bottle and apply it on your pet's far. As you spray the mixture, spread its droplets into the fur properly using your hands or a brush. The acidic component present in vinegar kills the fleas without causing any irritation to the pet's skin.

Eucalyptus Oil
Give a bath to your pet with a homemade flea shampoo that consist of eucalyptus oil. To prepare this shampoo, add two teaspoons of eucalyptus oil in a cup of mild dishwashing liquid soap. Wet her coat thoroughly and then apply the shampoo and lather it well. Continue to rub the shampoo for about 5 minutes and then wash off. Instead of using plain water, you can prepare a tea by boiling strong smelling herbs like mint and pennyroyal leaves and use it for rinsing. Dry your pet's fur and then brush them well.

Garlic
Apart from the topical application of natural sprays, you can feed garlic to your pet in order to control flea. When they eat garlic certain smell is excreted through the surface of their skin which makes the condition unsuitable for fleas to survive. Thus they will not settle on fur and will not bite either. You can spread some garlic powder or juice in their food daily.

Essential Oils
A flea collar that consist of essential oils is one of the best natural ways to get rid of fleas. Prepare a mixture using 2 tablespoons each of peppermint and cedar essential oils, half cup of rosemary oil and one-fourth cup of citronella essential oil. Take a rope made of natural fiber and dip it into this prepared mixture for some time. Then let the rope dry for 8-10 hours. When it has dried properly, tie it around pet's neck. However, you should not use it on your cats.

These natural flea remedies will provide relief to your pets from itching and keep them disease free. For complete flea control, vacuum clean your pet's bedding and those areas where they spend maximum time regularly. Spread eucalyptus leaves in every nook and corner of the house to prevent future infestation of fleas. These leaves will stay fresh for 6 months and give out a nice smell all over the house too.