Finding home remedies that kill fleas is so important when being a pet-owner! This post will help you get control of those fleas and learn how to repel them in a natural and safe way.
We all love our pets! But what should you do when these beloved pets get fleas? Whenever I am trying to solve a problem like this in my home, I try to find a holistic and natural way for a solution before I just to the chemical-laden products.
Read on to find the best and most effective natural and safe practices to repel and kill the unwanted those unwanted pests.
After reading this post, you will feel confident in making your home remedies to kill fleas in your home.
Basic Home-Upkeep to Keep Fleas Away
1. Feed healthy natural food-Keeping a healthy pet will help the fleas to stay at-bay.
A large part of having a healthy pet is by consuming good quality food (just like us). Fleas prey on weak and unhealthy animals.
Feeding your pets a healthy diet will work the same way as it does with humans-it helps their bodies to be able to fight off sickness as well as these unwanted pests.
2. Bathe often-Every breed of dog is different, so please follow the instructions for bathing per breed suggestions.
However, if possible, it is best to bathe your dog once a week to help repel and kill fleas. In this list of home remedies that kill fleas, you will find an all-natural dog shampoo to use during bath-time as well as a spray using essential oils to spray on after the bath.
Make sure you keep reading to learn more about those.
3. Wash bedding often-While you are bathing your dog, it is a great idea to wash their bedding. Obviously this is not only for dogs, but for cats or any animals that are having a flea problem.
Make sure you use hot soapy water and follow up with an all-natural essential oil spray that you will learn more about below. Use caution when spraying an essential oil mixture on cat bedding or furniture. Use sparingly and watch for any reactions. Never spray essential oils (even diluted essential oils) directly on cats.
To help to eliminate fleas, it is best to wash bedding weekly or even twice a week if you’re up for it!
If your pet sleeps in your bed or your children’s beds, those should be washed weekly (or biweekly) as well.
4. Vacuum often-Vacuuming is a huge help with trying to get control of fleas. It’s actually one of the best things you can do. It will suck them up as well as any eggs that have been laid.
Make sure you vacuum in corners, dark areas, under couches in the corners, and around his food and water bowls. This is one very effective way to keep on top of flea control.
5. Baking soda-Baking soda is such a universal home helper! It is useful not only in cooking, but in so many other ways!
And once again, we find it helpful with getting being a home remedy to kill fleas!
Sprinkle baking soda on carpet and let it sit for awhile before vacuuming it up. It will act as an odor absorber as well as a flea killer.
You can even sprinkle some on your couch and follow the same directions.
6. Keep house clean-fleas feed on organic matter and debris. Just like in life, if there is less food, there will be less fleas.
Flea larvae will have nothing to eat and will not be able to reproduce or live.
Topical Home Remedies to Kill Fleas
Baths
7. Homemade Flea Shampoo-For your pet’s weekly bath, use this homemade flea shampoo to lather on to help kill fleas.
1 tablespoon castile soap, 10 drops of essential oils (lavendar, cedar, and rosemary are great options), and 12 ounces of water.
Like I said before, go organic on these oils if possible. Try and keep the chemicals out of your home-remedies!
Spray-Application
8. Flea Repellent Spray-Use this spray on your dog every other day to help repel the fleas.
Put 6 drops tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, citronella oil, rosemany oil, peppermint oil in a cup on water and mix thoroughly.
Pour oil/water mixture into a spray bottle. Use organic essential oils if at all possible to keep the health benefits as much as possible.
I also recommend using an amber colored glass spray bottle. The color will help prreserve the oils and the glass will eliminate the use of plastic.
These are the products I would recommend purchasing when making this spray:
Other
9. Flea collar-I am not talking about the flea collar you would purchase from the pet store.
This is a home remedy that kills fleas kind of a flea collar!
Simply get your pet’s collar, apply the mixture below to the sides of the collar, and clip his collar back on! Reapply oil mixture once a week.
How to create your mixture: Mix 2 tablespoons of water with 5 drops of either lavender oil or cedar oil.
10. Flea Comb-Using a flea comb on your pet is an “old-school” way to help get rid of the fleas. If you comb your pet regularly with a flea comb, it will help you monitor the progress of getting rid of the fleas in your home and pet. Comb through your pet’s neck area and above the tail area. Make sure your comb outside and have a soapy cup of water for you to dip the comb in when you get a flea. In addition to the soap, you could also add
Repelling Fleas in Bedding and Around the House
11. Horse Apples-These can be used inside or outside the home. Simply cut a horse apple in half and place in non-conspicuous areas in each room of your house that fleas could be present.
Be sure to have a plate underneath the horse apples because it will start to leak after a couple of days.
Replace when needed, but especially after 2 months.
You can possibly find horse apples in farmers markets. They aren’t especially good to eat, but they definitely have other beneficial uses!
Side note: They are commonly used in household decor because they have a neat texture and are a beautiful color green.
12. Flea Drink-Fleas like to congregate around water bowls. Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per 40 pound dog to his water to help keep fleas away.
13. Baking Soda-We have already discussed baking soda, but it is worth repeating in this section as well. Sprinkle baking soda around carpet areas and couches if needed. Let it sit for a couple of hours then vacuum thoroughly.
14. Salt-This home remedy is very similar to using baking soda.
Using a shaker, spread ground up salt (like in powder form) to carpet areas. Leave alone for 24-48 hours, then vacuum thoroughly.
15. Vinegar
Repelling Fleas Outside the House
16. Horse Apples-While you can use these inside your house to help repel fleas, you can also use them outside of your house to do the same!
Just place them around the foundation of your home. Replace or add to them after a week or so when they start to break down.
A HUGE added bonus to this home remedy is that horse apples also repel spiders and mice!
17. Rosemary Plants-Rosemary plants have such a beautiful smell!
The plants can be beneficial for adding spice to your pallet when eating, but they can also be used to repel fleas away from your home!
Important Things to Remember
-Always dilute essential oils before applying to dog
-Never apply essential oils (even if diluted) to cats
-Always apply a small amount of home remedy to animal/bedding and observe how your pet reacts to prevent problems
-Remember that making home remedies are only a portion of what is needed to get rid of fleas-you need to focus on keeping a clean home as well
-Rosemary and lavender essential oils are very soothing and can help relieve itchiness caused by fleas. Make sure you dilute the oil with a carrier oil (coconut oil, grapeseed soil) and rub directly onto him
Conclusion
We love having pets, but the added pests that sometimes accompany them are frustrating and annoying. It is easy to get to the store and purchase chemical-laden products to help solve the problem.
But why add more toxins to your household than needed?
And a lot of the time, making your own products saves you money as well. Give making home remedies a try.
It is amazing how great they work and how much safer they are for your family!
In this post, you learned all about how to make homemade remedies to kill fleas.
I hope you have gained confidence and knowledge about what to do to help you, your pet, and your house.
