Natural Flea Home Remedies

Fleas are amazing little insects.

• They can jump over 100 times their own height.
• The are also the busiest little reproducer around. One female flea can produce over 2,000 eggs in their lifetime.
• They feed on blood of any mamal they can get a hold of.
• Fleas can live up to 100 days without a blood meal.
• Once a female flea has a meal of blood she reproduces within hours.
• Fleas live on mammals, in carpets, in sofas, in bedding, and any other place in the household or outside that they land.

While these additives to your pet's food will help prevent fleas it may take up to six weeks before you will see any effect.

• Garlic - adding garlic to your pets food at meal time will help to keep them flea free. For small dogs use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp per day. For dogs over 50 pounds you can use up to 2 tsp. per day.
• Sulphus - adding sulphur just once a week to your pets diet will also help keep the fleas away.
• Brewers Yeast - adding Brewers Yeast to your dogs food every day will help repel the fleas. Use the same amount of the yeast as you would the garlic.
• Black Walnut Hulls - You can get Black Walnut Hulls in capsule form at most Health Food Stores. These capsules will not only repel fleas but also ticks and mosquitoes.

Making your own homemade sprays or skin rub are another effective way of controlling fleas.

• Tea Tree Oil Repellent -  Spray your dog with a Tea Tree Oil mixture. Simple mix equal parts of Tea Tree Oil and water and place it in a spray bottle. Next time you see you pet scrath just spray with the mixture. It tends to suffocate the fleas.
• Citrus repellent - Cut a lemon into quarters and add to boiling water.  Let set overnight.  In the morning place lemon water mixture into spray bottle.  When you dog itches spray them, the fleas will fall off.
• Aromatherapy repellent - mix together a few drops of lavender and cedarwood essential oil with pure almond carrier oil (about twice as many drops).  Mix well and spread on your pets skin - fleas hate it.

To help rid your carpet of fleas, sprinkle with salt and vacumn thoroughly. Salt will kill the adult fleas stopping their lifecycle in their tracks.

An herbal shampoo containing any combination of the following herbs will be very effective in killing fleas.

• bergamont
• citronella
• eucalyptus
• geranium
• lavender
• pine cedar
• rosemary
• juniper

Another effective ingredient to use to rid your pet of fleas is Dawn Dish Detergent.  Ehen you wash your dog fwith Dawn Dish Detergent the fleas just fall off.  It suffocates them.

Adding vinegar to your pets bath water will make the fleas jump off.

To help stop the flea cycle outside here are a few helpful hints:

• Spread a thin layer of diatomaceous earth on your yard - this will help keep the fleas away and off of your pet.
• To keep fleas from coming into your year spread cedar chips along the outside edges.
• Plant tansy (an herb that fleas hate) in several areas around your yard to discourage fleas from making your yard their home.