This first piece of advice was told to me by the owner of an exclusively natural pet store.
Recommended before leaving on a trip so as not to return to a home infested with fleas.
1) Wash your dog with a natural anti-flea soap. Leave soap on the dog for ten to fifteen minutes. This will help suffocate the fleas. When the time is up, water the dog’s coat well to drain the fleas. (You can also wash your dog with regular liquid soap.)
2) After drying your dog, wash the collar thoroughly with soap and water. When worn, the collar heats up underneath it, helping the eggs hatch.
3) Now take the dog outside. Sprinkle baking soda on ALL carpets where the dog has access (unless you or a family member has allergies, then ask your doctor if you can). Keep children out of these areas. Don’t be stingy with the baking soda. Sweep the baking soda into the carpet with a broom. Leave on for six hours. If you do this in the summer and your kids are home, take them on a field trip. While you’re away, the fleas will suffocate on the baking soda. Vacuum the carpet after the allotted time. In the summer months I do this routine once a month. I find it keeps the fleas in check. If you don’t want to use baking soda, vacuum all areas where your dog walks and sleeps frequently. To limit fleas in carpets, keep the dog on hardwood or tile floors.
4) Frequently wash dog bedding, soft dog toys, rugs, and human bedding if the dog sleeps in beds.
Wash the dog every two weeks unless the dog has dry skin problems.
A vet once told me that if fleas don’t have live humans or animals to feed on, they will die after seven days. Here’s a tip from this same vet: For homes with central heating: At the start of summer, turn up the heat. Get out of the house (no adults, children or animals in the greenhouse). This will cause the flea eggs to hatch. Come home at night, turn off the heat and vacuum up the fleas and their eggs. (NEVER leave the house with a heater on!)
Last note: From the natural pet store, I got brewer’s yeast and brewer’s yeast plus garlic to give to my dogs to get rid of fleas naturally. Both only worked so-so, and one of my dog’s stomachs didn’t like the yeast. Although a chlorinated pool is not very natural, my labrador seemed to get fewer fleas when playing in the pool. Also note that if you give your dog the back type of flea medication and your dog swims A LOT, my vet says he will wash off after that long of swimming. So keep that in mind.
Tell a friend about these natural ways to control the flea population in your home and on your dog.
