How to Get Rid of Fleas on Dogs (Naturally)

When it comes to your pets, nothing can lead to more discomfort than fleas. In this tutorial, I am going to teach you how to get rid of fleas on dogs. The technique that we are going to use is safe, 100% natural and extremely effective. The amount of people that still use harsh chemicals to treat their animals is alarming. These toxic products can cause very serious side effects. Most people do not realize that there ways to kill fleas naturally that are just as effective.

The reason that it is so difficult to get rid of fleas is because of their various life cycle stages. The adults that you see crawling all over your dog only account for 5% of the total population. Half of a typical infestation is made up of eggs. The rest consists of pupa and larva. Your treatment plan needs to be versatile enough to kill fleas on dogs that are in every stage of their life cycle.

Interesting Fact: A flea is capable of jumping 160 times its own height! If humans were capable of that, we would be able to jump over tall buildings!

Where is Your Dog’s Flea Infestation Coming From?

The first step you should take in order to get rid of fleas on your dog is to identify the source of the infestation. Animals can easily obtain them form your yard or other animals. If you have a flea problem in your yard, you will need to spray that before you treat your dog. It is also possible that you broght them into your home yourself. Also, since eggs can remain dormant for many months, 2nd hand items also pose a treat.

Clean Carpets, Bedding and Furniture

The second step you should always take when treating an insect infestation is to clean. Isolate your dog during this process. First you should throw all washable fabrics into the washer. This will include pet bedding, human bedding, clothes, etc. You will also need a very thorough vacuuming session. Vacuum every single piece of carpet and furniture in your home. Just be sure to handle the contents of the canister carefully when you are finished. Make sure you empty it outdoors into a sealed trash bag. These steps will obviously not get rid of fleas on dogs but they will ensure that they do not come back. These steps will also help to kill a decent portion of the fleas in your home.

Best Way to Kill Fleas on Dogs

There is a simple recipe you can use to kill fleas on pets that most people don’t know about. All you need is water, a spray bottle, lemongrass and cedarwood essential oils.The flea spray is easy to make and is extremely effective. You probably don’t have lemongrass or cedarwood oil laying around the house but they are both very inexpensive. They also have many other wonderful health and pest control benefits. I always like to keep a bottle of each around my home.

Note: It is critical that you only use 100% therapeutic grade oil. If you are not sure what kind to use or where to get it, check out the video above for more details.

Natural Flea Spray for Dogs:

1. Add 4 ounces of purified water to a spray bottle

2. Add 5ml of cedarwood essential oil

3. Add 4 drops of lemongrass oil.

4. You can increase the ingredients proportionately for larger breeds of dogs.

Directions for Killing Fleas on an Animal

1. Brush your dog’s hair against the grain to expose their skin

2. Use your natural flea spray to mist their entire body. Avoid spraying the face or ears.

3. Apply some of the solution to your hands and carefully apply to your dog’s face and ears. Be careful to keep it out of their eyes because essential oils will irritate them.

4. You can repeat these steps until you kill every flea on your dog. This natural recipe is milder than toxic chemicals so it is safe to apply as many times as needed.

5. Spray you dog 1-2 times a week to keep them away permanently.

Controlling Fleas in Your Yard

In some cases, you may need to treat your yard before you are able to get rid of fleas on your dog. This is a very simple process. All you need is cedarwood oil (in a larger quantity) and a sprayer that attaches to the end of your garden hose. There are a few different brands that you can purchase in larger containers. Again, just refer to the video above if you need help finding the right stuff. Just apply a light layer of cedarwood oil to your grass, shrubs and other vegetation around your home. I treat my yard every summer to get rid of fleas, ticks and mosquitos.

Question or Comments?

Feel free to leave me questions and comments below. I will continue to update this guide with any new information that becomes available. I’d like to thank you for reading my guide about how to get rid of fleas on dogs. I wish you the best of luck!

Comments

[Tracysherman48]

How do you keep fleas out of your home safely with out making us sick and our dog . I have tried a lot of things to keep them off my dog and off of me and my bed but they keep getting back on her and on me I have bite marks on my legs arms stomach and my face and neck it is so stressful to even see my baby girl which is my dog suffer or my boyfriend's dog he is suffering I think he has problem with fleas in his ears too it is bad please help us! 😥💔

[Midnight prince koda]

Thank you so much for this wonderful information .

[Dsmith3210000]

How often do you spray your yard? Sorry if this is a repeat question. I just joined and haven't seen any other replies or questions yet.

[AdirondackJewels]

Since I am mixing oil & water( do not mix) what am I supposed to use as an emulsifier? Followed the above recipe...yup oil floats. Lol.

[loretta hatfield]

can I put this on my cats? and on outside of house and porch.

[DebbieL116]

Do you need to add a carrier oil for this flea remedy and is this safe for a pregnant dog

[AdrienneB26]

I used cedarwood oil with the carrier of lavender oil, on my boxer and diluted it with h2o! No fleas visibly came off, I also put coconut pure oil with the mixture...will it work? The lavender and Cedarwood oil both are essential oils the coconut is the only one I use that was it a lard type form! I shook it well in the spray bottle with water am I doing it correctly and will this work ? thank you for your time and getting back to me on this info!

[CarieC1]

I don't see video. Where to buy the oils? ?

[Wldncrz]

I also do not see a video. I went back twice as I thought I missed something.

[GailH63]

Hi, what is this 5MI? if were to add by drops how many would it take. I already have the oils, like to get this mixed as soon as possible my one dog is 17 and alligeric to the other flea things. please if u could tell me this as soon as possiblei'd full appreacate it. thankimg u in advance. gail hinton

[laurae70]

5ML is 5 milliliters = 1 teaspoon

[betterways]

Dogs can metabolize most of the things we can, but cats cannot, especially phenols. so you there are a very limited number of herbs you can use with cats without extreme care. Catnip repels mosquitos & so likely would repel fleas as well.

[JeannieM22]

Agree 100!%! Cats and EOs plus many herbs do not mix. I recently came across an 'all natural' topical flea repellent that's used exactly the same as the poisonous brands - apply to skin between shoulder blades. It claims to last 30 days per application. The two main ingredients were cedarwood and peppermint EOs. I was shocked to see they had one for cats with the same EOs as the one for dogs! Both cedar and peppermint oils are very dangerous to use on cats. As you said, cats can not metabolize the phenols and both of these oils are extremely toxic. They can shut down a cats kidneys in a matter of hours. If no veterinary intervention is sought immediately, the cat could be dead within 48 hours (or less)!

I've also read that many dogs have bad reactions to the phenols from cedar as well. I choose never to use it on my GSD. I'll stick with lavender, chamomile and a drop of grapefruit or sweet orange mixed with 3/4 distilled water and 1/4 apricot kernel oil (an astringent, non greasy oil that leaves no residue) . They do the job nicely and she's never had a flea or even dandruff. I also feed raw and supplement with omega 3 and coconut oil pills, to name a few. I thoroughly believe this keeps her healthy from the inside out. She is my service dog and I'm stopped constantly and told how beautiful she is.

One more thing, I know cedar shavings should never be used as bedding for small animals and even horses.

[Blessedmom320]

It has been since 2015 when this flea recipe was posted. Anything new to know about it before I use on my 4 mo puppy? Vet had said lemongrass and cedarwood would be okay to use as flea treatment but she didn't mention together and have found no other recipe combining these 2 oils.

[signwave6966]

Maybe a silly question, but here goes: How can you dilute oil in water? Seems like you would get a mixture that separates quickly. Wouldn't you need to add an emulsifier like in salad dressing?

[signwave6966]

Maybe a silly question, bet here goes: How can you dilute oil in water? Seems like you would get a mixture that separates rather quickly. Wouldn't you need some kind of emulsifier - like in salad dressing?

[CatherineR55]

Its really dangerous to spray essential oils on animals. It could kill them. Please Do not do this. On funiture is fine.

[KevinJAudio]

This is simply not accurate. There are many essential oils which are safe and even very beneficial to dogs. They need to be pure and properly diluted though. The following essential oils are Safe for dogs:
Angelica Root
Bergamot
Black Pepper
Basil
Carrot Seed
Cajeput
Caraway
Cardamom
Chamomile
Cedarwood
Cistus
Citronella
Clary Sage
Cypress
Coriander
Elemi
Eucalyptus
Sweet Fennel
Frankincense
Geranium
Ginger
Grapefruit
Helichrisum
Juniper Berry
Lavender
Lemon
Lemongrass
Mandarin
Sweet Marjoram
Melissa
Myrrh
Neroli
Niaouli
Nutmeg
Opopanox
Orange (sweet & blood)
Palmarosa
Patchouli
Peppermint
Petitgrain
Plai
Rosalina
Rose
Rosemary
Sandalwood
Spearmint
Spikenard
Tangerine
Thyme
Valerian
Vanilla
Vetiver
Yarrow
Ylang Ylang

[ahc1116]

Thank you for the list. I use doTerra lavender oil on my fur baby diluted with fractionated coconut oil and I’ve also used lemongrass. As others have said quality is the important thing.

[MirdzaH]

I'm totally with Kevin! The brand of oils from which we get our oils is of EXTREME importance. Most essential oils out there really are toxic for our pets and our babies. We need to fully research the company from which we purchase our oils, not just get any brand out there. My family has used the Young Living brand since 2007 and there has been absolutely no poisoning. In fact, we have all, including our pets, ENHANCED our health by using them.