Fleas and ticks can't stand citrus, so repelling them can be as simple as grabbing a few lemons from your fruit bowl. Lemon is an affordable (and nice-smelling) natural way to help prevent these pests.
Not only smell great, but they are also known to be natural tick repellents. Ticks hate the smell of lemon, orange, cinnamon, lavender, peppermint, and rose geranium so they'll avoid latching on to anything that smells of those items.
Lemon is a great way to repel and kill fleas if you have trouble with them in your home. Many natural flea sprays contain a citrus extract called D-limonene, which repels and kills these biting bugs.
Combine equal parts lemon juice and water and spritz your dog (and yourself) to combat fleas and ticks. Don't use this blend on cats – they tend to not like lemon. No lemon juice on hand? Boil some orange peels and use that water instead…
As a Rinse or Cleanser for Your Puppy's Coat
Lemon juice can be more than a flea repellent on your puppy's coat. That's right. Lemon juice is also pretty good as a cleaning and disinfecting rinse. In fact, used in combo with ingredients like a bit of apple cider vinegar or green tea, it can be quite effective.
Vinegar. Combine 1 quart of water, 1 cup of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of baby shampoo or liquid dish soap. Use this mixture to bathe your dog once or twice a month. Vinegar kills fleas and ticks on contact and can prevent future infestations.
Best overall tick repellent
The CDC — along with six experts I spoke with — recommends DEET as an effective tick repellent. “The EPA suggests that any product with DEET should have a concentration between 20 and 30 percent of the active ingredient,” says Molaei.
Add 10 drops each of Lemongrass oil and Citronella oil. Add 1 cup of vinegar (white distilled or apple cider vinegar) Add a few drops of Cedarwood oil. Keep the DIY tick spray for dogs refrigerated and shake well before applying to your dog's coat.
The closest pet owners can get to immediate flea relief is by treating their pets with Nitenpyram. Common brands of Nitenpyram include Capstar® and Bestguard® which can be purchased through a veterinarian, online, and over the counter.
Lemons are toxic to dogs and ingestion can result in several potential health issues. While dogs might eat small amounts of lemon without any serious adverse effects, both the high citric acid and sugar content can be problematic for them.
Make a real lemon spray. Fleas don't care for the scent of lemon ,or the limonene in lemons, so applying it to your pet's coat can deter fleas.
To create a powerful flea spray, combine 4 liters of vinegar, 2 liters of water, 500 ml of lemon juice and 250 ml of witch hazel in a spray bottle and shake well until they are fully mixed together. Vacuum your entire home before applying the homemade flea remedy – remember to empty the contents into an outside bin!
Peppermint oil is another essential oil with a strong scent that can be used to repel ticks. In a spray bottle, mix 8 drops of peppermint oil with 1 cup of water. Spray the mixture around the perimeter of your yard and in areas where ticks are active.
For pets, add 1 cup of water to a spray bottle, followed by 2 cups of distilled white vinegar. Ticks hate the smell and taste of vinegar, and will be easily be repelled by this ingredient alone. Then, add two spoonfuls of vegetable or almond oil, which both contain sulfur (another natural tick repellent).
Lubelczyk does not recommend using homemade vinegar and water on for personal tick protection. Store-bought varieties are available, which are proven effective as a personal tick repellent.
The best homemade flea killer is a simple apple cider vinegar and water mixture (6:4 ratio). Spray the liquid on the dog's fur. Avoid their ears, nose, eyes, and mouth.
Apple cider vinegar
Fleas hate the smell and taste of ACV, which makes it a great choice for natural flea prevention. Mix equal amounts of water with apple cider vinegar and add it to a spray bottle. Spray your pet's undercoat and belly, but make sure to protect their eyes from any wayward droplets!
#1 Best Overall: Vet's Best Outdoor Flea & Tick Spray
It's a concentrated formula meant specifically for outdoor use. It kills all these little critters on contact but without the use of any harsh chemicals.
Rubbing alcohol: Rubbing alcohol can kill ticks for good. Once you remove the tick, put it in a cup of alcohol and cover it up with a lid to prevent the tick from escaping. Water and mow your lawn: Ticks flourish in warm, dry environments, which is why they can be found in thick grasses and wooded regions.
Ticks are eaten by chickens, guinea fowl, and frogs. Animals such as chicken, guinea fowl, wild turkeys, ants, spiders, opossums, frogs, squirrels, lizards, ants, and fire ants eat ticks. As tiny as they are, ticks have a variety of natural predators who eat them.
Apple cider vinegar is an easy-to-use natural tick repellant. You can add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar per quart of water to your dog's water bowl to keep ticks away from your dog. Apple cider vinegar can also be mixed with water to make a tick repellant spray.
Use Dental Floss In a Pinch
But if you don't have tweezers around, some dental floss might work as well. Simply tie some thread around the mouthpart area of the tick (as close to the skin as possible), then pull up and outwards. Pull slowly, so you don't break the tick off but rather pull it off completely.
At Northwest Animal Hospital, we recommend Vectra 3D, a monthly topical tick prevention that contains a repellant medication combined with a tick killing medication. It not only kills ticks, fleas, mosquitoes and biting flies, it prevents up to 80% of them from even jumping on to your dog.