Certain EOs like citronella, clove, lemongrass, eucalyptus, cedarwood and lavender work to deter most insects. Simply mix a few drops in a bottle with water and spritz your indoor and outdoor spaces. You can also add a drop or two directly to your animal's collar, bed or coat.
Some essential oils make for excellent flea remedies for dogs. Citronella, eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree, and rosemary will all naturally repel fleas.
Steam cleaning your carpets, furniture and pet beds is a brilliant idea if you have a flea infestation. Thanks to the combination of high heat and soap, the fleas will be gone in no time.
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.
Wash all bed sheets, pillowcases, blankets with detergent on a hot cycle. If you have a dryer, use this right after washing. The fleas will not survive the heat. Give your mattress a thorough vacuum and pay close attention to the seams and underside of the mattress.
The Dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis) cannot live on human hair. Their bodies are not built to survive in that environment. However, they can jump from a pet onto a person and bite them. People often wonder, “do fleas fly?” The answer is no that they only jump.
While fleas have an impressive sense of smell, one of the only smells they are attracted to is carbon dioxide. Many scents can repel fleas, including mint, rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus, and citronella. You may consider adding some pet-friendly plants that repel pests to your garden to help keep fleas at bay.
Irish Spring soap is a natural and non-toxic way to repel bed bugs, but it may not be effective on its own. It is important to also take other measures such as cleaning your bedding and vacuuming your mattress. Irish Spring soap can also be used to repel other pests such as mosquitoes and fleas.
To protect yourself from fleas: Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.
Even if you do treat the environment but only use treatments on your pets intermittently, you won't be able to eradicate the fleas, as they will be able to feed and lay eggs, some of which will survive and go on to develop into a new generation of adults.
White vinegar.
If fleas have spread throughout your house, you can make a white vinegar solution with equal parts water and vinegar to spray on carpet, baseboards, furniture and under furniture.
When it has a host, an adult flea can live about 100 days. But how long can they live without a host? Those fleas typically live only one to two weeks. The entire lifespan of a flea, from egg to adulthood, can last a few weeks or even a few months.
Fleas like to burrow into soft, small spaces and hide, such as plush carpeting and bedding. However, if they don't have a food source, they won't live there for long.
Using a residual insecticide flea spray concentrate controls the adult flea and combining it with an insect growth regulators (IGR) such as Martin's IGR Insect Growth Regulator or Tekko Pro IGR. The IGRs prevent the larvae from developing into the cocoon stage, stopping the cycle.
Flea season can last anywhere from 6-9 months to all year round in some states. Fleas love warm temperatures, so your season can start early in spring and last until September, October, or November.
Treat the Pet
Using products with an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) such as Martin's Flea Plus IGR Trigger Spray kills adult fleas and breaks the flea life-cycle.
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The Vet's Best flea antique yard and kennel spray is a safe and effective plant-based formula that kills mosquitoes, fleas, flea larvae, flea eggs, and ticks. It's a concentrated formula meant specifically for outdoor use.
Adams Carpet Powder with Linalool and Nylar works hard to kill fleas, flea eggs, flea larvae and ticks on carpets, rugs, and furniture where fleas may hide.
Just like with garlic, using vinegar to kill fleas is not recommended because it is unsafe and doesn't work. The smell and stickiness from spraying apple cider vinegar on your pet's bedding—or directly on your pet—is enough to keep you away, but fleas and ticks aren't as picky.