Fleas are a big problem on dogs and cats that are left untreated and spend some time out doors. Spring brings us warmer weather and lots and lots of fleas. If you live in the South where the winters are usually warmer, fleas can be a problem year around. Not only a problem, but a down right infestation! If you have an inside dog then unless you treat it, you also have inside fleas to go with the dog. Huskies are even more prone to have fleas because of their thick fur with plenty of hiding places for the fleas. On some huskies you really have to look hard to see the fleas but if you don’t treat them for fleas you can bet they have plenty to go around.
If you’re on a budget this can be expensive even for just one pet. I have tried a many home remedies for fleas just to save some money. I usually just ended up saving the fleas. Lets look at some of the home remedies for fleas that I actually used. It’s not that they don’t have some merit as they can work, but they also don’t fix the problem.
1. Rubbing an orange over the dogs fur. This does work to some degree because a flea does not like citrus. The problem is the citrus oil wears off in a few hours and then the fleas come back home. So anything in the citrus family will get you some temporary results. Lemons, oranges, grapefruit and so fourth.
2. Mint oil, peppermint oil and other essential oils. These will actually kill the fleas. I have bought some natural flea sprays to use on our huskies and it will kill the fleas and run off the ones it doesn’t kill. The next day however, more fleas. The flea problem is back in less than 24 hours. Hey I love natural products and support their use but they just won’t solve your flea problem.
So why does natural remedies for fleas not work? Because they do nothing to prevent new fleas from hatching out and starting the flea cycle all over again once the adult fleas are dead. The other reason is that these remedies don’t even kill all of the adult fleas to begin with. It only takes one flea to have hundreds more. Save yourself some time and your pet some suffering and just skip these solutions.
I also tried Demetrius Earth to get rid of fleas. If your not familiar with DE, its a really fine white powder that comes in a bag. You can buy it at Lowes or tractor Supply and other farm supply stores. This stuff is an all natural product made from fossilized remains of diatoms. You can read more about it here. I spread this throughout our kennel and put some on the dogs. A few days later you will find dead bugs laying around but your dog will still have fleas. If this stuff gets wet you will have to dust everything again. I even tried putting some on ant beds around here and it didn’t do much to hinder them either. I guess our ants down here in the South are just tougher or the ants they tested it on were sissies. Kills bugs just not ants or fleas.
Now for the things that do work. I use Frontline Plus on our dogs with 100% effectiveness. It just plain works. I have heard that in some places the fleas have become immune to it but I have not see it first hand. If so there are other suitable produces that competes with frontline Plus. These not only kill the fleas that are on the dogs but will also kill the larva and prevent flea eggs from hatching out. This will break the flea cycle and stop the infestation. You can get this in 1 month applications or 3 month applications. You just open the pack and squeeze the liquid onto the skin between your dogs shoulder blades on it’s back. Just don’t buy those cheap dollar store products because they don’t work and your just throwing your money away. I know because I tried them. I am all about saving money myself. Check this page out as well for more information about getting rid of fleas.
