Effective Natural Remedies for Flea Control in Pets
The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Posted by Melissa (Belpre, OH) on 06/08/2008 ★★★★★
___Dish soap truly kills fleas! I took in a stray cat and tried using the flea shampoos from Walmart several time and the fleas kept coming back... So my mom told me about it. So we gave the poor cat one last bath and it killed every flea on his body within minutes!! Make sure to avoid the eyes and mouth. A little soap goes a long way. His fur was also soft afterwards!
For those of you who are bathing your pets in ___ Dish Soap. I thought you might be interested in a bit of info.
Toxin Detergents. Detergents are divided into several categories. Soaps: Bar soaps, laundry soaps, and homemade soaps. Anionic detergents: Laundry detergents, shampoos, dish soaps, and electric dishwashing detergents Cationic detergents: Fabric softeners, sanitizers, disinfectants, and rust inhibitors in petroleum products. This category includes quaternary ammoniums. Non-ionic detergents: Dishwashing detergents, shampoos, and some laundry detergents.
General Information Detergents come in a variety of forms with each having a different level of toxicity. Every home has these common products in some form, and all family members need to be aware of the dangers.
Soaps: True soaps are usually not toxic. Anionic: Slightly to moderately toxic; may result in illness but generally not fatalities. Cationic: Highly to extremely toxic; 1% solutions are damaging to mucous membranes . Non-ionic: Less toxic than the anionic and cationic detergents
Signs Soaps: Vomiting and diarrhea. Homemade soap may cause corrosive GI lesions (burns). Anionic: Irritated mucous membranes, vomiting, lack of appetite, diarrhea, and GI distention. May have corrosive injuries in the mouth and GI tract. Eye exposure may result in edema around the cornea reddening and swelling of the conjunctiva and corneal erosions or ulcers. Cationic: Vomiting, lack of appetite, drooling, muscle weakness, depression, seizures, collapse coma, and burns to the mouth and GI tract. Eye exposure may cause redness and severe corneal erosions and ulcers. Skin exposure may result in hair loss and skin irritation. Non-ionic: Vomiting and diarrhea. Immediate Action
DO NOT induce vomiting if ingested. It may cause more harm. Seek veterinary attention. In the case of dermal contact, flush the skin for at least 30 minutes with running water. In the case of eye contact, flush the eye with sterile saline or water for 20 minutes. Seek veterinary attention while you are performing the decontamination. General treatment: Administration of milk or water in the case of soap, anionic, or non-ionic detergent ingestion, or administration of milk, water, or egg whites in the case of cationic detergent ingestion. If dermal (skin) or ocular exposure occurred, the affected areas will continue to be flushed with sterile saline.
Prognosis Fair to good, depending on detergent ingested. Keep this and all other medications out of the reach of children and pets. If you think your pet has been poisoned...Contact your veterinarian or one of the Animal Poison Hotlines (listed below) if you think your pet may have accidentally received or been given an overdose of the medication.
**ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center 1-900-443-0000 ($55.00 per case. The charge is billed directly to caller's phone.) 1-888-4ANI-HELP (1-888-426-4435. $55.00 per case, billed to caller's credit card only.) Follow-up calls can be made for no additional charge by dialing 888-299-2973. There is no charge when the call involves a product covered by the Animal Product Safety Service. **Animal Poison Hotline - a joint service provided by North Shore Animal League America (NSAL) and PROSAR International Animal Poison Center (IAPC). 1-888-232-8870 ($35.00 per incident. The charge is billed to caller's credit card only.) Staffed 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
Posted by Sharon (San Clemente, Calif) on 09/03/2008
One reader recommended Borax. Can it be used indoors if so full strength on carpets? I see lots of flea/dog remedies. Can anyone help me with cat fleas? Thank you, Sharon
I use Borax in my carpet for fleas and it didn't hurt my cats, but they didn't like it on their feet. It works best if you leave it on for a while. What I did was sprinkle under furnature and leave it there. I applied to the carpet that we see and let it sit for 5 hours. I just confined the kitties to a screaned porch for treatment. The borax left a film on the carpet, so wear socks after you vacume. Also vacume before and after the treatment. Empty your bag/canister, and spray filter with tea tree or neem oil. That way the eggs in the filter don't hatch and reinfest your house.
NEY-Borax was terrible. Although it did kill the fleas, it got caught in my loop carpet and I could not get it out. I steam cleaned it 3 times, carpet raked and vacumed countless times. It dried out my skin and caused a weird reaction in my ear. I had to stay with friends because I could not stay at my apartment and eventually had to replace the entire carpet so I could sleep there again. Apparently other people have also had a terrible reaction to Borax. Borax came out, took samples but refused replace my carpet because I did not keep the box.
I am considering using a steam vacuum with dawn soap instead of the usual steam cleaner. I am moving into a home that has a horrible flea infestation (thank you, previous owners!) I hope it works.
Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 06/05/2008 489 posts
Hi Marjie, I've never checked it out but I read in some hint column or book that if you have fleas in the house and didn't want to use chemicals (who does) that you should place a bright table lamp on the on the floor, place a container filled with water and a few drops of dishwashing detergent in it about a foot to the side of the lamp. I think the idea was that the light attracted the fleas, which came jumping in the light, landed in the water, which dispatched them to the happy hunting grounds.
Posted by Lawrence (Cebu, Philippines) on 08/19/2008
Re: ___ DISH SOAP - Natural Flea Remedies - To Paul from Oakland, CA - You can try putting a wire mesh or chicken wire on top of the glass pie plate to prevent your cat from drinking the water. Just make sure the weave is dense enough so the cats can't stick their tongues through the spaces.
Hi...I really want to try the glass pie plate with ___ liquid and water near the windows..but how do you keep the cats from drinking out of it?..... I'm trying to get the monthly flea med on the cats and they sense my anxiety and they are overdue and scratching ---I can't take it. Paul in Oakland.
Last spring I started my dogs up on Advantage flea control, thinking I would need to carry through with monthly application until November. Well, I ran out of it in June and decided to wait as long as I could before reapplying (not a big fan of chemicals). I am still waiting! I have combed off a few fleas in the 3 months, but no more than one at a time, with weeks passing before finding another one. What's amazing is that they go to the dog park several times a week and theoretically should be covered in fleas! I am guessing it is their good diet and regular exercise. I feed them Blackwood kibble for senior dogs (one of my dogs is young, but she gains weight fast on regular kibble), partially undercooked turkey or beef, and a teaspoon of molasses. I personally think that dogs who are infested with fleas are probably eating low quality kibble... if you've done your research, you know the kind of disgusting, cancer causing ingredients in the cheap stuff.
Posted by Lynn (St. Petersburg, Florida) on 07/01/2007 ★★★★★
I own several cats, and I recently moved to a new house where the new sod was infested with flea eggs/larvae. Within 2 weeks we had a flea infestation second to none. My cats go into the back yard which has a Cat Fence-In System, which keeps them in, but they brought tons of fleas into the house. I spent hours online searching for a non-toxic remedy. I ended up using diatomacious earth in the yard, which helped quite a bit. However, my cats were still scratching and miserable. I found that within the true homeopathic remedies of flower essences, "Crabapple" essence took care of the problem. There are others in different lines of homeopathic preparations which work also. I put two drops in their water bowls, and was putting it in their food, but only need to do the water bowls now as they are no longer scratching and chewing themselves raw. There are remedies for earmites, too. I think it's important to let people know that I am NOT referring to herb oils or plant extracts. Those didn't work for them. Essences are completely different and work on a vibrational level, which for some sounds unbelievable, but try it for yourself (it's at your health food store, and cheap) and do research online, with "flower essences" or "homeopathic remedies" for pets, and with some digging you will find it. Please feel free to contact me for further information as I would welcome the emails. Thanks.
Posted by Tried Everything (Austin, TX) on 06/29/2007 ★☆☆☆☆
I tried to feed my dogs garlic in order to rid them of fleas (according to some postings I read), but it really didn't work. My boys were sick all night, they threw up and didn't want to eat. Where I live, flea infestation is no joking matter. I hate to buy the medicine vets recommend because it's really toxic and not to mention that it gets expensive. I was really hoping that this would work, but it obviously didn't.
Posted by Valeria (Athens, GA) on 04/17/2007 ★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
I have been reading all of the suggestions and am planning to try some. I don't have a question or remedy to offer, but felt I must let you know about a dangerous option.
I've used Diatomacious Earth for years, I even used it to get rid of a horrific flea infestation in my asthmatic boyfriends house with no bad effects. It works against all insects and parasites. The IMPORTANT thing to note is that POOL GRADE D.E. IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND CAN CAUSE SILICOSIS (scarring of the lungs similar to asbestos poisoning) The only safe D.E. to use is natural pulvarized or ground D.E. that can be found in plant nurseries and food storage shops. This D.E. has NOT been superheated, a process which creates fine threads of silocone glass which makes it a better filtering product, but makes it dangerous to handle or breath. Flour grade D.E. is meant to be used in graineries as a bug and egg deterrant is fine enough to mix with flour. The Regular D.E. can be spread on carpets, or the cracks between wooden floors. Plan on not vacuuming for a while(like a week) in order to allow the D.E. to cut up and dry up the little buggers, and be prepared for a little dust to be produced for a short while as you walk on it. I've even heard of it being used a a coat powder and mixed in feed (for horses, cats,and dogs) but I've never tried that personally. I sprinked it in the carpets and brushed it in with the broom and let it sit for couple of weeks, them vacuumed and reapplied. This with Advantage treatment took care of all the fleas and there were none for the rest of the year.
Well I'm off to try an ear mite treatment on my new cat. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Hi, I was just about to buy garden grade DE to put in my vacuum bag ...when this clerk told me to "get away from there, sir", saying the stuff is leaking out of the boxes....(you can see fine white powder on the outside of the boxes.) Then this helpful clerk told me to go outside and meet him...I thought he gonna sell me drugs or something, but he told me that he worked in Pest Control in the past and that if you put DE in your vacuum...that it's gonna come out and you are going to breath it. So in any case---I didn't get the DE. The clerk was very pro having your house "bombed" professionally etc....P
Posted by dmpuppyove (Harrisburg, PA) on 04/15/2007 ★★★★★
I am allergic to fleas really bad. I am also in rescue & can have as many as 10 dogs in my house (and on my bed) at a time. So I cannot afford to have fleas as I break out in hives. For 20 years this is what I have been doing. First I use a baby castle soap that I get at the health food store that has either tea tree oil, lavender or eucalyptus in it. Then every week I spray them outside with this- (I put 1 inch of Avon skin so soft bath oil in a quart bottle & fill with water) I have also sprayed my house now & then with a mixture of water & peppermint oil . I never have fleas. I can't afford to- my health will not tolerate it. And this also repels the mosquitoes & ticks.
Posted by Gavin (Killarney Vale, N.S.W. Australia) on 03/10/2007 ★★★★★
I have fed my Dingo cross bred 1 clove of garlic thinly sliced in his nightly bowl of dry food for 3 weeks so far to cure flea infestation. I have tried both top brand remedies available in Australia, (Frontline & Advantage) to no avail.The dog laps it up and the fleas have gone. No side effect so far. He does not smell like an Italian restaurant, however his coat is also very shiny. Is this too much as I have heard that Garlic is both good & bad. Most reports of bad seem to come from Vets who would lose money by not selling/promoting their sponsored product.
This is a remedy my grandmother used. It is safe for the pets, and easy to do. Just take a little dish saucer (one that sits low to the ground), fill it with water and add two drops of dawn dish soap. Place it on the ground in the corner of a room along with a desk lamp. Turn the lamp on and let it sit. The water may need to be changed every couple of days. This remedy works well especially at night because the fleas are attracted to the heat of the lamp, so they jump in the water and the soap weighs them down and the drown. Very effective on minimal flea problems.
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
Just google it and you will find their main website with a store locator. I do think your best bet would be to use floor lamp flea traps - one per room, and also give your dogs flea baths [use dawn dish soap with white vinegar rinse] all at the same time, and also wash all bedding all at the same time, and to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Cheap but for the cost of your labor.
Posted by Kathleen (West Columbia, South Carolina) on 07/05/2008
I am also going to try the D.E. and, thanks to your post, I will buy it from a garden store. I just wanted to thank you so very much for your very important and vital information about the D.E. from the pool stores.
Also, I am going to try bathing my dogs in the ___ Dishwashing Soap along with baby oil and white vinegar and use the baby shampoo for their heads. I really pray that this will give them some relief. It hurts to see them suffer and we are suffering also. The fleas are in our house too and I am always scratching. It is horrible.
Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful upcoming week.
For fleas in dogs wash them with boric acid powder or Head and Shoulders. Use white vinegar in the water just a little. Sprinkle Earl Grey Stash tea and fleas will run dogs love it could be the reason they roll in it!
EC: Boric Acid can be toxic to dogs.' Read more about this on our Mange page.
If ACV doesn't seem to work on fleas, try Brewer's Yeast vitamin tablets and cedar chips for bedding. Most dog beds have cedar chips inside them, but you can also buy them straight for dog houses and such.
Posted by Rhonda (TX) on 02/26/2022 33 posts ★★★★★
Flea protection for dogs, DO NOT USE ON CATS! Buy some Rosemary sprigs in your grocery store. put them in boiling water. I used 3 for a medium-sized stockpot. Let them boil for an hour and turn it down to a rolling boil for another few hours. The pot of rosemary water will turn dark.
Let cool, fill half the spray bottle with the rosemary water, the rest with cool water out of the tap.
You can spray on bedding, blankets, carpet, even the dog. Yes, its o.k. if they lick it.
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
Your experience sounds spot on - DE makes a huge mess if you do it right, and you do have to sleep in another room while the dust given time to work. If you still are loaded with fleas, you may not have done enough dust, or applied to all the areas that needed it. You might find the lamp trap easier to use and more effective for your situation. Get a small desk lamp and place it on the floor that you want to treat. Put a white plate under the bulb on the floor, and add some water with a few drops of dish soap added - mix it so the soap is dispersed but don't get it all sudsy or full of bubbles. Turn the lamp on and turn the room lights off and then check to see what you have caught in the morning. I find this to be a very effective way to catch fleas and quickly clear out an infestation from a room. I have a lamp trap in each room of my house - they work on mosquitoes as well as fleas and tend to catch any insect. Keep your house well vacuumed, wash pet beds and human bedding frequently, and deploy many lamp traps to help rid your house of fleas. I also find the easiest and most effective way to get rid of fleas on pets is to give them a flea bath followed by a blow dry and flea combing to remove any fleas that survived the bath. Good luck and please keep us posted!
I use DE on my cat and I find two dead but the rest that I pick off of her are moving and not dead. I read not to put too much because it will make her skin dry. I'm stuck on what else to put on her maybe because I dont want to dry out her skin. I'm trying to find something for the flea eggs and adult fleas and I get like quite abit off her but not really infested yet or in the house yet, they just seem to stay on her only! Any suggestions? I'm reading on here ACV is good for fleas but not sure if it does the eggs too? She's an older cat and don't want to use any chemicals on her, don't really know what else to do really. Can you help me?
Black walnut is toxic to cats. In the past I read articles that said to use it but recent research disagrees. I then asked my vet and he said it is toxic.
I would like a diet change (willing to make it at home) for the allergy and something by mouth (no weird flavors, tried that) to rid him of the fleas. My cat won't let me touch him. He's apparently allergic to fleas. I can't get him to eat any vet prescribed flea pill, nor am I able to put the drops on his neck but one drop at a time while he's eating (this produces issues with his approaching his bowl, if you can imagine!)
I had to "wait " until he was in bad shape to get near him and take him to the vet. He's fine but beginning to scratch again.
I would like a diet change (willing to make it at home) for the allergy and something by mouth (no weird flavors, tried that) to rid him of the fleas. Thanks.
Greetings. I am not sure why you are looking for a diet change for your pet for fleas. To rid of the fleas, you should look into FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth. Do not confuse it with the stuff they use in swimming pools as that one should NOT be ingested.
Food grade diatomaceous earth can be purchased at feed stores. It is considered a natural non-toxic flea control. It works by dehydrating the insects. It is NOT a chemical that poisons. You can rub it into the cat's fur, sprinkle it and rub it into the cat's sleeping areas or on carpets etc. If your cat licks it, it won't harm him as it can also be used directly into their food as a natural de-wormer.
If your cat won't let you rub it into his fur directly, you could sprinkle onto a towel and wrap your cat in the towel, then work into the fur. It can have a drying effect on the skin. Take precautions to not breath in the dust while applying as it is an irritant to the lungs. Good luck and please let us know how you make out.
DE is a great product -but don't use to offen as it will dry out the skin. If this is used on a cat I would also use a flea comb. The De will not kill the flea eggs
If this is for a dog I recommend a natural product called EVOLV. Website: wondercide.com for products and information. It's a spray.
I did try on the cats but since they don't like to be sprayed I have put some on a cloth and wiped them down with it-but, I prefer to use the DE on them.
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