Some homemade strategies work well to keep fleas off your pet.
The ubiquitous flea infests pets and homes, making life miserable with their constant biting and general presence. Getting rid of fleas starts with eliminating them from your pets. Commercial products flood the market with their claims to kill fleas. Some work better than others, but the products that work well, are expensive. Flea topical solutions can cost as much as $20 for a monthly application. If you want to save money and use natural products that are non-irritating, there are a number of homemade flea dips that will work. Like any product, use them periodically to control the fleas.
Instructions
1. Try lemon flea dip. Lemon contains limonene, a chemical that kills and repels fleas. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add slices of lemon and steep overnight. Take out the lemons and pour the flea dip into a spray bottle. Before putting the flea dip on the pet, shampoo the pet with a mild pet shampoo. This will eliminate many of the fleas. Comb the pet to remove additional fleas. Spray the lemon mixture on the pet, making sure to apply under the armpits, belly, tail and behind the ears. Be careful not to spray near the eyes. The lemon mixture will continue to kill fleas and repel fleas. It also soothes irritated skin. Reapply often.
2. Try an herbal mixture. Put 2 cups of rosemary into 2 pints of boiling water. Steep the rosemary for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid and discard the herbs. Add enough water to the strained liquid to make a gallon of flea dip. Saturate the pet with the flea dip. Do not rinse off, but let the dip dry normally. This flea dip also repels ticks.
3. Use oils. Starting with 10 ml of almond oil, add 10 drops of lavender and five drops of cedar wood. Shake well. Apply one to two drops of the oil to the pet and massage into the skin. Reapply twice a week. The oils heal irritated skin, soothe the skin, and repel the fleas.
4. Take preventive measures. Using a flea dip on your pet is the first step to ridding your pet and home of fleas. Fleas multiply quickly and go through four cycles of life. A flea lays 15 to 20 eggs a day. These eggs hatch in two to 12 weeks. Larvae then spend several months weaving a cocoon. The cocoon develops into pupa and then hatches as a new flea. To stop the flea cycle, vacuum daily, and wash pet bedding weekly. Periodically, sprinkle salt on your carpet, wait a few hours and vacuum.
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