Natural Flea Treatment for Dogs
It's flea season! These pesky little suckers are carried in by your dog and have a field day inside, especially if you have carpets.
One of the natural remedies against fleas that is safe for pets is food grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE), the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms that are made of silica. DE has a dehydrating effect and is often used to keep grains dry. Food grade Diatomaceous Earth can safely be consumed by humans and dogs.
Used on bugs that have an exoskeleton (ants, fleas, lice etc), DE cuts into their skeleton and dehydrates, which kills them. As long as the Diatomaceous Earth is dry, this is very effective.
Using this knowledge and our herb lore, we have created a home remedy for fleas on dogs we want to share it with you. Besides the Diatomaceous Earth, this flea killer also uses cloves, cinnamon and pepper.
Why?
While Diatomaceous Earth kills fleas, cloves and cinnamon are added to make sure no new fleas are jumping on board - fleas hate these smells. We have also added pepper to discourage our four legged friend to lick the powder, which hydrates the DE and makes it useless against fleas.
Without further ado, here is the recipe:
Homemade Flea Powder
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbs ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground cloves
- 2 cups Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth
Mix ingredients and put into a shaker container (i.e. a salt or basil shaker with big holes). One to two times a day or as needed, separate your dog's fur near the tail and sprinkle a small amount of the powder on the skin. Repeat between front shoulders. Comb through the fur until the powder is evenly spread.
One More Thought
While this powder is great way to get rid of your fleas, even better is it to not have any. A well rounded nutrition and limited exposure to toxins keeps your dog healthy and a flea infestation less likely.
A Word of Caution
If you have a very small dog or puppy, don't use this flea repellent on them! Even though food grade Diatomaceous Earth is safe and nontoxic, if it gets wet there is a chance that it can clump together and obstruct your puppy's airways. Please keep your puppy safe!
If your dog has dry skin, Diatomaceous Earth can exacerbate that problem. In this case try out the flea powder once and watch the dog closely how he reacts. If he scratches more than before, discontinue immediately!
A good remedy for dry and itchy skin in dogs is to add coconut oil to their food.
We also have an herb mix in the store to help with this problem: Healthy Coat will aid your dog in growing a thicker and healthier fur and help lessen the itchiness that comes with dry skin.
For dry and itchy skin in dogs, see also Relief for an Itchy Dog.
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