How to Get Rid of Fleas in a House & on a Dog Naturally

Fleas are blood-sucking insects that thrive on their ability to leap onto victims and then feed on the victim's blood. They are mainly found on dogs and cats, but fleas also infest homes and bite humans. They hop from a host dog into the dog owner's home. Fleas have the ability to survive rough environmental conditions that allow them to remain inactive for a long time before they develop into adult fleas when the environment is more in their favor. Getting rid of fleas in your home and on your dog may require several treatment sessions, depending on the degree of infestation.

Things You'll Need

• Dog shampoo
• Borax powder
• Vacuum

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Go on the attack to treat your dog with a natural flea product designed to rid the animal of fleas. Use a shampoo containing ingredients of pine cedar, bergamot, rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus, citronella, juniper or geranium, according to Earth Clinic's website article "Natural Flea Remedies." Be aware that as soon as you wet the animal down, the fleas will run for another host in a bid to escape, Earth Clinic's website advises.

  Prevent the fleas from running to the dog's head area by pouring a thick layer of shampoo on the dog's head and neck area, the website urges. Hand-pour small amounts of water onto the soapy area and build up a thick, soapy suds barrier that will kill the fleas. Continue wetting and lathering the rest of the animal's body while frequently returning to massage and re-lather the neck area, the Natural Flea Remedies article emphasizes. Remember to rinse the animal and dry it off thoroughly.

• 2

  Sprinkle borax powder in the vacuum's canister as a pretreatment activity for treating inside your house. Vacuum your carpeting and other flooring to remove fleas and its other stages inside your house. Wear plastic gloves and remove the vacuum bag when you have finished vacuuming. Place it in a plastic bag and tie off the top of the bag. Take the bag outside of your home and put it in another plastic bag and then place it in an outside garbage can. The borax powder will eliminate any fleas that may have escaped into the canister.

• 3

  Get rid of fleas in your home, and the website CedarCide recommends the use of Best Yet to eliminate fleas. Use the product, which is organic and naturally safe, to kill fleas in your home, the article urges. Best Yet works to kill fleas by attacking their breathing system with cedar oil ingredients, which CedarCide says is completely harmless to humans and pets.