It’s one of the most distressing and embarrassing things to happen to a pet parent – to discover that your dog is a flea and tick carrier. Other pet parents may shun you and your dog and family members may begin shooing the dog away from their bedrooms. If you have babies and seniors in the house, fleas and ticks can cause painful bites, scabies and certain types of fevers.

The dilemma is whether to use OTC medications that contain harmful chemicals or to formulate your own home remedies to get rid of fleas and ticks in dogs.

Chemicals may do the trick initially but they are harmful to the environment, the pet, and your home. People develop respiratory allergies and toxic reactions from strong chemicals used in antiparasitic treatments.

Common home remedies have ingredients that are available right there in your kitchen. However, you need to consult your vet before you apply or use home remedies on the dog.

Fleas
Fleas are able to jump more than 20 feet across animals and humans. Though they primarily live off animal blood, they can also attack humans and live in furniture, upholstery, and clothes.

• They may bite humans that they come in contact with and this may lead to itchiness and swelling. Flea borne diseases are highly infectious and fatal in many cases.
• Quick and easy home remedies are available for flea infestations.
• Dishwash soap is an effective and easily accessible cure. Dissolve dish soap in warm water and fill a few bowls or shallow dishes with the solution. Place these in rooms that you think have the most activity from fleas, especially at night. The fleas get trapped in the solution.
• A mixture of vinegar, witch hazel and water is an effective spray to combat fleas.
• Herbs such as rosemary, a mixture of lemon, salt, and baking soda, diatomaceous earth are all effective anti-flea treatments.

Ticks
Ticks can carry diseases like Rocky Mountain fever, encephalitis, so it’s vital that you get rid of them as quickly as possible. Give your dog a regular bath with antiseptic soap/shampoo and ensure that he or she gets a daily brushing.

• Cedar oil spray is a natural, non-toxic tick repellent product.
• A mixture of citronella oil, peppermint oil, tea-tree oil and a carrier oil like almond oil can be applied to the dog’s coat before going out. This is an effective repellent and preventative home remedy for ticks.
• Neem and eucalyptus oils are highly aromatic and very effective repellents and tick destroyers. You can also spray them on your own clothes such as trouser cuffs, shoes, etc before leaving the house.
• Apple cider vinegar combined with water and neem oil makes a great spray-on tick repellent.
• Humans can add garlic to their diet to repel ticks. They detest the odor of garlic and will not come anywhere near it.
• A few drops of rose geranium oil on the dog’s collar are a good way to ensure that ticks leave the host and never return.