Fleas can be the bane of a dog’s life and yours. Getting rid of fleas can take a lot of work and perseverance. While there are many dog ​​flea remedies available, basic knowledge about the life cycle of a flea and how they invade your dog and then your home makes all the difference in finding the right treatment.

Fleas have a life cycle of around 4 weeks. They go from egg to larva to adults which then lay more eggs and start the cycle all over again. The problem is that products that kill the adults may not kill the eggs. If you rely solely on them, you may believe your dog’s fleas are gone, but then find they’re back in a week or two when the eggs hatch.

Fleas not only make your dog’s life a misery, but they also get into bedding, carpets, curtains, and even cracks in the floor. Therefore, when looking for canine flea remedies, environmental control should also be considered.

Washing your bedding and vacuuming will get rid of some of the nasty little fleas, but you may also need a defroster or “flea bomb” that you can place around the house to exterminate all the fleas at once. Toxicity is an issue, as many of these products are harmful to humans, particularly infants and young children, and your pets.

Flea collars, sprays, powders, and shampoos work well to repel adult fleas and keep them off your dog, but the eggs are a long-term problem. Today there are pills and even injections that your vet can prescribe that will prevent the eggs from developing into adult fleas. This can be very effective when combined with an adult flea killing product to keep the flea population on your pet down.

But what if you don’t want to subject your pet, yourself and your children to harmful chemicals? There are quite a few natural canine flea remedies that can help.

One of them is to feed your dog garlic at every meal. Check with your vet before feeding your dog garlic to determine how much is safe for your dog’s size. Fleas do not like to bite dogs that have eaten garlic. It is also recommended to add sulfur to your food once a week. To get rid of adult fleas already infesting your pet, rubbing your dog with basil can help, and bathing him in a weak vinegar solution is also effective and soothing for flea bites and rashes.

Getting rid of fleas can take a long time, but once you reduce the flea population and then eliminate them, you should be able to keep your dog virtually flea-free with regular maintenance.