Sometimes pets can have an allergic reaction to certain products, so you might want to use homemade flea treatment to make sure it doesn’t contain the ingredient your pet is allergic to.  Or perhaps you are concerned, as perhaps you should be, about all the chemicals in over the counter treatments, and what side effects they will have.  Sometimes the side effect of treatment on a pet’s skin is worse than the actual infestation of fleas in the first place.

Well, if you are concerned about that, or if you’ve had such experiences in the past, then homemade flea treatment is a good option to consider.  This does not, of course, require that you have a big laboratory to create your own vat of chemicals to eradicate the fleas.  If you were going to do that, you might as well just buy the products already available.  Unless, that is, you have a big lab in your basement and a recipe handed down from your great grandmother for flea treatment... but in that case, you should probably be in a Hitchcock movie, not on the look for flea treatments on the internet!

What are the (realistic) options for homemade flea treatment then?  Well, the main one, and this can’t be said enough, is preventative.  You want to keep your pet’s living area, and sleeping area, clean.  This means, at the least, regular vacuuming.  And do not allow those hard to get to corners get a free pass either, fleas love places like that!  Also remember that although they don’t have any wings, fleas are able to jump up to eight feet.  You’re probably thinking that considering their side that’s an absolutely incredible achievement, something akin to a human being able to stand on their lawn and jump onto the wing of a jet as it passes by... well, that might not be quite the same but you get the idea... and while I agree, the main point is to keep in mind that fleas can travel.  So your pet doesn’t have to be lying down, it doesn’t even have to be on the exact patch of carpet that the fleas are in right now, it just has to be within eight feet of them.

You didn’t come to an article about homemade flea treatment to read that you should vacuum, thoug.  That certainly won’t solve the problem once your pet has an infestation, although it is an important part of getting rid of them as it ensures that they won’t immediately come back.  Repellents are another good way of keeping the little critters away, and eucalyptus leaves are one of the best forms of flea repellent.  Put them in all the little nooks and crannies, the hard to get to corners, and it will keep the fleas away.  Borax is another good option, although obviously not so natural.

Again, however, that won’t help to get rid of an already present infestation.  For that the best option is a bath.  With the body completely submerged in water, the fleas will die, and if you add some natural detergent to that (you’ll have to get that at a store unless, you know, you have a lab in the basement) then if you lather them up, the eggs and larvae will be eliminated as well.