There are many flea remedies for cats, so why not try things you have in your home?
Fleas can wreak havoc on our pets and our homes calling for flea prevention and flea control, and while there are many methods for mitigating these tiny and disruptive creatures, why not try a safe and natural approach first?
It can be easy to not trust these methods, but they’re effective and oftentimes less toxic than the other flea remedies.
At the Vet Set, flea control and prevention is crucial to the health of your cat and if there are natural methods available, we encourage you to explore them! Learn more about natural flea control in today’s post.
Preventing Fleas
Before we get into the at-home remedies to try, it is important to highlight that one of the best flea prevention methods is keeping your home tidy. Fleas depend on their lifecycle and when it’s disrupted a potential infestation can be halted, which is where cleaning comes into play.
Regularly vacuuming and cleaning your carpet, especially in the warmer seasons, can help prevent and control fleas. In addition, wash your cat’s bedding and the blankets they lay on weekly in hot, soapy water.
Grooming is also a vital part in flea prevention — not only is combing your cat and looking for fleas important, bathing them will help cut down a flea outbreak. Water drowns fleas, so submerging your cat (if you can) is the optimal way to kill any fleas.
Thank the ants! While we don’t want ants in our homes, they are great for flea prevention outdoors! Ants eat flea larvae and eggs — they are the best disruptors of the flea life cycle so keep them around!
Keeping a clean yard also ties into the flea prevention picture. Fleas gravitate to your cat outdoors, so keeping a trim lawn and watering it can better control fleas.
Fleas are drawn to sandy, bare patches in your yard, notably in the hot summer months. If you do have these areas in your yard, consider clearing the area of debris and laying sod or covering it in some other manner.
Successful and Natural Flea Treatments
Keep fleas away with natural products you can find in your pantry!
Apple Cider Vinegar
This has made its way into the mainstream as remedy for many things, including flea control. Apple cider vinegar won’t kill fleas per se, but it does cause fleas to jump ship.
It is recommended to dilute it into a 2:1 ratio of apple cider vinegar to water and spray it on your cat and comb through their coat.
Cedar
Fleas avoid cedar, so incorporating this into your home may help detract them. You can implement cedar into your landscaping (cedar chips or mulch) or add a cedar essential to spray bottle and spray it around your home — along walls, door entrances, and your cat’s area — to deter these creepy, crawly pests!
Rosemary
Rosemary is another scent that deters fleas. You can grow rosemary outdoors if you have a garden and use it in your home. Dry the herb and mix it in your cat’s litter box, or keep a sachet of rosemary hanging in their area.
You can also add a few drops of rosemary to your cat’s collar to really deter them from jumping aboard your cat!
Rosemary is also great to use when you bathe your cat — it not only discourages fleas, but it’s soothing and has anti-inflammatory properties.
Lemon
Citric acid is used as a natural flea killer, and lemons are chock full of it. You can make a mixture with a fresh lemon, but it’s extremely important to dilute it because it can irritate your cat’s skin if it’s too strong.
To make the perfect anti-flea concoction, boil a sliced lemon and let it soak in water overnight. Transfer the lemon water to a spray bottle and apply to your cat’s coat. Avoid their eye area and avoid this if they have any cuts or scratches.
Lavender
Lavender is not only soothing and calming, but it repels fleas! Because lavender is a pleasant scent for humans, you can easily place it around your house. Use it in an essential oil diffuser in your home and place it near your cat’s litter box, or let it grow in your yard!
You can use it similarly to rosemary and lemon, by mixing a lavender essential oil in a spray bottle and spraying it on your cat’s favorite sleeping spots or directly into their coat.
Salt
Salt dehydrates fleas, so it is the perfect thing to sprinkle in your carpets if you suspect fleas. Shake finely ground salt into high-traffic areas (especially the one your cat uses) and let it sit for a day or so and vacuum it up.
Garlic and Brewer’s Yeast
If you want to help prevent fleas with supplementation, both garlic and brewer’s yeast have been known to help ward off fleas. You can add a little garlic powder and brewer’s yeast to their food, or even sprinkle it into their coat.
Fleas are intrusive and can quickly cause an infestation if they’re not addressed promptly. There are many natural, at-home remedies that are effective and work just as well as other flea products in flea control and prevention. Give them a try today and let us know how they work!
To combat your cat’s flea issue and to learn more tips for flea mitigation, schedule an appointment in our Carroll Gardens vet office today.