Fleas and ticks are more than an annoyance. Fleas create allergies in your dogs and also transmit diseases. Ticks, if embedded in the skin for a long time, lead to Lyme disease, tick paralysis, and spotty fever. Taking preventive measures and finding proper remedies can keep your dog free of those pests, the related diseases, and stress. Home remedies are healthy alternatives to medications and chemical treatments. They prevent the pests from infesting your home and surroundings too. These natural remedies can be made out of ingredients at home and used safely on your dog.

Remedies to treat from the outside

• Make a vinegar solution. It is a good repellent of fleas and ticks. It is a pet-friendly cleaning solution, and pests do not like its smell. It can be made with vinegar and water in the ratio 1:1 or 1:3 if your dog finds the smell offensive. Choose white vinegar or apple cider vinegar  
• Spray your dog with this solution avoiding its eyes and air dry thoroughly. 
• You can also soak a washcloth in the vinegar solution and wipe your dog with it if spraying is difficult. 
• Repeat the process for a few days.

Remedies that can be fed

• The vinegar treatment works well when you feed it too. A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar has mus be added to a quart of water in your dog’s water bowl. This water will give an acidic taste to your dog’s coat, which will keep the fleas away. 
• Feeding your dog, a small amount of freshly chopped organic garlic works as a flea deterrent. The quantity of garlic depends on your dog’s weight.

Keeping the yard flea free 

• Diatomaceous earth is a safe, natural way to keep your yard safe from fleas. The silica in the organisms on this earth kills the insects by cutting into them and sucking them dry. 
• Keeping the yard and garden in sunlight discourages fleas.
• A herb garden with strong-smelling plants like basil, thyme, sage, clove, or mint does not let fleas hang around.
• Garlic water, a solution of a gallon of water with a few pods of garlic steeped and left for about 12 hours, is a good spray to keep the yard free of fleas and ticks.
• Letting natural predators like ants, frogs, spiders, lizards, and beetles be in your garden prevents fleas as they feed on fleas. 
• Nematodes, a type of multicellular animal added to your yard, consume flea larvae.  

Keep your dog clean

• Clean your dog’s items like bedding, linen, and toys weekly with hot water and dry in sunlight or high heat.
• Give weekly baths with shampoos containing organic components and essential oils to keep your dog’s coat unfriendly to fleas and ticks.
• Keep the coat clean by combing with a flea comb. 

Make your home unfriendly to pests

• Spray the favorite lounging spots of your dog with sprays or solutions that contain lemon, salt, or essential oils. Essential oils have to be used with caution as they are highly concentrated, and your dog may be allergic to it. 
• Wash home linen regularly and vacuum clean thoroughly to get rid of the infestation.