# What are some home remedies to rid fleas off my dog? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273 "2007-11-13T18:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/1 "2007-11-13T18:35:53Z")
ssia. My poor dog is going to be dipped this coming weekend and I also have no car until then, so I ca’t get out to get her anything. She’s a big black lab and has a hard time reaching her itchy places, so I do it for her. Until I get her something, what can I put on her that may be lying around the house to give her some temporary relief from these little, itchy bastards until I get her dipped. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/2 "2007-11-13T18:43:07Z")
Do you have a flea comb? It’s hardly a “home remedy” but it really does work and my dog loves it. You dip it in a bowl of soapy water after each stroke to kill the little bastards. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/3 "2007-11-13T18:45:20Z")
Nah, no flea comb. Any other suggestions? Thanks buddy ! ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/4 "2007-11-13T18:48:40Z")
I’ve heard (but not tested, yet) that adding some vinegar to your dog’s water will help keep fleas away. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/5 "2007-11-13T18:59:21Z")
Brewer’s Yeast in the food is supposed to help reduce or eliminate the bites. But as you’ve got no car you’ve probably got no way to go get any. Washing her with a medicated shampoo for dogs might help. I know she’s got to be miserable. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/6 "2007-11-13T19:47:17Z")
Once you get rid of the fleas, what’s your plan to keep them away? We’ve been having phenomenal results on our dog with Revolution - it’s a combo heartworm and flea preventive, and it’s as if the dog has a force field around her. Even when we visit our friends with the semi-feral cats, three dogs and two goats that all freely share fleas with each other and any other passing mammal, (yes, even us humans!) she’s completely unaffected. It certainly costs more than the stuff sold at the grocery store, but it really works. You just need to have a clear heartworm test before starting with this or any other heartworm preventive. And, if the flea problem is really bad, it may take a couple months for the stuff to take effect against all the fleas in their various stages of life - eggs, larvae and adults. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/7 "2007-11-13T20:13:32Z")
Is your house infested with them? We used to have 2 cats that had them. Once we got rid of the cats, our house still had the fleas and had to have 3 spray treatments by the pest control person to get rid of the vile infestation we had. It was awful. You might want to make sure you have your house checked so you don’t inadvertently re-infest your dog. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/8 "2007-11-13T20:17:58Z")
[QUOTE=Lightnin’] I’ve heard (but not tested, yet) that adding some vinegar to your dog’s water will help keep fleas away. [/QUOTE] > [@GaryM](#): > > Brewer’s Yeast in the food is supposed to help reduce or eliminate the bites. But as you’ve got no car you’ve probably got no way to go get any. These are both incorrect. These treatments won’t do jack all to get fleas off your dog. Flea Dips are old technology that 1. don’t work as well and 2. don’t have as wide a margin of safety for your pet as some of the newer behind the neck treatments like Advantage and Frontline. Washing your dog with Dawn soap (about the only common soap safe to use on animals) will do wonders for the short term. However, you will only get rid of the fleas that are on your dog at the time. Since fleas spend more time living in your carpet, fabrics, and elsewhere in your house and environment, your dog will pick up new fleas almost immediately after washing her. If you’re going to do this, you have to do it right or it won’t work. This is what I would do. NOTE: I am not a Veterinarian. Consult your vet before starting, especially if there is anything funky, like your dog is sick, or has broken skin, or anything else. Step one: Wash all the bedding, your dog’s and your own. Vacuum, and consider using the Frontline environmental spray or an insect bomb. Step two: If her flea problem is so bad that you can find multiple fleas just parting her fur, get a dose of Capstar from your veterinarian. Step three: apply a topical once-a-month treatment like Frontline or Advantage. Frontline also kills ticks, so it’s probably preferred for outdoor doggies. Step four: 3-4 days after the topical drugs, give the dog a bath. The fleas should all be dead at this point, but it will help your dog feel better, both to her and to you. Repeat the monthly topical treatment **for at least 6 months** because flea eggs can live in your carpet for that long. Keep up with the vacuuming. PMing **VetBridge** now. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/9 "2007-11-13T20:40:16Z")
To keep them away, I’m first gonna bomb the house while my dog is out getting the royal treatment, then I’m going to use that carpet stuff they sell. Should take about 5 hours before the dust settles. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/10 "2007-11-13T20:46:21Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] To keep them away, I’m first gonna bomb the house while my dog is out getting the royal treatment, then I’m going to use that carpet stuff they sell. Should take about 5 hours before the dust settles. [/QUOTE] A lot of the bomb type things won’t kill the eggs. Be prepared to repeat the treatments every month or so. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/11 "2007-11-13T20:47:13Z")
IIAV, and have nothing to add to **Pullet’s** post, other than to say that (s)he covereed the topic very well. Brewer’s Yeast, when studied in a controlled setting (imagine having the job of counting fleas) has no effect on flea populations. Any shampoo will allow you to rinse some of the fleas down the drain. Dawn dish soap does a good job. Some people apply Avon’s SkinSoSoft as a rinse. The dog stinks and feels slimy afterwards. I have had clients who refuse to apply _any_ chemical to their pets. One client in particular, has a dozen or so cats. They flea comb them _every evening_ while watching TV. Talk about no social life! Personally, on my dog I use Frontline and Advantage (alternating) and am very pleased to have a flea-free pet and home. One other caveat: there are multiple OTC flea products that mimic Frontline/Advantage application technique, while lacking efficacy. Flea products are regulated by the EPA, not the FDA. Stay away from OTC products such as Biospot. Also, IMHO, Hartz-Mountain products should be avoided. [http://www.boycotthartz.com/](http://www.boycotthartz.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/12 "2007-11-13T20:48:32Z")
Revolution kills the _hell_ out of fleas. Last year Frontline didn’t even touch them, they were so bad, but the day after I Revolutionized my dog he was covered in dead ones. (Which is kinda scary when you think about it, but it was a huge deal to him.) Of course we did have to do it for a few months to get all the life cycle stages of flea. Revolution is like nuking the suckers from orbit. My vet also told me that fleas would prefer my dog to me, and so they’d hatch and hop on him and get their little asses Revolutionized as well, so I didn’t need to worry too much about the house unless I was already getting bitten. I don’t know if that’s true or not, though. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-home-remedies-to-rid-fleas-off-my-dog/426273/13 "2007-11-13T20:49:13Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] To keep them away, I’m first gonna bomb the house while my dog is out getting the royal treatment, then I’m going to use that carpet stuff they sell. Should take about 5 hours before the dust settles. [/QUOTE] Keep in mind that bombs have a circular dispersal pattern, while most rooms are square or rectangular. It is more work, but you will see better results with a premise spray applied by hand.