Can I get rid of fleas on my pets with vinegar?
Karen Burley From Norwood, GA
A non-toxic, inexpensive way to kill fleas is to bathe your baby in a mixture of half baby shampoo and half hydrogen peroxide. When dry, spray with Adams flea spray as directed. I have cats and dogs and this has saved us tons of money! (05/22/2006)
By gazookeeper
Dawn dish detergent is fantastic. I have a 4 month old toy Poodle, I put Dawn from his neck down. I rub it in his hair very well and leave it on 3-4 minutes, then I rinse him thoroughly. You will see the dead fleas on animal and in bath water. I then shampoo my doggie in his good smelling shampoo. Try it and let me know what you think. Have a good day. (05/23/2006)
By Deanna
I would say try the vinegar. Although I have never used it on my dog I do know it will help take care of lice on children. I can't imagine that it would hurt the dog as long as you keep it out of their eyes. Vinegar is actually healthy for human hair. (05/23/2006)
I don't know about using vinegar for fleas, but our dog is prone to yeast infections on his skin, and our vet prescribed that for him. We mix 1/4 gallon vinegar with 3/4 gallon water and rub that in after his bath. We did that weekly and his skin cleared right up. He also had no fleas and no more flies around him. Good luck! (05/24/2006)
By Amy.
We have used approx. 1 tsp. vinegar to one quart of water for the past 3-4 years. This is drinking water. It seems to work from the inside out and my dogs don't mind it at all. They haven't had any fleas since shortly after we started using it. We were getting totally flea infested. Nothing worked (even flea bombs). I got this hint originally from someone on one of my internet groups. I really wish I had saved her name, so I could credit her. Maybe, someday she will post again.
Incidentally, my cats don't like it.
Laine (05/25/2006)
By Laine
We are working on getting rid of some fleas right now. I am looking for solutions myself but my daughter told me that we should put a flea collar inside the vacuum bag. (She has worked for a vet for many years, has lots of animals and does this herself). She said that fleas can live in a carpet for a long period of time and hatch eggs all the time. When you vacuum they also hatch the eggs inside the bags and will come back out. The flea collar inside the bag kills the fleas and eggs that you vacuum up.
By Memory
(b)Editor's Note: (/b) Usually white vinegar is safe for any cleaning but for use on animals or for consumption, I'd use apple cider vinegar however rice vinegar might work fine, it just costs more. (06/25/2006)
By ShelliR
Last summer we ran into a huge flea problem, thanks to a raccoon who had made our back porch it's home. I bathed my dog with a mixture of white vinegar and Dawn dish soap. The fleas immediately die, right there in the tub. It works wonders. I then fill a spray bottle with half vinegar, half water and spray him down every couple days. I put salt on my carpets which kills the fleas. Then I mix a couple of tablespoons of vinegar with his drinking water. Try all this, see what works for you! (08/26/2006)
By Rissa
My vet suggested that we give our dogs Flea Free. It is added to the food or water. Vinegar is part of the Flea Free ingredients. We also sprinkled nematodes to the area of the yard that the dogs frequent. He also suggested that we put Neem Oil on the neck and base of the tail once a week and pat the dogs down with food grade Diatomatious Earth weekly. The Neem is an natural insect repellent and the Diatomatious Earth is scratchy and uncomfortable to the fleas so they prefer to not be around it. You can also put the Diatomatious Earth in the pet's bedding and around base boards. It has not completely eliminated the fleas, but it has improved the problem greatly. That is a lot to say in Florida where we don't get a freeze to knock the flea population down. (06/24/2007)
By Dr. B
Hi, I'd just like to let you now that I put a bowl of white vinegar down every night when I had a flea problem in the house. Every morning I would come down to the living room to find the bowl full of dead fleas. It's the best and cheapest way I found which would actually work!
Hope it helps!
(09/18/2007)
By
I use 1/2 vinegar 1/2 warm water with dish soap on my cat and dog. This kills fleas instantly! I would HIGHLY recommend this to EVERYONE! You can also take a Q TIP and dip it in vinegar or rubbing alcohol and then put it on fleas when you see them on your animal. This stuns them. Next you can pick the flea off and put it in a bowl of vinegar to kill it. Good luck! (10/07/2007)
By Kelsey
Vinegar does work very well. Before I bathed my cat in a half, half, and Dawn. I took a bowl of vinegar, bowl of water, and her flea comb and started to kill fleas right away. I would dip the comb in the vinegar after running the comb though her fur. Then I would rinse the comb with the water. Worked great. It took about 2 min. to kill the fleas in the bowl so i left her in the tub for about 5 min. P.S. half & half water, vinegar to spray everything. Thanks (10/27/2007)
By Djohnson
Thank you for the tip about dabbing the flea with a Qtip soaked in alcohol. This has made an amazing difference in catching the "stunned" flea! Also going to try the white vinegar at night in a bowl --- I had forgotten about the method -- and the apple cider vinegar in the drinking water (I'd used a quality ACV like Bragg's). I have also applied Lavender Essential Oil to the coat - that has also worked in repelling fleas in the past. (04/14/2008)
By Lin
Vinegar DOES work. My dog hates being sprayed with the vinegar/water mixture so I figure next time to just put it on a cloth and wipe her down and see how that works. Salt in the carpet also works. I discovered that years ago. My Dachshund sleeps with me and I HATE fleas in my bed! The Frontline and Biospot do NOT always work. Plus they are very expensive, especially with more than one dog. Also, the bigger the dog, the more expensive these chemicals are. Another way to get your money. I hate the thought of getting the chemicals on my skin. Just think...they absorb into your dog. What about on you? These chemicals are VERY toxic. Yes, a lot of dogs have had very serious reactions, sometimes even death, from these chemicals. Why chance it? Vinegar is easy to use and cheap. $3 or so for a gallon. (05/19/2008)
By Linda
Diatomaceous Earth for your home and pet bedding. Put a paper mask on and use a puff bottle. Put it everywhere you suspect fleas might be. You can even dust it on your dogs and cats. Do not get it in your lungs or theirs. It doesn't hurt if they walk in it. It dries the fleas up and ruins their skeletal system. It works and it is organic.
I actually sprinkle it in their beds and I burn the bedding. Even more effective. If you can't burn, use some sort of garden tool and scoop it into plastic trash bags and dispose of them immediately. THIS WORKS and is very, very cheap. You will rid your living space of fleas, eggs and larvae. (06/20/2008)
By Patmowdy
I do rescue and average about 8 dogs at my house at any given time. I do use Capstar which I buy online from a supplier. I also use Dawn dish soap as a shampoo. It works well and is much cheaper than your average doggie product. In between baths, I brush the dogs and spray a mixture of vinegar and water (not in their faces) This kills fleas, shines their coats, and helps with the doggie smell. Occasionally I do need to use some Frontline or Advantage. But that's only occasionally and only in the hot Georgia summer. (07/21/2008)
By Linda
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