How to Get Rid of Fleas When Your Animals Have Sensitive Skin

Fleas are a common scourge of animals. Your pet can pick up fleas from outdoors in the grass or close contact with other animals. Fleas attach themselves to the skin of animals and feed off their blood, causing uncontrollable itching and irritation. Ridding your animals of fleas can prove daunting. For animals with sensitive skin, getting rid of the pests requires even more careful treatment and management.

Things You'll Need

  • Hypoallergenic shampoo
  • Flea topical ointment
  • Natural oils
  • Diatomaceous earth
  • Flea comb
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Instructions

    • 1

      Wash your pet with a hypoallergenic, vitamin-rich shampoo to soothe your pet's skin and to kill fleas. Known as anti-parasitic shampoo, this product is available in the hypoallergenic section of your local pet care store. Many of these types of shampoos contain oatmeal, which is known to soothe irritated and sensitive skin.

    • 2

      Treat your animal with effective yet less toxic products. Your veterinarian can prescribe a treatment that both kills the fleas and protects your pet's sensitive skin. Several prescription-strength products are strong enough to kill fleas without harming your pet. Products such as insect growth regulators and insect development inhibitor sprays are known as environmentally safe and nontoxic prescription-strength flea killers.

    • 3

      Use natural products to treat your pet and kill fleas. Rub food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) into your pet's fur. The micro-abrasive powder penetrates the exoskeleton of the flea, causing immediate dehydration and then death. Herbal remedies consisting of lavender, cedarwood, aloe vera, eucalyptus and jojoba oils combined with water also work to kill fleas and soothe the skin. Other water-based products with natural pyrethins, which kill fleas and provide protein to your pet's coat, also naturally repel fleas.

    • 4

      Comb out the fleas. Once shampooing and treatment are completed, another skin-friendly and effective alternative is to use a flea comb to physically remove the fleas. You can also find this product in your local pet care store.