Essential Oil for Flea Prevention

When it comes to pets and fleas, prevention is the best option. Essential oils are a safe and effective way to keep fleas away from your pets. With essential oils, you can make your pet undesirable to fleas. Then your pet won't have to suffer through itchy flea bites. He won't carry fleas into your home, where they can lay eggs. You won't have fleas hatching in your rug, on your pet and on your furniture. Through prevention with essential oils you can avoid the entire hassle that comes with trying to rid your home of fleas.

  1. Essential Oils

    • Use essential oils as a safe, effective, and natural way to protect your dog from fleas. Essential oils come from plants. The oils within a plant are separated and captured using a distillation process. The result is a concentrated oil that has a strong smell and many useful medicinal properties. The essential oils from different plants can do different things, and some essential oils can repel insects like fleas.

    Oils to Stop Fleas

    • The best oils to stop fleas have an earthy, vibrant smell or a citrusy odor. Oils like peppermint, citronella, eucalyptus, cedar, tea tree and lavender make for the best insect deterrents. They each have a strong, distinctive smell that bugs don't like, but that isn't offensive to most people.

      In a study conducted by the CDC on essential oils derived from Alaskan cedar, researchers found that the essential oils were able to kill and repel insects at low concentrations and offered a good alternative to stronger pesticides.

    Using Essential OIls

    • Essential oils are safest when used topically rather than internally. They can be added to your pet's bath and worked into the coat. The scent of the oil will help keep fleas at bay. Also add 15 drops of the insect-deterring essential oil you like best to a spray bottle full of water. Every couple of days, mist your pet with the solution.

      One disadvantage of essential oils is that you do need to reapply them more often than a prescription flea repellent like Advantage or Frontline. Using a spray bottle makes reapplication easy. If you are diligent, essential oils can help keep your pet and your home free of fleas.