Fleas and ticks are harmful pests that can live on the skin of your dog. They get their food by sucking blood, which causes painful itching on the dog’s skin. Fleas and ticks are known to spread diseases and can easily get into your house from your dog and cause a full-fledged infestation in your home.

While there are commercial products available in the market to battle a tick or flea infestation, they use various chemicals that can be harmful to your pet’s health. Instead, natural flea and tick prevention methods are better options as they do not have any side effects and also ensure effective results. These solutions can be easily implemented by you at home to ensure that your dog is free from flea and tick infestations and remains healthy:

1. Feed them garlic
A very helpful and a natural way of preventing flea and tick attacks is through feeding your dog garlic. This spice has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties and is a natural flea and tick repellent. You can add around two cloves of raw garlic to your dog’s food and allow at least 10 minutes for the garlic to mix well with the food before giving it to your dog to eat.

If you have a smaller breed of dog, one clove per day should be sufficient. The garlic consumed gets absorbed into the skin and repels fleas and ticks. It is also important to not wash away the garlic scent when bathing your dog, so use a mild shampoo.

2. DIY
You can prepare your own natural repellent against fleas and ticks for your dog. Just take a slice of lemon in a dish, pour boiling water over it, and allow the lemon to soak overnight. Then, strain the water and transfer it to a spray bottle. Add 10 drops each of lemongrass and citronella oil and a little apple cider vinegar to this mixture. Shake it well, spray on your dogs’ fur coat, and then wipe it all over your dog’s body. You can keep this mixture in the fridge and spray it once a week to avoid flea and tick infestations.

3. Vinegar water
Drinking diluted vinegar water is a natural way to prevent flea and tick infestations in your dog. Just add 1 spoon of apple cider vinegar to your dog’s water bowl and mix well.

4. Use flea combs
A flea comb is a good way to regularly brush your dog’s fur and get rid of fleas, eggs, and larvae from their coat, and daily combing is essential to get rid of fleas and prevent infestations.