What Are the Best Natural Flea Killers & Treatments for Pets?
Written by: Marty Grosjean, Only Natural Pet Founder & President
Fleas! Who doesn’t hate these blood-sucking parasites? Their target is one of the most innocent and precious things in our lives: our pets. Repellants can keep them at bay, but once they’ve laid claim to your home or your furry buds, treatments that kill fleas at every stage of their life cycle are required to finish the job and restore peace to your home.
If you’re looking for a natural flea treatment that actually works, you’re in the right place. From chemical-free flea-killing sprays to safe, natural shampoos, we’ll walk you through the most effective ways to eliminate fleas naturally — so you and your pets can finally get some relief.
How to Kill Fleas Naturally
When fighting fleas, you’ll need to focus your efforts on three different battlefields:
- Your Pet – Removing fleas from their fur and preventing re-infestation
- Your Home – Eliminating flea eggs, larvae, and pupae hiding in carpets and furniture
- Your Yard – Treating outdoor areas where fleas thrive
Ready to be a natural flea killer? Let’s get to work, soldier.
Natural Flea Treatments for Dogs & Cats
The Flea Comb: Your Best Offense
A flea comb is one of the simplest and most effective tools for finding and removing fleas in your pet’s coat. Comb through your pet's fur and gather a bit of hair and dirt. Put what you’ve gathered between two damp paper towels and press them together — if the "dirt" creates reddish spots on the towel, then a flea has been there (the dirt is actually flea feces). If you keep combing (especially around the tummy and tail), you’ll likely trap some fleas in the comb — then dip them in soapy water to kill them. While daily combing may sound tedious, it’s incredibly helpful for taking action against fleas and giving your pet more comfort.
Flea Killing Applications
Many topical sprays and shampoos claim to repel or kill fleas. However, many of them contain chemicals and pesticides with serious toxic potential. Pets are particularly susceptible to such products, because they’re constantly grooming themselves and ingesting whatever is on their fur.
For killing fleas once they’re on your pet, we recommend natural flea powders, like calcium carbonate or diatomaceous earth-based compounds. These kill fleas in all life stages by dehydrating them, a method that is not only non-toxic to pets, humans, and the environment, but also something fleas cannot develop an immunity to (as they do with all other pesticides over time). Make sure to start with just a little powder, as they’re very fine and go a long way.
Bathing your furry companion is another excellent way to kill fleas. Use an essential oil-based flea repellent shampoo for best results, and start by lathering the neck first, so fleas can't run up onto the head. Leave the lather on your pet for a few minutes to help smother any persistent fleas, and then rinse well, as soap residue can dry the skin and make your pet’s itchiness worse.
Natural Flea Treatments for Your Home
Most of the flea population you’re fighting lives and develops in your house and yard, not on your pet. Treating the environment is essential if you want to win this war. However, flea "bombs" and other products do not kill all life stages of the flea, and are generally made with chemical pesticides, which are not something you want to spread over every nook and cranny of your home.
Bust Out the Vacuum
Vacuuming and washing hard-surfaced floors often is the least toxic way to control fleas. This will remove most of the adults, and some eggs and larvae. Keep in mind the larvae don't like light, so vacuum well under furniture and around baseboards. Remember to suck some natural flea powder into the vacuum to kill any fleas in the bag, or immediately remove the bag and discard it in a sealed plastic bag after use. Otherwise, the fleas will simply jump out of the bag and back into your home.
Beat Fleas with Powders & Sprays
Vacuuming alone can't control severe infestations, and not everyone has the time to clean the floors daily. That's when we recommend natural flea killing powders for ridding your home of fleas. The least toxic products are calcium carbonate, diatomaceous earth and boric acid products, which work by desiccating (drying out) the fleas, larvae, pupae, and eggs, killing them. Calcium carbonate and diatomaceous earth can be used on carpeting, pet bedding, furniture, and floors (and on your pets!). They are very fine powders, so they get into cracks and crevices on hardwood, tile, and linoleum floors easily. You can work them in with a broom or carpet rake so they create less dust when walked on. A difference in the flea population can be noticeable in 24–48 hours.
Natural sprays for the home, formulated with eugenol (derived from clove oil) and cedarwood, are another proven way to kill and repel fleas in the home. Safe for furniture, bedding, and flooring, these sprays can help you treat hard-to-reach areas and form a barrier around your living spaces.
Naturally Protect Your Yard from Fleas
Last, but certainly not least, treat your yard — the primary source of fleas. Larvae avoid light, so rake up leaves and thatch, and keep any grass cut. A majority of fleas and larvae will be within 50 feet of your pet's favorite resting spots, so focus on those areas, especially shady places under trees, bushes, and decks. Natural flea powders can safely be applied to grass, and natural yard sprays can kill fleas and repel future visitors.
Beneficial nematodes (worms) are another way to control fleas in the yard, especially during wet weather. These worms are tiny critters that prey on both adult fleas and larvae. They can be applied with a hose sprayer or, on a smaller yard, with a watering can. Some garden centers and nurseries carry them (or can order them for you), as well as specialized retailers.
The Best Way To Kill Fleas: The Preemptive Strike
If you live in a high-flea area, don’t wait until you see fleas on your pet to treat your environment! If you live in an area with a predictable flea season, begin the treatment a month before they appear. If you live in a place where flea season is every season, start now and treat your home regularly.
Natural flea prevention methods are available for both your home and yard as well as your pet. The powders and sprays mentioned above are just as effective for repelling fleas as they are for killing them, and a wide variety of natural flea (and other pest) repelling products are available from Only Natural Pet to help you prevent flea problems before they can start.
