Any Best Non Toxic Flea Treatment for Dogs?
The most popular choice for any pet owner with a dog that is struggling with fleas is to use some type of effective flea medication. However, some owners will have concerns about the safety of these products, as well as for other products like flea collars and flea shampoos or flea sprays. Now to be fair, most prescription flea meds will be perfectly safe for your dog. If they weren't they wouldn't be approved by the US FDA (food and drug administration), but it is true that where you need to be concerned about flea products is with other ones like the collars, shampoos, and sprays. So what's the best non toxic flea treatment for dogs?
Buy Non Toxic Flea Treatment Meds Without Vet Prescription
Buy Revolution Buy SentinelThe answer to this question will depend on how willing you are to trust any type of pharmaceutical product. If you are fine with administering a pharmaceutical product to your animal then your approach to using a flea killer medication shouldn’t be any different. While there are some potential side effects (you MAY see them, you may not) to products like Sentinel and Revolution, these medications are widely regarded by both veterinarians and pet owners to be perfectly safe for use. They’re also really effective and can work to eliminate ticks too.
On the other hand, there are going to be pet owners who will prefer to use all natural products. Usually this is the way they are for both themselves and their pets, and being ‘green’ is a way of life for them. There’s a lot to be said for being that way, and we agree that there is plenty of reasons to be suspicious regarding the toxicity of some anti-parasite products when giving them to your dogs.
Avoid Inexpensive Products
We mentioned the inadvisability of flea collars and flea shampoos or sprays above. Now, to be fair, some of these products DO work. The primary problem with them is they while they ‘work’, they tend to be only mildly effective and they only kill mature adult fleas. Fleas lay a LOT of eggs, and their ranks are always being replenished so a medication that kill adult fleas, flea larvae, and flea eggs is going to be your best choice. But the question again of course is whether you trust in the safety of those medications.
The potential toxicity risk with flea collars in particular is that the parasiticide (in this case, flea killing) ingredient (often ones called Propoxur or Permethrin – both carcinogenic) is concentrated in the band around the collar. The risk is actually more for your family members, and in particular if you have young children in the home. There have been instances where youngsters have become ill after touching the collar and then putting their fingers to their lips or in their mouth shortly after.
But the bigger issue here is that if you’re hesitant to go with a prescription flea medication then you shouldn’t expect a flea collar or flea spray to provide good results. Especially if your dog has a more severe flea infestation.
So this leads us again to the question – is there one best non toxic flea treatment for dogs, and if there is how effective is it?
Natural Flea Treatments – Guaranteed Non-Toxic
At this point we’ve determined that prescription flea meds are by and large safe for use and don’t pose any real risk of toxicity for dogs. We’ve also determined that SOME (not all) flea collar and flea shampoos or sprays may not be as safe in this way. As mentioned, buying a cheap flea collar or flea shampoo increases your chances of exposing your pets or family members to toxins. It is true that using a flea medication along with a flea collar or flea shampoo can be a way to get better results from a flea treatment, so if you are going to go this route then make sure you don’t buy the cheapest flea collar.
We’re going to wrap things up here by looking at effective all-natural flea treatments as the best non toxic flea treatment for dogs.
Essential oils – using these products will very likely not eliminate fleas as effectively as a medicated flea killer, but they can be a choice for people insisting on an organic flea treatment. Effective essential oils for fleas include:
- Cedarwood / Citronella / Lavender / Lemongrass / Mint / Rosemary / Thyme
Another popular choice as a natural flea treatment is a mix of brewer’s yeast and garlic that’s added to white or apple cider vinegar and sprayed under the dog’s fur. This option is good because it’s quite inexpensive to prepare this mixture.
Next, some people choose to use diatomaceous earth to kill fleas. If you mix it with natural borax and salt and then apply it lightly around your dogs skin then it can be an effective flea killer. Diatomaceous earth contains particles with sharp spines that puncture the fleas’ shells and kill them. Then the borax and salt in the mixture dries up flea larvae and kills those immature fleas too.
However, you should not expect this option to be 100% effective either. Using diatomaceous earth to kill fleas works, but it’s not going to eliminate all fleas on your dogs. Another product you might check out is Sentry Natural Defense. It is an organic topical flea spray with cinnamon, clove, lemongrass, peppermint, and thyme oils.
Whatever option you choose, good on you for doing what you can to ensure your dog doesn’t have to suffer with fleas. You’re a good dog owner, and you care about your dog’s well being.
