Fleas feed on animal blood and can cause problems in a dog or puppy including skin irritation, allergic reactions, anemia, tapeworms and in some cases, death. So it is important to keep your home flea free and dog free of fleas.

There are many different ways fleas can be treated, however fleas can some times be hard to get rid of with one treatment. There are flea dips, flea collars, flea shampoos, flea sprays and monthly medications applied to a dogs neck to kill fleas.

Prevention of fleas is important to make sure you do not end up with a flea infestation. If a dog has fleas bad it can take several treatments to remove all fleas becuase, just becuase they are killed on the dog does not mean they are not present outside or inside.

An adult female flea can lay up to 2,000 eggs in her lifetime, which means fleas can get out of hand fast if not treated. When you see a flea on your dog, it is an adult flea and has probably already laid eggs. Flea eggs hatch and can develop into adults within only three weeks.

Carpet and bedding can be infected by fleas! When fleas are present in your carpet they will lay eggs and multiply like crazy. If you are having an issue with fleas in your carpet or have had an issue with fleas on your dog, there is help!

BioSpot Carpet Power kills kills fleas and ticks on carpets. Zodiac Flea Spray works well to kill flea eggs and adult fleas on carpets. De Flea Pet & Area Spray (my favorite) can be used on the pet’s bedding, carpets, furniture as well as directly on the pet.

There are lots of options for flea treatments on dogs.

The Natural Flea Treatments:

  • Give your dog a bath and rinse with apple cider vinegar. Fleas do not like the smell or taste.
  • Apply lemon oil on the dog collar. I have heard this works well but have never tried it.

Commercial Flea Treatments:

Advantage is a liquid flea medication placed in between the shoulder blades of your pet. It works well, however it does leave the dogs hair greasy for a few days.

Capstar is my favorite quick flea killer besides De Flea. It literally starts to kill fleas in no time. Capstar will kill the fleas on a dog but it is not a monthly flea preventative.

De Flea offers many different flea treatments including a flea shampoo that works EXCELLENT and flea sprays.

Frontline is a liquid medication also placed between the dogs shoulder blades.

Bio Spot is another flea treatment that does not require a prescription from a vet, it is an over the counter flea treatment.

Once you are able to treat your home for fleas, you may also want to treat your yard for fleas to prevent the fleas from being a problem again. Also a monthly flea preventative is smart to prevent flea infestations.