Fleas, Our Pets' Worst Enemy
How to Use Essentially Oils to Treat for Fleas and Remove Them from Our Home
Description of Fleas
Using essential oils will keep your pet happy and removes the worry that these pests will invade the house. Fleas are ectoparasites, that is a parasite which lives outside the body. They feed on blood, preferably your pet but if your pet is unavailable then they will feed on you. Fleas lay eggs that hatch into larvae. The larvae spin cocoons and become pupae. An adult emerges from the cocoon.
There is a surprising ratio of eggs to adults: 50% eggs, 5% adults with the rest being in the stages in between. One female can lay up to 500 eggs during her lifetime. Normally the eggs are laid on the host but your pet could dislodge the eggs by scratching and then they land on your floor or carpet. And wait...
In an ideal environment, ie a warm and moist location, eggs will hatch in 12 days. If you try to eradicate fleas it is usually just the adults who die leaving a whole new generation about to hatch. This is why it can be very difficult when you have pets to become completely free of these blood sucking pests.
Just to complicate things, if there is no food available (ie no warm host to provide blood) these parasites can stay dormant until a living pulse walks by. Then the adults become active and eggs hatch.
To control and even eliminate completely all these pests from your pet you need to be vigilant and regularly groom your animal using essential oils.
Essential Oil Recipes
Recipe One
Get a flea comb. Put warm water in a bowl and add 4 drops of Cedarwood or Pine essential oils and 2 drops of Lavender.
Swish the comb through this water and then very thoroughly comb through the pet’s hair.
Rinse the comb frequently to wash off the adults and eggs and replenish the oils on the comb. This will not only remove the parasites it will condition the coat.
Recipe Two
An excellent way to maintain this clean coat is a flea collar dipped in essential oils. Buy a cloth collar from the pet store.
Ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon alcohol
- 1 drop Cedarwood essential oil
- 2 drops Lavender essential oil
- 1 drop Citronella essential oil
- 2 drops Thyme essential oil
- 1 drop Garlic essential oil
- 1 teaspoon carrier oil
Directions:
Mix these together and soak the collar in it until the oils are absorbed. The smell will not be offensive to the pet, even though their sense of smell is so much more acute than ours.
In fact, they will appreciate the difference between a collar with the scent of essential oils and the chemical smell of a shop bought flea collar.
Recipe Three
Another way is to spray either directly on to the fur or in the bedding, or both, using this spray.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of warm water
- 5 drops Tea Tree essential oil
- 5 drops Lavender essential oil
Directions:
Mix together and pour into a clean, unused spray bottle and label it. Spray after the weekly wash and regularly between times.
Use liberally on bedding.
Avoid spraying into the pet's eyes or on any open wounds as it may sting.
