Dog fleas are a problem that too many of us have been plagued with, but more importantly too many of our beloved pets have been plagued with. Getting rid of fleas is not an easy task, but with the proper plan and a certain amount of diligence it is possible to live a flea free life again. Let’s go through the steps necessary to get rid of fleas and keep them from coming back.

Before you make a plan, it’s important to realize a couple of things. One, fleas on your dog are only about 5% of the total fleas in and around your house. Two, live fleas are also only part of the infestation - flea eggs, larvae and pupae will all be present, and even when all live fleas have been killed, those eggs, larvae and pupae will develop into more fleas over the next two weeks unless they are dealt with as well.

1 -Rid your house of fleas - first, take your dog outside so that he won’t be spreading fleas back to the areas that you have just cleaned. Second, pick up anything and everything that is on the floor in all of your living spaces, including bedrooms, bathrooms, closets ? everywhere your dog has access to fleas will exist. Wash EVERYTHING - launder your clothes, sheets, dog toys, dog bedding, blankets etc. Anything that can’t be dried, hang up to dry outside in the sunlight.

Go through the entire house and vacuum as thoroughly as possible, making sure to get under all beds, as close to the walls as possible, under and behind furniture. Also vacuum any upholstered items in the areas your dog frequents. Once this is done, throw out the vacuum bag so fleas don’t re-emerge or hatch and re-emerge. Use soap and water to clean all hard surfaces, including closet floors, garage floors, and patio decks. Once everything has been thoroughly cleaned to get rid of obvious fleas, arrange to leave the house while you have a flea treatment. Make sure not to come back until the recommended time has passed and the treatment has been allowed to dry thoroughly.

2 - Get rid of the fleas outside your house - fleas that are in the areas outside your house that your dog visits will re-infest your pet the second he goes outside again. Arrange to have a flea treatment for your yard and garage at the same time that you treat your house. Make sure that you get to all areas that fleas like to hide, such as dark humid places like underneath the patio. Fleas prefer dark places, so treat crevices and corners especially well.

3 - Kill the fleas on your dog - give your dog a bath with dog shampoo. Once they have dried off use a flea comb to check for any fleas that you have missed.

4 - Keep killing fleas for the following two weeks - even though it may appear as though your house and pet are flea free now, you will undoubtedly be experiencing a false sense of success. There will no doubt be some form of flea (eggs, larvae or pupae) that have escaped the treatment, which take up to 2 weeks to reach maturity. Keep up with a regular schedule of laundering, pet baths and vacuuming, in order to catch any of the new fleas that will emerge over this time. If you are vigilant with this step, then you may avoid a re-infestation, or at the very least you will minimize it to the extent that a second round of flea killing will have a much better rate of success.

To read more about how to get rid of fleas on dogs ideas, click here to visit Dog Fleas.

Pet owners everywhere are at one time or another faced with the issue of how to get rid of fleas! When your pet gets infested with fleas it can be a terribly frustrating experience for both the owner and pet. Our local pet food store sells an assortment of flea collars, flea powders and flea shampoo including Frontline for fleas. Even though the staff are helpful, it is pretty hard to know which product to use and almost impossible to know all of the active ingredients of these dog flea products. There can be some hazardous side-effects of those well known but potentially highly harmful dog flea products. The chemicals used in some of the household name products and major national popular brands on the market may be poisoning our pets and marginalizing our own family?s health at the same time. So the question is, how to get rid of fleas safely?

As people become more aware of issues pertaining to their health, dog owners are seeking all-natural alternatives to the question of how to get rid of fleas. Some of the more common and popular all-natural dog flea remedies are sketched out below:

1. Household salt. Sprinkle it all over the house and let it sit for a week or more. Apparently fleas don?t seem to like salt. Your dog will lay on the carpet and the salt will get on his coat. A short time thereafter the fleas are gone.

2. Talcum powder to treat dog fleas. Cover your dog or cat with baby powder and this will smother the fleas. This remedy is often recommended for puppies or kittens who are too young to be treated with any flea chemical. You can also use baking soda.

3. For the dog fleas on adult dogs, you could try an olive oil bath. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the fleas just drown in it and fall out. Start from the dog?s head and work your way back so the fleas don’t move to the face where it’s really hard to pluck them off. Then you just shampoo the oil out and the dog fleas will wash down the drain.

4. Other people think garlic is the only way to go in the battle against dog fleas. Use fresh garlic diced in a food processor or by hand. You can put a dab of oil into it in order to make it more paste-like plus the oil will make for a nice shiny coat. Some people use a garlic pill supplement while others use freshly chopped garlic and mix it into the food.

It would appear that there are many natural alternatives to treating dog fleas. These treatments will likely work best at the point of initial infestation. For a really bad cases of fleas you might need to try a stronger dog flea remedy such as Frontline. In figuring out how to get rid of fleas its best to do your research. However, with all matters pertaining to the health of our dogs and cats, please check with your doctor about potential side effects.