Ticks and fleas are the creepy crawly monsters that feature in most pet parents’ nightmares. The mere sight of one of these bloodthirsty insects latched onto your pet’s skin is enough to cause a shiver to run down your spine. But what are they really, and why should we as pet parents care about them?
Tick and flea prevention is a cumbersome process and sometimes may require multiple approaches to get rid of them. This post focuses on how to tackle ticks and fleas without using medications or topical applications.
Here’s all you need to know about tackling ticks and fleas.
What Are Ticks and Fleas?
Ticks and fleas are two different types of parasites that commonly infect both cats and dogs. They both bite and suck blood from their hosts and transmit diseases. The good news? There are ways to get rid of these infestations and easy preventative measures that can reduce the chance of a re-infestation!
Here’s a little bit more about them both:
1. Ticks
Appearance: Ticks look a lot like very small spiders. Once they latch onto your pet, they feed off your pet’s blood.
Diseases: There are hundreds of different species of ticks that can transmit diseases like tick-borne relapsing fever to your dog and Lyme disease. There are also some specific ticks that can pass on tick-borne encephalitis.
2. Fleas
Appearance: Fleas are blackish-brown specks, smaller than ticks, and they jump very quickly and high.
Diseases: Fleas are another type of parasite that also freely roam in a number of different variants. Although they are not commonly as lethal as ticks, they can cause flea allergic dermatitis and pass on tapeworm and typhus.
Both parasites lay multiple eggs at a time, so tick or flea infestations can get out of hand very quickly. Whichever of these your dog has, it is extremely important you act immediately to get rid of them.
Signs That Your Dog May Have Ticks and Fleas
During the initial stages of the infestation, it might not be so obvious to spot these pests. These are the signs you should be on the lookout for throughout the year:
- Spotting ticks and fleas on your dog
- A lot of itchiness and scratching around the head and ears
- Red spots on your dog’s skin may be from tick or flea bites
- Signs of flea dirt (black-brown powdery substance in the fur)
- Spotting a tick anywhere in your home (yes, even a single one)
- Bumps or rashes (some dogs are allergic to tick bites)
How to Get Rid of Ticks and Fleas on Dogs?
If it’s your pet’s first time getting ticks or fleas, here are some tips that might be helpful:
Ticks: How to Get Rid of Ticks on Dogs
Ticks are much easier to catch than fleas. Ticks move slower and are larger; often you find them with their mouth embedded into the skin. Here’s how to get rid of ticks on dogs:
- Spread the fur around the tick back so you have a clear space to work with.
- Grasp the tick at a point that is as close to the skin as possible and pull it out gently. This is so you don’t tear the tick and leave any parts still stuck to the skin.
- Don’t release the tick back into the environment or it will simply crawl back.
- You can kill it by dropping it into a prepared solution of diluted disinfectant (alcohol and vinegar).
- Clean the bite area on your dog with a pet-safe antiseptic solution and wash your hands well.
Fleas: How to Get Rid of Dog Fleas?
Fleas are very fast and catching them by hand is quite tricky. You will have to do this as they run through your pet’s fur. Fleas can jump high and far as well, so be prepared for this. Pet parents generally find it easier to kill fleas by applying an anti-tick and flea massage oil and then giving their dog an anti-tick and flea shampoo bath with warm water. This may have to be repeated every 10 days until the infestation is gone.
How to Tackle a Tick and Flea Infestation?
What You’ll Need
- Tooth Comb (for ticks) and Flea Comb
Steps to Follow
Step 1: Brush Your Pet
Give your pet a thorough anti-tick and flea groom. As a general approach, you can begin by brushing them well with a tooth comb or a flea comb. You can locate and pick out many of the parasites this way. It will also give you an idea as to how bad the infestation is.
Once you pick out a tick or a flea, remember to kill it by dropping it in a container with a soapy solution. This is because they have a habit of coming back to your pet. In the case of fleas, squish them with your nail before dropping them in soapy water.
Step 2: Pre-Bath Massage
Before your pet’s bath, you could use natural pet-safe oil to massage onto your pet’s coat. You can consider Lavender, Neem and Camphor which are 100% natural active agents that help in repelling ticks & fleas.
Step 3: Baths
Giving your pet a bath with an anti-tick and flea shampoo will give them relief from the itchiness of tick bites. It should also get rid of most of the ticks on your pet. You will likely have to repeat baths once in 10 days or 14 days until all the ticks are gone.
Step 4: Clean Your Home Thoroughly
A one-time act of a bath is generally insufficient to get rid of the infestation. To eradicate ticks completely, you need to take on a 360° approach.
Have your carpets washed or vacuumed. Get your pet’s sleeping areas cleaned up as well. You can even dust some anti-tick and flea powder on your dog's beds, mats, blankets, and other bedding items. If you don’t tackle the ticks in the surrounding area, they will climb back onto your pet after the effect of the anti-tick and flea shampoo wears off.
Pro Tip: Ticks, fleas, and their eggs could also hide in the cracks of wooden furniture, doorposts, between tiles, etc. Spraying these with a natural solution of Neem oil and Apple cider vinegar can help. Remember to keep up the thorough cleaning of the environment. This serves to eradicate the current infestation and discourage future ones.
Step 5: Preventive Plan
Tick borne fever and Lyme disease in dogs are caused by ticks and are a serious illness, and so, many pet parents put in place a long-term preventive plan to keep these pests at bay. This reduces the risk of pets getting infected with tick or flea-borne diseases. This involves both making your pet and your environment unpleasant for ticks to infest.
Include Bug Repellent Preventive Measures in Everyday Grooming
Do a tick check every day when you brush your pet. Using a Bug Repelling Massage Oil before baths is a great way to encourage a lush coat as well as keep pests at bay. Use grooming products that include tick-repellent oils like neem, so parasites are discouraged from latching onto your pet’s paws. Our flea and tick spray for dogs can be used on the legs and body before walks and outings to deter pests.
Build Your Pet’s Immunity
Tick infestations are less likely to happen with pets who are healthy and eating a nutritious diet. It only takes a single tick to transmit dangerous diseases like tick fever, and a strong immune system is important to fight these. Ensure your dog has regular meals and stays hydrated. If you wish to give your pet some dog supplements, remember to consult your vet or certified canine nutritionist before doing so.
