Fleas and ticks are two things that all dog owners fear. This makes them keep a constant watch over their pets to ensure they are not affected by these pests. This article will help you understand how to determine if your furry friend has fleas and ticks. It will also suggest some safe and effective home remedies instead of medical or chemical-based treatments to eliminate fleas and ticks in dogs.

How do you know if the dog has fleas and ticks?
It is quite a simple process. All you need to do is make your dog stand on a white mat or fabric and brush their skin. You might begin to see specks of dirt, along with red, brown, or black, little creepy crawlies, and you know for sure that your dog has fleas and ticks. But don’t worry! Here are some home remedies you can try out.

Best home remedies to get rid of fleas and ticks in dogs

1. A simple wash

The very first and most essential step is to wash your pet. You can use a citrus-based wash that you can follow through with a rinse using ACV. To do this, you need to take one part of vinegar and mix it with ten parts of water.

2. Keep your dog’s coat clean
Ensure you keep the hygiene of your dog’s coat. To do this, comb down the fur to get rid of any fleas or ticks. It would be best if you combed in the direction of the hair to ensure maximum coverage. Do this systematically to get as many of these pests out of the fur coat. Some areas that you need to pay close attention to is the tail, underbelly, feet, and neck.

3. Wash your dog’s accessories
You need to take care of your dog’s accessories too. Make sure you soak the bedding in hot water at least once a week. Use any form of natural detergents, especially the ones without any fragrance. If you and your dog share the bed, you need to wash that, too, along with the accessories.

4. Keep your environment clean
You need to keep the environment clean not only for your dog but for yourself, too, as you can end up with allergies if exposed to these pests for too long. This might, in turn, affect the health of your pet.

5. Follow a cleanliness routine
In addition to tackling the problem of getting rid of fleas and ticks on the dog, you need to follow additional measures that will eliminate the problem and prevent it from occurring again in the future. This includes a whole load of work such as giving your dog weekly baths, keeping your house clean and dusted (especially the fabric), and vacuuming every bit of the house multiple times to ensure you can control the infestation.

These are a few ways to quickly keep the fleas and ticks at bay. However, remember that home remedies are sometimes only the beginning as the dog may be having other issues due to these pests. In that case, you may need some form of medical intervention to help get rid of the problem.