We have 4 dogs and fleas have been a HUGE problem this year.  We’ve never had a flea problem before and I don’t know how they infiltrated our property.  We’ve had back-to-back mild winters over the past couple of years and I suspect that may be part of the problem.  But Maggie, our Border Collie/Lab mix, Abby, our Bichon Frise, and our two rambunctious young sisters, Zoe and Chloe, Golden Retriever/Lab mixes, are not too happy with the situation.  We’re talking thousands of fleas.  It’s horrible!

We live in the middle of a state forest surrounded by trees, palmettos, and everything wild.  I avoid using chemicals at all costs and actively look for natural solutions to pesky problems.  I don’t want to poison ourselves, our dogs, our water supply, or the environment with toxic chemicals.

Our main problem has always been tick infestations.  But the strange thing is that with the current flea infestation, we haven’t seen any ticks.  I wonder what’s up with that?  Perhaps the two can’t coexist together.  But whatever the case, I don’t know which is worse — fleas or ticks?

I’ve been trying different things on the dogs for fleas.  I’ve tried various holistic flea and tick sprays, and I even tried dusting them and their bedding with diatomaceous earth (DE) , but none of it worked.  The only thing DE succeeded in doing was to kill the plants where the dust settled.

Then, I tried apple cider vinegar.  IT WORKED!  I freely applied it from head to tail, making sure to avoid the dog’s eyes, gently rubbed it in until the fur was fully saturated, and waited a couple of minutes.  To my surprise, apple cider vinegar kills the fleas almost instantly.  I was able to rinse the dead fleas right off the dog.  IT’S AMAZING!

I’ve only discovered this solution in the past couple of weeks.  Next, I’m going to try putting apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and spraying the dogs to see if it will help repel fleas.  I also wonder if it will work on ticks?  I’ll keep you informed as I learn more.  But if you’re looking for an all-natural treatment for fleas — FULL-STRENGTH APPLE CIDER VINEGAR KILLS FLEAS ON CONTACT.

I’d be interested to hear about what natural ways you have found to kill fleas and ticks.

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