Are you looking for a natural tick repellent for dogs? You’re in the right place.
Ticks can be a pain in the behind, but you can find excellent natural repellents to protect your pooch from them. From essential oils to collars and tags — we’ll give you some fantastic recommendations.
Brace yourself — a full day of lawn mowing, laundry washing, and essential oils potion making is coming. Here’s what we’ll learn:
- Ticks? What’s That?
- Treat the Environment First
- Take Care of Your Home
- Tick Repellent for Your Pooch
- DIY Tick Repellent
Ticks — What Are They and Why We Hate Them
Before we recommend you a safe, natural tick repellent for dogs, we should first tell you the basics about these tiny vampires.
Ticks are external parasites that feed on animals’ blood. They mainly go after mammals and birds, but sometimes even reptiles suffer their bites. While these bloodsuckers prefer warm, humid environments, you can meet them anywhere in the world.
Ticks are hosts of many dangerous and disease-causing bacteria. One of the most common illnesses you can get from a tick bite include typhus, Lyme disease, Q fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. These are all pretty unpleasant, so you and your fluffy friend should avoid ticks at all costs.
How to Deal With Ticks At Home
There’s no one best natural tick repellent for dogs. Still, you can undertake many steps to reduce the chances of your pet getting invaded by the bloodsuckers.
First, you need to start from your home. If you’ve already noticed ticks in your area, or even worse, on your pooch, you should treat your home as fast as possible. It takes time to treat your yard, house, pets and deal with any tick or flea eggs. Make sure you set aside a whole day for that.
Mow Your Lawn
Regular mowing will keep ticks away. They love grassy areas where they can hide and reproduce. Plus, mowing will make it easier for you to apply anti-tick pesticides.
Another natural flea and tick solution for dogs is artificial turf for dogs. You can cover a small lawn area with it and teach your dog to go to the toilet there. That way, your pet will get less tick exposure as they aren’t fans of artificial grass.
Cedar Mulch
An excellent natural tick repellent for dogs is Cedar mulch. Ticks are naturally drawn to shady and moist places, so it’s crucial to choose your mulch wisely. Cedar repels ticks and other pests, so it’s a good option. Also, it’s better to get chips instead of shredded mulch. It retains less moisture, creating an even worse environment for the parasites.
Add Cedar mulch to your home’s exterior foundations, around trees, and playing areas. That way, you’ll keep ticks away from your lawn. Plus, it’s natural flea prevention for dogs.
Fence Your Yard
This might sound illogical at first. Aren’t ticks small enough to not care about fences? Yeah, but ticks are parasites, so they travel on the backs of animals like deer, cats, dogs, and sheep.
By preventing parasite-caring animals from trespassing, you’ll decrease the chances of ticks in your yard.
Treat the Yard
Finally, the natural flea and tick prevention for dogs comes in the form of you spraying the yard with lots of tick-killing substances.
You can use Cedar oil mixed with water. That’s deadly to ticks. Also, you can spray some cotton with permethrin and leave it in a box in your yard. Mice will take the cotton to their nests. Then, the permethrin will transfer to their fur and kill the ticks without harming the mice.
Treat Your House
No natural flea and tick solution for dogs will fix your problems unless you treat your house first.
Imagine you and your doggy returning from a nice long walk in the countryside. You’re both tired from the amazing day. You take off your clothes, leave them on the bedroom floor and jump directly into bed.
Rooky mistake.
Clean Your Home
High water temperature is a natural tick and flea repellent for dogs and humans. And since we can’t spray ourselves with boiling water (unless you’re like me and would gladly bathe in a crater of lava), doing laundry is the next best thing — wash clothes at 130 F to kill the evil vamps.
Also, try to keep your place as clean as possible. Ticks will hide in the corners and lay eggs in those socks you left under the bed three years ago. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. And don’t forget to wash your dog’s comfy bed, too.
Kill the Remaining Ticks and Their Eggs with Pesticides
Now that you’ve cleaned your place and washed your clothes, it’s time to kill the remaining ticks and their eggs.
An excellent tick repellent is Vet’s Best flea and tick home spray on Amazon. It’s also a natural flea spray for dogs, so you can use it in case of an infestation. The repellent contains plant-based natural ingredients like peppermint oil and eugenol (clove oil). That will repel ticks and keep your home parasite-free.
Call an Exterminator if You Still Have a Tick Problem
No matter what people tell you, the best tick repellent for dogs and humans is the professional one. Plus, sometimes the problem is bigger than expected. So, if you still have tick problems after trying natural repellents, call the exterminators.
Natural Tick Repellent for Your Pooch
If you want to enjoy stressless walks and hikes with your fluffy best friend, keep reading to find out the best natural flea and tick repellent for dogs.
Essential Oils
Essential oils have become quite popular these days, so people use them for all kinds of purposes. And one of the best uses is as a tick repellent.
Some essential oils are especially good at killing and keeping ticks away, making them an effective natural flea medicine for dogs. Still, test your pup with a small amount first, as essential oil allergies aren’t uncommon among puppies or humans. Here’s what you can get:
- Eucalyptus — It smells nice and repels ticks and fleas.
- Peppermint oil — An excellent option is mdxconcepts’ Organic Flea and Tick Control Spray for Dogs on Amazon. It’s harmless to your fluffy pal but will repel all types of pests — ticks, fleas, mosquitos, flea eggs and larvae.
- Turmeric oil — Turmeric is great for dogs, and ticks hate it. So mix it with some water and spray it on your pup before and after a walk.
- Rose Geranium oil — It’s a beautiful and fragrant flower with oils that keep the tiny vampires away. You can also make a natural tick repellent spray for dogs by just adding it to water.
Other excellent oils for your tick-repelling potions include:
- Lemongrass
- Lavender
- Thyme
- Cedar
- Neem
- Catnip
- Pine
Lemon Wash
Lemon is an all-natural tick repellent for dogs. Honestly, most citrus fruits are excellent for this purpose as ticks and fleas don’t like the smell.
Cut and juice the lemons. Then, place them in a pot and add water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. When it’s ready, set the pot aside for at least eight hours.
Spray your pooch with the lemon water and enjoy a tick-free season.
Nootkatone
This natural tick repellent for dogs is a compound found in Alaska yellow cedar trees and grapefruits. It’s an effective insecticide spray that can repel ticks, mosquitoes, bed bugs, and head lice.
The CDC says that we might even have products with it on the market by 2022.
Natural Tick Repellent Tag for Dogs
An interesting product we found while researching tick-repellents for dogs was 0Bug!Zone’s Flea and Tick Barrier Tag on Amazon. It uses no harmful chemicals, has no smell, and keeps your pup and family tick-free for up to four months.
The tag uses electromagnetic frequencies to keep the pests away. Plus, it’s super easy to use — you just have to attach it to your pup’s collar.
Tick-repellent Collars
You can always go for the traditional ways of dealing with ticks and fleas. Buying a natural tick repellent collar for dogs is an excellent way to keep your pup tick-free. Plus, it’s usually a cheap solution.
Our top recommendation goes to Natural Care’s repellent flea & tick collar on Amazon. It’s infused with cedar and peppermint oils and offers up to four months of protection for both adult dogs and puppies (four months or older). Also, you can cut the collar to fit any pup.
Healthy diet = healthy dog
A healthy diet is vital for this aspect of your dog’s life, too. An excellent natural tick repellent for dogs is your pet’s immune system. That said, diet alone won’t help your pup in the fight against ticks. But it’ll help if the ticks infect your pooch with a disease.
Feeding your furry friend with the best natural dog food is essential for its immune system and overall health. It should be rich in meat protein, vegetables, fruit, vitamins, and minerals.
Conclusion
Ticks bring sadness to our summertime, and we can’t let this continue.
When it comes to ticks, you can try many alternatives to vet-prescribed repellents. Some include essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, and turmeric. On top of that, you could get the tick and flea repellent collars and tags — no need to refresh your potion-making skills for them.
Last but not least, an excellent natural tick repellent for dogs is… simply mowing your lawns regularly and washing your clothes after each walk.
