Three Great Natural Flea & Tick Products for your Dogs

"Summer, summer, summer time.  Time to sit back and unwind."  -Will Smith

It sure is time to sit back, unwind and hopefully not have to worry about flea and ticks attacking your dogs.  I don't know how it feels outside in your neck of the woods, but here in Nebraska it is hot and humid already and it's not even technically summer yet!  I fear we'll be in for one heck of a long, hot summer if this is any indication.  Whatever the case, it is definitely flea and tick season so we are ready to tackle the season right...with natural products! My husband is the one who researched and chose all the products we are using to help battle the fleas and ticks in our yard naturally.  It's only the best, non-toxic products for our sweet doggies!  Our battle strategy is to treat both the yard and the dogs, so to be doubly assured that those pesky bugs stay far away!  Not only will these products help keep the bugs at bay, but all of them actually smell really good because they are full of wonderful essential oils!  

Vet's Best Natural Flea + Tick Yard and Kennel Spray* (32 fl oz) $14.88
~Ingredients: Water, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Peppermint oil, Eugenol (Clove extract), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

~This product is designed to be used on the yard itself.  It is a bottle you attach your hose to and spray over your entire yard.  One 32 fl.oz. bottle will treat 4,500 sq. ft.  This is the first year we've tried this product.  So far we've applied one treatment in our backyard and the results have been positive.  The application process was very easy and straightforward.  It didn't harm the grass in any way.  Our yard still looks healthy and lush.  My husband said it was really nice to not feel like he had to wear a HAZMAT suit when he was out spraying it in the yard.  He mentioned how nice and pepperminty it smelled as he was applying it and that little bubbles formed as he was spraying it.  How fun is that!?  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product, so right now our plan is to treat the yard once a month and we'll see how it goes. 

Vet's Best Natural Anti-flea Easy Spray Shampoo* (16 fl oz) $10.24
~Ingredients: Water, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Peppermint oil, Eugenol (Clove extract), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
~This shampoo is unique in that you spray it on your dogs coat dry, lather it in well for 5-10 minutes (if you can get your dog to stay still for you long enough!), then add a small amount of water, lather again and rinse off.  Our dogs skin wasn't irritated at all by this product.  Our skin wasn't irritated at all by this product either!  It smells fantastic, although initially it is pretty strong.  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product.  We've shampooed our dogs once already and will likely do it once a month. 

Mercola Natural Flea and Tick Defense Spray* (8 0z) $17.95
~Ingredients:  Purified Water, Lemon Grass Oil, Cinnamon Oil, Sesame Oil, Castor Oil
~This is a spray used on your dogs coats.  Be careful to keep it out of their eyes. nose and mouth when spraying it though.  I will spray it on a paper towel and rub it on their head, ears and neck to be on the safe side!  Our dogs haven't had any skin irritations with this product.  The smell is pretty strong initially but it fades fairly quickly and is still overall very pleasant! (And, 100 times more pleasant then those toxic flea and tick remedies we used to use!)  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product.  Maybe I am just so used to the toxic products we used in the past which would warn you how often you can use them. I keep looking for this same kind of thing on these natural, non-toxic ones.  Be that as it may, we're using this product a couple times a week.

After using all these products we haven't seen any ticks or fleas on our dogs or on us, for that matter.  Our battle strategy seems to be working as planned! Woo hoo!!!

There are so many natural flea & tick products on the market, I'm curious about what products you use for your dogs and what your experience has been using them?

~Chrissy

*Disclosure: I am an Amazon.com Affiliate