It’s that time of year again, and everything’s coming to life. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and the fleas are hopping!
Every Spring these pesky beasts pop up out of the yard and latch themselves onto your pets. It seems like they are absolutely everywhere.
As the weather gets warmer the little creepers get more mobile, and HUNGRY. Who better to make a meal and shelter out of than your furbaby?!
Well, we have good news for you.
This year you can beat the little suckers by making this homemade flea repellent.
It only has four ingredients and is super quick to make, so you can do on your way out of the door for that last-minute camping trip!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Small Pot
- Spray bottle with a good mister (you don’t want one that only squirts)
- Small funnel
- Large lemon, sliced
- 1-bunch fresh lavender, or 1 Tblsp. dried
- 2-Cups of water
- 2-Tblsp. of Non-alcoholic Witch Hazel
Since you’re making this repellent to put on your pets, you may want to avoid using lavender oil as a substitute for fresh or dried. Essential oils are strong and can be very irritating to your pet’s skin.
Some pets are allergic to lavender. If this is the case with your little guys, avoid using it altogether.
As an alternative, you can also substitute a different flea repelling herb. You can find a full list of herbs that are insect repellent and safe to use on your cats and dogs here.
Now that you’ve got all your ingredients and materials together, it’s time to get started.
Place all of your ingredients in the pot EXCEPT the Witch Hazel.
As a distilled astringent, you do not want to add the Witch Hazel because the heat will break down the benefits of the product. We’ll leave this out until the end.
Simmer
Heat the pot over medium to medium-high heat and let simmer for roughly 30 minutes, or until you see the water begin to turn a light purple from the lavender.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Your house will smell AMAZING!
Strain
After your repellent has cooled down to room temp (or at least cool enough that it won’t melt your bottle), pour your repellent through a fine-meshed strainer.
You can discard the lavender and lemon remnants in the trash, or better yet, throw them in your compost.
Combine
Now that you have your strained infusion, you can pour in your Witch Hazel and give a good stir to combine.
Take your funnel and pour the mixture into your spray bottle. To add a little flair to your spray, insert a sprig of fresh rosemary or lavender into the bottle.
Not only does this look attractive, it also keeps your repellent smelling fresh with each spritz. There you have it! A natural and effective homemade flea repellent.
It is good to keep in mind that this is a repellent only. It will not kill the fleas on your pet and is best used after you have given your pet a serious bath with a good scrub.
The bath will kill any fleas already on your pet, and the spray will repel any new fleas trying to attach themselves to your pets fresh, clean fur.
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