Will lavender repel these bugs?
Fleas become a nuisance not only to pets but to humans too.
These parasitic insects are mostly introduced into homes through pets. In other words, your pets are primary targets for fleas.
As such, you shouldn’t be surprised about the origin of the problem when you notice fleas around your home.
Lavender Essential Oil For Fleas
As always, the common step to take will be to take out these pests. The methods used to matter a lot. Flea infestations will persist when treatment methods applied aren’t reliable.
This brings us to the question of what works for flea control.
Will lavender repel these bugs? Finding the right answers is key to understanding the subject being discussed.
Lavender as a Broad Spectrum Treatment
With lavender, you get a wide range of uses.
This comes in handy for cancer and dementia treatments, improving skin and hair conditions, for aromatherapy treatments, in addition to serving as a sleeping aid among other uses.
More important to our discussion is its pest repellent properties.
Simply put, lavender does a whole lot of good in providing pest solutions as well as other health benefits.
Lavender essential oil is known to provide relief against mosquitoes, ants, ticks, and spiders among others.
Its efficacy against ticks speaks volumes about its potential to repel and kill fleas due to similarities in feeding behavior between fleas and ticks.
Does Lavender Repel and Kill Fleas?
It does! Lavender is known mostly for its flea repellent effect. It’s important to state here that you won’t achieve much with lavender if the aim is to use it for flea extermination.
However, you shouldn’t be bothered because you can still deter these pests. With fleas gone, you won’t have to deal with their annoying feeding behavior.
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Lavender and Pets
We earlier stated that pets are mostly responsible for fleas finding their way into your home. While this is true, humans can sometimes bring flea home from the outdoors but that isn’t the point.
With pets being primary targets for fleas, the need to have them treated is paramount.
Having confirmed the repellent effect of lavender on pests like fleas, what remains is to find out if it’s safe for use on pets. Pets here will include both dogs and cats.
Lavender treatments are common for pets. As a matter of fact, your beloved four-legged companions can inhale and ingest lavender without fear of poisoning.
While this is true, using lavender oil on your pets for flea control without consulting a vet will be risky. The expertise of a vet is needed for proper usage.
When administering treatment, it’s best to start them on smaller doses to observe any adverse reactions.
Full lavender oil treatments for fleas on pets should only be carried out when it’s confirmed there are no side effects.
How Lavender Repels Fleas
The repellent effect of lavender on fleas is derived from one of the non-toxic compounds it contains. Linalool is non-toxic and incorporated into many pest control products due to its repellent properties.
The scent given off from this compound is detested by fleas.
These pests will generally keep away from areas treated with lavender. So, all you have to do is target infested areas for treatment.
Lavender can be used in its different forms; that is; its essential oils, the dry plant as well as growing fresh lavender plants around your home.
Lavender essential oil treatments tend to be among the most used or popular treatments. More about its use and application will be discussed shortly.
How to Make Lavender Spray for Fleas
Given the repellent effect lavender has on fleas, you can put this to good use by making a lavender insecticide.
There’s no single method of making lavender spray. A variety of options are available as will be shown here.
Some of these include mixing with other ingredients or oils.
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Making Lavender Spray for Flea Treatments on Dogs
To get the most results from your lavender spray, you’ll need to add other ingredients to increase its potency.
You’ll need a ¼ cup of witch hazel, a spray bottle, a ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar, and a cup of distilled water. What more? About 15 drops of lavender will need to be mixed with these.
Your lavender oil should be added last while the witch hazel is added first and followed by distilled water. Now, screw the spray bottle in place and shake the contents until it’s properly mixed.
Your flea insecticide is now ready for use.
Target your dog’s body and legs and avoid spraying above the neck region. This treatment isn’t only meant for pet treatment. Also, apply on your bedding and other infested areas of your home for best results.
One-time Treatments may not be Sufficient
With lavender treatments for fleas, single or one-time applications may not be as effective. Results obtained are mostly influenced by how well and frequently such treatments are applied.
Multiple treatments will be in order. You may need to spray each time the initial effect wanes. Lavender treatments can be performed each day for about a week to have any real results.
Can Lavender be used as a Stand-Alone Treatment?
Lavender use as a flea repellent is great.
However, might not be 100% effective especially when dealing with significant flea infestations. You’ll have to consider it an additional flea control method to use in addition to others.
Many possible issues could come up when using lavender. First, there’s the problem of adequate coverage. Your lavender treatment may not adequately cover the flea-infested area.
There’s also the possibility of this essential oil not being applied as it should.
Calling for Professional Flea Control
The most comprehensive way to go about repelling and killing fleas is through the use of professional help. Pest control specialists offer all sorts of flea repellent solutions.
If you’re more interested in natural or non-toxic methods, their broad-based treatments are there to benefit from.
DIY flea treatments using lavender may be considered overwhelming for some people. If you belong to such a group of persons, consider handing the pest problem over to the pros.
Lavender will kill fleas but has its limitations. You can carry out treatments following the tips provided above with significant results.