Fleas and ticks are among the most disturbing factors leaving pet owners frustrated. These parasites feed on your dog’s blood and cause irritation, skin inflammation, itching, and other unpleasant conditions. As a dog owner, you’d want to ensure your furry companion is free of parasites and leads a healthy life.

There are effective ways to ensure you keep your dog flea and tick-free and keep him/her happy. You can try these methods for a couple of weeks or months to see a remarkable improvement in your dog’s condition.

Clean the house and yard
While this technique is not about doing anything on your dog, it’s crucial to keep your surroundings clean and free from parasites. Your dog roams all around the house and in the yard, and any breeding ground for fleas and ticks will instantly affect your dog. Fleas lay eggs that hatch later even after four weeks. That’s why you should wash all the things you use on your dog, including the toys, blankets, beds, and containers. It’s important to clean the carpet, flooring, furniture, and everything that comes in the way.

Likewise, you’ve to detox your yard since fleas and ticks can thrive among plants and shrubs. In fact, most of these parasites come from your yard, and it’s very important to inspect the entire surrounding and ensure regular grass-cutting, trimming of plants. Make sure you remove dead leaves and foliage and use chemical sprays and powders to eliminate the formation of flea eggs and ticks.

Tick dips and collars
Use a contracted chemical to dilute in water and apply the concentrate on your dog with a sponge. Don’t rinse off the application, and let it remain on your dog. Ensure the chemicals you’re using are not so strong as to cause irritation and other unpleasant conditions. Avoid using these dips on young animals and pregnant dogs.

You can use tick collars around the neck and head that repel the ticks effectively. Make sure the collar is in contact with your dog’s skin so that the chemical transfers to the dog’s fur and skin. Ensure that there’s enough room to insert only two fingers into the collar so that it isn’t very loose to fall off. It would help if you cut off any extra length of the collar to avoid your dog from biting it.

Give medical bath
Give your dog a medical bath by using a tick preventative shampoo and tea tree oil. Mix the solution in bathing water. But make sure to apply camphor spray before bathing to help it eliminate ticks and fleas. Give this bath at least twice in a month to ensure complete cure from fleas and ticks.

Oral medications
You can give your dog pills once a month that will kill fleas and ticks and even destroy flea eggs. It’s very easy to administer these pills, and it’s extremely safe for kids to come in contact with the dog immediately after administering it.