How to Make Flea and Tick Spray for Pets
In my opinion, a homemade flea and tick spray should be used in addition to a prescription preventive. Not in place of.
You cannot be too careful when it comes to fleas and ticks.
The severity of the threat also depends on where you live.
Here in Illinois, we are warned about ticks all the time.
I don’t ever want to mess around with our prevention methods.
However, a DIY flea and tick spray is perfect for summer when you really can’t be too safe.
When it’s nice out, we try to go on more walks and adventures with the dogs. Many of our go-to places are in the woods.
Our dogs take an oral flea and tick preventative, but this spray smells awesome and seems to keep all sorts of bugs away.
Essential oils are very effective and they are safe when used properly.
They also give your pet’s coat a nice fresh scent, so that’s an added bonus.
I suggest that you always opt for 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils when creating DIY’s for yourself or your pets no matter what brand you favor.
I apply peppermint oil on myself before every walk. It seems to help keep bugs away quite a bit.
Come to think of it, there’s no reason I can’t use this spray myself!
DIY Homemade Flea and Tick Spray
What you need:
- 1 part water
- 1 part Witch Hazel
- 3 drops Lavender essential oil
- 3 drops Lemon essential oil
- 3 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
You will also need:
- Dark colored spray bottle, 4 oz.
- Plastic pipettes
Directions:
- Use blue or amber colored glass bottles as essential oils can lose their potency when exposed to UV rays and they also eat away at plastic.
- Fill bottle halfway with water, fill the remainder of the way with witch hazel.
- Add essential oil and shake well to combine.
- Coat your dog’s fur generously with the spray, shake before each use to combine all the ingredients well.
- If you find you are using the spray frequently, you can double or triple this recipe, so you don’t have to make it as often.
Homemade Flea and Tick Spray
A spray to use in addition to your vet's recommended flea and tick prevention.
Materials
- 2 oz Water
- 2 oz Witch Hazel
- 3 drops Lavender essential oil
- 3 drops Lemon essential oil
- 3 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
Tools
- Dark colored spray bottle, 4 oz.
- Plastic pipettes
Instructions
- Fill bottle halfway with water.
- Fill the rest with witch hazel. Leave a little room for the oils.
- Add essential oils using the pipettes.
- Shake well to combine.
To Use
- Shake before each use.
- Spray on your dog, coating the fur generously with the spray, before heading outdoors.
Notes
It's important to use blue or amber colored glass bottles. Essential oils can lose their potency when exposed to UV rays, and they also eat away at plastic.
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More dog DIY’s:
- Frozen banana and peanut butter dog treat recipe
- Minty fresh homemade dog toothpaste
- DIY Dog First Aid Kits for adventurous pets
Do you make flea and tick spray for your pets?
Or, do you stick with prescription only?
Our pets have fleas pretty bad here and we’ve tried everything to get rid of them. As of right now we mostly give them flea baths to lessen the amount. I’m totally for trying this method out!! Awesome!! 🙂
I’m so glad I found this and wished I had found it before now. Even though we use preventative meds for our dogs they spend a lot of time outside in a fenced yard and still tend to bring some inside. I will be making this this coming week to use with the preventative to help take care of the few they have. Thanks for the recipe.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
We have horrible ticks where I live and even with the prescription tick meds my dog still gets a fair amount of ticks. I will have to try this.
Hi, I wanted to ask if this recipe is safe for Cats?
Thanks.
Hi Charu! This was given to me for “pets”. I just happen to have dogs, so I know more about them than cats. I would ask your vet just to be 100% sure. Thanks! 🙂
How often should you spray your dogs?
We do it before walks or really anything outdoors. There have been tick-sitings even in our backyard, so the spray doesn’t hurt as added protection. The spray is in addition to their monthly preventative from the vet, though. I wouldn’t use spray alone. Hope that helps. 🙂
Hey there! Do you know if you could use this spray to treat your home as well? Thanks!!
Hi Georgia! It’s a blend of essential oils, so it should be fine in your home. However, if you have a flea and tick problem indoors, I would call a professional. Thank you!
Should you spray the dogs wet or dry. Or does it matter?
Hi Misty! I do it when they are dry. Damp would probably be okay, but not straight out of the water. You can massage it into the skin a bit, too. 🙂
Is this something you can spray on people as well?
All of the ingredients are safe to spray on people, as well — with caution, of course. I would check each of your essential oils to make sure they are good for topical use. Otherwise, do a patch test on your skin first. Or just spray your clothes.