Essential Oil Flea Repellent: Hello Homemade

Now that summer is finally here in full swing, those if us with pets know that it is also the time for dreaded fleas!

Our chihuahua Sissy gets a bath almost everyday o get the fleas off of her. And she only goes outside to use the bathroom!
We have tried every flea and tick spray and gel that is out there, but they only seem to work until she gets bathed again.

My biggest issue with store bought flea/tick repellents and killers is thatched are FULL of chemicals and toxins.
When we sprayed Sissy a couple of days ago I almost choked on all the chemicals and toxins that were released into the air.

This is when I figured that there had to be a better and safer way to deal with these pesky fleas.
Enter: Essential Oils

For the last few weeks I have spent a lot of time researching and learning all about essential oils. What they are, how they work, and how I could practically use them in my day to day life.

Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants

I have learned so much and cannot wait until my diffuser comes in so I can have my home smelling fabulous without compromising the air with chemicals and toxins from candles. (I am sort of a candle junkie, so this may be a more difficult change than many of you are thinking)

But back to the evil fleas. When I decided to look for natural and healthy ways to get rid if fleas I immediately thought about essential oils (from here on out they will be referred to as EO). So I shifted my research to learn about EO and pets.
I found a plethora of information on all the ways you can treat and heal pets with EO, including a flea repellent!

I made a flea repellent spray that I could spray directly on my dogs, as well as on my furniture and around the apartment.
I also added a drop of EO to each of my dogs collars to help when they go outside.

There are several different EOs that work well to repel fleas such as:
• Eucalyptus
• Tea Tree or Melaleuca
• Lemongrass Essential Oil
• Pine Essential Oil
• Cedarwood Essential Oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Lemon Essential Oil
• Lavender Essential Oil
• Orange Essential Oil
• Melrose Essential Oil
• Rosemary Essential Oil

Each of these would do a great job separately at repelling fleas, but a blend would be better.

Since I wanted to make some flea spray immediately instead of ordering some EO from online I stopped by Whole Foods. While there I saw that the brand Wyndmere had an EO blend called Breathe.

SODE NOTE: EOs are full of health benefits and a single EO can have multiple uses and purposes.

Okay, back to what I bought. As I just said, the blend I bought is called Breathe, and was created to help clear a persons clogged nasal passage caused from colds and allergies.
Well I decided to look and see which EOs made up this blend.
The Breathe blend by Wyndmere consist of 100% pure therapeutic grade Basil, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Pine, Rosemary, Lavender, and Cederwood.
Um....that means this blend includes SIX of the recommended oils for repelling fleas!
So I got it.
I already had peppermint EO at home that I had planned on adding to the spray as well.
So that means my spray contains 7 out of the 12 recommended oils! Woo Hoo!

Anyway.... Now to the recipe:
In a 4 oz metal spray bottle I added:
4 drops Peppermint EO
12 drops Breathe Blend
3/4 full of purified water
1/4 full of Witch Hazel

To use, just shake the bottle and spray.
You need to use this more frequently than the ones laden with chemicals and toxins, but it is well worth it to me! :)

It smells good, kind of rustic. But what I love about this is that it repels fleas as well as does 100 other beneficial things! So when I spray it in my home I get every benefit that each delightful EO used has to offer! How cool!

Now I'm sure you are wondering how these oils repel fleas. Well here is some info on some of them from The Whole Dog

Lavender
A sweet-smelling, all-purpose insect repellent, lavender essential oil performed well in recent studies as both a tick deterrent and a method of preventing tick eggs from hatching. Additionally, Ohio State University recommends it for controlling fleas. A 2007 South African study found that formulas containing diluted lavender at rates of 10 to 20 percent lavender performed well as tick repellents when compared artificial DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) sprays.

Cedar
A wonderfully fragrant oil that provides a pheromone interruption agent that impairs the insects mental capacity and repels them.

Peppermint
An oil high in menthol - it repels fleas, spiders and even mice.

Eucalyptus
While better known for its anti bacterial properties it is a great natural pest deterrent as well.

I am super excited to begin this EO journey.
I already have some diffuser "recipes" to try when it comes in!
I'm sure ill have several more post about EOs in the near future!