What’s the Best Natural Flea Shampoo for Dogs?

You can get rid of fleas naturally. I’m going to go over my top picks for the best natural flea shampoo for dogs in this article. I have both an excellent DIY recipe and an off the shelf shampoo that you can get on Amazon.

I’ll also be showing you the steps you need to take to get rid of flea eggs when you use natural flea shampoos, so be sure you read all the way to the end!

Like to make homemade products for your household? Try this Homemade Flea Shampoo for Dogs.

All Natural Flea Shampoo for Dogs – DIY Version

It’s really easy to make a natural flea shampoo for your dog. The homemade dog flea shampoo recipe that I recommend only has 4 ingredients and works extremely well. You can also find out how to make homemade puppy shampoo here.

What is the best homemade flea shampoo? It’s pretty simple really – it’s a shampoo that contains natural and gentle ingredients and essential oils that will help to continue to repel fleas after you use it.

Here’s how to make this diy flea shampoo for dogs.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water (preferably distilled)
• 1/3 cup pure Castille soap
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 20 drops of pure essential oil. I used 10 rosemary and 10 peppermint. These are oils that are known to repel fleas.

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients using a small funnel, shake well before each use.
2. It should keep for about 6 months.

When you wash your dog with this natural flea shampoo you’ll see the fleas in the bath water.

If you have the time, going this route will save you money and you’ll know that the ingredients you are using are gentle, natural, and effective.

But if you’re busy or just prefer to buy a ready made natural flea shampoo, there are some good ones on the market.

Natural Flea Shampoo for Dogs – Available on Amazon

There are a few choices for natural flea shampoos that you can buy in stores or on the internet.

My favorite is the TropiClean Natural Flea and Tick shampoo. (paid link)

This flea shampoo uses powerful essential oils like clove, cedarwood, cinnamon and lemongrass oil to kill fleas and their eggs. It is rated to repel fleas for up to 7 days after use.

This is a soap free shampoo, which sounds crazy but is much more gentle on your dog’s skin than a shampoo that contains soap.

This shampoo doesn’t have any harsh chemical insecticides and Tropiclean has a natural flea spray as well that you can combine with the shampoo for use between baths.

I love the way this product line smells and it gets high ratings on Amazon for being effective and gentle.

Need a flea bath for your dog, but don’t like using commercial brand flea soap? Check out our post “What is a Good Natural Flea Bath for Dogs?”.

How to Get Rid of Flea Eggs on Dog Fur When Using Natural Flea Shampoos

If you are going the natural route in caring for your dogs, it’s important to understand what a natural flea shampoo can and can’t do. Most natural flea shampoos will kill all stages of the flea except for the eggs.

There are four stages to a flea life cycle. Eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult flea.

Eggs normally hatch in about 2 days to 2 weeks – depending on conditions, and can fall off your pet as he or she moves. Meaning they will be in pet bedding, where your pet lays, and where she moves about.

Getting rid of flea eggs with natural products is tough, but if you treat with the life cycle of the flea in mind then you can do it.

This is true even with flea shampoos like Tropiclean that are rated to kill flea eggs. Tropiclean is better than most natural shampoos, but I still find that I need to use a flea comb to get the best results. I’ll explain how to do that in a moment.

Flea life cycle images:

The first thing thing to keep in mind is that even if the label says it does, most natural flea products are great at killing fleas, larvae, and pupae but not so good at killing flea eggs.

Note: The best dog shampoo for killing flea eggs is Adams Flea & Tick Shampoo that you can find on Amazon. (paid link) Adams isn’t natural – it’s an insecticide based shampoo, but it does work really well to get rid of both fleas and their eggs.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t get rid of flea eggs with natural products. Whether you are creating a DIY flea shampoo or buying one of the commercially available ones, the steps are the same for getting rid of flea eggs.

Step 1: How often should you give a dog a flea bath?

Natural products often require diligence in application in order to make them work properly. If you are dealing with an infestation, then you’ll want to give your dog a flea bath every two weeks until you see no new fleas for two full cycles.

This allows you to kill any new fleas as they are hatching and they will become fewer and fewer in number over time.

Looking for a flea shampoo but don’t know what to buy? Check out our post “What Makes a Safe Flea Shampoo for Dogs?”

Step 2: Use a Flea Comb while Bathing

Even though flea eggs will fall off of your dog, they’re still sticky. And one of the best ways to get rid of them is to comb your dogs hair with a flea comb WHILE your’re bathing them with a natural dog shampoo.

This will help to pull the flea eggs off the dog, so you get fewer recurring outbreaks.

Using a flea comb like this one from Amazon (paid link) will dramatically speed up the process of getting your dog flea free.

Step 3: How to Get Rid of Fleas in Bedding and Carpet

Because flea eggs fall off your dogs and into their bedding (and maybe your bedding) and carpet, it’s important to treat these as well.

I personally like the Tropiclean Natural Flea & Tick Dog & Bedding Spray (Found here on Amazon). (paid link)

You can use this ON your dog (you need to massage it in) and on your dog’s bedding as well as your carpet.

High temperatures also kill fleas and their eggs, so if you can wash and dry their bedding in the clothes dryer you will kill the fleas as well.

Keep the treatment of the bedding and carpet on the same two week schedule you use to wash your dogs until you get a full cycle without a flea outbreak.

Now that you know how to get rid of the flea eggs as well as the fleas with natural products you need to choose whether to go homemade or buy the natural flea shampoo that you’re going to use.

The Bottom Line on the Best All Natural Flea Shampoo for Dogs

The biggest thing to remember about all natural flea products like diatomaceous earth and flea shampoo is that they’ll kill all stages of the flea life cycle except for the eggs.

Even though this is the case, I still prefer to use the all natural products instead of the insecticide based ones. I’m not a big fan of putting poisons in my house.

If you decide to use one of these natural products – whether you make it yourself or buy commercial – you’ll get the best results by following the three step process above to get rid of the flea eggs and the flea infestation.