The summer is here, and that means you’ll have a lot of enjoyable, fun and long walks with your dog in the sun. However, they might be a little bit of danger because insects are everywhere. Fleas, ticks and other miscellaneous insects cause a lot of issues. A big problem when it comes to combatting these insects is that modern repellants can be toxic. They lack a modern touch, choosing instead to focus on chemicals and artificial nonsense. A natural insect repellent can go a long way for your dog, so let’s take a look at some good examples.
Bug Spray
Let’s start off with the basic bug spray, but what we’re also going to do is to put an all-natural twist on it. You’ll need to get your hands on lemon eucalyptus essential oils and some kind of carrier oil (witch hazel is a good pick) as an absolute minimum.
You’ll want to take about 15 drops of the oil and 2-3 drops of the carrier oil and mix them together. Once you’ve done that, shake it up before you use it, and spray your dog with the solution. Just try and avoid the eyes – that doesn’t usually go down well!
Natural Insect Repellants For Walking the Dog – Essential oils
If you’re not too struck by the idea of the bug spray, there are always essential oils to check out. There are a lot of fun and unique options to check out, which is nice. Common options include things like lavender, pine, basil, peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, and others.
These types of oils can be a good idea if you’re after something a bit different, and it is worth checking out all of the different choices to find your ideal configuration of options. However, essential oils are a good way to protect against insects without straying into chemicals. Just as a final note –
ESSENTIAL OILS NEED DILUTING. These types of oils are harmful to your dog without some kind of carrier oil like witch hazel to dilute them and reduce their potency.
Cinnamon Oils
Cinnamon is one of those things which can help to keep insects at bay when used in sufficient quantities. Here’s how you go about doing it.
Take some cinnamon oil and dilute it with a carrier oil, and then apply that to your dog. It is thought that these types of oils can actually help to kill and remove unborn insects and ticks, but at any rate, it’s a good way to combat the rise of insects in the summertime.
Neem Oil
A good way to protect your dog and not put them too much at risk is through Neem oil. It is a dog-safe repellent, which is an extract from a Neem tree.
The oil actually has a lot of unique properties, so you can use it in things like open sores, wounds and the like, so you should definitely keep it in the first-aid kit for best results. Given that it has anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial characteristics, it could be a good way to treat a wound properly.
As an oil, it can help with sand fleas, biting flies, mosquitos and ticks, so it is worth having. You just need a drop on various parts of the dog – the top of the head, behind the ears, the shoulder blades, the back, and at the base of the tail.
Cedar (The Oil)
Cedar Oil is a good way to keep the insects away from your dog, but also to do so in a non-toxic way. Mosquitos, fleas, ticks and other insects all hate this oil and will try and stay away from it.
The practise dates back to ancient Egyptian times, which is when it was used in embalming, which was part of the mummification process. The Egyptians believed that this would keep the bugs away.
Given that mosquitos will die if they come into contact with it, cedar oil is an effective way to deal with things. It also kills those pesky larvae and any eggs.
The cedar oil will help to pull the water out, get rid of the body fluids, disrupt their immune system, and generally provide you with a lot of relief. Cedar oil is easy enough to acquire and provides lasting relief, which is nice.
Final Thoughts on Natural Insect Repellent when out dog walking
As you can probably tell, there are quite a few different situations where people can get access to the best possible situations and solutions for helping to remedy their pets during the summer. It is always fairly unpleasant when these things happen, and people often do wind up with considerable regrets when it comes to their pets and chemicals – they’re just no good.
Thankfully, there are a lot of useful and easy to work with natural remedies. It is all about making sure that you look after your pet and focus on giving them the best natural remedies because they really do deserve it. It can obviously be a challenge to make sure that people get the best results, but you have to avoid chemicals wherever you can. Even if they seem promising at this start or provide you with a quick solution, long-term usage can hurt your dog, and that’s not what you want. It’s important to take a look at all of the different options out there and find your ideal configuration of options.
Ultimately, a good natural insect repellent will often be essential oil of some description. But, with that being said, you have to make sure that, ultimately, you go out of your way to avoid strong doses. Remember that you do need to dilute all of these essential oils because they’re too strong otherwise. If you take the time to use a carrier oil, you stand a better chance at success. Remember to apply them regularly, and look after your pet – don’t go outside if it’s too hot, they won’t like it.
I found this article on natural insect repellents for dogs a good read.