Using Coconut oil for fleas.
First some science stuff — Coconut oil contains Lauric acid, it’s the only thing that contains substantial amounts of this stuff.
This is why it’s the only thing that kills fleas successfully, fleas, like ticks, do not have lungs or a complex respiratory system as mammals do. Instead, they have a system of tubes called tracheae that allows for the exchange of gasses with their environment. Fleas breathe through small openings called spiracles, which are located on the sides of their body.
The spiracles open into the tracheal system, which consists of a network of tubes that branch throughout the flea’s body. Air enters the spiracles and travels through the tracheae, reaching the various tissues and cells where gas exchange takes place at the cellular level.
Lauric acid clogs up the openings that fleas and ticks breathe through, it’s impossible for them to clear it, they suffocate and die. The time can range from 40 minutes up to 3–4 hours. If you wish to test it for yourself, get a clear plastic bag and smear a little oil on the inside of it, then comb a few fleas off your animal and drop them in the bag, watch and wait. They’ll all be dead within a few hours, you can do this with any flea product to test it before you use it on your animal.
Directions —
Get some 100% coconut oil, you can get it in most supermarkets.
You can use rubber massage gloves with knobbly bits on them, these make it quick and easy to apply it to your animal but if you don’t have any then take a small amount of it while it’s cold and hard, rub it through your hands and then through your animals fur, rub it through them evenly and concentrate on the flea areas, tail, back legs and private areas, stomach and armpits. Leave the oil on, you don’t need to wash it off. After a few hours you can flea comb your pet to remove the dead fleas. You should repeat the process when you see your animal scratching again, if you have a big flea problem then every few days.
It’s important to also treat the environment, vacuum every day or so, keep things off the floor so that they don’t have anywhere to hide and lay their eggs, the eggs are like dust, they don’t stick to anything and just get blown around so make sure you get in all the nooks and crannies. Wash their blankets on a regular basis and drop a little bleach in the machine, this will kill any eggs that are on them.
Using Coconut oil for Ticks
Coconut oil can also be used to kill ticks that are attached to your pet. If you find a tick. Dab a blob of coconut oil onto the tick. Wait for a few minutes for the tick to suffocate & then gently remove it with tweezers.
Using Coconut oil as a dewormer
Coconut oil can also be used as a natural dewormer for dogs. Your dog's body will convert the lauric acid in the coconut oil to monolaurin, which is known to be effective against tapeworm, giardia, and other parasites. Dosage is, work up gradually to 1 teaspoon per day per 4.5kg body weight.
The side effects are your pet will have the most beautiful shiny coat!
I am also now an Amazon Associate, so I will be posing links to products that I use.
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My first recommendation is for the coconut oil I use for Louis.
It's great for his skin and to add to his food.
This jar is great because it has a wide top, making it easy to get your hand in.
My second recommendation is these massage gloves. They are great for applying the coconut oil, just spread a little on the gloves, rub together and then work into your dogs fur. Louis loves a bit of pampering!
