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Rubbing alcohol the cheap flea repellent

Submitted by Ladye Sparks

I use rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle (but it could be applied right from the alcohol bottle) to repel fleas. Saves money, because those commercial repellents, while effective, are SO expensive!

Keep away from any naked flames.

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IT WORKS Comments By: Shereece Porter on 2005-06-28 This remedy works. My dog was scratching like crazy, even after a baths, for over 3 week. In some places he was raw. Saw this on the net and tried it and it worked. I use it straight and put in a spray bottle. Then I saw another remedy on this site for vinegar, it worked even better. Now his small raw spots, the hair has grown back. So, it is good to know these things.   how to use Comments By: keith on 2005-07-03 so with the alcohol or white vinegar, do you just spray it on, and leave it and that is how it works, or some other way. will any of these work on kittens with no ill effects TipKing says: Keep away from naked flames and try a little area first. Maybe a bit harsh for a kitten. If in doubt DO NOT USE   Rubbing alcohol Comments By: Anon on 2005-07-17 I heard that this remedy works but no one has mentioned how often to use the alcohol treatment. Once a week? or more? TipKing says: I would think that one treatment will kill the fleas and then treat if re infected   help Comments By: michelle on 2005-07-21 I dont understand do I spray the cat with the alcohol? Will they get sick when they lick themself?   Alcohol?? Comments By: Johnny on 2007-10-15 It won't make your pet sick,but he might get a buzz from the alcohol,hehe!!!!   Which is most effective? Alcohol or vinegar Spray? Comments By: Lise on 2007-11-28 Any response appreciated TipKing says: I suppose it is a trial and error thing. I have not personally used this tip   young kittens fleas--dab alcohol and dry Comments By: itsybay on 2008-06-21 Use a cotton ball soaked with alcohol and dab on kitten where you can see fleas. Start with the head because fleas will run to the face. Be VERY careful using a Qtip around face. then move on back soaking the neck--all the way around. I've used this method on an abandoned kitten (maybe two weeks old) and it works. Make sure kitten stays warm during and after treatment. Rub dry with a warmed towel, then keep them warm using another warm towel as a bed. Do it outside on a sunny warm day if possible. I've used alcohol full strength but suspect diluting with some water might be better. Repeat as necessary. Alcohol treatment will also work with a mama cat around--as soon as my kittens were dry she began licking and feeding kitten. If a kitten is in the same bed as one that died, by all means treat bedding, kittens and mama. When a kitten dies all, or most, fleas will hop off and onto a live host. This happened to a litter of kittens that became flea infested--they were dying probably because of too many fleas. Check kittens often, especially if mama is outside much of the time. I thought there was nothing that could be done for mama after kittens came. KEEP ALL CATS TREATED FOR FLEAS!! Dab on the good stuff behind their head--get it from a vet! But some treatment is better than NONE at all. If anyone knows of reasons NOT to do this, please let me know. I feel that both these kittens would have died (as their litter mates did) if this had not been done. Necessity was the mother of this invention!   alcohol Comments By: blaine on 2008-09-07 what sort of alcohol do you use?   how to use Comments By: shelia on 2009-05-26 People are saying it repel fleas. I just woundering does it help remove/repel ticks cos my dog keeps getting them   reply does it work for ticks Comments By: carl on 2009-06-20 Growing up in the country we had lots of ticks every spring through fall. My grandfather always had us use alcohol for ticks. It works great!   Fleas Comments By: Fleagetridof on 2009-09-13 Our 2 cats have fleas bad We have tried Washing them with several brands of flea shampoo dawn dishliquid putting on flea collars treating them with over the counter frontline and several other brands of drops you rub in between the shoulders and the fleas are still there.I tried some rubbing alcohol yesterday the cats didnt like it all the flea bites burn from the alcohol but it did kill all the fleas and probably helped clean the flea bites no ill effects other than the fumes which doesnt last long do it in a ventilated area with definitley no smoking or open flame.   When do you wash off the alcohol? Comments By: jearl on 2009-09-22 How long should I leave the alcohol on my dog before bathing? Also, Would wintergreen alcohol work better?   can you use it on furniture or around the house? Comments By: vanessa frank on 2010-01-29 We just got rid of our dog and now our house still has fleas can I spray the alcohol or viniger around my house?   Rubbing Alcohol cannot be consumed but evaporates quickly. Comments By: Anon on 2010-06-05 You don't want your pets licking it off when they are wet. You might even want to wash the pet after treatment if it is sick and weak. No way do you want to use wintergreen. Rubbing alochol is not booze, it can cause organ failure, blindness and death. Don't soak down your pet or use excessive amounts. A good rub with a cloth or cotton ball should do the trick. Keep away from their eyes, just rub it around your own to find out why.   what is the rubbing alcohol callled Comments By: len jones on 2010-06-22 what is the rubbing alcohol callled and where is the best place to get it? TipKing says: By your email address I assume you are in the UK. In the UK the equivalent skin preparation for rubbing alcohol is surgical spirit which is always based on an ethyl alcohol-methyl alcohol mixture   Fleas!!! Comments By: ANA D. SOLTERO on 2010-08-06 THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIPS ON THE RUBBING ALCOHOL! I HAVE 9 DOGS, ALL SIZES, PITBULLS, CHIHUAHUAS, AND BOXER...I LIVE IN MEXICO SO IT'S REALLY HARD FOR US TO GET RID OF THEM..I TRIED THE TREATMENT..AND IT REALLY WORKS!   yes it works but... Comments By: debbie on 2010-08-30 We have 11 cats. and a dog. This summer fleas have been horrible. They are all on frontline or advantage year round (the cats are on one, the dog is on another and I forget which is on what). Even with the topical treatments, the cats bring fleas in (thanks to my neighbor who feeds stray dogs). We use rubbing alcohol on the floors, carpets, rugs, furniture, curtains but NOT on the animals. It can dry their skin, and some animals can have severe reactions to it. Simply bathing the animal in warm water and a pet flea shampoo (even dawn dishwashing detergent) will work. the fleas drown in the water. We spray the rubbing alcohol (highest percentage you can buy from the dollar store)and wash EVERYTHING that the animals have come into contact with (bedding, clothes on floor, bath rugs, etc). The smell only lasts a little while. After everything is TOTALLY dry, we sprinkle salt ALL OVER the carpeted areas, and mop hard floors (pay attention to under furniture and baseboards!). We also place a floor tile with the backing removed under a nightlight in the bedroom (which is where most of our fleas live- EW!). Some people use a dish of water with soap- I won't because of the animals. The previous owners of the house left a TON of those self stick floor tiles, and I find those are quite effective. After a day, I vaccuum and dump it OUTSIDE of the house (fleas can jump out of trash cans and vacuum cleaner bags!!) I've also heard of people cutting up a flea collar and placing it in the vacuum bag, although I've never tried it. I repeat the salt and vaccuum every day for 3 weeks (leave the nightlight and water or sticky thing - you will find fleas (and other bugs) on it- replace as needed). After that, I sprinkle salt again and vacuum it up in a few days- a week. Time consuming - yes. Does it work? YES. is it cheaper than an exterminator? HECK YES! The trick to getting rid of them is CONSISTENCY and treating the animal(s) and house at the same time. If you do one, and not the other, you are wasting your time.   It works,it really works Comments By: Kyle on 2010-09-20 I have a cat that is just a little to old to be called a kitten anymore and she would claw herself constantly I had tried washing with dawn but still found numerous fleas after using this method after a couple of hours I haven't seen her scratch very often I used a plain bottle of rubbing alcohol from walmart and just put a mean green nozzle on (after washing it of course) thank you for this helpful tip   Hand Sanitizer Comments By: Holly on 2010-11-30 Now the all popular pump Hand Sanitizer, has Ethyl Alcohol and works wonders. We have 2 dogs and 1 cat. Several weeks ago we noticed fleas on our dogs. Of course we bought everything under the sun to kill the fleas. They worked okay, but not good enough. Well, most people have these pump Hand Sanitizer and Q-tips laying around the house. Put a little Hand Sanitizer on a tip of a Q-tip and if it doesn't kill the flea, it will at least stun the flea and you can get it off with the Q-yip. We also have a cup of water with a few pumps of the hand Sanitizer in the water too (other wise the fleas can even jump out of the water) and it works wonders!! Best of luck!   alcohol and rosemary Comments By: Anon. on 2011-06-03 I tried a mixture of alcohol and water to kill fleas on my dog. I soaked his fur and let it stand for a few minutes. The fleas died and rinsed off. After the treatment I sprayed his fur with water infused with rosemary (rosemary steeped in hot water then cooled). Rosemary is supposed to repel vermin. I repeated the rosemary spray a few times each day for a week and there was no reinfestation.   peroxide Comments By: Jan on 2011-07-24 My neighbor told me to dunk my kittens in peroxide since they weren't old enough for sprays and such. The flea absorbs the peroxide and explodes. It worked. The kittens were found under our crawl space. The mother(stray) we treated with flea shampoo..can't remember...been so long. But I remember we had to use peroxide on the kittens. Be Careful...all the flea rush towards the kittens eyes. You have to pick them off with your fingers. One kitten squirmed so much...it got peroxide in eye. We rinsed. it's one eye was swollen for a day and next day better. I felt bad for that....but the kitten didn't seem to be in any pain after the rinse. So, I highly recommend picking the fleas from the eyes when the fleas run and don't get peroxide in the eyes. All the kittens and mother are alive and well today living in good homes. Family members were anxious to take them off our hands...we had to make them wait. It has been almost 10 years....Except one cat gotten eaten by a racoon sadly. But I'm glad we were able to save them and find them homes. I don't anyone would have taken the time to deflea them and get them used to humans as we did. Â