Natural flea & tick help for my dog, avoiding meds & side effects?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Female | 5 years old | 8 lbs
What are some PROVEN TO WORK natural remedies for fleas & ticks, hopefully including the killing of flea eggs. Right now I bathe my dog with flea shampoo & apple cider vinegar rinse. However I saw a flea on her recently. I don’t want any oral meds or anything like frontline as my dog has had a seizure from Bravecto & I now want something natural w/ no major side effects. Frontline & similar products didn’t work for her in the past. Please help she’s scratching a lot & I don’t want an infestation
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 14th, 2019
I am really sorry but to answer your question, there are NO natural remedies that are proven to work for fleas and ticks. They just don't work. If your dog did not do well on Bravecto there are many other products available that don't have the same active ingredient as Bravecto. You could try Simparica or Nexgard. Are you 100% positive the Bravecto caused the seizure? I hear this a lot from owners. They say the dog had a seizure a week or so after the Bravecto administration and peg that as the cause. It is highly unlikely to have been the cause that many days after ingestion. When dogs have seizures the most likely cause is underlying epilepsy. It is rarely due to medication administration. The other option is to try a Seresto collar. Many of my clients love this option and it does work well. One collar works for up to 8 months so it is cost effective too! ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/seresto-flea-and-tick-collar-for-dogs ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on June 7th, 2023
You have to understand that there is no such thing as a 100% completely safe medication. For dogs, for cats, for humans, for anybody. There’s always a chance that one certain individual is going to have a reaction to a medication. That doesn’t make it a bad medication or an ineffective medication. What happened with your other puppy, I’m very sorry to hear about but there’s no way to know if it was a reaction to that medication or was there already a predisposition for that puppy to have seizures. I know this makes you weary of using Nexgard again however I have found it to be very safe and effective. I personally have not any patients have an adverse reaction to it. You can try a Seresto collar. It’s the only collar that I think actually works. Because you can take it off if there are any problems that makes it safer. When you apply a topical or give an oral medication once it’s in them you can’t remove it like you can a collar. So, if I were you, that’s what I would use. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/223965_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=115381 Hope this helps. Best wishes.
13Pet Parents found this answer helpful
I cannot seem to find a tick prevention pill for my 9 month old puppy that is considered totally safe. We suspect that our 7 month old puppy died from nextguard over a year ago ( she had a sudden seizure then died). I have been investigating other op
What is the best all natural flea medicine and heart worm preventative? I want to give my dog all natural stuff because lately theirs been dogs having seizures from flea meds and I'm getting worried. he even looks sick every time I give him his month
I want to protect my dog from fleas. What should I do for that? Should I make natural products at home or should I use products like Frontline?
Do you recommend simparica for flea protection? Even thought it has side effects like seizures?
What is the best way to kill fleas on dog besides using Dawn dish soap or flea shampoo? Anytime that I use the topical flea treatments they seem like they don't want to work.
The vet has given my dog (bichon frise-3 years old) one pill of bravecto (flurataner) to replace the collar we were using before. After I got home, I started reading the online reviews and i'm terrified. Is it this toxic? Can a dog die because of it?
My dog has had fleas for at least a week, what is the best product with few side effects to get rid of the fleas? Thinking of bravecto but not sure if it’s too harsh or what side effects might be
I just bought Bravecto for my dog. She has epilepsy and I mentioned this to the vet. She said bravecto can still be used but with caution. My dog doesn't have seizures often, maybe once a year from what I have noticed. Do you think I should still giv
My 5 month old GSD has fleas and unfortunately the natural remedies I've been trying are not working (diatomaceous earth, apple cider vinegar etc) what would you recommend to get rid of them quickly. (Topical or Oral) he's been scratching a lot so I'
My dog currently takes Trifexis. She really dislikes it because of the smell. Would there be any other non-topical medication options? Thanks so much!
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
