Mom's Cheap And Effective Hack For Removing Fleas Goes Viral

Fleas are one of the most headache-inducing ailments for pet owners. According to petMD, female fleas can lay up to 50 eggs a day, so it's easy to understand how the problem quickly gets out of control.

And while there are countless flea removing shampoos on the market, unless you're extremely lucky, they will require multiple applications in order to solve the problem. Worse still, they are expensive.

One mom, however, has come up with an effective and incredibly cheap solution to the problem.

Credit: Facebook / Kimberly Dawn Kelly

Taking to Facebook, Kimberly Dawn Kelly shared the two everyday items she uses to remove fleas, coconut oil and dishwashing liquid, and the following caption:

"The ONLY thing that I know for a FACT that kills fleas and keeps them OFF. Wash your animals w/Blue Dawn, after your animal is dry, rub Coconut Oil on their bellys, butts and ears!! IT WORKS."

Credit: Pexels

Because fleas are such a common problem, the post understandably garnered a great deal of attention on the social media website, wracking up 3.3K likes and comments and a whopping 78K shares.

However, reactions to the hack in the comments section where mixed.

Some people like the person below were adamantly in its favor:

"Yes, this is the ONLY way to treat fleas. THE ONLY WAY!!!! Your vet is LYING TO YOU when they try to use actual medicine! Your dog will be 3000% happier after you slather their ass with coconut oil! It creates a literal force field around your dog that is impenetrable to fleas! DON'T LET BIG PHARMA WIN!!!!"

Credit: Pexels

But others said that the use of dishwashing liquid could have a detrimental effect on your pet's skin:

"I work at a vet hospital. Note to self: washing with Dawn was ONLY intended for animals such as ducks, birds, etc during the Valdez oil spill. Somewhere, somehow people chose to take it upon themselves to think it's ok to use on domestic animals. It's not. Dishwashing liquid of any kind is harsh and abrasive for animals skin.

"In the long run, you are causing more irritation to the skin and will have more problems down the line. Your animals start itching, you automatically think it's fleas when in reality it's probably not. Their skin is dry. Granted I'm sure coconut oil has to help the drying skin but then you have the excess oily hair. Fish oil in the food works wonders. Please don't bathe your animals in Dishwashing liquid. You will be glad you didn't in the end."

Credit: Pexels

Despite these criticisms, it was noted that if it is used carefully, it can be as effective a solution as Dawn claimed:

"Dawn isn't intended to use all the time, but if you're wanting to kill live fleas quickly and cheaply without harmful pesticides, it's very effective. It's not going to kill eggs... just like lice shampoo. You'll have to repeat the process after a week or so.

"I don't think people using dawn on their dogs are too worried about their skin; [their] overall health is more important. Just like our meds- the risk vs reward factor. Plus, it doesn't contain harmful chemicals. It's a frugal solution for many working families for bad infestations and yard dogs."