Ear mites can be highly contagious, so seeking professional treatment from your veterinarian is always recommended. Your vet will use an otoscope to inspect your dog’s ear canal before using a microscope to look for signs of mite infestation.
Preventing ear mites in dogs is simple and typically involves keeping their environment clean. Natural home remedies such as neem oil or green tea rinse are also an option to help.
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Calendula
Calendula (pronounced kal-ENDU-la) is an easily recognized flowering plant with orange and yellow petals that’s easy to spot in most gardens, belonging to the sunflower family and packed with anti-inflammatory properties that may help soothe pain in dog ears.
St. Luke’s Hospital reports that this herb aids wound healing while helping prevent infection, and can enhance lymphatic drainage to remove excess fluid from tissues of the body.
calendula can be used in the form of an herbal tincture or oil to provide your pet with relief from ear mites, while still being safe to ingest. Simply mix one teaspoon of the extract with warm distilled water to form the herbal solution; for maximum effectiveness add in mullein and garlic olive oil as well. Ultimately this remedy should help in both smothering and eliminating mites; just be sure to perform a patch test prior to applying this mixture directly onto their ears.
Mullein
Ear mites tend to appear only in very young puppies or neglected dogs who do not get enough exercise, with their ears becoming covered in wax. Ear mites can easily be eliminated using natural treatments that are far less invasive than the typical medication options available today.
Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), is an extremely beneficial herb with a long tradition of medicinal use. This weed boasts antimicrobial activity as well as soothing qualities when applied topically, and expectorant properties to help ease symptoms such as sore throat and coughing.
Studies have demonstrated that mullein contains antibacterial, antifungal and astringent properties which make it effective against ear mites caused by bacteria, fungal or yeast infection. Mullein can be combined with Oregon grape root or garlic in an oil infusion to create an oil infusion recipe suitable for application directly into ears; or can be added to products with fennel seed oil garlic and calendula for an in-ear application solution.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is one of the most widely-used household items to clean various surfaces, due to being an alkali that reacts with acids to remove stains from various surfaces. Furthermore, it may even help treat dog ear mites!
sodium bicarbonate powder resembles baking powder visually; however, they serve very different roles when applied in baked goods production as chemical leavening agents that help batter or dough rise when heated in an oven.
Baking soda and powder react with acidic liquid ingredients of a recipe to produce carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause batter or dough to rise as it bakes, leading to light, airy bakery treats!
Green Tea
Ear mites can be a serious nuisance for dogs. Ear mites thrive in warm and moist environments and cause painful itching and scratching of ears, as well as being highly contagious – easily spreading between canines with them also being contagious! Infected canines may quickly infect other canines; moreover, severe head shaking may even occur and lead to an imbalance.
Green tea is an all-natural antiseptic that can help flush away debris that has collected in your dog’s ear canal. Simply steep a tablespoon of fresh green tea leaves in hot water and use this solution daily for one month as an ear cleanser for your pup!
Garlic oil contains powerful antimicrobial and mite killing properties. To create it, mince two garlic cloves and infuse them in one cup of olive oil using a dropper bottle, before applying once or twice daily using an eyedropper dropper to your dog’s ears for effective treatment. Chamomile oil soothes irritated ears with anti-inflammatory properties and can ease itching caused by mite infestation – mix a few drops into carrier oil then apply using cotton balls as needed for effective results.
