Consider aromatic leaves, wood shavings and soap your first defence in your arsenal of flea repellents.

❖ Fill small drawstring bags (available at cooking supply and natural foods shops) with fresh or dried chamomile leaves, walnut leaves or cedar shavings and tuck them into your dog’s bedding (where they can’t be chewed) to repel fleas.

❖ Sprinkle garlic powder or mix a crushed garlic clove into your dog’s food to ward off fleabites. Both garlic and chamomile are attractive flowering perennials, so for a free supply, try growing these herbs in your flower or vegetable beds.

❖ A sprinkle of brewer’s yeast (buy from health-food shops) on your pets’ food daily is also thought to help them repel fleas.

❖ Soap kills fleas on contact. When bathing your dog, begin by lathering the neck area first and then work your way towards the tail, because fleas tend to congregate around the neck.

❖ After rinsing, rub apple cider vinegar through the fur to help repel fleas, and add a teaspoon of cider vinegar to the dog’s drinking water.