Getting Rid of Flea Dirt in Your Dog
Flea dirt is the result of flea bites. Yes, flea bites are made up of excrement called digested dead skin. It only makes sense that the excrement made from flea bites is made up of dead skin, right? So if you rub flea dirt directly on a white sheet, add some liquid dish washing detergent, and let it sit for a minute, you'll see red streaks.
What is going on? The action of this little red smear is the flea dirt is coating the paper towel. That's why it doesn't come off as soon as you dab it with your finger! The reason it sticks is that it has tiny black dots in it. Black dots are very fine hair-like specks that go with the flea dirt appearance.
Now that you know what flea dirt looks like, let's learn about the flea larvae that lay those flea eggs. They are about the size of coiled cobwebs. But these coiled cobwebs can break open and release the eggs - they look like small black dots! You can also see tiny black specks under the flea eggs.
The adult flea is still not finished laying its eggs. They continue to feed on the flea dirt until, at some point, they fall off and lay their precious eggs. This is when you start seeing them starting to change color - from tiny black dots to dark browns and mottled yellows. They are developing. And now you know what you have.
Flea bites can be difficult to treat once they develop. You first need to determine if the flea dirt, flea eggs, and flea bite came from your pet. If you have a dog, but not a cat, then you can be sure your pet cat's skin is much more vulnerable to the development of flea bites than your dog's skin. Remember that dogs' coats tend to be very thick and furry and cats are very thin and delicate.
Flea larva eats a large amount of protein, so it's very important to treat all of your pet's surfaces for flea bites because their development is faster than the life cycle of an adult flea. There will also be a large amount of flea dirt and a few flea eggs present. The larger amount of flea dirt and eggs first infests the area, then the young flea larvae emerge from the dirt to mature. As soon as you see either of these things happen, treatment should be started immediately.
To get rid of flea dirt, you can use a flea collar that detaches from your pet and a flea powder which kill flea eggs and larva. Or, you can bathe your pet in colloidal oatmeal, which will kill adult fleas and their larvae, as well as kill bacteria. You can also get rid of flea dirt by a flea combing with a flea vacuum cleaner. Keep in mind that if you do it yourself, you are more susceptible to having an allergic reaction to the chemicals. That's why it's better to call a professional pest control expert.
Another way to get rid of flea dirt is to trim the ends of your pet's hair so they don't have as many hair strands to attach to the flea dirt. This is especially true with long haired breeds like Persians. Trimming their hair will make it easier for them to brush out most of the flea dirt when they look for dead flea dirt on or in their fur. Be sure not to trim too short though or you might cut off too much of their hair.
While combing your pet, look for flea eggs under the fur. If you see any, remove the fur and squash them with a kitchen knife or pry bar. Another good thing to do is mix a little vinegar with water in a spray bottle and spray down your dog's fur. The smell of vinegar will deter flea eggs and lessen the number of flea eggs you see on your dog.
Finally, when you look like you have lots of flea dirt on your pet, take a close look at its tail. You might find that it has several brown spots on it. This is what they eat - the flea poop.
