Look for tiny black specks hiding in your pets fur, especially on their rump right in front of the tail. It looks like PEPPER… that's FLEA POOP (flea dirt). Don't believe me? Take some of that black “dirt” and rub it on a wet cotton ball or paper towel.
So even if you only find flea dirt on your pet but no fleas themselves, it could mean you've just caught the infestation early. You should still treat your pet immediately for fleas since flea dirt is an obvious sign of flea activity as the digested blood from the parasites feed on your pet.
These small black specks are flea faeces and materially are composed of old blood. You'll mostly spot them on the skin of your dog, although they're also known to show up in dog beds and other places your pet spends time too.
Flea dirt is actually the feces of adult fleas, and it is reddish-black in color because it is made up of animal (or human) blood that isn't fully digested. If you see flea dirt but no fleas on your dog or cat buddies living in your home, you may wonder what to do.
Flea dirt is another name for flea faeces which they produce after taking a blood meal. Flea dirt on your dog is a sign that your dog has fleas or has recently had them. To identify flea dirt, collect some of the dirt and place it on a moist white tissue. If it is flea dirt, it will stain the tissue red.
"Flea dirt is actually the feces of adult fleas," Hall says. "If you find flea dirt on your pet, it means that your pet has fleas, and they only produce flea dirt after they've been on your pet long enough to consume a blood meal (via biting) and digest that meal."
"Flea dirt should be washed off the pet with a thorough bath and for severely affected pets, two or three rounds of shampooing may be necessary," Hall says. "A flea comb (a small fine-toothed comb) can also be used to tease the dirt and live fleas out of the hair."
Signs of fleas in your bedding include tiny black specks that are sometimes called "flea dirt." These are flea excrement; if you sprinkle them with a little water, they'll turn a dark-reddish brown. Another sign that fleas have invaded your bed are flea bites on your body.
An easy way to test for flea dirt is to rub your dog's or cat's fur with a damp paper towel. If your pet has flea dirt in their fur, the paper towel will likely pick up brown, dirt-like specks that will turn red when exposed to the moisture on the paper towel.
These little black specks are flea dirt, a nicer way of saying flea poop. If you add water to these specks they will reconstitute and turn red (blood). Some pets have an allergy to the bite of a flea that causes an intense and prolonged itch.
Can Fleas Live in Your Bed? These pests infest multiple areas in homes, especially mattresses, cushions, and carpeting. Pets transfer fleas to the beds and furniture where they sleep. From here, the insects quickly spread around the house.
Flea eggs on furniture will look like they do on your pet's fur: like small white dots or grains of salt.
Vacuum the entire house thoroughly to get rid of all flea stages. Wash all pet bedding in hot water and dry it on the highest setting to kill eggs. Repeat all of the above steps every few weeks for continuous flea control.
Fleas poop when they feed. The poop (also called flea dirt) can then be rubbed into the bite wound or other wounds causing infection. People can also breathe in infected flea dirt or rub it into their eyes. This bacteria is not spread from person to person.
Flea Dirt on Bedsheets
Fleas leave dirty residue behind. Typically, this material looks like tiny specs of black pepper in your bedsheets. Though it may seem harmless, this residue consists of blood and flea feces. You'll definitely want to clean it up as quickly as possible.
People often mistake “flea dirt,” or flea feces, for flea eggs—though both are signs of a flea infestation. Unlike flea eggs, flea dirt is dark and crumbly. You can identify flea dirt by putting a few of the specks on a white piece of paper and adding a couple drops of water.
Pro tip: You can check for fleas around these areas by performing the white sock test. Put on some white socks and shuffle around the house. The heat and vibrations from your shuffling will stimulate the fleas and they will jump on you.
Within 5 minutes of jumping onto a pet, the flea will take a blood meal and pass stool (poop). Flea poop is visible on pets' fur as flea “dirt,” little black specks that look like pepper, that turn red or brown when exposed to water. The fleas will then mate and the females will lay their eggs on the pet.
Ortho Bed Bug, Flea, and Tick Killer
This one-gallon of flea-killer spray targets bed bugs, fleas, and ticks where they're hiding around your home. We like that you can apply it around bed frames, along baseboards, and in other affected areas to kill these pests on contact and help prevent re-infestation.
Wash all bed sheets, pillowcases, blankets with detergent on a hot cycle. If you have a dryer, use this right after washing. The fleas will not survive the heat. Give your mattress a thorough vacuum and pay close attention to the seams and underside of the mattress.
I've Got Fleas – Won't They Just Go Away? Unfortunately, no, they won't. Most fleas can live for between two and three weeks on a host organism, but some flea eggs can survive unhatched for up to an entire year. So even if the fleas you have are dying off, there will be plenty of eggs left to replace them.
Where do you put fleas after combing? It is best to have a dish of warm soapy water nearby and dip the flea comb after a few strokes in order to drown the adult fleas trapped in the comb. If you are combing your cat in the bathtub, you may want to dip the flea comb in the water and wash the dying fleas down the drain.
Use flea shampoo for the type of pet you have and flea combs to remove fleas and flea dirt from their fur and skin. Your pet may need two or three rounds of shampooing to help remove flea dirt and fleas.
In most cases, it takes three to four months to completely get rid of a flea infestation since it takes fleas this long to go through their life stages, according to the American Kennel Club.