My dog's on Advantage, vet found no fleas. Could there be flea eggs?

If your dog is on a high quality flea preventative (Nexgard, Bravecto, Advantix) every month, I would be very surprised if there are any flea eggs. If you look closely at your dog's hair coat, flea eggs resemble a grain of salt and are often confused with dry skin flakes. If fleas are present, you would be more likely to see adult fleas or flea "dirt" (feces). Flea dirt looks like a fleck of pepper and turns reddish brown when moistened with water on a damp paper towel. Flea eggs could be transferred to clothing by direct contact, but they would not be able to grow and reproduce without a warm blooded host, such as a dog or cat.

The best way to determine if the dark specs are 'dirt' versus 'flea dirt' is to collect the specs on a clean white paper towel and apply hydrogen peroxide. If it turns rusty colored, it likely flea dirt. Flea eggs are very small and you are not likely to see those with the naked eye. Also, the best place to look for fleas is on the lower back and between the hind legs on your dog. If you determine that you are seeing fleas or evidence of fleas, I would recommend talking to your veterinarian about switching flea products. Hope this helps.

The way to tell if it is flea dirt is to put the specks on a wet paper towel and if it is flea dirt it will turn red. If it doesn't leave red on the paper towel than it is not flea dirt. Flea dirt is basically flea feces so it does not actually turn into a flea. The eggs that a female lays will develop into fleas and one flea can lay a lot of eggs. Use a monthly flea prevention, like Frontline, Revolution, Advantage, etc. Also treat your house with a product that has a growth regulator if you see any live fleas.

Fleas live on the surface of the skin, and a live flea will definitely move if you try to touch it. A dead flea would be easy to pick up and remove from your dog's skin. It can be difficult to differentiate flea dirt from regular old dirt - if you comb some of the dirt and put it on a white paper towel and then wet it with water, flea dirt will turn red because it is digested blood. Flea eggs are too small to see without a microscope. A flea comb can make it easier to find both adult fleas and flea dirt - run the comb along your dog's back near the base of the tail since this is typically where fleas like to hang out. Also, if your dog is not on a flea preventative I'd recommend talking to your veterinarian about recommendations.

Hello. Fleas would be moving, & moving very quickly, so no apparent fleas in either picture. To tell if you have flea dirt ( which is actually flea feces ), drop some of the debris on a damp paper towel. If it is flea dirt, then a reddish brown to rust color will leach from each spot. If the debris just sits there with nothing happening for several minutes, then it is just run of the mill dirt. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The way to know if Jake has flea dirt is to comb some of these specs of dirt onto a paper towel. Put a drop of water on one of the flecks, and if the paper towel underneath has a reddish stain, then it is flea dirt (flea poop contains water). If you don't see a reddish stain, then it's just dirt. I hope this helps :-)

What you are describing sounds exactly like flea dirt. What I would recommend is putting a few of them on a wet paper towel and rub them back and forth with your finger or another wet paper towel. If they turn the paper towel brown or red, then they are likely dried blood and flea dirt. If Bailey had fleas when you started Advantage 2 months ago, there were likely still eggs, larvae or pupae in the house that have now hatched into adult fleas and may be biting Bailey resulting in flea poop even though he is on a flea preventative. I am attaching a handout below that includes some information on the flea life cycle. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1575 I hope that makes sense and answers your question. Thanks for using PetCoach.