Flea dirt: If you’re a pet parent, you’ve probably heard of it. Maybe your veterinarian has even found it on your pet. But what is flea dirt, exactly? And more importantly, do you know how to get rid of it?
Although flea dirt is a problem that pet parents have to deal with more frequently than they might like, there’s good news: There are plenty of ways to get rid of it (and the fleas that cause it). The better news? It’s totally preventable.
So, What Is Flea Dirt Anyway?
Prepare yourself. Things are about to get gross.
Here’s the short answer: Flea dirt is a mix of blood meal and flea feces, says Dr. John Howe, DVM, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Essentially, it’s the waste fleas leave behind after they consume your pet’s blood. (Hey, we warned you.)
Now that you know what flea dirt is, take heart. There is one good thing about this icky stuff: It’s easy to find. Actual fleas can be difficult to spot, because they are so tiny and move quickly. Flea dirt, on the other hand, stays in one place, making it an obvious warning sign. Finding flea dirt on cats or dogs may actually help you realize there’s a flea problem before it gets out of hand.
Tick poop—yep, we’re going there—is another story. It’s less likely to be found before the ticks themselves, says Dr. Mitzi Clark, a board-certified veterinary dermatologist and assistant clinical professor at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York. “Tick excrement is not something that I routinely identify or expect owners to identify on their pets,” she says. “Certainly, ticks that stay attached to the animals can and will defecate, but it’s not a common finding on the skin like flea droppings or flea ‘dirt’ would be.”
What Does Flea Dirt Look Like?
Flea dirt is dark, even appearing black in some cases, and looks like small flecks or clumps, Dr. Howe says. Although it can be found on any part of your pet, it’s most often seen around their rears and bellies. Keep in mind that it may be harder to spot fleas and flea dirt on cats than on dogs because felines are such fastidious groomers, he adds.
Basically, what flea dirt looks like is, well, regular dirt, and it’s easy to mistake one for the other. But there’s a simple solution for telling them apart. “Since fleas ingest a blood meal from the pet, this blood is passed in their droppings,” Dr. Clark says. “One way we distinguish flea dirt from regular dirt is to wet it and wipe it on a white surface to see if it looks red, like blood.” (If that task sounds too gross to handle, no judgment here—go ahead and delegate that task to your veterinarian.)
While tick poop isn’t seen as commonly as flea feces, you may find it in the area around a tick bite, Dr. Howe says. “It is important to check your pet for ticks and to remove any ticks as quickly as possible,” he says. “You should also talk to your veterinarian about treatment.”
Does Flea Dirt Mean an Infestation?
Many pet parents wonder whether it’s possible for a pet to have flea dirt but not fleas. Sorry, but no. When you find flea dirt on cats or dogs, you can’t assume your pet was merely a pest pit stop.
“A flea that is dropping waste on the animal has had enough time to feed on that animal,” Dr. Clark says.
That means they’ve probably also had time to breed. Female fleas can lay eggs within two days after they’ve fed, says Dr. Jennifer Coates, DVM, of Fort Collins, Colorado. She adds that flea eggs are near-impossible to spot. So even if you don’t see any live fleas, flea dirt means they’re probably hiding out somewhere on your pet.
How to Get Rid of Flea Dirt
Flea dirt and tick poop won’t magically disappear on their own, nor will the fleas and ticks that cause it. So it’s important to take action if you find fleas, ticks or their feces on your pet.
Step one for how to get rid of flea dirt? Eliminate the fleas. “If a pet is covered in flea dirt, I think the most important step is eliminating the fleas with the use of good flea preventatives and environmental treatment, if necessary,” Dr. Clark says. “It’s also important to remember to treat any [other] animals in the house that can also harbor fleas.”
Giving your pet a bath with a shampoo designed to fight fleas and ticks might seem like the obvious first step. But talk to your veterinarian before running that bath. If you’re using a topical flea/tick treatment or prevention product, bathing may interfere and reduce the effectiveness of those products, Dr. Howe says.
It’s not only animals who require attention. You’ll also need to thoroughly clean your pet’s bedding, as well as their environment—aka the flooring, furniture, and other things they come into contact with—where fleas and ticks can lurk between hosts. Doing this, along with working with your vet to make sure your pet is on a flea/tick preventive product, is the best way to keep fleas and ticks (and their dirt) off your pet.
Is Flea Dirt Harmful to Humans?
When most pet parents find flea dirt on dogs and cats, their biggest concern is for their pet. But remember: The presence of fleas and ticks is problematic for humans, too.
“We know that certain diseases can be transmitted from fleas and ticks to humans,” Dr. Clark says. “Usually, in order for a human to be harmed, the parasite (flea or tick) has to actually bite the human or the human has to ingest the flea.” There’s a theoretical risk to humans who come in contact with the feces of these parasites, she says, but it’s low.
“The real risk is that if the droppings are there, the parasite is there and humans can get sick if bitten by fleas and ticks,” Dr. Clark says. “A good practice is to wash hands after handling any pet—especially before eating—and to keep any wounds you have covered and away from contact with animals.”
If you want to learn how to get rid of fleas, you need more than just some simple tips on bathing your dog. Fighting a flea infestation isn't a one-and-done battle. It's a war that could take days, maybe even weeks, thanks to the flea's life cycle, abilities and habits. It's not an easy job, but one that has to be done right. Here's everything you need to know about how to get rid of fleas in the house.
Killing fleas at the source
Most flea infestations stem from pets. Your cat or dog might have caught fleas while running around the yard, or from other animals during boarding or a play date. It doesn't matter just yet. The first step is always treating the source of the problem as soon as possible. It makes no sense to treat the entire house if your pet is going to keep bringing fleas in.
Start with a flea comb, paying extra attention to the neck and tail of your pet since these are a flea's favorite areas. Drop any fleas you comb off into hot soapy water to kill them. Next, be sure to speak with your veterinarian about flea control services for your pet. They will be able to recommend the best treatment for the type of fleas you have and for the climate in your area. There are many safe and effective flea treatments for your cats and dogs on the market. These might be topical, oral, spot treatments, shampoos, sprays, dusts or dips. The important thing is that you or your veterinarian effectively apply these treatments on a regular basis.
Related > All About Fleas: Get To Know Your Enemy
Always remember to treat each of your pets for fleas. If you treat just one, the fleas will jump to your other pets and the infestation will continue. Many flea control treatments only need to be applied once a month or once every few months. Oral and topical applications start protecting your pet before the flea population begins to increase during the warmer months of "flea season." Learning how to get rid of fleas ultimately means embracing prevention.
Prep your home for flea treatment
Next, pick up all of the stray items from all carpeted areas of your home. This includes clothes, toys, shoes, boxes, papers, etc. You want as much carpet surface to be accessible to your vacuum as possible. Be sure to remove items inside of closets and under the beds as well. If possible, you should also move furniture. You can leave larger objects that sit flush with the floor, such as dressers or bookcases, in place if the fleas are not able to get underneath.
Clearing your home of pets and children
In addition to cats and dogs, you should also remove any other pets from your home, such as birds or fish, if possible. Cover aquarium tanks and bird cages, as well as any water dishes or food bowls. Turn off any systems that support the pet's environment, such as aerators in fish tanks or heat rocks in reptile tanks. Ideally, you should do this when the entire family is also out of the house.
What to do for heavy flea infestations
For heavy flea infestations, it's best to destroy and discard all pet bedding. For mild or light infestations, washing the bedding thoroughly in hot, soapy water is necessary for killing fleas and destroying their eggs and larvae. You are going to have to wash your pet's bedding like this every week for at least one month, or until you are sure the infestation is over. Even then, it's a good habit to wash your pet's bedding on a regular basis to prevent reinfestations from taking hold. You can also dry clean the bedding, but be careful not to transfer fleas to your dry cleaner's business and thus, other customers.
Killing fleas: create a plan of attack
When you've cleared the house, take a walk through every room looking for signs of fleas and their larvae. Fleas in a carpet can look like tiny dark specks which disappear just as quickly as they appeared. Fleas congregate in places where your pets sleep the most. They also prefer to hang out in areas that don't have heavy foot traffic, and they avoid spots in the house that get a lot of direct sunlight.
Be on the lookout for the highly visible dried feces and blood fleas leave behind. These should be easy to spot on your pet's bedding, but also on lighter colored rugs. These dried secondary signs of fleas are also known as "flea dirt," resembling grainy specks of black pepper or black dandruff. Flea larvae feed on this flea dirt before turning into pupae. Removing it removes a growing infestation's food source. It's important to note areas with flea dirt. These specific breeding grounds need extra attention during the next step in how to kill fleas in-house: vacuuming.
How to get rid of fleas in the carpet
Now that you have cleared the area, use a beater-bar style vacuum to thoroughly vacuum the house. Get under beds and any other furniture that you weren't able to move. Use corner attachments for baseboards, heat vents, floor cracks, carpet edges and room corners. Pay particular attention to areas of carpet where your pets sleep or spend a lot of time. If you're unsure of where they sleep during the day, look for spots and furniture that accumulate a lot of pet hair. Use the same attentive approach in areas where you and your family sleep or spend a lot of time. Fleas can transmit diseases to humans, so you want to be sure you do a thorough job, not just for your pets, but for you and your family as well. Instead of just killing fleas, the vacuuming will address a bigger problem that comes along with infestations: flea eggs, larvae and pupae. Eliminating just the adult fleas won't work, since you'll soon have a new generation of biters to deal with. Vacuuming also helps get rid of the dried blood and feces, thus removing the food sources of developing fleas.
Additionally, the vacuuming stimulates fleas to leave their cocoon prematurely. Since the cocoon is resistant to insecticides, this is an important step for thoroughly killing fleas. Further, as you vacuum, the nap of the carpet raises up. This makes it easier for insecticides to get deep down into the fibers where stubborn, developing fleas take refuge.
You're not out of the woods yet
When you're done vacuuming the carpets and throw rugs, turn to the hardwood floors, linoleum and tiles. Then, vacuum furniture, upholstery, cabinets, cushions, pillows and even your bed. If you have a disposable vacuum bag, it's recommended that you seal it tightly in a garbage bag upon removal, and then throw it out. Replace it with a fresh bag. Repeat this thorough vacuuming every other day until the flea infestation is gone (typically 10 days to one month). For some serious infestations, steam cleaning before vacuuming is necessary. The heat will kill almost all of the adult fleas, but may not kill all of the eggs. Continue to vacuum every other day after the steam cleaning to make sure you are killing fleas as they hatch. Some might still make it to the adult stage. Insecticides are almost always a necessary third step in moderate to severe flea infestations, even after steam cleaning and vacuuming.
Yet even then, most common sprays fail to kill flea pupae, which means you will likely see a few fleas over the next two weeks. Keep vacuuming, as it stimulates the fleas to hatch prematurely, thus exposing their bodies to the residual pesticides. Vacuuming should be enough to control the lingering population as long as you've treated your pets. This is a lot of work, and not as easy or effective as calling a pest management professional.
How to get rid of fleas in your yard
Factors that can lead to a large outdoor flea population on your property include heavily shaded areas, crawl spaces where wildlife and feral strays might sleep or sheltered enclosures such as dog houses. A good way to test your outdoor flea problem is to put on a pair of long, white socks that go up to your knee. Walk around your yard slowly, especially under decks, around vegetation and anywhere your pets like to hang out. Just like indoors, fleas will avoid outdoor areas with heavy foot traffic or direct sunlight. As you walk the yard, the fleas will jump onto your socks where they will be easily identified thanks to the black-on-white contrast. You should do this a few times during the week at different times of day.
If possible, remove low-hanging branches and brush to open up more of your yard to sunlight. This will lower the population of fleas dramatically. If treatment is necessary, residual insecticide and growth regulators are sometimes applied. Treatment should always be handled according to directions on the label, and is always best left to a pest management professional. This will help ensure that you, your pets and your family remain safe and bite-free while enjoying the outdoors. It is advisable to treat your home and yard for fleas on the same day, as well as having your pet groomed to ensure the source of the infestation has been eliminated.
The fastest way to learn how to get rid of fleas in the house
Getting rid of fleas in your home isn't easy. It's time consuming and not always 100 percent effective. Even if you do everything right, you're probably going to have to keep killing fleas for the next two weeks or so. Fortunately, you don’t have to go through this alone.
The fastest way to learn how to kill fleas in houses and apartments is simply to learn two important words: contact Terminix®.
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