"Insects" running around on Molly

[Terry Beddoes]

Molly has been scratching recently, when we comb/brush her there seems to be a lot of black "dust" particles in her fur.

We noticed the other day some small pests (about 1 - 2mm) running around in the fur on her belly especially at the rear.

They look like little beetles and appear to be running around, not jumping.

We have tried a flea & tick spray and a spot killer. We use Frontline bought from the local pharmacy.

Could it be fleas even though they appear to be running not jumping or could they be something else. A larger one was dark in colour with a lighter coloured rear area. (As though a winged insect had not completely folded its wings). Could the dust be some sort of egg cases?

[penguins87]

Oh dear poor Molly 

I think that whatever she has picked up requires a trip to the vet pronto to get it sorted properly ..

It could be she has a sort of mange infestation which only prescription medication will treat .. 

please let us know how she gets on

[Helen]

Definitely sounds like fleas - you will need to boil wash her bedding and anything else she lies on.  Frontline breaks the cycle by making the adult fleas infertile but it takes a while - Advantix may be a better bet in future, it seems to work better than Frontline.

For your carpets etc Indorex spray is good.

[elaine.e]

Definitely sounds like fleas

Good advice from Helen as you'll need to treat Molly's bedding and all areas of the house that she has access to. Frontline isn't as effective against fleas as it used to be so try something like Advantix or Practic on Molly instead. If you've used Frontline in the last few days check with your vet about how soon it's safe to use another product on Molly.

The "dust" is probably dried blood from Molly that the fleas have digested and excreted. Comb some of it onto a piece of damp kitchen roll and it will turn pink or red

[Joules]

Agree - definitely fleas 

Ordinary Frontline is not very effective - better to get Frontline Combo which you need a prescription for.  It seems to be much better at getting rid of the little blighters 

[JeffandAnnie]

The "dust" is probably dried blood from Molly that the fleas have digested and excreted.

That's a long winded way of saying poo 

[Snoo]

Yep, definitely fleas   - they do crawl/run around on the skin - they only jump to get on and off or to travel across the floor!  Frontline doesn't seem as effective as it once was, my vet recommends Prac-tic or Advocate. If you have fleas on your dog then you have them in your carpets/flooring, too, so you will need to also treat the floors of the WHOLE house with a good household flea killer such as Acclaim, not just the rooms the dog goes in. Fleas can be transported in your footwear and clothes to parts of the house the dog doesn't go to! As others have said, the dusty stuff is the flea droppings. Delightful little critters! 

[Snoo]

The "dust" is probably dried blood from Molly that the fleas have digested and excreted.

That's a long winded way of saying poo 

LOL, that made me laugh! 

[seaangler]

Please note also...(good advice so far)..That this time of the year fleas lay there in the carpets as well...

As said the Dust is flea dirt....Dry blood...How you can tell is get some and mix with a little warm water and it will go a redish color....

[Karma]

Yup - definately fleas... best bet is an all-out war approach....

When Honey got fleas, we treated her with Frontline Combo, and with Johnsons 4Flea tablets (can be used alongside Frontline, and kills adult fleas when they bite, so helps reduce the irritation for the dog - they wouldn't solve an infestation, but help the dog in the meatime).  Washed and sprayed (With Indorex) all bedding, and all the throws and cushions on the sofa etc.  Vacuumed and the sprayed the carpets, sofa, curtains etc (fleas can jump up to 3 feet), again with Indorex.... and then repeated the washing, vacuuming and spraying 7 days later.  Nothing kills one of the stages of the flea's life-cycle (I think it's the Pupa stage) so you WILL get a resurgence of fleas in a few weeks time, but they will still be killed off by the steps you have taken now.

We also flea-combed (and drowned the fleas in soapy water) Honey daily, and gave her a bath with flea shampoo...

[Terry Beddoes]

Thanks very much for your help - Right to war............................

[Terry Beddoes]

Thanks everyone. One week into the war. Molly has been Frontlined, the house has been sprayed, Molly has been combed daily.
We seem to have got rid of the initial infestation although we are still on DefCon 4 ready for the next wave.

The bonus is Molly seems to have lost her habit of licking the air (think snake or lizard) which she seemed to do continuously. The Vet in September said she was OK and it was not a repeat of the lip problem (can't remember what the problem with the folds of her mouth were called off the top of my head) although we still keep her clean with hibiscrub.

Thanks again