How to Identify Fleas

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Instructions

Step 1:
Find out if you have a flea problem in your yard by walking through the yard with your feet, ankles and calves exposed. Hungry fleas jump onto your feet or legs to bite you.
Step 2:
Check your feet and legs for flea bites. Flea bites are small red bumps that look a lot like mosquito bites but are usually smaller. Flea bites are usually itchy.
Step 3:
Look for brown, flat oval bugs that jump onto your body and move very quickly. Remember, fleas are very small and can be hard to see well. Usually, by the time your brain acknowledges the presence of a flea, the flea has jumped off.
Step 4:
Catch a bug and try to squish it between your fingers. Fleas are hard bodied and typically can not be squished. If the bug squishes easily, it is not a flea.
Step 5:
Inspect the fur of your dog or outdoor cat, if you own one. Fleas often gather around the animal's head and rear. Flea bites can be found on the soft skin of the dog's or cat's belly. Comb your pet while he is standing on a white piece of paper and look for small black dots on the paper that look like black pepper, that is the flea dirt. Moisten the black specks to see if they turn red. Flea dirt turns red when it gets wet because of the blood that the fleas eat.
Step 6:
Trap a bug in a glass jar and bring it to a local garden center or to your vet's office for help identifying the bug and to find out if it is a flea.

Tips & Warnings

Keep your grass cut short to make it a more hostile environment for fleas to live in.

More Puppy Pages

How to Find and Exterminate Fleas

Although fleas are usually only 1/16 inch long, they can cause huge problems. Most people with pets know the horrors of having fleas try to move into your home. Even if you try to keep your animals indoors at all times, there is still the chance that...

How to Check Your Cat for Anemia and Flea Infestation

Fleas live on a host animal. When they bite the host they are taking his blood like a mosquito does. If your cat has a severe infestation of fleas, the blood loss could cause anemia. Anemia can be a life-threatening condition that requires immediate...

Hi this is Elise McMahon with expertvillage.com and this video series we are going to talking about flea and tick prevention. If you like to find more about my services you can visit my website canineheadstart.com. So in this short clip we are going to...

As a dog owner, it is important to know how to tell if your dog has fleas. There are simple procedures to determine the presence of fleas on your pet. Fleas are more then a nuisance, as they also pose a serious health hazard to both you and your pet.

Hello, I’m Dr. Greg McDonald and I am here for Expert Village.com. We are talking about flea control in your pet, that’s your dog and your cat. I wanted to talk for a moment about an oral preparation for both your dog and your cat and it is...