What Is Flea Dander?

Flea Dander

• Flea dander is one of the best ways that you can find evidence of a flea infestation. Flea dander is actually flea excrement, and dander will contain blood from an animal that was not completely digested. Dander will look like tiny black specs and will remind people of black pepper flakes. Flea dander is also what flea larvae feed on to survive. One of the best places to first look for flea dander would be at the base of a pet's tail.

Identifying Flea Dander

• One of the best ways to identify flea dander is to wipe up the small black specs with a damp paper towel. If the specs turn red it means there is blood in the dander, which is a sign of a flea infestation. Make sure to use a white paper towel and make sure it is only damp when wiping to make sure the identification process goes correctly. A flea comb can be used on a pet to knock down dander and to help check for signs of an infestation.

Risks

• Flea dander itself will not harm your pets, but flea dander is a sign of flea infestations, which can cause problems for pets and human owners. Hair loss and skin problems are the two biggest problems associated with fleas for pets. Pets will also become very uncomfortable scratching at themselves for long periods of time. On rare occasions fleas can transport tapeworm to pets or humans. In humans, this occurs when fleas are accidentally ingested. Fleas have carried other diseases that negatively affect humans.

Treatments

• Killing live fleas and preventing them from coming back will eliminate flea dander. Flea dander will only occur when fleas are feeding on pets or humans, so finding an effective flea-control method is important. Pets need to be treated with pills and possibly chemicals, and if they are an indoor pet, the entire house will need to be cleaned and sprayed to make sure fleas are eliminated. Once this is done, flea dander should no longer be a problem.