Sometimes it is not easy to tell the difference between flea eggs vs. dandruff that appears on your pet’s skin – but fleas can’t live in human hair.
You are arming yourself with the knowledge to successfully determine which will significantly help you treat these conditions, including allergies.
When you spot small white flakes on your pet’s skin, it might be easy to jump to conclusions without knowing the difference between dandruff and flea eggs – flea eggs can be killed by vacuuming while adults through flea bombs.
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Panic can set in, especially with the prospect of having a flea infestation, but you should not panic until you know exactly what you are dealing with.
One of the first things to note is whether the specks you are seeing remain on your pet for a prolonged time; if so, it is likely dandruff because this is a persistent condition, whereas flea eggs will only be present a brief time before they hatch.
Flea Eggs
If you have become aware of your pet seeming irritated or scratching a lot more than they usually do, you may have considered the fact that they could have fleas – your yard has critters? Try yard flea spray.
If you have noticed white specks on them also, this may further your belief. But there are ways to successfully determine if what you are seeing are real, flea eggs.
- Flea eggs tend to be much thicker in their size than dandruff.
- The eggs are usually sticky and hard to remove.
- The eggs of fleas are oval and have a round end.
- If you notice adult fleas or small black specks in your pet’s fur, this is a sure indication that there is a flea infestation.
- Your cat may have small red marks on her skin from flea bites.
Related: Can Fleas Live in Carpets?
If your pet is suffering from fleas, you will certainly want to tackle the problem, and there are a few easy ways to do this.
- Use a special flea comb to comb through your pet’s fur and remove any present eggs or fleas.
- Bathe your pet using soap and water to try to remove as many fleas as possible.
- If you find a flea, you should not try to squash it, as this will not work; it is preferable to drown them.
- Stay on top of flea checks to make sure that any infestations can be quickly dealt with.
- Use a flea treatment.
Related: Do Fleas Bite Humans?
Dandruff
Dandruff is essentially flakes of dry skin, and it can affect both humans and animals – they’ll come off when flea comb cats or flea combs for dogs. It is a lot more common than many people would care to admit, but it can be mistaken for flea eggs to the untrained eye.
There are many causes for dandruff in your pet one such cause could be an infestation of fleas, whilst other causes could be an infection of the skin such as a fungal infection or a bacterial infection.
You might also find that your pet suffers from dandruff after trauma to the skin from things like sunburn or because of an underlying health condition such as diabetes or a bad diet.
We will now look at what you can expect to see if your pet is suffering from dandruff.
- The shape of dandruff pieces will always be inconsistent; due to its nature of being dead skin, it will never assume the same shape or size, which is one of its most identifiable features.
- Dandruff can easily get caught in the fur of the animal but will brush out quite quickly.
Once you have identified the problem as being dandruff, you will then be able to treat it in one of the following ways.
- Regularly brush your pet to remove the dead skin cells; over time, this will eradicate the problem by distributing natural oils found on the skin.
- Rinse your dog using a mixture of lime juice and water as vitamin C can assist in dandruff treatment.
- Use an anti-dandruff shampoo.
- Keep your pet’s diet balanced and varied; good nutrition is essential for maintaining good skin health.
Conclusion
If you see white flecks within your pet’s fur, panic may set in, and concerns might begin as to whether these are flea eggs or dandruff.
- However, the two can be easily told apart if you know what you are looking for.
Similarly, no matter which condition you find yourself confronted with, both can be easily treated using simple methods.