How to detect fleas?

[Haus]

My husband found what we thought was a flea on his sock yesterday. In a panic (I hate bugs!) I squished it before we could have a good look at it. We purchased a flea comb and used it on Lola and didn't find anything. She was due for a dose of Revolution on the 9th of this month, but we did not give it to her, as we have opted to go with a natural preventative (brewer's yeast) instead. She has been scratching because of allergies, but less since we've been giving her Benadryl. Is it still possible that Lola has fleas? Could we have picked up a flea at the dog park, but not Lola? Is there another way to tell if she does have fleas? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Haus]

Thanks for the reply. I'm wondering if we should treat the house just in case? I'm just remembering that about 2 weeks ago I had about ten little red bites on one of my feet, and they were ridiculously itchy! I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I'm wondering if it was fleas!

Lola had fleas in January. Well, actually we found one flea near her bum after a play date with the in-laws' dog. She wasn't itchy at all. My husband just happened to spot the flea while he was on the ground playing with her. We gave her a dose of Advantage and vaccumed daily for a week and washed all bedding in hot water, but didn't treat the carpets. Is it possible that there are still fleas in the house? Would it be safe to treat the carpets just in case? I don't want to deal with a plague!

[ashley1135]

I would just be very careful and limit Lola's as well as your own exposure to pesticides. It is possible you have fleas in your carpet. Fleas have a complicated lifecyle that includes a pupal stage where it can lie dormant for long periods of time. Vacuuming and general activity can stimulate the pupa to hatch out into adults and stage the infestation all over again. When you have fleas, of course you have to treat the host (Lola) but also any bedding or carpeted areas where she spent much time. Most insecticides will kill the larval and adult fleas, some products now kill the eggs too, but the pupal stage is particularly difficult. Most products have residual action that continues to kill for a period of time after application, so you really want those pupa to come out so they will die. Fleas bite fast and often multiple times, so if you had several bumps that looked like bites rather than a rash, it was probably fleas. Flea combs can help you find them, but also if you get Lola to stand on a white sheet or towel and really scratch and rub her good, if she has fleas, you'll see dark flecks come off her onto the sheet. The flecks will look like dirt but are flea poo and dried blood. Fleas can be a real bear to get rid of. My cats had fleas when I adopted them, and I'm scared to death of parasite and nearly killed my babies by overtreating them and the carpets (apparently Persian cats are particularly hypersensitive to pesticides). Oh, and fleas have a sort of hard shell and are hard to squish, for instance you'd have a hard time smashing one between your fingers.

[Chris&Eti]

I use a product called Deflea (http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=3629&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=deflea&sku=928704&familyID=12134&#details) which is effective and non toxic.

[Haus]

Thanks for the info. We took Lola to the vet and it turns out she has a skin infection called pyroderm (no clue as to the spelling), not fleas. She's now temporarily on an antibiotic for her skin and steriods for her allergies. I'm a little leary of all the medication, but she's really suffering with the allergies. I'm so glad I didn't go ahead and flea treat the house!