An active flea infestation can be devastating to your dog.
They are commonly found in the crevices of your dog’s skin. They may manifest as tiny black dots, occasionally mistaken for dirt or dandruff.
It’s essential to treat your pup if you have any of these annoying bugs. So, what are tiny black bugs on dogs that are not fleas?
The tiny black bugs that you see on your dog are not fleas. Fleas are small, pale insects that jump around and live on your dog’s fur or skin.
While flea bites can be itchy, they are rarely dangerous to your dog’s health. These black blobs are more likely tiny insect eggs or larvae, which are found under your dog’s fur or skin.
They are harmless and will eventually drop off your dog on their own without causing any harm. However, some tiny black bugs are not harmless to your dog.
Let’s dive into it now.
Common Types of Tiny Black Bugs on Dogs
Contents
Mites
There are several types or species of mites that can affect your dog such as Sarcoptes scabiei and Demodex canis.
Cheyletiella is one of the common types of minute black bugs that can affect dogs.
It is also known as “walking dandruff” because it is often found in the hair pads on the paws of dogs.
I don’t have a picture of this, but you can also get psoroptic mange which is a form of mange that is transmitted by fleas.
If you divide the dog’s hair and look carefully at the hair from root to tip, you can usually detect the scabies mites right off as they resemble moving speck.
These mites, however, do no cause itching or an allergic reaction in dogs.
They move at extremely fast speed which is disturbing to the naked eye.
Mites may cause hair loss in your dog, but in most cases they are confused with fleas.
They may also cause skin infections if left untreated.
The good thing is that there are effective products on the market to treat mites such as Revolution, which is applied topically to the entire dog’s coat.
Mites are much less common than fleas, however, and normally you don’t have to worry about them unless you are in a farm setting where their population can be high due to conditions of farming.
Both lime sulfur dip and Capstar are flea control products that are good for other parasites like demodex and sarcoptes mites.
You should thoroughly clean your house and can also vacuum frequently to greatly reduce the risk of mite infestation in the first place.
Lice
Dog lice are a major pest that affects many dogs eventually in their lifetimes.
They burrow under the hair and into the skin causing irritation that gets worse over time.
Because dog lice are so prevalent, your groomer should be adept at finding and treating them while they are grooming your dog.
However, they are easy to treat and there are few side effects to their treatment.
As a result, you generally don’t need to have a vet prescribe any medication to treat dog lice.
You’ll have to spread your dog’s hair out to look for lice, which can be difficult because the dog is upset and wiggling around.
Dog lice resemble small flies and lay their eggs close to the skin’s surface where they will hatch within 48 hours.
They have a lifecycle of about four weeks, and in that time can have as many as four passes from dog to dog.
It may be a symptom that your dog is infected with a tapeworm or another type of parasite as well.
When you remove dog lice using these methods, you must make sure that all of the lice eggs are gone.
However, painstakingly eradicating dog lice from dogs can be very difficult, which is one of the reasons why veterinarians recommend regular treatments to control infestations and reduce their severity.
If you see little black spots of filth on your dog’s hair or skin or smell a foul odor coming from your dog’s coat, then your dog could have a dog lice infestation.
Bathing your dog once a week with a shampoo that kills fleas and ticks can kill and prevent them from returning, but bathing with the wrong kind of shampoo can cause irritation and damage to your dog’s skin.
Constant scratching, hair loss, and skin lesions are all potential symptoms of dog lice infestation.
Ticks
Ticks feed on blood, and dogs can carry ticks in their fur from another location such as a nearby park or woodland, or from visiting a friend.
Ticks, on the other hand, are parasites that feed on the blood of their host and can survive for months without feeding.
They spread illnesses such as Lyme disease, Rocky mountain spotted fever and Colorado tick fever.
Dog fever symptoms include limitation of motion, loss of appetite and fevers.
The dog ticks are commonly found around forests and woodlands, grasslands and grassy areas.
Ticks are oval-shaped and reddish-brown in color, and are usually found on the neck of pets or their bellies.
Ticks grow in size with the passage of time and can grow up to 3 mm long while feeding on dogs’ blood.
An engorged tick is three times bigger than its original size in size and can be seen easily with its white head and mouth parts.
Fleas
Fleas are the most prevalent type of small parasitic insect that feeds on the blood of their host and can be found on dogs.
If your dog just has a light flea infestation, there are treatment options that may work effectively to kill fleas, but if it is not treated immediately, it can lead to serious health issues.
Look for flea “dirt,” which appears as black specks in your dogs’ fur and is caused by flea feces or dried blood.
Fleas cause a lot of discomfort for pets and pet owners alike since flea bites may leave small red bumps on the skin and result in severe itching on the pet.
There are several strategies for protecting your dog from fleas.
If you want to get rid of fleas on your dog’s body, you can apply some home remedies and herbal treatments that are made from natural ingredients known to kill fleas and ticks.
Springtails
Springtails are little black leaping insects that usually live outdoors and are found on plants, grasses, mulch, leaves, and soil surfaces.
These are moisture bugs, which like living near damp areas and often live in old books or other enclosed private areas.
Springtail bugs congregate in wet areas and are often found around houseplants where humidity is high and where they can hide during cold winter months.
Springtails may also infiltrate your living areas when your home is recently exposed to a heavy rain.
During the summer, these small insects can be found quite often in homes where they commonly invade potted plants on countertops and window sills.
When your dog plays in wet parts of your garden or lawn, these insects can easily jump on him too.
Remove the springtails that jump on your dog first, and check for flea eggs on your pet within 12 hours after you have removed the parasites.
Springtails do not bite people and are not harmful to pets but can cause distress in dogs as they jump around on their bodies and result in severe itching on the pet’s skin.
Small Black Ants
If your dog has been sitting on the porch for 15-20 minutes, and all of a sudden jumps up and runs into the house, it is likely he has been sitting near a small pile of small black ants crawling here and there on his front paws.
Ants, thankfully, are not serious pests for dogs.
However, ants may get in a dog’s fur and irritate the pet’s skin or eyes.
These ants may bite your dog if he is licked or scratched by the ants.
If you reside in Florida or Texas, where fire ants are prevalent, these ants may carry dangerous stings and bites for your dog too.
Your dog may walk on the fire ant nests, and in the process may get stung by fire ants infesting the area.
When fire ants become hostile, they sting aggressively and sting repeatedly.
Your yard is also an area where fire ants may infest and cause great worry to your pets and humans.
Ant nests in the yard may be located any where from 2 inches to 5 feet in the ground and may be close to your pets’ beds or sleeping.
If your dog has been in certain ant infested areas, he may be bitten or have itching on the exposed areas on his body.
Keeping your garden and yard ant-free is necessary to reduce your dog’s chance of getting stung or bitten.
How to Get Rid of Tiny Black Bugs On Dogs
Hundreds of substances have been produced as commercial pesticides that claim to control ants and prevent them from infesting your dog’s area.
The majority of them function by killing the ants on contact or repel them from the area to deter them from infesting your dog’s area.
Because parasite neural systems vary greatly, many pesticides that are effective on one type of ant may not be effective on another type.
Some dogs, however, are very sensitive and may have allergic reactions to pesticides, so you should measure the level of its harshness to your dog before giving it to him.
Some of us are opposed to using chemicals in our home or garden, and we do have some commercially produced products that are harmless to children and pets.
Natural techniques are effective against parasites, but they may take a little longer and require more steps than chemical techniques.
To make natural parasite control work, you must be ready to invest additional effort and patience into the process.
Also See: Tiny Black Bugs In House Near Window
Conclusion
Tiny black bugs on dogs that are not fleas are harmless to your pup, but spotting them is annoying and irritating because you know they aren’t fleas!
If you see tiny black bugs on your dog that are not fleas, it likely means that your dog has some kind of insect infestation problem.
There are several different types of insects that you may be dealing with, including fleas, tick, and mites.
If you are concerned that these insects are harmful to your dog’s health, contact your vet immediately.
If you think the insect infestation is minor and can easily be treated on your own, there are also simple natural methods for getting rid of these pests.
So, as long as you follow your veterinarian’s recommendations and follow a flea and tick prevention plan to keep your dog safe, you should be okay to treat these nasty insects on your own.
