Step 1: Sleuth out a fine-tooth metal flea comb or brush. If you do not have one on hand, fingers work just as well to check for fleas, but make sure to wash your hands!
Step 2: Make your flea-killing solution. Mix warm water with dish soap and have it ready for use.
Step 3: Move your pet over to stand on a white sheet or towel. This makes sleuthing for fleas easier & faster for any pet parent detective.
Step 4: Using the flea comb, brush, or fingers, search your pet's coat for fleas hiding along their back & underbelly. Make sure to come in contact with the skin to get them to come out of their hiding spot.
Step 5: Search the white sheet for any small black specks that may have fallen off your pet after combing through their coat. These black specks could be flea dirt – a combination of flea feces and digested blood. Don’t be fooled, it can look like sand. To confirm your suspicions of flea dirt, add water and take notice if the specks turn red. If so, you have a case of flea dirt on your hands.
Step 6: If you happen to detect any fleas, drown them immediately in your handy-dandy flea-killing solution you kept nearby.
After following these 6 steps, you’ve now solved the flea mystery! Hopefully, no fleas were found in this investigation, but if so, you can use an oral flea treatment or shampoo to kill adult fleas. Once the adult fleas are dead, follow up with a topical or collar preventative treatment to help avoid any chance of future reinfestations. But you’re sleuthing doesn’t end here. Make sure to read and follow any label instructions before using a flea treatment product.
Now that you’re a professional flea detective, you can keep your pet safe with regular flea investigations in your pet’s coat. That way, you and your pet can avoid any fleas from slipping through the cracks.