Tiny, Black Jumping Bugs that moves Really Fast

[Sariah_ks]

My dogs has these really tiny, black, flat, jumping insects. They're really,very fast. My dogs itch alot and i'm always mostly around them. I'm not sure, but it feels like i have them now. Becuz my head itches all the time. Does anyone know what these bugs are or how to get rid of them??? #HELP!!!

[Margot49]

You sure you aren't seeing fleas?  Check the dog for flea dirt.  Would look like tiny, dark specks on the skin.  Take a comb and slowly back comb through the coat so you can see diwn to the skin.  What type of bugs are common to your area?

[tidbitliz]

Those r fleas

[Ghilly]

Tiny black jumping bugs sound exactly like fleas.  As Margot explained, take a comb and back-comb the hair so that you can see down to the skin to see if there is flea dirt present on your dog.  The places flea dirt most commonly collects is in the tail, at the base of the neck, on the shoulders where they slope down toward the chest and on the backs of the legs (like between where their butt cheeks would be).  They sell flea combs that are specifically for this, you can pick one up at Dollar General for $1.75 in their pet aisle or you can get one made for humans (for people who have head lice) in any store that has a well-stocked shampoo aisle.  The nit comb's teeth are VERY close together so that the fleas get caught between the teeth where with a regular comb they'll just pass through the teeth unnoticed.  

If your pet(s) do have fleas, you will need to treat not only the pet(s) but also your house and your yard.  You should also treat your OWN bedding since you say that they make YOU itchy.  Fleas traditionally don't stay on humans the way they stay on animals because the pH is different and our bodies don't make for such a great home for fleas.  If your pets are positive for fleas, ask your vet for flea treatments.  DO NOT BUY THE ONES THEY SELL OVER THE COUNTER IN THE GROCERY STORES!!!!!.  I cannot stress this enough.  Flea and tick treatments that are made by Hartz Mountain, Sergeant's and Zodiac are NOT SAFE TO USE ON YOUR PETS.  You can do a Google search for these ane you will see the websites that detail the sicknesses and many deaths that are caused by these products.  Hartz Mountain was ordered by the FDA to remove over half of their products from shelves a number of hears back because of all the sickness and deaths caused by them, but for some reason people would rather save a few dollars than pay more for their flea treaments.  I cannot stress enough, though, to not use these products AT ALL on your pets.  Flea collars are dangerous and not safe as well.

Ask your vet about providing either Revolution or Top Spot Front Line.  These are safe and they work WONDERFULLY.  Fleas do not live on your pets all the time.  They only hop onto your pets when they are in need of a blood meal.  When they are not feeding, they are hanging out in the cracks of your hardwood floors or along the tops of your baseboards.    For this reason it is necessary to vacuum EVERY DAY, and sometimes twice a day.  It's also a good idea to put a chunk of a flea collar in the vacuum into the canister or vacuum bag.  It's not safe to put the flea collar on the animal, but it's find to use it in the vacuum.  When you put the drops on the animals, within 24 hours probably 90% of the fleas on the pet will die.  Then it's time to just control the ones that hop on when looking for a blood meal.  This should really help to keep the population of house fleas in check, but you will need to apply the drops every month until you don't see fleas at all any more.

Ghilly