“I read an article about a little white worm, but the person who posed the question didn’t include a picture”, writes this reader in her submission, attaching a picture of a little white worm herself. “The description matched a worm I recently found. Location: St. Louis, Missouri. My dog is on normal flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, but I discovered a very tiny and thin, white worm on the surface of her fur. We had just been outside in the grass. I assume she picked it up from there. Here are a few photos of what the worm looks like. It’s not very long, but if it crawls, it can stretch itself out to a little over half an inch. If it stays still and doesn’t move, it is half a centimeter. I hope the pictures are good enough. It was hard to focus the camera. Appreciate any insight! Thank You!”

Based on the photo, which is definitely good enough, we would say that this is unfortunately a flea larva. That said, our reader should not immediately panic because of this. Why? Well, firstly, flea larvae, unlike their adult counterparts, do not actually feed on the blood of mammals: they only eat other dead insects, faecal matter, and pieces of fur and hair. And secondly because it is entirely possible that her dog did pick this worm up from being outside. Of course, we cannot guarantee that. It is just as possible that her dog does have fleas, or that there are fleas present in her home, and that the larvae are roaming about on her dog’s coat as a result.

Just to be safe, it might be a good idea for our reader to take her dog to the vet. In any case, we also recommend that she thoroughly clean her home, particularly those areas where the dog spends a lot of time. Vacuuming those areas (and laundering any textiles where necessary and possible) will help eliminate any flea eggs and larvae and will thus control the infestation. We should note that it might take a few tries, as flea infestations are hard to get rid of. That said, we are not saying our reader is definitely experiencing an infestation, but cleaning her home at least once would be a good idea, just to be sure. And then, after this clean, she can inspect her home for any roaming larvae. If she does not find any for a few days, she has probably managed to get rid of them.

To conclude, we think that the little white worm our reader found on her dog’s coat is a flea larva. This does not necessarily mean her dog is infested with fleas, but it might be a good idea to keep an eye out and to get her dog tested. We hope this helps and we wish our reader the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Clear, Yellowish Worm on Dog is a Flea Larva

Description

"I read an article about a little white worm, but the person who posed the question didn’t include a picture", writes this reader in her submission, attaching a picture of a little white worm herself. "The description matched a worm I recently found. Location: St. Louis, Missouri. My dog is on normal flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, but I discovered a very tiny and thin, white worm on the surface of her fur. We had just been outside in the grass. I assume she picked it up from there. Here are a few photos of what the worm looks like. It’s not very long, but if it crawls, it can stretch itself out to a little over half an inch. If it stays still and doesn’t move, it is half a centimeter. I hope the pictures are good enough. It was hard to focus the camera. Appreciate any insight! Thank You!"

Author

Worm Researcher Anton