Flea infestations can make life miserable for pets and pet owners alike. Luckily, fleas can often be treated easily with medication; many pet owners use a dog heartworm flea tick medication to kill three nasty parasites at once. While your dog scratching itself more than usual is the first sign of a flea infestation, other ailments can also cause itching, so it is important to use more specific techniques to ensure that your dog actually has fleas:

1. Look for visual signs of red and bumpy skin
After you notice your dog scratching, it is a good idea to carefully inspect your dog for visual signs of flea infestation. One of the most common signs include irritated, red, and bumpy skin. Give extra attention to your dog’s armpits and groin; fleas tend to congregate in those areas.

2. Adult fleas that scurry or jump
When inspecting your dog for visual signs of fleas, you may also notice the fleas themselves! Adult fleas may scurry or jump away when you finger-comb through your dog’s hair. Adult fleas are very small, so you might have to use a magnifying glass. You also might see tiny, white ovals—these are the flea eggs.

3. Evidence of flea larvae on your pet
Fleas love to lay their eggs on dogs. This means that an infested dog will not only be infested with adult fleas, but eggs and larvae as well. In fact, for every adult flea you find, there can be about a hundred baby fleas present, even if you don’t necessarily see them. If you do see them, flea larvae look like white, tiny worms.

4. Do a white towel test
Black specs are a common sign of fleas. These are not the fleas themselves, but rather what is known as flea dirt. You can easily check for flea dirt with a white towel test. Find a white cloth, dampen it, and run it across your dog’s coat. You should be able to see the black specs and red smears against the white towel easily.

5. Use a flea comb
If using your fingers to inspect your dog grosses you out, no worries! You can easily pick up an affordable flea comb at a pet supplier store. Work the flea comb gently through your dog’s hair, starting as close to the skin as possible. The comb should pick up some fleas and eggs with each pass. After each pass of the comb, dip it in water to kill off the fleas.

6. Treating fleas
So you’ve found out that your dog has fleas—now what? Fleas can easily spread from dog to human and they’re small and move quickly, making them difficult to stop. As such, it is important to treat any flea infestations on your dog quickly and effectively or, even better, prevent flea infestations in the first place. Luckily, there are plenty of flea treatments for dogs on the market. A medication like Nexguard prevents both fleas and ticks, while Heartgard prevents worm parasites. A medication like Simparica Trio prevents all kinds of parasites that could affect your dog.