Does your dog ear have fly bite symptoms? It’s not surprising that dog ears are often bitten by pests like flies, insects, and mosquitoes. In this blog, we will cover dog ear fly bites symptoms, causes, treatment, tips to get rid of flies on dogs, and how to avoid getting bitten by them.
Dog ear fly bites are a common skin disease of dogs. It can be cured with the proper treatment. Fly bites can happen any time during the year. But it is more intense during summer.
What is Fly: An Introduction
Flies are winged small insects. They belong to the order Diptera. They only use single pair of wings to fly. Their second pair of wings evolved into an organ called halteres. There are more than 125,000 species that belong to this insect variety.
Flies cause annoyance by biting and transmitting diseases in Animals and Humans. They transmit disease by spreading parasites, Bacteria, and viruses. Some of them feed on animal’s blood, mucus, and saliva.
Their life cycle has 4 stages egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Some flies lay eggs on pet animals like dogs and cats. When the eggs hatch, larvae emerge out. These larvae feed on pet animal’s muscles and blood.
Biting flies suck animals’ blood. These bites are painful, cause allergic reactions, and transmit diseases.
Common Biting Flies
- Horse Fly
- Sand fly
- Deer fly
- Black Flies
- Mosquitoes
- Biting midges
Reference: https://www.britannica.com/animal/fly-insect
Why do flies attack dogs ears?
Causes for more fly bites on dog ears is because of.
- Dog ears have less hair compared to other parts of the body.
- The inner ears have even very less hair.
- They are more warmer and have tender flesh.
- Also dogs cannot able to defend its ear.
That’s why fly bites are more often in dog’s ears.
Symptoms of dog ear fly bites
To Diagnose the Fly bites in Dogs inspect your dog ear. Especially look for bites in the inner ear canal. And look for the following symptoms.
- Flies flying around your dog
- Red color skin rashes (red blotches)
- Small wounds
- Small Bleeding
- Insect bite reaction in dog
- Allergies and dermatitis
- Swelling
- Blood clots
- Maggot infestation
If you find any of these symptoms are serious, visit your veterinary doctor for further treatment. If the symptoms are very less or visit to the veterinary doctor is not possible you can try the below treatment steps.
Normally fly bites cannot make a dog sick, but sometimes they may cause secondary infection and transmit other diseases. Pests will lay their eggs on open wounds. This will cause maggot infestation.
Maggots are larvae of flies, which look like worms. During summer due to warm weather, pests reproduce very fast. So we can see maggot infestation during summers. Maggot infestation on living tissue is called myiasis.
So start to treat as soon as you saw the symptoms.
How to treat fly bites on dog ears
Cleaning the wounds
Clean the affected parts with warm water. Take a clean cotton cloth soaked in warm water. Using this cloth gently clean the affected area.
Washing with antiseptic Liquids or antibacterial liquid soap
Add few drops of antiseptic Liquids or antibacterial liquid soap with warm water. Gently wash the affected area. Remove the softened scabs and dirt’s extra ear wax. Then pat dry the area with a soft cotton cloth.
You can use dog antiseptic ear cleaner like Sulfodene Brand Ear Cleaner Antiseptic for Dogs & Cats, and TropiClean OxyMed Medicated Anti Itch Solutions for Pets
Applying Medicine
The treatment for fly bites is symptomatic. If the dog has itches you can apply anti-itch medications to prevent further itches.
After cleaning fly bites on the dog’s ear we can apply antibiotic creams or antibiotic ointment. Applying Antibiotic ointment directly on the fly bite will help to reduce the inflammation and cure dermatitis.
Applying petroleum jelly on the non affected area will prevent further fly bites.
If your dog has maggot infestation consult your vet for maggot removal. Because removal of maggots are painful to your dogs. So consulting your veterinary doctor is important.
How to prevent dogs from fly bites
Some people ask how do I keep flies from biting my dog’s ears? Prevention is better than cure. So preventing our dogs from flies will avoid fly bites.
Bath and Groom Your Dog Regularly
Bathing and brushing your dog regularly will keep the flies away. This will helps to remove fly eggs. While grooming take extra care to clean the dog’s ear, belly, anus, nose, and eyes. These are the parts frequently attacked by flies. Clean and well-groomed dogs will have less attack.
Apply petroleum jelly to dog ears regularly. This will prevent fly bites.
Keep your Dog kennel or Dog house Clean and hygienic
Remove dog’s fecal matter, Urine, water, and food remains regularly. These things will attract flies.
Make sure the area of your pet laying should be hygienic always. Use disinfectants to clean the floor.
Sprinkle baking soda on your dog’s bed to remove bad odor. Keep the baking soda for 20 to 30 minutes then clean using the vacuum cleaner.
Keep your dog inside during warm weather
Flies are more active during warm weather. So keeping your dog inside during warm weather will prevent fly attacks. Summer is the reproducing season for flies.
Using repellents to avoid flies, ticks, fleas
By using dog safe repellents we can prevent dogs away from flies, ticks, and fleas. A mixture of apple cider with water and lemon juice will act as a natural repellent.
Using commercial repellents like K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Prevention for extra large dog will help to prevent flies attacks.
This product helps to protect dogs from,
- Biting Flies
- Mosquitoes
- Lice
- Ticks
- Fleas
- Flea eggs
- Flea larvae
It kills and repels mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks. It is easy to apply. Once a month K9 Advantix II for extra large dog application is enough to repel pests.
Imidacloprid, permethrin, and pyriproxyfen are the active ingredients of this product. It protects your dogs year around. Do not use this product for your cats.
There are 4 varieties of this product available on market. Depending on your dog’s size select the correct product.
By using these tips you can keep dog safe from fly bites.