The world is full of dog-lovers, and having a dog suffer from an illness can be devastating. As we all know, dogs can catch many of the same arthropod-borne diseases that humans can catch. For example, dogs can catch Lyme disease and rabies just like humans, but you will likely never find a human who is suffering from an infestation of beetles in his/her mouth. Sadly, this very thing does happen to dogs, but not very often. A group of insects known as Asian lady beetles have been known to take up residence, and cause major problems, within the mouths’ of dogs.
47238930 – front view of asian lady beetle on leaf
According to veterinarian Dr. Lindsay Mitchell, these beetles can cause serious pain for your dogs in the form of ulcers. If your dog is ever foaming at the mouth, don’t immediately expect rabies; instead take a look into the dog’s mouth. If you find little bugs that look similar to ladybugs, as well as ulcers in your dog’s mouth, then you know your dog is suffering from an infestation of Asian lady beetles.
So where are these Asian lady beetles coming from? It turns out that an increase in the aphid population also causes an increase in Asian lady beetle populations. This is because Asian lady beetles prey on aphids, and if there are more aphids available for consumption, then more lady beetles will have more offspring that will consume the aphids.
If you do find lady beetles within your dog’s mouth, then don’t panic. In fact, you don’t necessarily even need to take your dog to the veterinarian. Instead you can safely remove the lady beetles on your own with pliers, or any tool that will work, and not cause harm to your dog, of course. If your dog is nervous about having you put your hands in its mouth, then you can try scooping the lady beetles out with a spoon. But your dog should be fine by the end of the day.
Have you ever noticed insects located on any of your pets? If you have, then what type of insects did you spot?