A warning has been issued after a dog owner woke up to see something unusual floating around in her pet’s water bowl, as she explains how the unexpected discovery caught her off guard
A dog owner has issued a warning after discovering something floating in her pet’s water bowl. She explained that she left the bowl out overnight and woke up to see ‘small creatures’ swimming around in the water – prompting her to tip it out immediately.
From there, she thoroughly cleaned the bowl before refilling it with fresh water. Taking to Reddit, she said: “Found this in my dog’s water bowl. I live near Southern California, near the beach. My dog’s water bowl sometimes goes outside but this was inside when I found it this morning.” The video shows around 20 to 25 small, worm-like creatures moving around in the bowl, which is outside in the garden at the time of filming.
Commenting on her post, one user said: “Floridian here – these are 100% mosquito larvae. Dump the bowl, clean it, and leave it inside.”
Another user added: “Replace the water daily and you won’t have this problem.”
A third user said: “Mosquitoes like to lay their eggs in stagnant water. Any water sitting outside can become a mosquito baby explosion.
One more user added: “Definitely mosquito larvae. Yuck.
“If your dog happened to get a sip, it won’t harm him urgently but the water has to go.
“You have to check/clean the water bowl every so often to make sure this doesn’t happen. This happens with horse troughs too. You can also get a bowl that recirculates the water so the water isn’t stagnant.”
Sharing what you should do if you find mosquito larvae in your pet’s water bowl, Chem Free Pets and Lawn explained: “It’s common to find mosquito larvae in your pets’ water bowls, especially if the bowls are outside.
“Pet water bowls are the perfect environment for mosquitoes to lay eggs. However, it’s not good for your pet to drink water from a bowl infested with mosquito larvae, eggs or pupae because mosquitoes can carry heartworms.
“Since mosquito larvae are translucent, it’s hard to see them unless you’re looking for them. If you have pet water bowls outside, routinely check them for pests. If you see mosquito larvae in your pet bowl, dump out the water.
“Next, thoroughly clean the bowl with soap and water to remove all the mosquito larvae and other pests that may have entered the bowl.
“To deter female mosquitoes from laying their eggs in your pet’s water bowl in the future, get into the habit of refreshing the water daily.
“Mosquitoes look for standing water to lay their eggs, so the more often you refresh your water bowls, the less chance that mosquito larvae have of surviving.”
