Trichodectes canis (DeGeer)

Chester Co., Blackstock, 12 March 1992, ex Homo sapiens, coll. G. Lewis.

The collection of a dog louse from a human represents an accidental association but demonstrates the potential for these lice to come into contact with people. The dog chewing louse, T. canis, is an intermediate host for the “double pored” dog tapeworm Dipylidium caninum (Linnaeus) . Human infections with D. caninum have been reported in South Carolina (Anonymous 1976). This louse also infests wild canids (Durden 2001).