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You might be dealing with red bugs or chiggers. Lowes sells stuff in 25# bags that you put in a lawn spreader...I forget what it's called (brown something) it prevents fleas, ticks, ants....may work for your problem....its the best way I've found to treat the yard. Should do it between now and early spring.
There are sand fleas (mole crabs) that are plainly visible, they're the size of a quarter and live at the waterline.
Have you tried Frontline or Advantage (I think that's the name)?
A few years ago I had a huge flea problem in my basement. I'd walk downstairs to get something and I'd get eaten alive. My cat followed me down and got them. I ended up putting Seven down on the concrete then treating my cat with Frontline. I make sure that she wasn't going into the basement at all. Later that day I put down a large pan of water with some candles in it - the fleas flocked to it and ended up in the pan.
When dealing with fleas you have to remember that while you can go after them you need to go after their eggs, too.
Hi, Sorry, but don't have a clue on what to tell you... I do have some avenues you can go to thou, Try going to your local Health Dept. if they can not help you ask them who you can contact...... Also go to the EPA (Eviromental protection agency) if you can not find them call the chamber of commerse for your town or city and get the phone number to EPA from them..........do the same thing.. If they can not help you ask them who to contact from there........ I hope this has been some help?
My dog had this. The vet said it was a flea allergy. Only two things worked, steriods and external vitamin E. When she was pregnant, I daily rubbed her stomach with the oil from one vitamin e capsule. This was so she would be able to nurse the puppies. It worked wonderfully.
The vet thought the smell of the e might have repulsed the fleas and the oil might have made it too sticky for them. When the puppies came, I stopped the rubs. It took a while for the condition to return so it had to have conditioned her skin too.
Rubbing Alcohol will kill these critters in bedding and on you
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Please help me!! We have a place in Burr Oaks MI that we go to 6 months out of the year, April through Oct. Last year almost everyone was having problems with bites around their feet. Even the dogs where getting bites all over their stomachs. I put this stuff called Seven all over the ground and it seem to help a little. The wired thing is these bugs didn’t bit everyone, my husband and I never got any bits but my daughter was getting eating alive and she was sitting next to me. I would say about 95% of the dogs where getting bites too. It’s like these bug are picky about who they bite! You can’t see then or feel them when they are on you, but you see and feel the bites after they are gone. ...
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Ah, I know this problem well.
I am allergic and have very sensitive skin. I also have 4 mini doxies. I treat them with monthly flea medication (Advantage), but when they go outside something hitches a ride back into the house. They must be very small because I have never seen them. I would guess they are fleas or mites. (They seldom bite me, but when they do ... ouch!)
Some invariably end up on me when I pet my sweeties. All they have to do is touch my skin to make me itch. The itching used to drive me crazy. The itching progresses from my hands, up my arms to my head and to the rest of my body. Spraying the house with pesticides is not a solution for me. The only thing that worked was immediately bathing and washing my hair.
The funny thing is I didn't have the problem in Illinois. It only started when we moved to the Connecticut shore area. I don't think these are the flying (jumping) sand fleas mentioned here because they are invisible and I can feel the itching as they move up my arms so they must be walking. They aren't chiggers either, but they like to settle under the waistband of my clothes and in my hair. I've had them so bad in a carpet where my dogs sleep, that walking across it barefooted causes my feet and ankles to itch.
A few years earlier, I had a cast that ran from my thigh to my toes, and the almost unbearable itching that goes with a cast. The doctor said not to stick anything down the cast to scratch because an abrasion could cause an infection. In desperation I poured rubbing alcohol down the inside of the cast. Ah, blessed relief. The flow was hard to control so I put the alcohol in a spray bottle that squirted a stream and it worked great.
Now I keep a spray bottle handy to spray my skin, clothes, furniture, bedding, dog bedding and carpets. (I hold my breath when I spray myself.) It kills the critters and relieves the itching on contact and then evaporates!! I've also never had it stain any cloth, but you should test it first. I'd be afraid it might make a strong color run. I use plain old rubbing alcohol from the drug store because it is safe for my skin. ( Don't use the alcohol sold in paint departments or liquors.) Also, it has no residual value. If the bugs come back, you have to spray again.
I've even used it on my dogs, when they are scratching. They don't like it much, but it stops the itching.
***** Just be sure you DO NOT put it on an inflamed, chapped, or scratched areas, as that would hurt the animal. (See my other comment on using vitamin e on your dog's skin.)
I've even used it to help sanitize spots on carpets and floors after cleaning up a dog accident.
There are two warnings though.
(1) Alcohol is flammable and the spray makes an aerosol so don't spray near a flame or high heat, or smoke when you do it. Also I like to set the spray bottle so it makes a stream rather than a mist. I also wouldn't spray a big area like wall-to-wall carpet all at once. The fumes can be strong. Opening windows and doors to ventilate the area is a good idea when doing something like a couch.
(2) Alcohol is a solvent for shellac. I learned this the hard way when the over spray touched a 120 year old fireplace and ate off the outer finish in spots. Some old Victorian woodwork and wooden floors have a shellac finish too, so be careful.
P. S. I've found that Hart's Flea Shampoo kills these on my dog better than Advantage. When the problem is really bad, I use both once a month, but a couple of weeks apart.
Last edited by DoxieLover1; 10-22-2009 at 11:19 PM..
Reason: Clarification
We went to Atlantic Beach last weekend. On the way home I noticed red spots all over my legs. Turns out it's sand flea bites. They didn't bother me too much the first few days. Now, 6 days later, they itch like crazy . Anyone familiar with this? I had never heard of sand fleas before now. If anyone knows of a good cream, I'd REALLY appreciate the info. I've tried insect bite creams and it's not helping a whole lot. Thanks for any help you can provide!
Oh for goodness sakes, just apply Witch Hazel with a cotton swab
Hi, I spent 2 weeks ago in the Everglades in Florida. While I was there I got a ton of bites and I had never heard of these "sand fleas" Well, no one else around me was getting bitten, my dog was with us as well and she too seems fine. it's mostlyl my feet and the backs of my calves that got so bitten up. I left Florida on November 4th, It is now November 26, I am still itching, and I just can't figure out what to do. I have tried Benedryl cream, Hydrocortizone cream, skin so soft. I thought alot of these bites were old bites but now I think I'm getting newer bites. Obviously I have brought these @#$# pests home with me. How in the world do I get them out of my house? I tried changing all of the bedding, didn't help. Do I treat my house as if it were infested with regular fleas from my dog? Should I just bomb the entire house??? This has been going on for over a month now since the first bites started. Please give me any info that you can...
Thank you.
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Link to photos of my poor dog and what the bugs are doing to her.
. Anyone familiar with this? I had never heard of sand fleas before now. If anyone knows of a good cream, I'd REALLY appreciate the info. I've tried insect bite creams and it's not helping a whole lot. Thanks for any help you can provide!
