Tiny orange biting bugs...have picture, help!

orangebugsks

The last couple of weeks we've had these super tiny orange bugs biting us from time to time. Both my wife and I have seen them on us (usually following a bite)...they are about this size of the very tip of a pen. This morning my wife killed one, stuck it under my son's microscope, and took a picture.

Can anyone tell me what this is?


Flickr URL: http://flic.kr/p/9yvk6H

Maybe a flea? Bedbug? Any ideas??

Note: These are getting us INSIDE our house (not outside), and they are not chiggers (at least, they don't feel like chiggers and aren't burrowing under our skin).

DangerMouse

It looks to be a young flea. Do you have any pets?
Sprinkle 21 mule team borax all around your floors and carpet, and especially pet bedding, leave there for a day at least before vacuuming or sweeping.

DM

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orangebugsks

Definitely sounds accurate now that you say that. Especially since these critters bite but they don't leave a mark. Thanks for the input!!!

fabrk8r

Looks like a midge.

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DangerMouse

If you have pets, 'tis the season for the back of the neck flea applications too. (frontline/advantage/etc.)

DM

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DangerMouse

Could be that too. Do they fly? I couldn't tell from the photo if it had wings.... If so, it ain't a flea!

DM

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orangebugsks

Can't tell if they fly...they do "jump" though. I think it does have wings. I've got an exterminator coming tomorrow, hopefully he can nuke it whatever it is.

DangerMouse

Please let us know what they say?

Thanks!

DM

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orangebugsks

Will do

PAbugman

Don't think its a flea. I suspect either springtails or psocids (booklice). They are not biters, though. I anxious to hear what your pest guy says. Keep us posted.

jane99

It looks to be a thrips. If you google "thrips image," you will find photos that look much like the one you posted.

DangerMouse

but.... thrips don't bite people..... or do they?

DM

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sdsester

The University of Illinois has an amazing entomology department and they love challenges. May Birnbaum is the head and is legendary for her efforts to explain insects to people. She started the Scary Insect Film Festival which is free and nothing but fun. Tom Hanks brother teaches there so we used to see him buying ice cream for nieces and nephews at time.

In Chicago, we know what bedbugs look like. Yours is not one of them. It looks almost too long to be a flea.

Anyhow, the advice to treat your pets now for fleas or whatever insects they roll around with is great. The stuff is amazing and I used to have dogs in such anguish they would scratch and lick themselves raw in places.

Borax/Boron, is a simple mineral that has been used for ages to control crawling pests that come in contact with it. It is also about the only thing that will kill creeping charlie in your yard. Unfortunately people overused it and it is restricted or banned for exterior use in many states. It can render soil sterile for many years.

Whenever I had to open walls in a restoration I coated studs and so forth with a spray solution of Boron before sealing them shut.

PAbugman

Good call, Jane; I now believe them to be thrips as well. They are a nuisance, but cause no problems. They don't bite-something else is causing the irritation or reaction.

sdester: I too use Boron, specifically Tim-Bor as you do. I actually put a layer of the powder on sills plates in sheds, garages, basements as it also protects against moisture damage.

jane99

Actually, thrips do bite humans, even though they do not suck blood, as some other biting insects. Generally, they bite just to find out if it's something edible, or not. Their bites are purported to be painful. Lots of info about them is available on the web, if you do a google search.