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



## 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

DangerMouse said:


> 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.


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


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## 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

fabrk8r said:


> Looks like a midge.


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! :laughing:

DM


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## orangebugsks

DangerMouse said:


> 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! :laughing:


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.


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## DangerMouse

Please let us know what they say?

Thanks!

DM


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## orangebugsks

DangerMouse said:


> Please let us know what they say?


Will do


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## 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.


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## jane99

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


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## DangerMouse

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

DM


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## user1007

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.


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## 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.


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## 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.:no:


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## jane99

From the web:

"Thrips don't bite on purpose. They are just "tasting" you to see if you are a plant. They do not inject venom and the discomfort is only temporary. Of course you're not a plant and they are probably disappointed (Who knows?). Most people who are bitten by thrips are usually sitting downwind from something that's blooming. In the spring and summer, Chinese Tallow trees, magnolias, and wildflowers are loaded with thrips because of their blooms.

Thrips usually move from vegetables and flowers in the spring to wild grasses and native plants in the summer as drier conditions prevail.

Controlling thrips is fairly simple. Strong streams of water will provide some control, but insecticidal soaps will provide a more reliable means of managing this pest. Other controls include malathion, permethrin, and pyrethrin sprays. Check the product label to make sure it is approved for thrips control on the area in which you plan to use it. Thrips rarely require control efforts, but there are a variety of means available to do the job."

Literature Reference: Drees and Jackman. A Field Guide to Common Texas Insects. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas, 1998. (ISBN: 0-87719-263-4)


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## PAbugman

Good info, Jane, thanks. I can count on one hand the number of times I've treated a property for thrips; might explain my misidentification of the photo, coupled with being to lazy to do the research.

When I've treated for thrips, it was in extreme cases. If they are getting inside a house, that could count as an extreme case. If someone is working in yard/garden and getting exposed/irritated, then that would be the more normal situation. Probably not requiring a treatment, or a low-impact treatment at best.

When I did treat, I power-sprayed exterior with a synthetic pyrethroid. Bi-fenthrin would be a good choice.


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## molly52471

*I have been having the same problem*

I live in Minnesota and have been having the same problem for the past few days. I have no clue what they are and you can barely see them. It first started outside at a park and has been a problem ever since. I vaguely remember this happening last year and I think it is a short seasonal problem. Let me know if you find the answer. I couldn't see your picture so I don't know if they look the same but the ones I saw are small, fly and are super fast. The bites sting.


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## stephanie1972

*orange biting bugs*

Yes they do bite they are always biting me and my kids and it hurts . They swarm or pool . What are these things and how do i get rid of them . They are not in or house .


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## PAbugman

Do a search for "chiggers". They are outdoor pests; not common in my area but they are real.


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## Thesour1

*I have had the same problem*

I live in northeastern pa, in the tristate area, and have noticed them all summer long. Whenever I go outside and smoke my morning cigarette I get bit up by the little orange pests. They r not fleas, fleas don't fly. And I had a long bout with those darn things. Borax, and vacuuming 3 times daily got rid of the fleas after about a month they disappeared. These orange bugs r attracted to my white t shirt, and there r usually about 30 on me at a time, they are easy to squash but are on me instantly as soon as I go outside, and I don't notice them until they start biting me. I then have to take my shirt off to wash it. They are around the size of a pin head. People think that I am crazy because they don't see them. My wife did until I showed her them on my white t. They go after me and not her. I read online they were calling them midges, but those did not look like them, they were black. What the hell are the tiny biting orange bugs!


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## jane99

*Thrips*

The question has already been answered. The orange bugs are called thrips.


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## Richbeckett

Were they these?


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## Richbeckett

I live near Kutztown n these things are driving me crazy ! Did you find a remedy?


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