I am having trouble with bugs. We have extremely tiny black bugs, compared to coffee grounds and black pepper. Our dog had fleas in the summer, but I think we took care of the problem.
I did notice black stuff inside the air conditioner in the bedroom which when wiped almost looks like the bugs, but thousands all stuck together. There is also a huge patch of grass in the neighbor's yard that is completely dead. Could it come from there? I am not sure if these are fleas or other bugs. You cannot see them move, but can pick them up with tape and get several. They seem to be everywhere.
I have bombed the house 5 times, 4 gallons of different sprays, flea carpet powder, DE, salt and borax, salt and vinegar, and even hairspray.
These do bite. I am afraid to go out or have someone over. It has been about 2 months now. Everything in my house was cleaned with dog shampoo, vinegar, Windex and even bug stuff.
November 21, 20140 found this helpful
I have these things also. In Central Texas. Got rid of them for a while but they reappeared. The Hot shot bedbug and flea fogger I got at the grocery store completely killed them off for awhile. But I only do that when we will be gone overnight, and I didn't figure out their life cycle, so they will probably be immune now.
I will just have to get more aggressive with vaccuming and laundry. I think I am going to put dirty clothes in a large garbage can on the back porch till I do the laundry. Have tried borax in every laundry load,and including sprinkling on the area rug then vaccuming a few hours later, now going to sprinkle salt each time I add dirty clothing and towels. let em eat that!
Too many possibilities where the infestation comes from. Most likely the post office where I work. There were rats and they were exterminated,but now probably mites from that. The tubs the mail comes in are nasty, and the mail handlers probably too. One guy transfered to our post office and he sneezes and blows loudly all the time, I think he has bugs in his nose. Also went to San Deigo Cali last fall before it started. Maybe I brought them back.
I had a vaccume cleaner and a steam machine repaired at a vaccume shop and also one repaired for my mothernlaw. Could have come from the shop,they had unclaimed vaccums everywhere. I used to be more aggressive with sulfur pellets on the yard, but I got a little lax there. I think these things eat the sulfur,now, but the snakes don't like it. So I put some more out a few weeks ago. You do that before a light rain,and all the pest will be gone. I usually use a spreader and start closest to the foundation or porch and circle around the whole place until the yard has sulfur every where.
I bought a good spreader this year with large rubber wheels. It was convenient (the Scotts brand) with a snap in fertilizer bag. So when I used the fertilizer up, I just made a slit in the bag and added my sulfur pelets in there. Oh, it worked so easy and it came with a switch to make the path narrow when you need to not get it all over the place. The bag closes up at the bottom when you remove it. I do recommend that spreader if you do your own yard, like I do.(we have chiggers her you know, but not with the sulfur treatment). We don't have fire ants in our yard either. I hope they don't eat these other pests.
Occasionally I use "home defense" around the perimeter and inside perimeter of our house. I bought the one with the battery operated sprayer for around $20. There is no odor & it works pretty good.
My next door neighbor has chickens, got them last year, a while before my problem started. She is very clean though. So if she has bugs, I think they were there before she moved in. Her place is very well kept inside and out. The neighbors on the other side have dust mites, and who knows what? I still love them (what rate you gonna do?). They moved in 5 years ago, and I kept it out of my house that long.
My mother in law has a dog. She does not take to the vet and I have to treat her lawn and get her dog store bought drops and spray her carpet. She's 90, and I have seen raid cans in her home. So the weird little bugs that bite might have come from her place?
We have chimney sweep birds, that nest in our chimney every spring. Dogs inside which I don't like (I sneeze and gag), but my husband wants them in, so he wins. That inside thing used to be only in freezing weather, but he retired and thinks the animals are his babies now. Cats too. Got a ferrel cat last year, he doesn't seem to scratch, but the outside only cat does, since we got the other ferrel inside and outside cat. We have had the outside cat since 2006 and never had bugs from or on her.
My neighbor has a dog she only combs fleas out. I use all the stuff for that. Every animal gets drops, which we have to switch brands depending on how they work. That neighbor & I walk our dogs together; so there you go, the uncombed ones jump onto us. Last spring I used flea shampoo,and the vet switched us to revolution, which worked better, and I added flea collars on all the pets.
That combo worked, in spite of the neighbor not using any pesticides. Seems they bite me & that one cat and get in the dogs ears. I treat that all the time, by cleaning the ears with solution and then putting a little mineral oil in ears. There is no black ear mite residue, but I have removed what looked like a tick or large mite.
I made a homemade air cleaner with a fan and furnace filter. It helped a lot, but my husband doesn't like it on, so he keeps turning it off. Remember he does not get bit. They probably live on him, and only eat me.
I found a site for my local ag university. I'm calling them tomorrow to see if I can send a sample for some help. When you rub your hands or wherever you feel them biting, with hand sanitzer, eventually you'll feel a little grain and you can wipe that on a paper towel or kleenex and see them.
Tonight I just kept rubbing my hands and finally they actually fell onto the kleenex. there are a lot more on you than you think. They do not like clove oil and it helps to put some drops of that and a few drops of lavender oil in alcohol and spay yourself and everything. Also some tea tree oil in baking soda sprinkled over area rug and vacuum. I bought a dyson, because of the dog hair. I put it outside after use, because I know the bugs can escape with a bag less vacuums cleaner. I have seen a nest of these things in some dog hair that wandered under the sofa. They also will die with direct application of windex,so i buy that at Sams club. I ain't running out of Windex!
I made some clove oil by boiling whole cloves and poured the solution in a jar. I left it on the kitchen counter and there are no bugs around that. So I put one on the back of the toilet and same there.I shampoo with Paul Mitchell tea tree shampoo and conditioner daily. Bath with Dr Teal's eucalyptus & spearmint epsom salt, sulfur soap, and oil down with Dr Teal's. I use "shea Moisutre" shea butter Camomile & argan oil Baby eczema therapy and clean my face with Burts Bees deep cleansing cream and use the Clinique sonic face brush.
I have used sulfur 8 directly on any itches and rubbing that in will cause one to become a grain I can remove. The Wi dex is sprayed all over the bathroom; including in the tub before I bathe or shower and after.
They also turn loose if you rub vicks on your skin. So I guess they don't like eucalptyus. I am thinking maybe get a mister with eucalpytus oil or a humidifier, with any kind of eucalyptus oil or paste in that tray where the steam comes out, will help. However, I know you need to keep the moisture down, because I see the larger ones in the bathroom. They look like pepper on the floor, and stick to everything. Only turn loose when windexed. I think if you covered yourself with Desitin that would smother them, but then they would return.
What also helps me, is I take garlic pills (the cheap ones from walmart) And evening primrose oil (that's expensive, but parasites dont like it, so I buy that at the health store,and take that). All that stuff helps get the population down, but as long as the animals are allowed inside, I think they will still thrive.
If I sound "matter of fact" about it all, that's just because the panic only affects your health, along with the lack of sleep. I know if I have a sickly house plant, the bugs invade it,so keep that in mind. Take your vitamins, especially C! If your nose itches, put tea tree oil on a qtip and spread it around in the nasal cavity. That needs to be done through out the day for a while, then you can go to once or twice a day. I even use some of those alcohol wipes inside the nose to clean it out. alternate the alcohol, saline nasal rinse and tea tree oil. Believe me that works way better on a sinus infection than any nose spray the doc will prescribe. And kinda gently squeeze, squish around, or press on the mid part of the nose.That seems to make it open and clear out some. It just takes determination, and diligence, and a year of non stop attacking. I also take probiotics and/or eat yogurt. No serious sinus infection this year. When I really think I can't beat allergies, I will resort to taking zertec, but get off of it when I get better.
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Getting Rid of Tiny Biting Black Bugs | ThriftyFun