Bites on legs

[CynAlexa]

I have a small backyard flock of 3 with sand in the run and coop. I clean it almost daily or every other day by scooping the poop and raking the sand. After todays clean up i noticed my ankles and calves where itchy and delevoped small welts.
Does this mean there are fleas? Or other little bugs in the sand? If so, any suggestions on how to get rid of them?
Many thanks for your help!

 

[sourland]

Any possibility that you have chiggers?

 

[Chicken Heel]

Sand fleas and/or chiggers in my opinion. Both make one itch to the high heavens.

 

[CynAlexa]

Any possibility that you have chiggers?

What are chiggers?

 

[CynAlexa]

Sand fleas and/or chiggers in my opinion. Both make one itch to the high heavens.

Ok- are sand fleas visable? Harmful to the hens? Any tips to get rid of them?

 

[Chicken Heel]

Ok- are sand fleas visable? Harmful to the hens? Any tips to get rid of them?

• Chiggers are the larval (juvenile) form of a type of mite ( Trombiculidae ).
• Chiggers do not burrow into and remain inside the skin, contrary to popular belief.
• Chiggers inject digestive enzymes into the skin and feed upon the decomposed tissue.
• Pronounced itching is the main symptom of chigger bites.
• As for their control, you can greatly reduce chigger populations by eliminating brush and areas of long grass. Good sun exposure to all areas of your landscape will greatly reduce the numbers of these insects.
• Regarding sand fleas which are actually not a flea but are very small crustaceans, in the Amphipod order; where did you get the sand for your coop and run?
• Regardless, your issue sounds like chiggers to me.

 

[Krugerrand]

Have you posted this under Predators and Pests? Sometimes the people who are really good at this stuff don't pay much attention to the Coop page.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Sounds a lot like the no-see-um/biting midges/sand gnats we have here. Not a whole lot you can do about them, but spray your yard. Are you by any chance near any farmed fields? We had to start spraying our whole yard because we are surrounded by farmed fields. The pesticides they used on the corn and beans pushes all of the ticks, beetles and biting midges onto our property in the middle. I am not even joking when I say that the day they spray the pesticides in early summer within hours the bug count on our property goes up 10x. If we don't spray I can't even walk to the barn without the midges biting up my ankles, the beetles swarming around my head and finding a ticks on me.

 

[CynAlexa]

Have you posted this under Predators and Pests? Sometimes the people who are really good at this stuff don't pay much attention to the Coop page.

Will do, thanks!

 

[CynAlexa]

• Chiggers are the larval (juvenile) form of a type of mite ( Trombiculidae ).
• Chiggers do not burrow into and remain inside the skin, contrary to popular belief.
• Chiggers inject digestive enzymes into the skin and feed upon the decomposed tissue.
• Pronounced itching is the main symptom of chigger bites.
• As for their control, you can greatly reduce chigger populations by eliminating brush and areas of long grass. Good sun exposure to all areas of your landscape will greatly reduce the numbers of these insects.
• Regarding sand fleas which are actually not a flea but are very small crustaceans, in the Amphipod order; where did you get the sand for your coop and run?
• Regardless, your issue sounds like chiggers to me.

Thank you for the info! The sand is from the home improvement store. We don’t have any grass in our yard. It is all cement with a pool.