Please help me identify this tiny bug that bites me

[courtney91]

I have a flock of 6 pampered ducks in Western Washington. When I hang out in their areas, and especially when the ducks walk on me, I get bitten by these little bugs. It is startlingly sharp, stingy and painful. Are they lice?

I am having the same issue please let me know what you did

 

[raingarden]

I can't tell what it is from the photo. No-See-Ums are also known as sand gnats. They are the worst thing in the world and make life miserable along the coastal plain south of the Mason Dixon line. There are other species on the West Coast. West-central Mexico has them really bad too. In the Southeast, it is too cold for them in the winter and too hot for them in the summer. But, when it's spring or fall and the weather is nice there are clouds of them that will carry you away. The usual repellant is Avon Skin-So-Soft. It's a bath oil so the bugs stick to you instead of biting. A cigar or smoky fire will help keep them away too too.

 

[courtney91]

I have a flock of 6 pampered ducks in Western Washington. When I hang out in their areas, and especially when the ducks walk on me, I get bitten by these little bugs. It is startlingly sharp, stingy and painful. Are they lice?

Well I'm having the same exact problem what do you do about them?

 

[KaleIAm]

Well I'm having the same exact problem what do you do about them?

I just did nothing. I can deal with the bites on myself. I was mostly worried that the bugs were hurting my birds.

We've had guests bring and use topical insect repellent products. I don't know if those products are useful or not against no see ums. I'd rather be bit than apply insecticide to myself.

 

[MadamContrary]

Use insect repellent when outdoors, not sure what would help indoors, probably have to do a bug bomb or something like that and find out how they got in a bred in the first place.

 

[raingarden]

Need a better photo. The one on the right looks much longer than it is wide. Look up "duck louse" and see if that could be it.

 

[KaleIAm]

Need a better photo. The one on the right looks much longer than it is wide. Look up "duck louse" and see if that could be it.

I appreciate that you are trying to help. I started this thread about 5 years ago and I'm not having this issue at the moment. I'm happy to try to take another photo when they show up again, they do every year, but I think it is too early this year. They are so small and all I possess is a camera phone, so that quality of photo might be the best I can do.

My birds see vets a minimum of twice yearly for wellness checkups, so if the bugs were external parasites living on my ducks they would have been noticed. I'm content calling them no-see-ums, which most people agree they are. And ignoring them.

 

[raingarden]

Oops. I'm sorry. That's too funny.

By chance, do they show up when the wild ducks are migrating over your area? Those lice are common in wild birds and I've wondered if they shed a path of them across the country when they migrate.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

@KaleIAm I know you aren't having this problem anymore, but I saw this at Wal-Mart. It says deet free....

 

[KaleIAm]

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@KaleIAm I know you aren't having this problem anymore, but I saw this at Wal-Mart. It says deet free....

Plant based and deet free!! Wow! I'll look into that! They aren't out yet, but they arrive every year. Thank you very much!