Teeny tiny little bugs - advice?

[puckbunny87]

My boyfriend is losing his mind and he thinks the backyard is covered in hatching fleas. He wants to spray poison, but since I have such an array of fruit/veggies growing back there, I'd rather not if I don't have to. Not to mention, my cats and pullets hang out back there all day, and I definitely don't want anyone getting sick.

So, does anyone have any idea what these bugs are? They're tiiiny.... and they jump, like fleas. Except I don't think they're fleas, since I'm a magnet for them and I haven't been bit yet. The cats don't seem to have fleas either, and I know that they would be infested by now. The bugs like to congregate beneath things, like the charcoal bag and so on...but they're also all over in the dirt.

If I DO end up having to spray...and ideas on something that would be non-toxic to my pets and veggies?

 

[normajean]

They may be chiggers/red bugs. You should be able to kill them with a fine dusting of Diatomaceous earth that you can get at a garden supply store.
WOW, usually we only see that amount of bug here in N. Fla!!!
good luck!

 

[puckbunny87]

hmm... they're black, not red...and I havent noticed anyone itching (people & pets). I don't know what they are! ack!

 

[chcknrs]

Young fleas don't bite as much. Sounds like a flea infestation. You can sprinkle 20 Mule Team Borax on your lawn, it will kill them. We had that problem one spring when we lived in Cali, and that's what I used.

 

[puckbunny87]

ugg not fleas!


Fleas gross me out, lol. The borax won't hurt the animals then? I don't really know what it is.

 

[normajean]

Borax is effective....but DE would be better in an open area than Borax (it is water soluble and DE is not.)
You could also try a naturally derived pyrethrin that has a short span/quick kill...

 

[puckbunny87]

thanks guys, I will look into all of the suggestions.


Thanks for your help!

 

[chcknrs]

Borax is a laundry soap booster that you can find in the laundry soap aisle of the grocery store. It's cheap and easy. It's an enzyme so is safe around humans and animals. It is water soluble, but continues to be effective after dissolving. I believe DE becomes inert when it gets wet.

 

[Rte.66_chicks]

I think I'd catch a few in something and take them to the Agricultural Extension Office for a positive identification. Then you will know if you truly have a problem insect, and exactly what you need to do for it. Larval, or young, fleas are a kind of caterpillar, and after they pupate and become adults, they are ready for their blood meal. If they ar enot biting now, they are probably not fleas.