echinosum wrote in
:


Mitulove;894723 Wrote:
Hello all,

Does anybody know what this bug is? I had lots of them crawling on my
arm when I came inside from the garden. The photo isn't clear, but
hopefully my hand will provide a size reference.
Could this be what is giving me itching bumps?
I've downloaded the photo and blown it up enormous, but it is still just
a black splodge. I think you'd need specialist equipment to take a clear
picture of something that small.

But I am used to seeing lots of tiny little black splodges like that in
gardens, etc, and I am not aware any of them bite. They sometimes hang
around in a cloud under an overhanging tree, and then cover you when you
walk through. To me they usually look rather like a beetle, although
hanging around in the air seems an unusual habit for a beetle. Maybe
they are actually something in the hemiptera. People often suggest
thrips for these small black aerial bugs, but having looked at pictures
of thrips I think usually not. But basically what I'm saying is that
these are unlikely to bite you.

Fleas can get in your clothes, so they bite you where you have clothes
on, so in general not on your hands, feet and head. When I got them in
my woolly socks, they bit on the ankle, not the foot, because they did
not want to go in the shoe and get squashed. But if you are being
bitten all over, then bedclothese seems more likely. But I wonder about
bedbugs? Fleas can also get into furniture, carpets, etc, usually off
dog, cat, etc, in which case they may bite opportunistically. Though I
think cat and dog fleas can also colonise humans, in which case they
tend to like hairy corners like the groin.

What you do to get rid of fleas in clothes/bedlinen is wash all the
clothes they might have got into and hang them out on the washing line
in bright sun. Then you put those clothes/bedclothes on, and do the
rest. For fleas that may have originated in dog/cat, take advice from
petshops, as the method of dealing with it depends upon whether it is
dog or cat. For mattresses, you'll just have to spray them.

If bedbugs, no doubt you can research that.





I think its a thunderfly, millions of then have been seen over the last few
days.
As far as I know they dont bite, but irritate like mad.
(a bit like myself some would say)

So dont worry
PtePike

Martin wrote in
:

On 20/07/10 17:44, Donwill wrote:
On 20/07/2010 12:43, Mitulove wrote:
Hello all,

Does anybody know what this bug is? I had lots of them crawling on
my arm when I came inside from the garden. The photo isn't clear,
but hopefully my hand will provide a size reference..

http://tinyurl.com/2at5z99

Could this be what is giving me itching bumps? I asked the doctor
about them yesterday and she thinks they're from fleas. The thing
is, I get them pretty much everywhere *except* my feet, hands, and
head and I would have thought the ankles are a perfect place for
flea bites.. I also only get a few at a time, though while I have
them they itch like crazy. :P I would greatly appreciate any help!





They could be harvest bugs perhaps. Our family went to live in a
house in Cardiganshire we were attacked by these things every summer
if we went to the garden. I have never come across them in any other
garden other than that one, I have lived in 6 houses since but never
experienced them any where else.
Don

Don't be surprised if somebody tells you that they are a protected
species.


haha nice one

harry wrote in news:3993ec58-3bda-4de2-b1b4-
:

On 20 July, 12:43, Mitulove
wrote:
Hello all,

Does anybody know what this bug is? *I had lots of them crawling on my
arm when I came inside from the garden. *The photo isn't clear, but
hopefully my hand will provide a size reference..

http://tinyurl.com/2at5z99

Could this be what is giving me itching bumps? *I asked the doctor abou
t
them yesterday and she thinks they're from fleas. *The thing is, I get
them pretty much everywhere *except* my feet, hands, and head and I
would have thought the ankles are a perfect place for flea bites.. *I
also only get a few at a time, though while I have them they itch like
crazy. :P *I would greatly appreciate any help!

--
Mitulove

I would say it was a mosquito. They don't carry malaria in this
country ...yet.
Do you have any still water nearby? If so, this is where they're
coming form.

Specsavers in the uk are currently offering a "buy one get one free" offer.
Seriously, does the pic really look like a mosquito? I think NOT

On 20/07/2010 12:43, Mitulove wrote:
Hello all,

Does anybody know what this bug is? I had lots of them crawling on my
arm when I came inside from the garden. The photo isn't clear, but
hopefully my hand will provide a size reference..

http://tinyurl.com/2at5z99

Could this be what is giving me itching bumps? I asked the doctor about
them yesterday and she thinks they're from fleas. The thing is, I get
them pretty much everywhere *except* my feet, hands, and head and I
would have thought the ankles are a perfect place for flea bites.. I
also only get a few at a time, though while I have them they itch like
crazy. :P I would greatly appreciate any help!




The tiny insect looks like a thunder fly - lots of them around at the
moment. They irritate when they crawl on you but they don't bite so
unlikely to be causing the skin problem.

Do you by any chance have rabbits? They can get mite called Chyletiella
(walking dandruff) which can cause skin irritation and rash when
transferred to humans.

Flea bits tend to have a tiny red spot in the middle, and appear in lines as the flea walks for a few inches stopping to bite every half inch or so.

I find antiseptic cream like Savlon is most effective for instant relief (I think it contains a mild local anaesthetic, similar to whatever it is you et in Bonjela and other stuff sold for mouth ulcers and babies' teething). Seems to work better than the antihistamine creams which are usually recommended.

On 20/07/2010 19:26, Jill Bell wrote:
On 20/07/2010 12:43, Mitulove wrote:
Hello all,

Does anybody know what this bug is? I had lots of them crawling on my
arm when I came inside from the garden. The photo isn't clear, but
hopefully my hand will provide a size reference..

http://tinyurl.com/2at5z99

Could this be what is giving me itching bumps? I asked the doctor about
them yesterday and she thinks they're from fleas. The thing is, I get
them pretty much everywhere *except* my feet, hands, and head and I
would have thought the ankles are a perfect place for flea bites.. I
also only get a few at a time, though while I have them they itch like
crazy. :P I would greatly appreciate any help!




The tiny insect looks like a thunder fly - lots of them around at the
moment. They irritate when they crawl on you but they don't bite so
unlikely to be causing the skin problem.

Do you by any chance have rabbits? They can get mite called Chyletiella
(walking dandruff) which can cause skin irritation and rash when
transferred to humans.
Sorry missed out also found on dogs and cats too.

"Mitulove" wrote in message
...

Hello all,

Does anybody know what this bug is? I had lots of them crawling on my
arm when I came inside from the garden. The photo isn't clear, but
hopefully my hand will provide a size reference..

http://tinyurl.com/2at5z99

Could this be what is giving me itching bumps? I asked the doctor about
them yesterday and she thinks they're from fleas. The thing is, I get
them pretty much everywhere *except* my feet, hands, and head and I
would have thought the ankles are a perfect place for flea bites.. I
also only get a few at a time, though while I have them they itch like
crazy. :P I would greatly appreciate any help!


Lots of people here have identified thunderbugs or thunderflies, which feed
on vegetable matter and can cause damage, although they don't seem
particularly to attack humans. It is possible you are sensitive to them.

However I wonder if what you are experiencing is harvest mites, which cause
a lot of itching especially in tight parts of your clothing, like under the
elastic of underwear waistbands and legs, bra straps, tight socks on the
ankles. They are nearly invisible (.4 mm), but bring one out in red itchy
weals. Anthisan ointment rubbed on gets rid of the intolerable itch. I
only ever had them when I lived in a village in the countryside near Oxford.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombiculidae

someone

Harvest mites *do* seem likely. Ew. My mom is from the deep south (USA) and I've heard lots of stories about chiggers :P

Just in case, I have got some Frontline for our indoor kitties. Tempting to put some on my neck too...