Fleas have taken over my house and yard!!

Here is the story:

We moved into a brand-new construction house in Zion, Illinois about 2 months ago.

About 1 month ago, I noticed these little black bugs crawling on the white sidewalk.

Well, yesterday, I went down to the basement and the bugs are crawling around on the floor and on the escape windows.

On closer inspection of the outside sidewalk and the foundation outside, the bugs are everywhere.

I wandered over to the neighbors house and he has them, too.

I think that the are fleas because when I touch them, they hop, especially the bigger ones.

I grew up in Texas, so am no stranger to fleas, but thought they were just on dog's fur.

(And yes, both me and my neighbor have dogs that stay inside and only go out to do their business.)

These little buggers here in Illinois are on the sidewalk, on the foundation, in my grass when i mow, etc.

Some questions:

1) Was there some chance that this housing complex was constructed on a sacred flea burial ground, and the relatives are exacting revenge?

2) How do I get rid of the ones in the grass??

3) How do I get rid of the ones in the house??

Help!!!

Thanks!

John

Reply to
John
Loading thread data ...

If you are not getting bit to hell they arn`t flees. But what are they. Do the dogs have em?

Reply to
m Ransley

:) 1) Was there some chance that this housing complex was constructed on a :) sacred flea burial ground, and the relatives are exacting revenge? :) :) 2) How do I get rid of the ones in the grass?? :) :) 3) How do I get rid of the ones in the house?? If they are soft bodied, where you can easily squish them with a finger then they are probably spring tails. Probably do to moisture associated with new sod often in a new home. If they turn out to be springtails, adddress the moisture around the home will help. Treating with insecticide will kill a zillion of them but 3 zillion more will be around to take their place because of moisture.

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

It is said that the early bird gets the worm, but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Reply to
Lar

Well...bust my buttons!

Never heard of a springtail, but that seems to be most likely what they are. When they land on me, they don't bite like fleas do.

It just seems like there are so many of them around here.

One possible idea I had....

The home builders only put about 1 inch of topsoil down, which ain't enough to grow diddly..

So , I went to a local farm and have been getting bags and bags of horse manure mixed with woodchips to try and "organicize" the lawn.

Seems the bugs arrival might just correspond to my laying down horse manure everywhere.

I think I infected my own house with my overeagerness.....

John

Reply to
John

You got me laughing. I own a farm, and have horses. The manure is always covered with these tiny fly-like bugs. I have never really bothered to find out what they are called. They are just something that occurs each and every year when there is horse manure. They dont bite, dont do any harm, other than annoy the horses a little. Once it gets cool, they will go away, and next spring they will return (for me). Since you dont have horses, next spring you will never see them again unless you get fresh manure. Horse manure is good for the lawn, so I'd not worry about the bugs. The only part I dont understand is why are they in your basement? Are there open windows? Otherwise you got a leak somewhere.

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

You are lucky you didnt import thousands of centipedes or other critters. If you are lucky you will get mushrooms, Sylacybin, then you will see buga-zillions

Reply to
m Ransley

clipped

It'll make the diddly grow faster :o)

Reply to
Norminn

ne-sf.pbi.net!216.196.98.144!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.c om!wns13feed!worldnet.att.net!207.115.63.142!prodigy.com!newsmst01a.news.p rodigy.com!prodigy.com!post

FXZ_D[BFNTCNVPDTNTKHWXKB@X^B_OCJLPZ@ET_O[G\XSG@E\G[ZKVLBL^CJINM@I_KVIOR\T_ M_AW_M[_BWU_HFA_]@A_A^SGFAUDE_DFTMQPFWVW[QPJN

Somebody that was there probably had alot of pets. Pets are gone now and the fleas are left behind. If you have pets treat them with frontline+ or similar product that incorporates and insect growth regulator (IGR). For the fleas in the environment use a premise spray that contains an IGR. If you use products with no IGR new eggs will just keep hatching. For indoor areas consider flea traps like this one:

formatting link
Fleas are drawn to the heat they think is an animal jump on and then get stuck. If you have a large number of fleas these things will start to turn black in a couple days so make sure you get enough sticky pads with it.

Reply to
Putyourspamhere

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Putyourspamhere) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m29.aol.com:

Home Depot sells a gallon jug of a flea spray that has an insect growth inhibitor in it,it works great,and it also affects a lot of other bugs.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

reader.com!newsfeed.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp!news.moat.net!newsfeed-3001.bay.we btv.net!newssorter-3001.bay.webtv.net!not-for-mail

He's right if you aren't getting bit they aren't fleas. Fleas are only about

1mm or less wide and maybe a little longer. If they are a larger bug then they are something else.
Reply to
Putyourspamhere

For those of you who did not read the whole thread, they are NOT fleas. They are small insects that came with the horse manure and they are harmless. I own horses, and they are very common and nothing to worry about in the least.

Reply to
maradcliff

Here is your answer. I did a little checking with some other horse owners to finally get the name of these bugs.

They are called Sphaerocerid Flies They live in manure piles, septic tanks, etc. In other words, they are "shit eating bugs" :)

That ought to ruin your appetite

There are quite a few websites with info about them. Here are a few I found.

(The first is the best I found)

formatting link

formatting link
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:_2-a1S7GEowJ:
formatting link
Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.