FLEAS & MITES

• If your pet is scratching excessively, you should examine his or her fur. Flea-infested animals have reddened skin and may lose hair. The hind quarters of dogs and the head and neck of cats are where you will likely find fleas.
• Fleas can be seen visibly moving between hairs.
• Their red and black droppings may also be visible on your pet’s skin.
• Try walking on your carpet wearing white socks. If you see tiny black bugs on your socks afterwards, those are likely fleas and/or flea dirt.

• Yes, even if you don’t have a pet, you still could have fleas in your yard.
• If you have tiny red bites after a day in your yard, wear white socks and walk around the shady areas of your yard and near decks, woodpiles, or storage buildings. If you see little black specks on your socks after walking about, you probably have fleas in your yard.

• No, a flea bomb is not considered an e􏰀ective or recommended solution.
• Flea bombs, also known as foggers or total release foggers, release pesticides into aroom to treat indoor flea infestations.
• The pesticide-infused fog fills the space then falls to the ground where it sticks to surfaces.

It can be difficult to see mites clearly without magnification; however, identifying mites depends primarily on the species. For example, clover mites have a bright red coloration that can easily be seen. Another way of noticing mites is that at times movement of mites across a surface can be detected. Mites such as spider mites can produce webbing and silk. They can also cause discoloration of leaves that eventually drop. Some of the more common species of mites can be more specifically identified as described below:

Dust Mites

• Dust Mites are difficult to see with the naked eye, yet they are common in house dust.
• One mattress can contain thousands and thousands of dust mites.
• Nearly 100,000 mites can live in one square yard of carpet.

Clover Mites

• Clover mites are common in and around Minnesota homes primarily in the fall and spring.
• During the fall, clover mites crawl into cracks around windows or in foundation walls, under siding, behind shingles and shakes, and can then be found on window sills, walls, tables, or other furniture.
• Clover Mites tend to congregate on the sunny side of the house.
• Although cold winter weather slows down the activity of Clover Mites, they return in the spring.

Spider Mites

• Spider mites can be spotted by a mottled or pin-prick yellow discoloration on the undersides of leaves.
• They are common in a wide variety of plants including arborvitae, spruce, ash, rose, and beans.
• If you suspect spider mites on discolored leaves, hold a white sheet of paper or paper plate under the leaves and shake the leaves or plant (tiny spider-like creatures will drop and move around the paper)

Bird and Rodent Mites

• Bird and Rodent Mites parasitize poultry, wild birds, and rodents. They may be present after birds or rodents have been removed and can bite humans.
• Although these mites are only about 1/32 inch long, they can be spotted by the naked eye.

Scabies Mites (Sarcoptes scabies)

• Scabies is an itchy skin irritation caused by a burrowing mite called Sarcoptes scabies.
• Signs of Scabies Mites include thick, irregular burrow tracks that result in tiny blisters or bumps on the human skin.
•  Symptoms include severe itching that tends to be worse at night and typically appears in the folds of your skin.