I don't doubt something miserable is happening! Sounds awful. I was just trying to help you sort out what sounds like several different issues to me.

You said you looked at the flying midges under a microscope, or somebody at an agricultural research coop (?) did. So far so good. "no seeums" is just another name for biting midges. So I assume you saw some of them or you wouldn't know you had them. Yes?

But I was specifically talking about the "dust" you mentioned, which you said you thought was midge larvae. That would likely not be midge larvae (or they would be in water, not on walls). I assume those are also not the adults. So it would be good to find out what it is. Did you look at the dust under a microscope? Or did someone else look at the dust?

The midges are fine as dust not the larva. An occasional are larger by mm. So small that in daylight you don't see them as they land on furniture amongst dust. White specs on clothing. Found larva in corners of garage in leaf piles. What can I tell you, they intend to survive and have adapted. Analogize to this true story: Women had a fine rash over front of thighs, upper arms, back and bottom, red thickening skin on finger nuckles. Eight doctors over several months said it was nothing but a dermatologic reaction to something. She went into renal failure, doctors tested further and found it was MRSA. No it did not display the typical features/symptoms. Case in point these guys aren't acting like text book.

Thanks for answering my question. I do understand that life varies and that it's possible that the generalization that all biting midge larvae are aquatic could have an exception. Still, your account did not make sense to me, so I am trying to at least understand how you know what you know.

So you are saying the adult midges are white and the size of dust particles? In your first post you said they were about 1/8 inch, which is pretty easy to see and a lot bigger than most dust particles. Could you clarify?

Have you found them on you biting?

How did you know the larvae in the leaf piles in the garage were the larvae of the midges?

Do you think the larvae are biting you too?

Most are dust size in house, occasional that I found outside big enough to see about1/8". There were leaves piled in corners of garage and around yard after snow thaw, soaking wet. Many trees around. Found out many neighbors have yard flooding, so area is wet. Broken french drain removed to dry out house perimeter. Found midges nest in the wet leaves and moist dirt, saw them and larva (short curved rod like), eggs (look like pods with tails) so I think they are each others. Feel bites at the time bit occasionally, swat where I feel but no bug, stinger in skin several times, very short, burning feeling, I squeeze/wash it out with peroxide. Ones in scalp don't feel until after bit. Only sub zero inactivates them, soon as near 20-30 degrees see them flying. Easiest to see with dim light at night in garage. Open car door they zoom out. First noticed strange heavy white dust in house thought it strange as I dust and next day back. Had all furnace ducts/cold air side cleaned, still there. Change filter weekly. Sick of it all.

Also noticed that city trees on tree lawn up front by my house and two other houses that have same type tree have moss on trunk and large brances, trees seem sickly many dropping medium to large branches those are dry dead, strange. Going to request city cut these down as falling branches are a hazzard. [QUOTE=findit;1506008]Most are dust size in house, occasional that I found outside big enough to see about1/8". There were leaves piled in corners of garage and around yard after snow thaw, soaking wet. Many trees around. Found out many neighbors have yard flooding, so area is wet. Broken french drain removed to dry out house perimeter. QUOTE]

OMG... I am having the same symptoms! Been to 8 doctors total and they all pretty much say I am delusional! I rather be delusional on having a money tree than these freaking what ever it is! I will try to post some pictures I took on my digi cam in macro settings later after work.

Has anyone found ANY answers to this problem? I am up to my wits end battling this problem, more sadly is that I see my little 3 year old girl suffering the same! Itching her whole body from head to toe. I have tried everything in my ability to manage but I am running out of fuse... Someone, anyone? Please help us :(

Another place that they love is computers and monitors, probably the warmth and going in and out of the vents is like a nifty hive nest for them. I had to open hard drive vacuum it out, spray it with Raid home/garden bug spray, covered it with plastic bag for a day then air it out before plugging and starting up. Monitors, vacuumed the vents furiously and took a cloth with Raid and wiped across vents, any air hole and seams around edges, covered with plastic, printer I sprayed a paper sheet put in tray, covered with plastic, keyboard vacuum and shook it out sprayed acros the key board and plastic bag routine. Do it every couple weeks. Lysol disinfectant spray on carpet and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Vacuum walls and ceiling since they are flying demons they will rise to the ceiling. I agree this is nuts and these things are demonic.

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Originally Posted by findit

Another place that they love is computers and monitors, probably the warmth and going in and out of the vents is like a nifty hive nest for them. I had to open hard drive vacuum it out, spray it with Raid home/garden bug spray, covered it with plastic bag for a day then air it out before plugging and starting up. Monitors, vacuumed the vents furiously and took a cloth with Raid and wiped across vents, any air hole and seams around edges, covered with plastic, printer I sprayed a paper sheet put in tray, covered with plastic, keyboard vacuum and shook it out sprayed acros the key board and plastic bag routine. Do it every couple weeks. Lysol disinfectant spray on carpet and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Vacuum walls and cieling since they are flying demons they will rise to the ceiling. I agree this is nuts and these things are demonic.

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What did you do for the inside of your car? I know if your car is infested with these things you take it with you everywhere you go in that car! I had people sitting behind me and my little girl in restaurants complaining that we had body lice since they itched and itched after we were sat in our table. Of course I went to the doctors after that and was told I have nothing and I am delusional... I had monsterclean(dot)com visit my house and cleaned all my carpets, bug man came and sprayed the entire house and yard, threw a bunch of stuff away, emptied my garage power washed the floors and painted them along with 2 coats of mildew resistant paint and 2 coats of glossy white on the walls but that didn't stop them :(

However, I did have one of the best night of sleep last night! I went and purchased a honeywell true hepa air-cleaner and that made a BIG difference! I did not feel anything fall on me or craw on my face like I did for the last 2.5 years. I'm thinking about getting more to place around the house and even one in my car. I also printed this thread and brought it to my doctors visit yesterday to show him others are also experiencing the same and asked for a Lyme disease test.

findit do you get any rash from this crazyness? Not all the time but it seems to come in cycles, maybe every couple of months?

Bought canned spray from exterminator. Spray car and it is good for a few days. Makes car stink! Air out for couple hours. I have the car detailed inside: steam clean carpets, seats and headliner, clean widows monthly.
I have bite marks, pin point and the welts, get a rash on upper arms and upper back. Legs itch when clothes rub up. My hands get red and leathery. But don't you know it is all in our heads.
Exterminator told me the psychosomatic syndrome too, until I told him I had the bugs identified at lab. Then "oh, yes, midges, punkies, no-seeums..." I asked him why didn't he mention them as possibility before, he said he never heard of such thing occurring. Only thing they seem to know is fleas and bedbugs. They sent a guy over to spray and I had to tell hime to spray under sink and vanity, stairs. He didn't know what he was doing, I cancelled the service.

Here is a photo of some very tiny biting midges that shows how tiny they get.

http://z.about.com/d/insects/1/0/J/4...ing-midges.jpg

And various midge larvae--biting and non biting, also black fly larvae
http://www.nwnature.net/macros/diptera.html

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Biting Midge eggs are roughly bananashaped, with rounded ends and asurface variously adorned withminute projections. They arerarely encountered in natureand are laid in batches of up to fiftyin or near the larval habitat. A tiny worm like larva hatches and is the main feeding stage of the lifecycle. It grows from first to fourthinstar, moulting each time, over a periodof days, weeks or months according to speciesand environmental factors.The pupal stage looks rather like a tiny leglessblunt nosed lobster which breathes air through a pair of smallrespiratory trumpets at the head end. It does not feed duringthis stage

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Maybe this would be helpful to someone:
MIDGES

I do not know what the hell it is but an Ozone generator seems to control them. I am buying my second one. At least it is better than pesticides. An ozone g generator is not an ionizer. With an ozone generator, you and family and pets must leave the house/car. Ozone is toxic but it removes odors and mold from your house too.

Although it removes these pests from the air, I have not found a way to remove them from clothing. I am about to throw away ALL my clothing. I have given up on finding a solution to extract and kill them in infested linens, blankets, clothing, curtains, furniture, carpets.

Good luck to you all

I have beetle looking insects black with white dots on crunchy when you kill them and they have wings could you tell me what they are please

Hendrick me lad, you need to start a new thread.

Hendrick, that's a whole different question. Mods, could you open a new thread for him?

Back to the original post, has anyone looked up psocids? Booklice don't bite, per se, but they can irritate skin.

Collemba mites are actually a bit smaller than what has been discussed here, but you might look them up, too.

How did you use it in your car? I would think it would need to be used weekly for a month or so to kill eggs that hatch. I am at the point of buying one myself and would like to know how you handled the car pests with the ozone generator. It's cheaper than buying a car or constant cost of shampoo interior cleaning that is short lived.

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Originally Posted by nuitgoddess

I do not know what the hell it is but an Ozone generator seems to control them. I am buying my second one. At least it is better than pesticides. An ozone g generator is not an ionizer. With an ozone generator, you and family and pets must leave the the house/car.

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I too have the same problem along with some kind of mite or bug that looks like it has a tail or a hook?? Has any one seen anything like this? I wash my clothes in ammonia and borax and iron everything including my bed, every night. It is the only way I can get any peace.

MMarsha,

That sounds like springtails.Image Search Results



Image Search Results

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Originally Posted by mmarsha

I too have the same problem along with some kind of mite or bug that looks like it has a tail or a hook??? Has any one seen anything like this? I wash my clothes in ammonia and borax and iron everything including my bed, every night. It is the only way I can get any peace.

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Does this thing bite? Then it probably is biting midges, the biting females have a stinger like a mosquito but classified as a fly while the female midge not male midges bite to get blood to lay eggs for each batch after the first batch that uses the reserve that the female midge inherently has. It is an immense battle to get rid of these things. I have stripped carpets, used insecticides but they return. It is near impossible to get them out of the floor boards and between/under the floors in the house as they are survivors and will hide anywhere to survive. They like light fixtures and are attracted to lights and warm places such as heat vents and electrical equipment. Like dust, they stick due to static electricity, including computers. The human scent and CO2 from human breathing is a direct signal for them that human blood is around. Then again they will feed of any blood bearing creature/mammals such as dogs, squirrels, birds.
Spring tail mites look like tiny caterpillars under a microscope. They have a hook they use to jump and hook on to things to catapult themselves. So you may be feeling the springtail jumping. I lived in a rural area once that had issues with them, especially in barns. But they usually sweep off like soot and don't cause the misery of biting midges.
It is well known that there are biting and non biting midges. In the antarctic the midge is the only insect that survives the sub zero temps, so the thought that the cold will kill them is a mistake. These midges are survivors and will adapt/metamorphasis.

Yes, living with these bugs is torture, and even more so mentally when everyone acts like you are some anti bug and germ person, you know, like you have a mental disorder. This is a real problem, as real as the stinging red mosquito looking bites. We need to find some common thing that we all have, like problems with a wet basement or water around the foundation of our houses?? My basement has been flooding, I don't know if that could be contributing to my problem with these bugs and YES, they are some type of bug that bites. Having problems with flooding and foundational water problems is something that I also have, now I am wondering is there any other common things in our environment that may also be contributing to having these unknown but very real pest? For myself I can not think of anything else except for the fact that I live in an old house in the country? There is a creek near my house ' along with cattle and hay?? I love where I live but I am ready to start looking for another place to live if I can't get rid of this crap. I have been through hell, it is better than it has been, but I want these bugs GONE! As I'm sure everyone who has them does. Is there anything else that anyone can think of that may be a common factor?And just for a quick add on to my note, I have thrown everything out just about and still I am having this problem. I am not a dirty person, I can't understand why I am being infested with these bugs.

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Originally Posted by findit

These midges were all over the yard and in garage. They might not be the typical ones you encountered. We were/are getting bite and welt marks body and scalp thinking it was mosquitoes but not. Took some to co-op extension, identified them under microscope. We were bringing them into the house on clothing and yes in hair and they were getting in through the backyard window screens. But we didn't see the no-see-ums. Hopefully frost has killed them off. Since the female lays its first batch without blood meal then each female lays hundreds of offspring and on and on, then they need blood meal for subsequent eggs. Plenty of squirrels and birds for that. There was an event of deer deaths nearby from midge bites. The yard was neglected by previous owner, bought house in winter it was our first summer here. Had the foundation water problem, fixed. Just as many have responded to the same symptoms and agony of trying to rid these things. The many of us aren't hallucinating. Tried pesticides and green products indoors/out, work for a while then they are back. This isn't living its torture. I am looking for resolution short of dumping everything I own out of my house down to the floor boards and that is no guarantee.

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