Sand fleas are going to be looked at here with a focus on how they move about whether it’s possible to take some home with you.
Logically speaking, pests a variety of pest issues can be introduced into a home unknowingly by not taking precautionary measures.
Known examples include roaches, bed bugs, and many others.
Can You Take Sand Fleas Home With You?
Coastal areas like beaches, marshes, and the like are natural habitats for sand fleas.
As such, visiting or living within such an area has its risks in terms of certain pest types like sand fleas. One fear people have includes unknowingly bringing home a pest problem.
No one wants to deal with a pest issue and rightfully so due to the discomfort they bring.
What Are Sand Fleas Exactly?
There’s a lot of confusion with sand flea identification.
While some people call them by different names like sand hoppers, chiggers, beach fleas, and the likes, these are crustaceans and not insects.
As stated earlier, sand fleas are mostly found around coastal areas.
So, why are sand fleas perceived as pests? The answer has to do with how they’re perceived.
Unlike parasitic fleas or chiggers (as they’re often called) found in South America and Mexico, the sand fleas we’re looking at aren’t parasitic and belong to the family Talitridae.
Here, it’s clear that quite many creatures are referred to as sand fleas. We are more concerned with the crustaceans. Similar to common fleas, sand fleas move around by jumping.
This is probably how their name came about. So, do sand fleas bite?
The misconception people have about sand fleas is that they bite. In reality, it isn’t so. Only parasitic chiggers (mostly found in South America and Mexico) bite.
Their crustacean counterparts found around coastal areas don’t bite. They feed on seaweed.
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Physical Features of Sand Fleas
To tell sand fleas apart from other similar creatures, you’ll have to look at their physical characteristics. Some of their striking features include their size.
Sand fleas measure about an inch in length. In terms of body coloration, such may differ from greenish to gray or brown.
Their legs are long and come in multiple pairs. What more? Sand fleas possess protruding appendages that can be seen at the back of their bodies.
Plus, they have thick antennae.
The Likelihood of Bringing Sand Fleas into Your Home
From the discussions we’ve had so far, it’s evident that a lot of people aren’t comfortable bringing in these crustaceans into their homes.
When they do, it’s mostly accidental and unknown to the host. You should also know that sand fleas don’t want to get into your home as they’re away from their preferred habitat.
It’s unlikely that you’ll bring a sand flea home with you. This is due to multiple reasons one of which includes a preference for their coastal habitats.
First off, sand fleas do not actively seek to cling or attach themselves to humans as bed bugs or fleas do.
Because they aren’t parasitic and don’t feed on blood, there’s no incentive to follow human hosts. Plus, sand fleas are nocturnal creatures.
This means they’re most active at night hence the chances of contact with humans are significantly reduced.
You might have to dig up the sand to get to them as they’re mostly shy and keep away. While this is true, there’s a remote possibility that you could bring home a sand flea.
When this happens, no harm is caused by them. However, you may simply wish to have them removed because you don’t want them around.
Are Sand Fleas Harmful?
Sand fleas aren’t harmful.
They aren’t parasitic like their chigger counterparts in South America which are also called by the same name. As mentioned earlier, sand fleas feed on seaweed and other vegetation.
They have no interest or attraction whatsoever to human blood.
So, you might mistakenly have sand fleas travel home with you, but will hardly have any issues relating to bites or other forms of discomfort. In a nutshell, sand fleas pose no harm to humans.
As such, you shouldn’t be worried that these hopping crustaceans will cause such.
Treating For Sand Fleas
Anything considered a pest has to be seen as such.
In other words, it must cause some kind of discomfort in the form of bites, or damage.
Because sand fleas do none of that, they aren’t pests. This is why you’re unlikely to find pest control companies offering any treatment for sand fleas because they aren’t a problem.
In a nutshell, treating sand fleas isn’t probable due to the nature of their activity. Just as you don’t want sand fleas being brought into your home, these crustaceans don’t want to leave their habitats either.
They simply don’t want to get into human dwellings.
Sand Fleas Are Likely Not Travelling Home with You
While most of our discussion has been centered on the likelihood of sand fleas traveling home with you, the answers have been resoundingly negative.
To cap it all off, sand fleas thrive better around their coastal habitat than in human dwellings.
In other words, there are fewer incentives for them to be within your home.
The Type of Sand Flea Matters
If you’re looking at sand fleas belonging to the Talitridae family, there’s nothing to worry about as they’re generally harmless and keep off humans.
As such, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll follow you home.
On the other hand, chigoes, which are a parasitic sand flea variant common to South America and Mexico, will do a lot of harm. These creatures won’t pass up the opportunity to follow you home.
The reason is obvious; because they feed on blood, they need to be around humans to get a steady supply of food.
When dealing with the parasitic kind of sand fleas, you’ll have to do whatever it takes to find lasting solutions. This includes calling for professional treatment.
Sand fleas of the Talitridae family are unlikely to travel home with you.
Even when they do (which is quite rare), it’s not intentional because they have a preference for their coastal habitats.