Do Fleas Know the Way Home from San Jose?

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

Have a question about sand fleas: DH and I spent a wonderful weekend in Monterey; decided to check out the beach before leaving yesterday - little did I know as soon as I hit the sand I'd be attacked by a swarm of what I can only think were sand fleas! Nasty little creatures that flew and stuck all over my sunglasses, shirt, swirling skirt; ditto DH's attire. Needless to say, we immediately did an about face - I brushed him off, he did likewise for me and I brushed my hair out upside down. After we flew back to AZ, I insisted we undress in the garage so I could bag and bring our clothes to the dry cleaners and when we picked up Bosco from our neighbor who was watching him, I immediately applied a dose of fea and tick ointment.  Is this a valid concern? I'm not even sure if those were sand fleas, if I could transport them home and if they could be transmitted to the dog. Are there any other steps I ought to be taking or am I completely over-reacting???

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The kind of fleas you need to worry about with dogs are a different variety of creature. I'm not sure what sand fleas are, or what that was at the beach, but from your description, they're nothing like the cat fleas (yes, they're called "cat" fleas) that we use Frontline, etc. to prevent. What you saw sounds like gnats or some kind of fly.

Cat fleas don't swarm, and they don't fly. They leap, ("spring" is a better word) and you wouldn't be able to brush them off anything. You rarely see them in large groups unless you have an infestation, and then you'd only see them on the dog or in your carpets.

In this case, I'd say you can relax.

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

GREAT...thank you, Karen! That does help put my mind at ease.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I live near Monterey and go to the beach there frequently.  You are probably talking about gnats, not on Carmel Beach, but frequently on the beach at Asilomar.  Sorry you had to go back to AZ with such a bad feeling about Monterey.  Were you here for the Big Sur Marathon?

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

Oh, so THAT'S what they were, huh? Nasty little things. The beach -- at the end of Ocean Ave -- was beautiful but  I honestly did not get to enjoy the scenic view as a result. I've been to enough nice beaches around the globe but it was still disappointing; I must have walked into an entire swarm! At least we had ample time to take in the sights around Monterey and Carmel otherwise. My husband's law partner was in the marathon while we went to the Pebble Beach Wine & Food Festival (what can I say? "I hate to eat and run" so I only ate!!). The Old Monterey Inn was a delight and of course the aquarium was a big point of interest. I'm trying to find an organization I learned of there but can't recall the name -- an interfaith coalition of some sort working together for preservation purposes. Should you know what I'm referring to there, I'd be as appreciative as I was of the gnats (well....you know what I mean.....)  Thank you!