Tiny little bugs on my deck/siding

[John Coloccia]

Here's something new. Right where my deck meets my siding (two corners) I have all these teeny tiny little bugs. They look like the head of a pin. On interesting characteristic is as soon as I get close to them, they start hopping and jumping around. Very strange.

What the heck are these things? Do I need to call in an exterminator, or are they harmless and can I just hose them off or use some Raid or something?

[Callan Campbell]

The outdoor cousin of bed bugs...:D:D:D Sorry John, I couldn't resist since all the real and tragic hoopla of cities hit with bedbugs. Take a picture or two that show them with some color and detail, then contact a decent exterminator or other pest pro to see what you've got. I'm surprised you haven't had enough cold to kill them off with the first hard frosts of the season.

[Joe Pelonio]

Sounds like fleas, but they are usually dead by now outside in cold climates.

What color are they? Leafhoppers do that and can be green or white or multi-colored.

[John Coloccia]

They're brownish color. They seem to disappear at night. I've never seen anything like it. They're all just hanging out on my siding and the deck. Very strange. I don't think they're fleas. I have a feeling they're hanging out behind the siding where it's a little bit warmer.

Funny thing is, I just noticed them now that it's gotten cold.

[ray hampton]

spiders hop around too

[Russ Filtz]

Your house has been unfaithful and got the VD! :p

[Steve Peterson]

If they are fleas, they will be very hard to squash. Fleas have a narrow flat body. You have to roll them between your fingers to squash them. Most other bugs are much softer.

It may be possible that a flea infested animal spent the night under your deck and left behind many eggs. I used to have an open sided barn that the deer spent a lot of time in. It would have thousands of fleas during the summer, but like Joe says they usually hide during the winter.

Steve