ARE TO LIVE IN THE FREE STATE OF FLORIDA, UNQUOTE. THIS VIDEO OF A BREVARD COUNTY BEACH IS GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION ON FACEBOOK. I WANT TO SCRATCH MY ARMS JUST LOOKING AT THESE THINGS. THESE ARE SAND FLEAS. YEAH. OH, GOODNESS. THE WOMAN WHO TOOK THAT VIDEO THERE SAYS IN HER 45 YEARS, SHE’S NEVER SEEN SO MANY CLUSTERED UP LIKE THAT AND PROBABLY NEVER WANTS TO AGAIN. WESH TWO BREVARD COUNTY REPORTER MEGHAN MORIARTY IS LIVE IN SATELLITE BEACH TONIGHT. AND MEGAN, WHILE THEY’RE CREEPY, THEY’RE ACTUALLY HARMLESS. AND SOME FISHERMEN THAT WE EVEN SPOKE WITH HERE IN SATELLITE BEACH SAY THAT THEY USE THEM FOR BAIT. THEY WERE PICKING THEM UP AND SHOWING THEM TO US EARLIER. WE CHECKED IN WITH A LOCAL DOCTOR JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE HARMLESS. IN THIS VIDEO, YOU CAN SEE WHAT LOOKS LIKE AN INFESTATION OF SMALL SEE THROUGH CREATURES DIGGING IN THE SAND AND SATELLITE BEACH SAND FLEAS. THE NAME IS INTERESTING BECAUSE THEY I ACTUALLY ARE NOT FLEAS AT ALL. THEY’RE SMALL CRUSTACEANS OR PART OF THE CRAB FAMILY, AND THEY DON’T BITE. THEY GET THE NAME BECAUSE THEY, THEY, THEY HAVE THE MECHANISM OF JUMPING. DOCTOR CASE TEDDER, A FAMILY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN WITH ORLANDO HEALTH, SAYS YES, THEY CAN JUMP, BUT THANKFULLY THEY DON’T BITE. THEY DON’T CARRY ANY PARASITES AND THEY DON’T BITE. SO TOTALLY HARMLESS TO HUMANS. IN FACT, HE SAYS, NOT ONLY ARE THEY HARMLESS, THEY ARE ACTUALLY HELPFUL TO OUR BEACHES, MARINE LIFE, AND EVEN FISHERMEN. HELP WITH THE ECOSYSTEM AND HELP KEEP THE MARINE LIFE. AND THEY’RE REALLY A SIGN OF HEALTHY OCEAN, HEALTHY, YOU KNOW, HEALTHY SHORELINE. BUT HE DOES WARN ABOUT SAND FLIES. THEY’RE SMALLER THAN A MOSQUITO AND ARE VERY COMMON IN FLORIDA. AND WE SEE THOSE IN BACKYARDS, IN THE BEACH. AND THEY CAN BITE AND CAUSE IRRITATION, INFLAMMATION AND SKIN RASHES. AS FOR THE SAND FLEAS, WHILE WATCHING THE VIDEO MAY GIVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS. THESE MINI CRUSTACEAN CREATURES CAN’T HURT YOU. AND WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE DID NOT SEE ANY LARGE CLUSTERS LIKE THAT ON THE BEACH TODAY, SO IT’S SAFE TO GO INTO THE WATER IF YOU’RE FREAKED OUT BY THEM. THE WOMAN, DENISE, WHO TOOK THAT VIDEO, SAID THAT SHE TOOK IT LAST WEEK AFTER A STORM ROLLED IN COVERING BREVARD COUNTY.
Video shows sand fleas swarming Florida beach | What a doctor says about the critters
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Updated: 1:38 PM CDT Jun 4, 2025
A video on Facebook is catching a lot of attention. It shows what looks like an infestation of small, clear creatures digging in the sand on Satellite Beach in Florida."Sand fleas — the name is interesting because they actually are not fleas at all," Dr. Case Tedder said. "They’re small crustaceans or part of the crab family, and they don’t bite. They get the name because they have the mechanism of jumping.”Tedder is a family medicine physician with Orlando Health. He said, "Yes, they can jump, but otherwise, they're safe.""They don’t carry any parasites and they don’t bite, so they're totally harmless to humans," Tedder said.In fact, he said not only are they harmless, they actually are helpful to our beaches, marine life and even fishermen.However, he does warn about sand flies. The insects are smaller than a mosquito and very common in Florida."We see those in backyards at the beach, and they can bite and cause irritation, inflammation and skin rashes," Tedder said.The woman who took the video, Denise Derrick-Wright, said she filmed it last week after a storm. She said in her 45 years, she's never seen so many clusters in one area.
A video on Facebook is catching a lot of attention. It shows what looks like an infestation of small, clear creatures digging in the sand on Satellite Beach in Florida.
"Sand fleas — the name is interesting because they actually are not fleas at all," Dr. Case Tedder said. "They’re small crustaceans or part of the crab family, and they don’t bite. They get the name because they have the mechanism of jumping.”
Tedder is a family medicine physician with Orlando Health. He said, "Yes, they can jump, but otherwise, they're safe."
"They don’t carry any parasites and they don’t bite, so they're totally harmless to humans," Tedder said.
In fact, he said not only are they harmless, they actually are helpful to our beaches, marine life and even fishermen.
However, he does warn about sand flies. The insects are smaller than a mosquito and very common in Florida.
"We see those in backyards at the beach, and they can bite and cause irritation, inflammation and skin rashes," Tedder said.
The woman who took the video, Denise Derrick-Wright, said she filmed it last week after a storm. She said in her 45 years, she's never seen so many clusters in one area.
