Mites

“Biting” mites are mostly nest parasites of birds, rodents, and other animals. However, they will bite humans when their normal hosts are not present. Mite bites cause little red bumps on the skin which can be extremely itchy and which may become infected when scratched.

Home dust mites on the other hand, do not actually “bite” or suck blood. They feed on organic matter, shed skin pollen, fungi, bacteria, and animal dander. People usually develop allergic reactions to the powerful digestive enzymes or proteins within the bodies of home dust mites. Unfortunately, these allergens also persist in their carcasses, feces, and shed skins. Besides itching, home dust mites also trigger asthma, especially in children.

It can be difficult to see mites clearly without magnification; however, identifying mites depends primarily on the species. For example, clover mites have a bright red coloration that can easily be seen. Another way of noticing mites is that at times movement of mites across a surface can be detected. Mites such as spider mites can produce webbing and silk. They can also cause discoloration of leaves that eventually drop. Some of the more common species of mites can be more specifically identified as described below:

Dust Mites

• Dust Mites are difficult to see with the naked eye, yet they are common in house dust.

• One mattress can contain thousands and thousands of dust mites.

• Nearly 100,000 mites can live in one square yard of carpet.

Clover Mites

• Clover mites are common in and around Minnesota homes primarily in the fall and spring.

• During the fall, clover mites crawl into cracks around windows or in foundation walls, under siding, behind shingles and shakes, and can then be found on window

  skills, walls, tables, or other furniture.

• Clover Mites tend to congregate on the sunny side of the house.

• Although cold winter weather slows down the activity of Clover Mites, they return in the spring.

Spider Mites

• Spider mites can be spotted by a mottled or pin-prick yellow discoloration on the undersides of leaves.

• They are common in a wide variety of plants including arborvitae, spruce, ash, rose, and beans.

• If you suspect spider mites on discolored leaves, hold a white sheet of paper or paper plate under the leaves and shake the leaves or plant (tiny spider-like creatures will drop and move around the paper)

Bird and Rodent Mites

• Bird and Rodent Mites parasitize poultry, wild birds, and rodents. They may be present after birds or rodents have been removed and can bite humans. 

• Although these mites are only about 1/32 inch long, they can be spotted by the naked eye.

Scabies Mites (Sarcoptes scabies)

• Scabies is an itchy skin irritation caused by a burrowing mite called Sarcoptes scabies.

• Signs of Scabies Mites include thick, irregular burrow tracks that result in tiny blisters or bumps on the human skin.

• Symptoms include severe itching that tends to be worse at night and typically appears in the folds of your skin.

Although there are thousands of mite species, most species measure less than 1/25 inch in length, have four pairs of legs, and their bodies have a prosoma (front part) and abdomen.

Dust Mites

• House dust mites are visible with the aid of a microscope (adult dust mites are about 1/50 inch in length).

• Dust mites are globular-shaped, clear or creamy colored with hairs on their legs and bodies

• Dermatophagoides farina is the most common North American house dust mite.

• D.pteronyssinus is the most common European house dust mite.

Clover Mites

• Clover Mites have a bright red or reddish-brown body and are not as big as the head of a pin, however, they can be seen with the naked eye.

Spider Mites

• Spider Mites are oval shaped with yellowish or greenish color.

• Spider mites are roughly 1/50” in length and are very difficult to see without a microscope.

Bird and Rodent Mites

• Bird and Rodent Mites are visible with the naked eye measuring about 1/32” in length.

• Bird and Rodent Mites may be visible after infected birds or rodents are removed.

Scabies Mites

• Female Scabies Mites are eight-legged crawling mites that can burrow into human skin and are only 1/100 – 1/75 inch in length.

• Scabies Mites can only be seen with a magnifying glass or microscope.

Dust Mites

• House dust mites do not bite or sting humans and are not parasitic, however, they contain powerful allergens

• Allergy symptoms of House Dust Mites can include stuffy or a runny nose , sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, bronchial asthma, hay fever, eczema, and other diseases.

• House Dust Mites that are either alive or dead contain shed skins and feces that are responsible for the allergy-producing reactions in humans.

Clover Mites

• Clover Mites are not parasitic and they do not pose a health threat to humans or pets.

• Clover Mites may leave red stains on furniture, homes, or buildings.

Spider Mites

• Spider Mites are not harmful to humans or pets.

• Damage to houseplants by Spider Mites can rapidly cause plant defoliation and plant loss.

Bird and Rodent Mites

• When birds or rodents are not present, Bird and Rodent Mites may bite humans.

• Although bites by Bird and Rodent Mites may cause human discomfort and irritation, they rarely transmit diseases and they do not reproduce on human blood.

Scabies Mites

• Scabies Mites bite humans and can spread quickly among groups of people.

• Although scabies is easily treated, it is important to treat everyone exposed in the family or group because of the highly contagious nature of scabies.

Dust Mites

• While Dust Mites do not visibly damage property, one mattress can contain between 100,000 to 10 million mites.

• A two-year-old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings that equal 10 percent of the weight of the pillow.

Clover Mites

• Clover Mites do not typically damage humans, animals, homes, or furnishings, however, they can leave rusty or blood-red spots if they are crushed.

Spider Mites

• Spider Mites will damage plants by damaging the leaves, stunting the plant’s growth or killing the plant.

Bird and Rodent Mites

• While most of the damage is potential to animals or humans, Bird and Rodent Mites may infect nests near the home.

Scabies Mites

• No. Scabies Mites will not damage homes or property.

Dust Mites

• As the name implies, Dust Mites come with dust.

Clover Mites

• Clover Mites are typically found outside and do not infest homes.

• Clover Mites tend to gather under bark or at the base of trees, in lawns, and around algae.

• Sidings, roofs, or sewers may also be sources for infestation of Clover Mites.

Spider Mites

• Spider Mites attack the underside of leaves on houseplants.

Bird and Rodent Mites

• The eggs of Bird and Rodent Mites tend to be laid in nests, feathers, or rodent remains.

Scabies Mites

• Scabies Mites are transmitted by from person to person through skin contact.

• Scabies Mites do not spread from animals to humans.

Dust Mites

• House Dust Mites primarily eat skin scales that are contained in house dust.
• Humans and animals regularly shed small flakes of skin that House Dust Mites eat.

Clover Mites

• Clover Mites eat grass, clover, parts of plants, algae and mold.

Spider Mites

• Spider Mites feed on hundreds of species of plants.

Bird and Rodent Mites

• Bird and Rodent Mites feed on the blood of birds, poultry, rodents – and humans if their preferred food source is not available.

Scabies Mites

• Scabies Mites eat by burrowing into the upper layer of human skin.

Dust Mites

• House Dust Mites reproduce by going through five major life stages: (1) egg, (2) larva, (3) protonymph, (4) tritonymph, and( 5) adult maturation.

• During these life stages, the mites molt and shed their outer skin which takes about one month.

• The life of a House Dust Mite is approximately one to two months.

• Females lay about 50 eggs.

• There can be thousands of House Dust Mites in a single gram of house dust.

Clover Mites

• Clover Mites are plant feeders that occasionally invade homes. Clover Mites do not reproduce under indoor conditions.

• Once indoors, Clover Mites will die within a few days due to dehydration.

• Clover Mites tend to reproduce in the winter in any dry protected location and hatch in the early spring or when temperatures are above 45 degrees.

• During the summer, Clover Mites aestivate (a form of warm weather hibernation) and become active again in the fall.

Spider Mites

• Female Spider Mites begin laying eggs in the spring by depositing about 70 eggs in a variety typically on the underside of a plant leaf.

• After eggs are laid, hatching takes 3-5 days under optimal temperature and humidity and 5-7 days if conditions are not optimal.

• The female Spider Mite can potentially lay and breed thousands of eggs in her lifetime.

Bird and Rodent Mites

• The life cycle of the Bird Mite has four stages: (1) egg, (2) larva, (3) nymph and (4) maturation.

• This life cycle can be completed in about 7 days.

• The female Bird Mite needs mammal blood for reproduction.

Scabies Mites

• Female Scabies Mites lay eggs beneath your skin by producing a tunnel for depositing her eggs.

• Females’ lifespan is about two months and they can lay three eggs per day.

• Eggs hatch within 2-3 days.

• When the eggs hatch, the mite larvae work their way to the surface of human skin, then spread to other areas of your skin, and through contact can also spread to the skin of other people.

• The scabies mites larvae molt into nymphs and become adult mites.

• The period from fertilization to adult mite ranges from 10 to 15 days.

• The itching is your body’s reaction to the scabies mites, their eggs, and their waste.

• One gram (about ½ teaspoon) of dust contains up to 1,000 Dust Mites and 250,000 allergenic fecal pellets.

• The population of Dust Mites increases rapidly because each egg-laying female can increase the population by 25-30 new mites per week.

• Your mattress may contain between one million and ten million House Dust Mites (depending on the age of your mattress).

• During its 80-day lifespan, the average Dust Mite can produce about 1,000 waste particles.

• The average weight of your mattress doubles after ten years due to the infestation of House Dust Mites and your pillow averages 10% weight increase after just one year.