Re: Tropical Rat Mite vs Bird Mite

[Guest guest]

go on the bird mites website and read, read, read what everyone did to rid themselves of their mite problem.

yes, the mites reproduce on you. they prefer their preferred host, but they will reproduce on you, so you need to concentrate on yourself, also.

you can apply a mixture of sublimed sulfur, mixed with either lotion or vaseline, to yourself, full body. test first to see if you are allergic.

you can also use ivermectin orally or can use the pour-on, which is a dewormer, and is used for sarcoptic mites. very popular in the vet/farm industry.

I think there is a file section in this group, which has further information.

some things you can do is, put borax in your carpets.

vacuum alot. or remove carpeting in your home.

you can apply epsom salt mixed with hot water on your entire body. salt kills mites. you can also use the epsom salt as an environmental spray/cleaner.

bleach/water kills them.

clean your walls and ceilings, too.

pay special attention to your bedding, laundry. Wash in scalding hot water, and change frequently your bedding.

if you have the mites on your body, you will infest the couch. so, either don't use the couch right now, or cover it in painters plastic.

certain members of the house, are more prone to infestation than others.

alot of people are using windex to kill the mites. you can use it in your car, too. on walls, ceilings, everywhere.

mel

From: jcru51 <jcru51@...>Subject: Tropical Rat Mite vs Bird Mitebird mites Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2008, 1:06 PM

I am new the forum but I consider myself very well-versed in the topic as of 2 weeks ago, myself and my wife started experiencing bites. At first, we thought they were bed bugs but I found several on the bed and they didn't appear to be bed bugs. I then found a listing for tropical rat mites (http://www.acvcsd. org/biting_ mites.pdf) which is the county we lived in. Before the appointment with the PCO arrived, I found a dead rat, not mouse, inside of our external A/C unit. I put gloves on and the whole shebang, got the rat out, and sprayed the unit with high grade 91% isopropyl alcohol. I noticed that they couldn't live without the hosts so I searched in the attic. We never had any rat infestation before and it appers somebody poisoned the rat and it went up into our attic. The pipe leading from the HVAC unit was all

scratched up and a number of sheets of fiberglass insulation were shredded. I also found splotches of blood. To me, it looked like the rat was freaking out because it was dying. Another quick note on the mites is that they are very active and very visible. I have seen them coming out of the electrical outlets of both bathrooms as well as the connection valve for both toilets. However, I have not seen one at any other outlet or water source. For example, I made duct tape traps around the outlets and water connections in the bathrooms and caught quite a few but the other ones yielded zero. Also it appears that our living room couch is conducive to them even though I have never seen them on the couch. The reason I say that is whomever seems to sit on it, gets bitten while whoever sits in the chair does not. Here is what we have done:* Washed all clothes in hot water* Washed sheets every

other day* Applied 's Soap a few times to the wooden bed frame* Bombed once using the Ortho ones with Bifenethrin* Dusted outlets and water connections with Diactomeous Earth; also dusted and vacuumed with D-Earth; also sprayed D-Earth in the attic area* Dusted with flea powder twice all carpeted area* Placed traps in attic for rodents though I believe it was an isolated case* Treated bites with Witch Hazel* Worn long covering clothes to bed* Applied OFF! Deep Woods to extremities* Using vaseline at end of clothing* Contacted Vector Control for an appointment after which we will meet with a PCO to discuss any workMy questions are:1) Can these mites only reproduce off of the rodents or birds? How true is this? I have seen a lot of writings that state this point. If that is the case, wouldn't you rid yourself of these things by removing the host simply by

attrition?2) Anything else that should be done?Thank you and I really appreciate any feedback.

[Guest guest]

1. The probably can reproduce off any blood they can get a food

source from. While they are genetically evolved to live off of bird

or rodents, they can find another host. I don't think they mean that

our blood is useless, but that we cannot host them. Meaning, they can

still feed off us but will stop because they want their biological

host after time. Unfortunately a wide variety of people on this list

serve would disagree with that statement.

2. Just find a good cleaning routine until you notice that they are

gone. Actually, make sure they are gone and still wait a while before

you stop. Honestly, a two week infestation seems to be easy to get

rid of compared to what others have experienced. I don't know how far

you are willing to go but I would toss what you can't clean and wait

until it is gone to buy new stuff.

>

> I am new the forum but I consider myself very well-versed in the

> topic as of 2 weeks ago, myself and my wife started experiencing

> bites. At first, we thought they were bed bugs but I found several

> on the bed and they didn't appear to be bed bugs. I then found a

> listing for tropical rat mites

> (http://www.acvcsd.org/biting_mites.pdf) which is the county we

> lived in. Before the appointment with the PCO arrived, I found a

> dead rat, not mouse, inside of our external A/C unit. I put gloves

> on and the whole shebang, got the rat out, and sprayed the unit with

> high grade 91% isopropyl alcohol. I noticed that they couldn't live

> without the hosts so I searched in the attic. We never had any rat

> infestation before and it appers somebody poisoned the rat and it

> went up into our attic. The pipe leading from the HVAC unit was all

> scratched up and a number of sheets of fiberglass insulation were

> shredded. I also found splotches of blood. To me, it looked like

> the rat was freaking out because it was dying. Another quick note

> on the mites is that they are very active and very visible. I have

> seen them coming out of the electrical outlets of both bathrooms as

> well as the connection valve for both toilets. However, I have not

> seen one at any other outlet or water source. For example, I made

> duct tape traps around the outlets and water connections in the

> bathrooms and caught quite a few but the other ones yielded zero.

> Also it appears that our living room couch is conducive to them even

> though I have never seen them on the couch. The reason I say that

> is whomever seems to sit on it, gets bitten while whoever sits in

> the chair does not.

>

> Here is what we have done:

> * Washed all clothes in hot water

> * Washed sheets every other day

> * Applied 's Soap a few times to the wooden bed frame

> * Bombed once using the Ortho ones with Bifenethrin

> * Dusted outlets and water connections with Diactomeous Earth; also

> dusted and vacuumed with D-Earth; also sprayed D-Earth in the attic

> area

> * Dusted with flea powder twice all carpeted area

> * Placed traps in attic for rodents though I believe it was an

> isolated case

> * Treated bites with Witch Hazel

> * Worn long covering clothes to bed

> * Applied OFF! Deep Woods to extremities

> * Using vaseline at end of clothing

> * Contacted Vector Control for an appointment after which we will

> meet with a PCO to discuss any work

>

> My questions are:

> 1) Can these mites only reproduce off of the rodents or birds? How

> true is this? I have seen a lot of writings that state this point.

> If that is the case, wouldn't you rid yourself of these things by

> removing the host simply by attrition?

> 2) Anything else that should be done?

>

> Thank you and I really appreciate any feedback.

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the responses. This is one of the roughest times.

The reason I ask is that not one study that I found or vector

control release shows that tropical rat mites can reproduce without

rats. Also the timelines I see are inconsisten. 6-8 weeks after

removal of the host? Is that without doing anything or with the best

preventative work?

We are meeting with a PCO. Any questions I should ask? Any

treatment I should request?

> >

> > I am new the forum but I consider myself very well-versed in the

> > topic as of 2 weeks ago, myself and my wife started experiencing

> > bites. At first, we thought they were bed bugs but I found

several

> > on the bed and they didn't appear to be bed bugs. I then found

a

> > listing for tropical rat mites

> > (http://www.acvcsd.org/biting_mites.pdf) which is the county we

> > lived in. Before the appointment with the PCO arrived, I found

a

> > dead rat, not mouse, inside of our external A/C unit. I put

gloves

> > on and the whole shebang, got the rat out, and sprayed the unit

with

> > high grade 91% isopropyl alcohol. I noticed that they couldn't

live

> > without the hosts so I searched in the attic. We never had any

rat

> > infestation before and it appers somebody poisoned the rat and

it

> > went up into our attic. The pipe leading from the HVAC unit was

all

> > scratched up and a number of sheets of fiberglass insulation

were

> > shredded. I also found splotches of blood. To me, it looked

like

> > the rat was freaking out because it was dying. Another quick

note

> > on the mites is that they are very active and very visible. I

have

> > seen them coming out of the electrical outlets of both bathrooms

as

> > well as the connection valve for both toilets. However, I have

not

> > seen one at any other outlet or water source. For example, I

made

> > duct tape traps around the outlets and water connections in the

> > bathrooms and caught quite a few but the other ones yielded

zero.

> > Also it appears that our living room couch is conducive to them

even

> > though I have never seen them on the couch. The reason I say

that

> > is whomever seems to sit on it, gets bitten while whoever sits

in

> > the chair does not.

> >

> > Here is what we have done:

> > * Washed all clothes in hot water

> > * Washed sheets every other day

> > * Applied 's Soap a few times to the wooden bed frame

> > * Bombed once using the Ortho ones with Bifenethrin

> > * Dusted outlets and water connections with Diactomeous Earth;

also

> > dusted and vacuumed with D-Earth; also sprayed D-Earth in the

attic

> > area

> > * Dusted with flea powder twice all carpeted area

> > * Placed traps in attic for rodents though I believe it was an

> > isolated case

> > * Treated bites with Witch Hazel

> > * Worn long covering clothes to bed

> > * Applied OFF! Deep Woods to extremities

> > * Using vaseline at end of clothing

> > * Contacted Vector Control for an appointment after which we

will

> > meet with a PCO to discuss any work

> >

> > My questions are:

> > 1) Can these mites only reproduce off of the rodents or birds?

How

> > true is this? I have seen a lot of writings that state this

point.

> > If that is the case, wouldn't you rid yourself of these things

by

> > removing the host simply by attrition?

> > 2) Anything else that should be done?

> >

> > Thank you and I really appreciate any feedback.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

JCru,

Welcome to the knowledge gap. Unfortunately, it seems that our kind

of situation falls into a neverland that no one effectively studies:

not public health professionals, not MDs, not PCOs, not veterinarians.

I've met disbelief from all three of the latter, though the Vet was

and is far less skeptical than the rest. Because of my professional

work, I know many, many public health professionals, but I now know

better than to raise the topic with them.

I would ask the PCO what they recommend. The WRONG answer is

Permethrin or Pyrethrins. Check out birdmites.org for selected

pesticide recommendations. However, I would add that *neither* my

PCO (which has applied five applications of various pesticides now

since last September) nor my own applications of Tempo SC (beta-

cyfluthrin) by Bayer and Gentrol IGR have proven effective.

Ask if they've recently treated bird or rat mite infestations and

what was effective. Personally, I've given up caring if they ID a

sample since - if they DO ID it - the standard treatment

recommendations for mites (Permethrins and Pyrethrins) are what will

result from that exercise.

All this sounds very negative -- sorry! Just relating my experience,

which jibes well with that of many on this forum.

What has worked for me is non-PCO stuff. Windex, Ozone, Epsom Salts,

Cedarcide, and more. But give it the best shot the PCO can muster --

maybe your infestation is limited enough that a 'standard' treatment

might work anyway.

If not, the do-it-yourself strategies on the www.birdmites.org site

can help.

> > >

> > > I am new the forum but I consider myself very well-versed in

the

> > > topic as of 2 weeks ago, myself and my wife started

experiencing

> > > bites. At first, we thought they were bed bugs but I found

> several

> > > on the bed and they didn't appear to be bed bugs. I then found

> a

> > > listing for tropical rat mites

> > > (http://www.acvcsd.org/biting_mites.pdf) which is the county we

> > > lived in. Before the appointment with the PCO arrived, I found

> a

> > > dead rat, not mouse, inside of our external A/C unit. I put

> gloves

> > > on and the whole shebang, got the rat out, and sprayed the unit

> with

> > > high grade 91% isopropyl alcohol. I noticed that they couldn't

> live

> > > without the hosts so I searched in the attic. We never had any

> rat

> > > infestation before and it appers somebody poisoned the rat and

> it

> > > went up into our attic. The pipe leading from the HVAC unit

was

> all

> > > scratched up and a number of sheets of fiberglass insulation

> were

> > > shredded. I also found splotches of blood. To me, it looked

> like

> > > the rat was freaking out because it was dying. Another quick

> note

> > > on the mites is that they are very active and very visible. I

> have

> > > seen them coming out of the electrical outlets of both

bathrooms

> as

> > > well as the connection valve for both toilets. However, I have

> not

> > > seen one at any other outlet or water source. For example, I

> made

> > > duct tape traps around the outlets and water connections in the

> > > bathrooms and caught quite a few but the other ones yielded

> zero.

> > > Also it appears that our living room couch is conducive to them

> even

> > > though I have never seen them on the couch. The reason I say

> that

> > > is whomever seems to sit on it, gets bitten while whoever sits

> in

> > > the chair does not.

> > >

> > > Here is what we have done:

> > > * Washed all clothes in hot water

> > > * Washed sheets every other day

> > > * Applied 's Soap a few times to the wooden bed frame

> > > * Bombed once using the Ortho ones with Bifenethrin

> > > * Dusted outlets and water connections with Diactomeous Earth;

> also

> > > dusted and vacuumed with D-Earth; also sprayed D-Earth in the

> attic

> > > area

> > > * Dusted with flea powder twice all carpeted area

> > > * Placed traps in attic for rodents though I believe it was an

> > > isolated case

> > > * Treated bites with Witch Hazel

> > > * Worn long covering clothes to bed

> > > * Applied OFF! Deep Woods to extremities

> > > * Using vaseline at end of clothing

> > > * Contacted Vector Control for an appointment after which we

> will

> > > meet with a PCO to discuss any work

> > >

> > > My questions are:

> > > 1) Can these mites only reproduce off of the rodents or birds?

> How

> > > true is this? I have seen a lot of writings that state this

> point.

> > > If that is the case, wouldn't you rid yourself of these things

> by

> > > removing the host simply by attrition?

> > > 2) Anything else that should be done?

> > >

> > > Thank you and I really appreciate any feedback.

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

JCRU,

Welcome to the group.

A couple of things I want to touch on:

Have you checked the dates of these studies? As I have found, most of

them were done so long ago that their research findings don't apply

to modern day.

These " critters " as I call them, over the years have learned to adapt

and to hide from complete and absolute anhilation. (Every one here

has had " murder " on their minds, and not of the human kind.)

The only way to successfully beat these I think, are to think outside

the box...

Most everyone here has killed them or is on the verge of winning

their battle through more natural means. ie... Epsom salts, Bleach,

Windex w.Ammonia & etc... Also with internal cleansing and the such.

Now in saying that, I must say that our PCO did one heck of a job for

us in getting our numbers waaaaay down. We had a different type of

mite. We had D. Gallinae which is a species of Bird Mite. YOu may

want to talk to them about the chemicals below to see if the same

ones will help in your situation.

The chemicals that they used in our home were thus:

Demize CC <sp?> .03% Conc. 3oz.

Suspend SC .06% Conc. 1.5oz.

Precor IGR .0078% Conc. 1oz.

Kicker .023% Conc. 3oz.

per 1 gallon of water.

This formula did not kill them... all. We dealt with stragglers for a

while.

We were finally able to obtain our freedom through Bleach and Epsom

salts. Windex in the Home office.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

>

> Thank you for the responses. This is one of the roughest times.

>

> The reason I ask is that not one study that I found or vector

> control release shows that tropical rat mites can reproduce without

> rats. Also the timelines I see are inconsisten. 6-8 weeks after

> removal of the host? Is that without doing anything or with the

best

> preventative work?

>

> We are meeting with a PCO. Any questions I should ask? Any

> treatment I should request?

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you for the strategies.

I saw the studies were about 5 years old but I am talking about

reproductive capabilities not resistance.

Also, these guys may be different. They are clearly visible from

over a foot away. Little black periods and small babies but nothing

I would call microscopic. I caught quite a few on duct tape and

could see some easily on the bed. Anybody have a similar experience?

> >

> > Thank you for the responses. This is one of the roughest times.

> >

> > The reason I ask is that not one study that I found or vector

> > control release shows that tropical rat mites can reproduce

without

> > rats. Also the timelines I see are inconsisten. 6-8 weeks

after

> > removal of the host? Is that without doing anything or with the

> best

> > preventative work?

> >

> > We are meeting with a PCO. Any questions I should ask? Any

> > treatment I should request?

> >

> >

>