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Help! I’m Being Bit By Something I Can’t See! What do I do?

After

nearly three months of dealing with some sort of ‘invisible’ biting bug

I’d like to take a moment to detail what we would do if we knew at the

start what we know now. If you find this post and you have just started

experiencing this problem, this is a ‘best practices’ snapshot of our

current knowledge and experience.

This is a guideline for getting rid of the ‘bites’. I suspect that

this guide could be shortened and that other very effective products

could be mentioned, but I don’t know about them and can’t shorten it

with my current knowledge. I wish and I could have found a

step-by-step guide, even if flawed, three months ago when we first got

this problem—so I offer this one to help anyone it can.

Step 1 - Place Internet Orders for Long Term Relief

It will take you about a week to receive all of the products you

need to fight the bugs, so your first step should be to order the

products. We have tried many options recommended by others and ones we

thought of on our own. These are the products that have produced the

best results, most of which are not commonly available and need to be

ordered. I have broken these products down into two categories -

products to fix the problem in your house / car / workplace, and

products to help the problem on your skin.

Products to Clean Your Environment - You should

order ALL of these products, they are all important, so don’t skip any

of them just because they seem unfamiliar right now. Feel free to shop

around to get the best price.

Diatomaceous Earth - DE is the fossilized remains

of single cell diatoms. Diatoms look like a knife blade under the

microscope, and they act like crushed glass to insects causing rapid

dehydration. There are two kinds, amorphous (food grade) and

crystalline. The crystalline type is made by subjecting the DE to heat,

which changes the structure of the amorphous silica into crystalline

silica. Crystalline DE is useful for filtering applications (pools,

labs, etc) however it can cause silicosis if inhaled, and is

ineffective against insects. You will want the amorphous silica food

grade DE, which you will almost certainly need to order.Prices for

food-grade DE vary dramatically. If you buy it in gel-caps as a

supplement it will cost you $200/lb, however if you buy it in bulk you

can get it for less then $1/lb. We bought a 50 lb bag for under $50

from Wolf Creek Ranch, however you can get smaller quantities for a reasonable price from Yardiac Garden Center.You

will need about 1 lb to dust a 1500 sq ft house and 2-3 lbs for

personal use (in shoes, on your bed, etc). This will get you about 1-2

weeks of treatment. We have used about 15 lbs since we got the stuff.

We found out about this product from an out-of-town exterminator friend.Pyrethrum Powder - If you read much about this

problem you will hear repeatedly that pyrethroids are ineffective

against these mites. This is partially true in that a pyrethroid alone

will almost certainly not work, however we had good success using it in

combination with DE. I think that these insects quickly become immune

to pyrethroids, so you will want to use the powder the right way so

that you get rid of them the first time.I tried a synthetic pyrethroid

(cypermethrin) in our cars (with a fogger) and it made a big difference

the first time (not a total fix, but it helped a lot), however within a

week they were back stronger then ever and additional uses of the

fogger didn’t seem to do anything at all.The option I would use if I

did it over again would be to purchase pyrethrum powder

(shop around, this is just an example). What we did use was a dog flea

powder (0.5% permethrin) that we bought locally for a very expensive

price ($5 / 4 oz).Mix the pyrethrum powder and DE 25% / 75% and dust

your house everywhere - electrical outlets, baseboards, shelves,

decorations, curtains, etc. To do this dusting you will want a rose

duster.We found out about this product from our exterminator friend as

well.Rose Duster - A rose duster lets you quickly and

effectively dust powder all over your home. If you don’t have one you

can fill a sock with powder and hit it against your hand to create a

dust. This is works about as well as a teaspoon works to replace a

backhoe. I’d really recommend getting a duster, it will save you much

work. The duster we bought was on sale at Tractor Supply Company, it is a Hudson.

I’d shop around though as it recently started acting up with no obvious

way to repair it.You will want to use the duster to place a fine layer

of dust (not so heavy that it is clearly visible) over everything.

g is an art, so practice for a little bit before launching into

it. DE will probably cause problems with your vacuum if you have one

with the brain-dead design that pulls everything through the impeller.

Ours is a Hoover WindTunnel that filters the dirt before it reaches the

impeller and it does fine as long as we change the bag frequently.

Don’t overdo it with DE. A little will go a long way when it comes to

dusting the house. Later additon: It is possible that

you may not even need to use DE to dust your home. We have come to

believe the other products are effective enough to work without it.

However as a treatment for shoes and in socks before things get better,

as well as in use on the skin, DE is still indispensable.Nylar - This product made a big difference for us.

Nylar is an insect growth regulator that mimics a hormone insects make

when they molt. By interfering with this process the insects end up

like Pan, unable to grow up and thus unable to reproduce. We used

s

brand and had fantastic results. In fact, we were nearly rid of them

until we got something out that we had not washed effectively; it was

clearly still infested and they came back, though on a much smaller

scale than before. The Nylar came to the rescue again because they have

been gradually decreasing with hardly any work on our part (just a

little vacuuming and dusting with DE).Nylar does not kill the buggers,

so you must use something else to actually bring relief. Nylar will

keep them from coming back in force after you use other products

against them. This is a somewhat uncommon pesticide for home use and

you probably won’t find it at your local garden center, though an

agricultural supply shop might have it. We found out about this product

from a coworker who had used it for fleas.Menthol Crystals & Diffuser - Menthol

is used against mites by beekeepers, and some people who have gotten

rid of these things claim that this is the key. We just found out about

it and started using it on our latest flare-up (caused by re-infesting

ourselves) and it made a very noticible difference within hours of

starting it. You just put the crystals (a concentrated derivitive of

peppermint) on a diffuser (a small heater), or on a piece of paper on a

cup warmer (like the kind used to keep a coffee mug warm), and let them

melt and then evaporate into the air. The resulting odor will give you

the clearest sinuses you’ve ever had and hopefully dehydrate the

insects. It smell like Vicks VaporRub (which incidentally, is said to

be a good personal deterent to help you sleep).You can get a pound of crystals

for about $30, and the site also sells diffusers (though their model

doesn’t put out nearly as much vapor as our cup warmer does, I’d get a

couple of these so you can do multiple rooms at once). This is the

product you are most likely to skip because it seems unfamiliar and

odd. Don’t. Save yourself the headache of living with the problem for

longer then you have to by addressing it right away on multiple fronts.

We found out about this from Jo at the Finding1Cure group. Later addition:

Menthol crystals are the absolute best thing we’ve found for treating

your car. Put them under the heaters and they’ll melt when the car is

running. Or get an aromatherapy diffuser

for use with a tea light, add the menthol crystals, and leave it in the

car for a couple hours. Menthol doesn’t work overnight. But if you use

it everyday for a week, the results are tremendous.XTREME Cleen

- This is a carpet and laundry cleaner from a company called

DermaTechRx. I can’t vouch for the company, but I can tell you that

this product makes a world of difference. We injection cleaned our

carpets and cars (using a rented Rug Doctor, which despite its name

does not heat the water at all and never uses steam) and wow, what a

difference. The biting came to an end, and thanks to the Nylar didn’t

come back (until our re-infestation). We use Ammonia and Borax (1 cup

and 1/2 cup per load) for our laundry every day, but we use this once a

week to ensure that everything is completely clean.This company sells a

lot of stuff, we tried a bunch of it and only found two of them to be

really effective, this is one of the effective ones. You get 1/2 gallon

for $70.TKO Cleaner (later addition - this stuff is awesome) - We buy it here.

It is such a versatile, good cleaner that we continued to use it long

after the bugs were gone for all our general cleaning at home.

Products to Clean Your Skin - One of the hardest

parts in the early days of this infestation was that no matter how much

we showered we would feel biting and crawling just after getting out.

Washing didn’t seem to help much even though we were taking three or

more showers a day. Here are products we have found to be helpful with

this problem. There are no magic bullets here, just products that help.

You can expect to get out of the shower and feel clean and bite /

crawling free for a while when using these products. These are products

you will need to order, I will cover products you can buy locally later

on.This is the far harder of the two stages, and I’m not going to go

into too much detail. Hopefully if you act quickly the things suggested

below combined with treating your environment may take care of the

problem. If not, you may want to consider joining the group

Finding1Cure to explore the many options for treating the skin

problems. You’ll have to weed through a lot, much of which may not

apply to your situation, but you may find something truly helpful.

Rejuvinating Body Wash - This is the other product

from DermaTechRx that we found helpful (we ordered a big ‘pack’ of

stuff and only two of them stood out as being particularly effective).

It is a solution of benzalkonium chloride

(a common and very safe bactricide). There is probably a cheaper

alternative somewhere (the company seems to target people with this

problem, selling products with common ingredients for much more then

the normal price), but this was what we found early on and it helps.

You can get it here

at 1 gallon for $120. You may wish to skip this one as Selsun Blue is

only $90 per gallon and seems to be equally effective, though

smellier.We found out about this product through a web search.Kleen Free - An enzyme cleaner that is sold for this problem.

We tried using it on our house and it wasn’t very effective at getting

rid of the bugs in our environment, however it has been a nice relief

for bathing and spraying down our bodies. In fact, we still use this

nearly every day after getting out of the shower or when we start to

feel the crawling sensation. We keep a spray bottle of 8 to 1 dilution

(water to cleaner) to apply and then let it air-dry on our skin. It

works very nicely for this. Also, bathing in it brings a lot of relief,

however it is quite costly and at one cup per bath is a very expensive

way to treat yourself. One thing we notice, you must use a high enough

concentration - 12 to 1 doesn’t seem to do anything, but 8 to 1 works

well.As a cleaner, the stuff is amazing, you can spray it on a coffee

stain (fresh) and watch the stain melt away right before your eyes. We

love it.We recently found a product called Bug-Arrest that sounds

almost identical in concentration but is about 1/2 the price. We are

going to try it and see how it goes. Later addition: for our results,

see The Great Enzyme Cleaner Shootout.

Step 2 - Buy Products Locally for Immediate Relief

A week never seems so long as when you are getting no sleep because

of the incessant biting and crawling these things cause. Here is how

you can get by between now and when the products you ordered (you did

order all of them right? Yes they cost a fortune, but you will easily

spend $5k on this if it gets out of hand, so try and move quick to save

yourself money). Here is what you need:

Ammonia - Find it at your grocery store or

hardware store for $3 / gallon. You will want to immediately wash all

of your clothes and bedding in this and borox. Use between 1 to 1-1/2

cups per load.Borox - At first I had some trouble locating this

because it is often located in an obscure spot on grocery shelves. Dial

makes the ‘20 Mule Team’ brand which is what we used. It is sold as a

laundry booster, use between 1/2 to 1 cup per load.Denorex - This is an anti-dandruff shampoo that has coal tar in it. It will help greatly with the crawling sensation.Nizoral - Another dandruff shampoo. This one is very helpful and has no menthol.Selsun Blue - Another anti-dandruff shampoo.

Alternate using this and the Denorex or Nizoral to wash your whole

body. Choose the menthol version if possible, menthol seems to be an

effective repellent. But, be warned, it will make you cold.Tea Tree Oil - You can find this at a health food

store. When you get the DE you can mix this, DE, and water into a mud

paste and apply it to your whole body. has written a post about this.Biokleen Bac-Out - an enzyme cleaner that you can

find at health food stores, you use it like Kleen Free, except it has

already been diluted and includes surfactants that make it soap up

inconveniently. This is very expensive, but it will tide you over until

the Kleen Free arrives.Vacuum Bags - Buy a lot of them and vacuum every day, at least once, sometimes twice, and throw out the bag every time.Bleach - Wash all hard surfaces with a strong (I

used 20%) bleach / water solution (test to make sure the surface can

handle it) every day until you can treat with the DE and nylar. Do not

mix bleach and ammonia, it will produce a toxic gas.Boric Acid - Sprinkle on your carpets between

vacuuming while waiting for the other stuff to arrive. You can find

this at hardware stores or other places where pesticides are found.Bouce Fabric Sheets - Use in your dryer to repel

them from your clothes. You can place these in your shoes, in your coat

sleeves, on the floorboard of your car, in between your sheets,

anywhere you want to keep the insects away. Bounce seems to

particularly repel them.Spray Bottles - Get a lot of them, you will use them non-stop.Garden Sprayers - I’d get two of the 1/2 gallon

pump style handheld models (not the wand kind, they are bigger then you

need). These are sold at Wal-Mart in the garden center for about $6.70% Alcohol - use to treat areas with crawling sensations.Vicks Vapor Rub - use to keep the bugs off you at nightPainter Drop Sheet Plastic - use to wrap bedsBig and Medium Garbage Bags - use to wrap car seats and to store clothing during the cleaning processPlastic (Foam) Flip-Flops / Shoes for Everyone in the Family

- Never walk barefoot or sock-footed in your house until the problem is

gone. This will make a big difference so it is best to invest in

footwear you can use around the house and just out of the shower. It

seems like they stick to your shoes and get tracked to new locations,

so spray down the bottom of your shoes with the ammonia solution before

going places. Crocs or a knock-off of the brand are a great choice.Keep The Humidity In Your Home Low - We noticed

horrible problems when we tried using a humidifier, things got better

when we lowered the humidity. Keep the humidity low while you wait for

your products.

Step 3 - Start Cleaning Your Home (with the temporary products)

So you have the tools and products to address your problem. Here is what you need to do:

Wash all (I mean all) of your non-dry-clean clothing, home fabric

decorations, pillows, etc in ammonia and borox. This will be a huge

job, and we handled it by putting most of our clothes and decorative

curtains and such in storage. You should put your dry-clean clothing in

storage as well (seal in trash bags and put in a garage or rented

outdoor facility - we rented a facility). Anything you will keep in

your house that is fabric should get washed. You may want to remove the

newly washed curtains, etc. and wait until you have the house treated

before bringing these items back in.Wrap your bed in plastic. I recommend the 6mm painters drop sheets

sold at Wal-Mart or Home Depot. Use duct tape to seal it shut, do this

for both the top and bottom sections.Put your pillows in plastic trash bags, push the air out, and seal them. Do this after washing them if possible.Vacuum very thoroughly. Get everywhere, especially at the baseboards and then throw out the bagWash all hard surfaces with a strong bleach solution. Test to make sure it won’t ruin the surface before using.Now take a shower and wash all over with Denorex / Selsun Blue. Let it sit on your skin for a while (2 min?) before rinsing.Spray your newly wrapped bed and pillows down with a 25% ammonia /

water solution or with TKO solution and let air dry, then make your bed

with your newly washed sheets and blanket. You will need to wash your

sheets and blankets every day and spray down your beds and pillows

every day.Put Bounce fabric sheets in your bed to keep the mites out while you shower.Rub yourself with Vicks Vapor rub to keep the bugs away at night.

Be exceptionally careful about going from the shower to the bedroom,

wear flip-flops (sterilized with a ammonia spray or TKO before use) and

get into bed without touching the floor. This should provide you with a

pretty good nights sleep until your products arrive.

Step 4 - Clean Your Home And Treat It For Bugs

So now you have all the products I recommended and are completely

bewildered by the array of boxes and not-very-helpful labeling on the

products. This is the order and steps I would take to clean my house if

I had to start over again.

You have bagged and stored all of the cloth in your house right? If

not, do that now. Your closets should be mostly empty and all clothing,

decorative pillows and throws, curtains, etc bagged and stored out of

your house.Get out the menthol crystals and the diffusers (or cup warmers) and

put them in your worst rooms. I’d recommend putting them in the

bedrooms to start. Rotate them daily throughout your house.Rent a Rug Doctor (or other

injection-extraction carpet cleaner). I wrote to the company and

confirmed that the machine does not heat the cleaning solution. This is

important because the Xtreem Cleen can create toxic fumes in warm water

so you want to mix it with cold water as the packaging suggests.Vacuum,

then clean all of your carpets and allow some ‘overspray’ on your

baseboards and junctions with hard floors. Use the machine to clean

your fabric furniture and your beds (you will need to unwrap them and

throw out the plastic). Allow this to dry (you will probably want to

send your family out of the house for the day during this procedure,

perhaps even stay at a hotel).Vacuum then clean the upholstry, carpets,

headliner, and trunk of all your vehicles. Allow this to dry.Wash your hard flooring with a strong bleach solution (I used 20%

Chlorox to water, but can’t take responsibility if this causes problems

for you). Allow this to dry as well before applying anything else.Spray down your leather furniture with a 25% ammonia / water

solution or with TKO. Check an inconspicuous area first to make sure it

won’t damage it, I didn’t have any problems, but your mileage may vary.

There is something called TKO Cleaner that is highly recommended by

others and can also be used on dry-clean items. Though we originally

used ammonia, once we tried TKO, we liked it so much better, we

switched to it entirely. You can use it in your laundry. And you can

use it in spray solution with about 2 tablespoons of TKO per large

spray bottle.If your computer keyboard, workspace and mouse can handle it you

should spritz it with the ammonia or TKO solution. I had an Apple

keyboard with seemed designed to channel even the smallest liquid

directly to its most sensitive area. If you have one of those keyboards

it would be a bad idea. My current $8 keyboard (from newegg) handled

being spritzed multiple times with nary a hiccup. My laptop did fine

with it as well, though again, use your judgement since it could end up

as a costly mistake.Mix the Nylar (if you use the ’s IG Regulator) at a ratio of

1/2oz to 1/2 gallon into one of the 1/2 gallon sprayers. Evenly spray

your carpets, beds, furniture (all types), hard flooring, lower walls,

closet walls, electrical outlets, chairs and tables (undersides only),

and other cracks crevices and surfaces (I sprayed my computer bag and

even lightly spritzed my palm pilot). If you have a computer keyboard

that can tolerate it I would spray the Nylar on it as well. Don’t

forget to spray your cars. Allow the Nylar to completely dry.Mix the DE with the pyrethrum powder (75% DE, 25% PP) and put it in

the duster. Lightly dust all surfaces, bookcases, carpets, hard

flooring, chairs (undersides), tables (undersides & legs), computer

area, beds, closets, electrical outlets, etc.Wash all of your clothing (that you haven’t already washed) in the

Xtreem Cleen cleaner. I think the ammonia works well, but sometimes

I’ve wondered if a particular article of clothing was really clean.

I’ve never had even a doubt with the Xtreem Cleen, so I’d wash

everything in it at least once. Again, for dry-clean clothes you might

try TKO cleaner, I don’t have any experience with it thought.Rewrap your bed with new plastic. Slip a large (30 gallon) garbage

bag over the seatbacks of your car seats (cut a hole in the bottom for

the headrest). Place garbage bags on the seats of the car. This will

prevent you from re-infesting your car or vice-versa (you may be able

to skip this if you have leather seats). Spray the now-plastic seats

down with ammonia after each use.Clean your workplace. Otherwise you will re-infest yourself and be very misearable at work.

Step 5 - Clean Your Skin

There is far to much detail and information for this step to

possibly be included in this post. Please check out the group

finding1cure for more detailed information about the many options and

suggestions for this step. In the meantime, here are a few quick

recommendations of things we do to help us.

Take a bath in Kleen Free - This really helps with the crawling sensation.Spray down with a 8 to 1 mixture of water and Kleen Free when

needed throughout the day. Take a small spray bottle with you to work

and go into the restroom and spray down when needed.Dab yourself all over with tea-tree oil, this has helped some.Use Vick’s Vapor Rub on your body at night to keep the bugs awayPowder yourself with DE all over before bed at night. This is an alternative to using the mud rub.

Hopefully these tips will help someone. We hope this will make you much more comfortable quickly!

Later addition: Using these methods, we became free of the

mysterious bugs. We found that re-infesting ourselves through some

forgotten clothing not washed with the correct cleaner could happen

easily. But we now had the tools to treat these minor resurgences

quickly and easily before they had a chance to get out of hand.

Gradually things got better and better. We never went back to the

misery of what we had started with and had endured for over 2 and a

half months. We pray that others will have similar results.

This entry was posted

on Sunday, December 10th, 2006 at 4:53 pm and is filed under Biting Mites? Our Bug Experience.

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80 Responses to “Help! I’m Being Bit By Something I Can’t See! What do I do?â€

Ivorymist Says:

December 10th, 2006 at 11:53 pm

….thank

you so much…you organized it so well…with so much good information…I

had written earlier …so I have been coming to your site

everyday. You probably don’t know how often I have thought of your

family…and your little girl…and hopefully you will soon have the

problem licked…if not, you certainly must have the cleanest house on

the block…I imagine the bugs are beginning to hate you…and so be it!

( says to try keep your sense of humor).

All the best to you and your family…and again, thank you for sharing!

Ivorymist

Larry Says:

December 13th, 2006 at 10:03 am

I

ran across this article and thought you might find it interesting.

Maybe this pertains and maybe it does not, but it might help.

God be with you,

Larry

icicle Says:

December 14th, 2006 at 8:57 am

Dear & ,

I have been following your story for months. I am the woman who

picked up something from that quilt in the vet’s office. I saw them, my

husband and friend saw them - they were like tiny, silk-like threads

racing through my hair - and then they were gone - with severe burning

and stinging above my ears and at my neckline and basically all over my

head. The second day they were in my pubic area. Now I’ve been ill

since 10 /30, lost 10+ lbs. I thank you so much for this list you put

together. It is overwhelming, but I know I need to do this. I work

full-time, have an aging dog, and it just seems overwhelming to do all

this but I will. Mind you - we stripped the house two times before

(with KleenFree). Your approach is more systematic and I hope we have a

chance. I took Jo’s (and Penny’s) advice from finding1cure (thank you

for leading me there) and am using tons of essential oils in my baths.

I went through your thorough list and ordered the remaining items we

need. I have DE, silver, copper, sulfer, liquid minerals, menthol

crystals, TKO already ordered. Thank you again and many blessings to

you and your family.

shanlilac Says:

December 16th, 2006 at 10:44 am

Ivorymist,

your comment about the cleanest house on the block made us smile -

that’s something we’ve often joked about with each other. I used to

find cleaning the tub a chore, but sometime into all this, I realized

that because we took so many baths in it with enzyme cleaner, our

bathtub sparkled and looked spotless everyday:) That lasted until we

tried herbal tea baths; unfortutely tea stains it temporarily and it

doesn’t sparkle then. Thank you for thinking of our family - I really

appreciate that!

Larry, I started on reading the article at the link you emailed and will read more as I get time. There was a lot there!

Icicle, when I read what you said it made my eyes teary; partly

because I sympathize with you so much, partly because I was so glad we

could help in some way, and partly because I so hope the things you are

trying will work for you. Please keep sharing how things go!

Alejandra Jimenez Says:

December 19th, 2006 at 4:36 am

,

I am so glad I have found your site. We have the biting mites ever

since we remove boxex from a storage unit we have had for months. It’s

been a nightmare ever since. Almost 2 months. We have been using the

kleen-free product and have been steaming cleaning but of course it

hasn’t been enough. We have had 6 good nights of sleep for the past 3

weeks tough. It is 4.20 am and I have been searching since 11 pm, I am

going to end my search here for today after finding your site and

tomorrow will try everything you have done that I haven’t tried yet. I

wish I could talk to you and I feel relief and hopeful that we will win

this fight. God we have 2 year old. I am so worry about all the trauma

he has gone through. Please let me know how the heartland product work

for you. I order a galon hoping that is a cheaper but as good as

kleen-free. I have basically just done kleen-free and steam cleaning.

Tonight I ordered a dehumidifier and a reader to make sure I keep the

levels under 40%. Thanks again for taking the time to post all that has

worked for you. I have a couple questions about the products and

powders you have used, Iam afraid some of them might not be saved to

use around toddlers. I am so tired at this point I can barely think

straight.

Alejandra Jimenez Says:

December 19th, 2006 at 5:46 am

Hello

there, I have ordered everything you mentioned but the xtreme-cleen.

Just wanted to let you know that I ordered the 50lb bag for food-graded

DE through Wolf Creek Ranch and they charged me 45.00 for shipping

only!!! The xtreme-cleen shipping from

(http://shop.qbased.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD & ProdID=124)

is under 20.00. I want to save others the over charges from wolf creek.

Thanks for all the links. I am looking forward to trying all the products.

Alejandra Jimenez Says:

December 19th, 2006 at 6:17 am

I am still going through your pages and have a couple questions, I

couldn’t find the TKO cleaner to dry-clean clothes??? Please help. I

just read that you have a daughter is she still a toddler? If she is, I

am sure you must have checked that the DE and pyrethum powder were okay

to use around toddlers. I will of course double check myself and do

more research as soon as I get some sleep but thought you might know

and let me know. Thanks a lot, I love your site! Alejandra

shanlilac Says:

December 19th, 2006 at 12:30 pm

Alejandra,

I am truly thankful our site has been a help and very sorry for what

you are going through. It is scary and overwhelming. I’ll try to answer

your questions as best I can:

You can find the TKO cleaner over here.

About Wolf Creek Ranch, I am sorry we did not mention the shipping

was high for the DE. We felt that the price for buying 50 pounds at

Wolf Creek Ranch was so much more affordable than buying a smaller

amount like 11 pounds at another place. Even though you would pay less,

you would get a lot less. And if there’s one thing we’ve found we need

a lot of, it’s diatomaceous earth.

In the end, with shipping included, $90 or so for the 50 pounds of

DE works out to far less per pound than DE at the other sites we had

looked at. Also, gives excellent customer service and will email

you personally with her ideas about getting through this problem. But I

understand your frustration and wish we had mentioned the shipping cost.

About your toddler, trying to make decisions based on what will be

safe for our little one has weighed heavily on my mind throughout this

ordeal. Our personal conclusion was that the Pyrmethrin powder/DE combo

is relatively safe. There are stronger things out there that we might

have used, but we did not consider them safe for regular use.

In my husband’s words: “Permethrin is either a naturally derived or

synthetically reproduced chemical from the chrysanthemum plant. It

works by keeping the sodium channel in nerves from clearing quickly;

this makes them stop working. The effect is temporary and it requires a

large amount to even produce a noticeable effect in humans or animals.

At a large dosage the effects gradually appear, starting with temporary

paralysis of the facial muscles. It is metabolized quickly and the

effects wear off rapidly.

“Of course this is for much, much larger doses then you could apply

to your home. Human volunteers have actually taken it so they could be

observed, that’s how we know this information. For insects, with their

very small bodies the effect is to shut down their central nervous

system, then metabolism stops and since the permethrin isn’t being

removed by the insects metabolism the nervous system never restarts.

“Sometimes permethrin is combined with another chemical (I try and

spell it here - Pep*** Butoxide) that prevents metabolizing the

permethrin, allowing even much smaller amounts to be fatal to insects.

I’m fairly comfortable with either one, but if you wanted to be more

‘natural’ you could avoid the synthetic perithroids and use a naturally

derived one like the one we linked to in the post. The fact that

permethrins are such a mild insecticide is the reason they are only

partially effective.â€

(I had my husband write that part because I could never get that technical☺)

Before we learned how to dust with DE, our exterminator did treat

with fairly heavy-duty pesticides while we were away from the

apartment, but he said they would dissipate into the air and not leave

a residue. That treatment did not work particularly well for us,

however, so I don’t know that it was worth it. And I don’t know how

safe it was or wasn’t.

But I feel comfortable with using the DE and small amount of

permethrin powder with a toddler in the house. I wouldn’t have in the

past before we had this problem, but things changed for me when I

realized how awful this problem was going to be.

My husband also spent a long time looking into how safe Nylar was to

use and his conclusion was that it was safe. There were dire warnings

on the packaging, but they were the generic ones that exactly match

those used for an unknown substance. In other words, there’s no

definitive human data for it.

However, as he recalls, animal studies, specifically rats, showed

little to no effects. Also when used as directed, you spray it and

allow to dry before coming into contact with it, so it should be even

safer that way than the way it was used (as liquid) in the rat

experiments.

I hope we are right on this because I would never want to mislead

anyone. Nylar is an artificial insect hormone that does not even kill

insects, just keeps them from growing up. I asked my husband how we can

know that this hormone would not effect the human body in some negative

way and he said that’s something we really can’t know for sure. But

insects are much smaller and a relatively low dose does the job for

them. We think this means our exposure to the hormone is in minute

quantities for our body size (even for children).

About the Heartland enzyme product, Bug Arrest, we think it works as

well as Kleen Free, but we have only had it a short time compared to

the long time we used Kleen Free, and would want to use it longer

before saying for certain. So far I’ve definately been happy with Bug

Arrest, though.

I hope we’ve answered your questions. I’m glad you asked them;

others will probably have these same questions and now, to the best of

our ability they will be answered for others, as well.

We only wish we knew more; this is such a hard thing to go through.

Many times I have prayed for a simpler solution, one that wouldn’t

involve having to spend so much money and research so many things.

Sincerely,

Alejandra Jimenez Says:

December 28th, 2006 at 1:24 pm

Dear ,

I hope you holiday season is going well and bug free!

As I mentioned in my email I had tried to post a reply before but my

laptop battery died on me. Thanks for your long and detailed response.

I have received almost all the products but I am still waiting for the

Nylar. I think this is one of the most important ones. Anyhow, I have

started cleaning with ammonia, clorox and bleach, powedered with the DE

and the other powder. I easily spent 4 hours a day doing that. As you

said, it would be nice to avoid using all these chemicals with a

toddler in the house but these bugs need more than steam cleaning and

kleen free to be killed. I have packed our clothes in bags and storage

boxes away but today decided to givethe “space-bags†a tried. You suck

the air out of them and the bag with your stuff becomes really small.

They claim that mites can’t get in there. I am running out of time

again. Thank you so much for all your help.

Alejandra Jimenez Says:

December 29th, 2006 at 10:56 am

Dear ,

I just learned that my menthol crystals order is being delayed b/c

they are out. I did a search and I got a lot of options from India! Do

you have any other online source that I can use?

Thanks a million.

p.s. My Nylar is on the way now but they were also out .

Despite all the above and the shipping delays our environment at home keeps improving thanks to your tips!

Alejandra

Alejandra Jimenez Says:

December 29th, 2006 at 11:12 am

,

Never mind. I just bought 5 pounds for 131.00 at steamsaunabath.com.

Happy New Year! Alejandra

Shanspirations » Get Bugs Out of Your Stuff in Storage Says:

January 5th, 2007 at 6:45 pm

[...]

A quick addition to the procedure for getting rid of bugs that we gave

in Help! I’m Being Bit by Something I Can’t See! What do I do? - if you

find yourself putting your things in storage because of a bug problem

you can’t get rid of, consider putting mothballs (the new kind) in all

of your clothing bags and boxes. These are effective against these

invisible biting bugs and can rid your stored stuff of the bugs while

you work on your house or apartment. [...]

Shanspirations » Creating New Language of Necessity—and an Update Says:

January 10th, 2007 at 12:37 am

[...]

At this point we are not feeling the sensations of the bugs biting us

anymore. We think that the plan we shared in an earlier post has really

been effective for us. [...]

shanlilac Says:

January 10th, 2007 at 12:50 am

My

husband didn’t recommend a particular rose duster in our post because

the one we had wasn’t the greatest. But we have since purchased a new

one and it is awesome. It works incredibly well. It is the Mizer

and we purchased it at this link:

http://www.biconet.com/tools/dm.html

Service from the company was good and the product is way better than

our original duster. I hope this makes it easier if you’re thinking of

getting one.

makarios79 Says:

January 12th, 2007 at 12:54 pm

I

just moved into a new apt 2 days ago and seem to be having the

invisible bug biting problem as well. I’m glad I’ve found this site,

but also a little concerned as well. I wish I could afford all the

items listed to get rid of the bugs, but there is NO WAY I can…When I

sawe the prices for some of the items listed… I was like Whoa….Are

there any less expensive options that would still be effective?

Help Itching in Florida

Says:

January 12th, 2007 at 2:50 pm

Makarios79,

Hmm… assuming you have the same thing we have (hard to tell before

you treat, there are several easier-to-fix possibilities that might

succumb quickly) I’d strongly encourage you to invest in fixing the

problem very aggressively right away, we have been dealing with the

after-effects for nearly four months at an expense of several thousand

dollars - effects which include some kind of infection that we have not

yet been able to treat effectively. I doubt we will escape from this

without spending less then $10k, so please understand that the stakes

are very high and these critters are not something you want to take a

chance on.

If you are going to take the risk anyway here is my advice:

If you haven’t unpacked yet, don’t. In fact, I’d recommend buying

several boxes of mothballs (the ones with paradichlorobenzene, not

naphthalene) and putting them in each of your boxes or bags of things,

sealing the containers with duct tape, and waiting until you can treat

the rest of the apartment (estimate cost $30).

Purchase the following items online

1 - ’s I.G. Regulator Nylar (est $7)

2 - Diatomaceous Earth from Yardic (at least 4lbs - est $14)

3 - BioNeem

- another pesticide that we discovered after we wrote this post. It

seems more effective then permethrin to kill the bugs, but doesn’t have

much of a residual kill factor (even though it says it should). (est

$15)

4 - A Mizer

This is a fabulous duster, I can’t say enough good about how well it

works. You will want this one. No need to get the deflector, purchase

at the same time as the BioNeem to save on shipping.

Purchase the following items locally (Wal-Mart or other)

1 - Sergeant’s Gold Flea & Tick Carpet Powder (includes linalool, piperonyl butoxide, pyrethrins, and nylar) (est $7)

2 - Ammonia 1 gal ($3)

3 - Borox ($5)

4 - Several spray bottles ($10)

So, total cost of the above items: about $140 after shipping. I really wouldn’t try to go any cheaper then this.

How to use:

1-Vacuum everywhere twice then toss the bag. Clean all hard surfaces with a strong bleach solution.

2-Spray your apartment, car, and anywhere you have spent much time

since being in the aparment thoroughly with the BioNeem. Get

everywhere, walls, ceiling, crevices, and lots on the carpet (don’t

forget to treat your vacuum). Wait to dry.

3-Spray the same places, with the same thoroughness, using Nylar. Wait to dry.

4-Mix the DE and the flea powder at about a 50/50 mix, put in the

Mizer and blow it all over the floors, walls, crevices, and

carpet in your apartment and cars.

4-Wash anything you have worn since you have been in the apartment in

borox and ammonia. Spray your shoes with BioNeem (inside and out). Use

a spray bottle with ammonia to spray off the soles of your shoes

whenever you leave the apartment (to keep from spreading the problem).

Once again, I can’t really recomend skipping so many steps since the

risk is so high, but here is a ‘lite’ version of the protocol to use if

you want.

Murray Says:

January 19th, 2007 at 2:35 pm

Hi ,

I came across your site while researching bites insects. I am in a

strange situations, because I have long thought that something might be

biting me, even though I am not experiencing biting sensations as you

describe them, and no one else in the house is affected. I am however

seeing small red bumps on my skin in varying locations. I was wondering

how the bites presented themselves initially in your case, and also on

your toddler, as we have a 5 month old, and I wanted to know what to

look for in his case?

I just wanted you to know that I say a prayer for you and your family every day,

Murray.

Shanlilac Says:

January 23rd, 2007 at 3:13 pm

Murray,

Thanks for praying for us. To think you would pray for us each day touches and encourages me.

As for how the bites started out, when we got them, it was a huge

infestation all at once, an overnight type of thing. In our case it was

unmistakable.

However, I think it would be very possible to have picked up these

bugs (and I still don’t know what they are) somewhere and have brought

home just a few of them. You might be more sensitive to feeling the

bites than others in your family. Or it might be that they are more

attracted to you. I don’t know.

The physical symptoms we noticed at the onset were tiny little

pinprick size red dots all over our bodies. Then after a week or so, we

began to also have some larger bumps that looked kind of like a

mosquito bite does. There were fewer of these second type of marks and

they took longer to go away.

I think that after a while our bodies had less of an immune response

to getting bit because after a while the pinprick dot bite marks got

less and less noticable even though we were still getting bit. We still

saw them, but they were far less prominent.

On our little daughter, symptoms were exactly the same. Because our

infestation was so terrible, we got bit all through the night, and we

would hear our child moaning in her sleep as they bit her (she had

always been a great sleeper before this). When we got rid of the bugs,

she stopped moaning in her sleep.

I hope this helps you,

Sincerely,

Mona Says:

February 11th, 2007 at 12:28 am

and ,

Thank you and Bod bless you for giving your knowledge, time and love

for others in outlining a protocal for getting rid of these bugs. I am

very exhausted and alone, but I am trying to do all the things that you

suggested. I have an old 3 bedroom house with full basement and the

amount of work needed is overwhelming, but I am trusting God for the

strength I need. I am putting the products to use as soon as I get

them. I have a sprayer, DE, permethrin, clorox, tea tree oil,ammonia,

selsun blue,

vicks,kleen-free enzymes a rose duster on the way. My bed and pillows

are covered, I tore out the carpet and hauled it to the landfill and so

much other stuff.

Thank you for provding this site for exchange of information.

Praying for you and yours, I am so concerned about the chemicals, but I

guess there is not much choice if we are to get rid of these bugs.

and ,

What a wonderful ministry you have going by helping all you can and

standing in faith I am sorry for your situation and I am concerned

about your daughter and asked God to put a hedge of protection around

us all and an angel in front to mark our path and an angel behind to

guard our rear and protect from Satan’s evil forces.

Thanks for sharing all the information and protocols. My old house is

big with a full basement and I am exhausted like everyone else so it

seems so overwhelming. I will stand in faith and trust God for what I

need to get the job done.

Mona

Says:

March 1st, 2007 at 7:30 pm

Are there any other good forums or chats on the subject of mites , thanks

shanlilac Says:

March 2nd, 2007 at 2:16 pm

,

I am only familiar with finding1cure (a group) and

Lymebusters. Both of these seem focused on Morgellons, which at first I

thought was not related to me. But I soon realized that often people on

these sites discuss biting bugs. I realized that there was some

connection. The media makes it sound like Morgellons is mainly about

strange fibers that glow in the dark, but in reality, it seems to me

that the main thing people are saying they have is itching, biting,

lesions, and yes, some do have “fibers.â€

Some people get rid of the bugs and it all goes away. But some

either can’t get rid of the bugs or if they do, they now have physical

symptoms that they didn’t have before. I am in the category of having

some physical symptoms (open sores, and more) that I don’t know how to

get rid of now.

There is also a site called williamthegreat.com that discusses what

these bugs could be. The person who has that site posted on

finding1cure for a while. Don’t know if any of this is helpful or not,

but I hope it is.

Laureen Says:

March 16th, 2007 at 5:55 pm

Has

anyone tried Shaklee products on these biting bugs? Basic H used to be

great at safely killing bugs when we used it years ago. They also have

a basic G that is a germicidethat is suppose to be safer than bleach.

Anyone know if these have any effect?

shanlilac Says:

March 20th, 2007 at 7:35 am

Laureen,

I wish I knew, but I haven’t tried either of those products. I did

hear of a few people who have mentioned baths in Basic H as having been

something that helped them. I don’t think it was a cure, but was a

help. However, I don’t know any details.

If you learn more, I would like to know if these Shaklee products are helpful or not, too,

Terri Says:

March 27th, 2007 at 4:59 pm

I

too have been experiencing these biting bugs. Upon reading many website

entries I have found tried and tested many recommendations. Shackley

Basic H seems to work well as a daily repellant. I shower then apply it

diluted 1:3 all over my body. I let it stay on for about 1-2 minutes

then quickly rinse. This seems to give me relief especially at night

against the biting bugs. I also mop my floors and hard surfaces in it

2x per week. I have just tried some new products purchased at Whole

Foods called Thera Neem containing the oil NEEM. I use the shampoo,

conditioner,oil, and lotion. At night I lotion my complete body

(including pubic area) with the Thera Neem lotion mixed with natural

neem oil. It not only conditions my body but provides relief from the

biting bugs at night. Supposedly the neem is a natural parasite killer

but I have not been using it long enough to determine if it actually

has killed the bugs on my body or just repelled them. Either way, it

does provide relief without the harsh chemicals.

Ren Says:

April 6th, 2007 at 7:19 am

Dear and ,

Thank you for sharing your struggles and triumphs around these bugs.

I have been suffering for about six weeks now. Dermatologist just thought it was eczema which I have never suffered before.

The weird thing is that I am being eaten alive while my teenage

daughter is not bothered. Similarly, the young man downstairs had bites

all over which he thought were from spiders but his girlfriend was not

bothered. Just last week my doorbell rang and it was a young man who

had lived in the apartment three years ago. He saw my bites and said he

had suffered from them too. He then proceeded to describe exactly what

happens to me: occasional sharp biting sensations, then unbearable

itching which keeps you awake at night and miserable by day. Eventually

they resove into bites with “golden†craters in the center.

Usually they only bother me at home but yesterday when I was out, I

felt a sharp bite or pin prick on my left ankle. I felt for the source

and saw a very tiny black spot exactly where the biting sensation came

from. I dug it out with my fingernail immediately with the result that

this bite did not proceed to cause the cycle of itch and scratch and

itch somemore. I don’t know if what is “bugging†me and the people in

my house is the same as what has you suffering but I am going to try

out your solutions. Thank you and God Bless you. I will be praying for

your family.

shanlilac Says:

April 11th, 2007 at 9:04 am

Terri,

thanks for telling your experience with Basic H. I plan to try it.

Ren,

I have heard a lot of people say that one family member gets bit

while another doesn’t. It’s so strange! Some have proposed that those

with an overgrowth of yeast and bacteria in the body are more

attractive to these unidentified bugs. I don’t know, but we have found

an anti-candida diet to be helpful.

Wow, it sounds like the bugs were in your apartment before you lived

there. How long have you been there? Did the prior tenant tell you if

his problems completely resolved when he moved? At any rate, I hope

that our solutions work for you.

Thank you for praying for us and for sharing your experience.

Says:

May 23rd, 2007 at 6:28 am

,

Thanks for the wonderful information. I thought I was the only one with

bedbugs problems. I haven’t heard of anyone in our area with this

problem. I think we should write to our senators and representatives to

solve this problem. It is very costly and can cause secondary

infections. It can also hurt the economy. I plan on getting a camper

and no longer find going to a motel or hotel a good idea. I babysit my

grandson on my days off and am so worried he will be getting bit. My

husband hasn’t got bit but takes heart and diabetes drugs.

I signed on with a contract with Orkin but cancelled today. It has been

over a month and the bugs I had given them were “lost†and they thought

it was too soon to spray for bedbugs, they weren’t sure it was bedbugs.

But they aren’t getting bit! Iâ€m sure.

Sounds like this could work into a business for you. I noticed this

post was in December. Are you still having problems? I hope you are

well and bug free.

teresa

Says:

May 26th, 2007 at 2:35 pm

Yes Basic H and the Basic G are great at killing bugs from Dust mites to Wasps and bees.

At the same time safe for you family pets and enviro.

Shanlilac Says:

June 7th, 2007 at 8:47 am

,

Yes, we are bug-free. We praise God for it. Only He could have done it for us and we pray He does this for many more.

As for starting a business in this area, I probably won’t. I feel we

have more credibility because we aren’t making any money whatsoever

(and in fact, it costs money to have this site); occasionally I have

thought that maybe it would be a help to others if we did put all the

most helpful products together in a package and offer it on the site.

But I would need to know that this would be truly helpful in order to

do it.

Shanlilac Says:

June 7th, 2007 at 8:56 am

Here

is an excerpt of the testimony that Alejandra (who left several

comments above) shared with me and gave me permission to post. I was so

happy to learn of her sucess:

,

Your treatment works!

When I first found your site I had been battling the bugs with Kleen

Free and a steam cleaner. We had already bought the pillow and mattress

cases to contain the mites and we were able to sleep well some nights.

The rest of our house was still infested though.

Having to follow your recipe step by step was really hard as we live

in a small two bedroom, we tried though and were getting a lot of

relief. I must add though that it wasn’t until my son and I left on

vacation and my husband stayed home alone for a couple of weeks that

the bugs finally died. Maybe because of our toddler we were hesitant to

completely cover our apartment with the DE mix and everything else.

It was a long and hard battle. Endless hours of cleaning and rituals

to follow before going to bed. But it is finally over and even though

we still have clothing in bags we will continue to be very careful.

We are now bug free and still try to spray the growth regulator

every couple of weeks. I had skin problems for a little while including

the craters on my skin but that seems to be gone as well.

Finally I want to thank you for your unconditional support and all

the time you took to answer my questions and to confort me when I

needed it the most.

One of the hardest things to accept is the fact that people who have

not been infested with mites do not seem to understand what you are

going through no matter how many times you had explained it to them. It

is really discouraging and can make you feel so lonely in the battle.

Thanks for having this post and for helping people. I too, like many others, will keep praying for you.

candy Says:

June 20th, 2007 at 1:27 am

,

I am hoping against all hope that the things you have written will

help. Currently we havent seen our son for 3 months as he is having

this biting mite problem. He has tried alot of things—removed all

fabric items from his house, done countless loads of wash and packed

the clothes up in plastic bags, had Terminix out to put poison stuff in

the house, (they even left some pest monitors that were like 3X5 cards

with sticky stuff and found nothing under a microscope. He just ordered

the Kleen Free product and hope it works. Thank you so much for all

your wise words and for just being there. Is the Pyrethrum powder and

the Nylar available at garden centers or where? I did go to the website

for the rose duster so will order that for my son. This has been a

nightmare and being that my son is single he is having to deal with

this situation all alone. I think it is really affecting him and I will

be forever grateful for you help.

Thank you for your advice.

Sincerely, CANDY

Jeri Says:

June 20th, 2007 at 12:44 pm

Hi

there, just wanted to tell you all I have been battling the same type

of invisible biting mites ever since I purchased a lizard (it’s back at

Petco after my refund!) with white flecks on it that turned out to be

mite eggs. Anyhow, I have purchased Kleen-Free and spray it on my body

and that gives some relief. However, my house is still infested and my

husband is pretty reluctant to employ these techniques to rid them from

the house. Do they have a life cycle? Do they die naturally in x amount

of months?

shanlilac Says:

June 27th, 2007 at 3:26 pm

Dear Candy,

We have always ordered Nylar and Bioneem online. I feel for you

about your son; as a mom, you must feel so horrible watching him go

through this and feeling isolated from him. Please let us know if what

worked for us helps you.

shanlilac Says:

June 27th, 2007 at 3:40 pm

Jeri,

There’s so much I don’t know. We still don’t know what it was we

had. What I do know is that what we had defininately did not go away on

it’s own. I remember early on reading about bird mites, and based on

the common internet information, my husband and I said, “Well, if this

is what it is, it will go away in about three weeks on its own.â€

We still were determined to do everything we could to kill the bugs

because it was so awful, but we hoped for relief based on the life

cycle of the bugs. No such thing happened.

Later I spoke with a pest control operator from a company based in

another city in New York who told me that it is just not true that bird

mites can’t adapt to making humans their host. She said they can and do

when the situation is right. Based on her professional experience and

that of others in her company she was convinced of this.

We were speaking with this professional in regards to someone else

we knew at this point who needed help with an unidentified bug problem.

The PCO said to get rid of all fabric, have her company treat, and to

vacuum every day without missing a day for at least a month.

For the people with the problem, it turned out to be necessary that

they do more than just those things to eliminate the problem. Even with

the help of the pest control company they needed to follow many if not

most of the other things on our list to successfully get rid of the

bugs. But they did (except for the garage, which still remains a

problem). I hope this answers your question. I wish I knew more.

Don Lowrance Says:

July 6th, 2007 at 10:32 am

Hi,

I am a dentist and seem to have had these critters brought into our home. Read your pages with interest.

I am proceeding with several of your recommendations and checking to

see if you have any new updated advice (besides patience). Thanks for

your insightful comments.

Don Lowrance

kelly Says:

August 7th, 2007 at 2:52 pm

I

had found somewhere on you site a reference about using Bioneem. I

can’t find the section on what the ratios for mixing are? It doesnt say

on the bottle what to use inside a home. Thankyou so much for all of

the info you and your husband have given on your site. We are just

starting the fight against the little biting beasts, and I pray that we

can win! Thankyou

Kate Says:

September 13th, 2007 at 9:18 pm

Hi

— Thanks so much for your recommendations. I’m in the process of

collecting all the necessary products. Somehow we seemed to have

eradicated the bugs from our house (it was sprayed 4 times with

chemicals recommended in the birdmites.org site). Especially helpful

was treating and re-treating the mattresses (ugh - hate that they were

sprayed with insecticides). But that did seem to do the trick in the

house. (KNock on wood.)

But our remaining trouble is the car. We’ve sprayed it twice, bombed

it twice. They’re worse than ever. I will follow your protocol for the

car and hope it works. This is particularly painful for me because it’s

the only thing I own, and I really depend on it. I hate driving now. I

notice bites on areas of my body where the seat belt crosses it

(waist/armpits/shoulders).

I’m a single mom in central NJ with an 18-month-old. Sigh. He’s covered with bites.

We bathe in epsom salts every night. It doesn’t ALWAYS work, but it

seems like sometimes it does get rid of whatever bugs we’ve carried in

from the car.

Cloe Says:

October 3rd, 2007 at 12:06 am

Hi,

My husband and I just recently moved to Atlanta, Ga and we were

unfortunate enough to move into a temporary apt where there happened to

be a birds nest. We were there for only 2 nights. Anyway, we have a lot

of the same symptoms mentioned in this thread, especially the crawling

sensation. I was wondering though, since nobody has really mentioned

the scalp. What kind of things do you find in your scalp if you can

find anything at all? And how hard is it to diagnose a bird mite

infestation. We also think it might be candida and ofcourse I don’t

know for sure. I have yet to see a dermatologist but I am in fear that

they might never find this invisible bug, especially if it’s a bird

mite and we’ll be left in the dark forever. Have any of you actually

seen the bird mites on you anywhere, or on furniture? Or have any clue

as to what they might look like? I’ve read many sites on this matter

but I’m still quite confused about it all.

Chuck Busch Says:

October 28th, 2007 at 11:07 am

Another

company that has products that have been helpfull is SafeSolutions.com.

They produce an enzyme cleaner with Peppermint oils that has a pleasant

smell and makes a good spritz for spraying on the body. Also, they have

a shampoo called NotNicetoLice that is good for times when you just

want to take a quick shower.

Chuck

Says:

December 23rd, 2007 at 1:53 am

My

mom takes strauss heart drops and doesn’t get bit by fleas. It has a

lot of garlic and ceyene pepper. Maybe this can be taken for whatever

bug problem might be occuring. Hope this suggestion helps.

https://straussheartdrops.com/

Nick Says:

January 22nd, 2008 at 8:19 pm

Garlic

is an awesome thing to take for the body as well–it is the one of the

most powerful natural antibiotics. Taking garlic can cure a ton of

different things, its cool to see that it can be used for fleas as

well. I’ll need to start getting more garlic.

OnceBitten Says:

February 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm

Hi Folks -

Thanks so much for your detailed and inspiring story and information

on this! I am a New Yorker currently suffering from what looks to be a

biting mite infestations, and I started a blog about it here:

I took the liberty of linking to your site so that others might

have the benefit of your thorough research. Any further feedback you

might have is welcome as well, and I wish the best to all who are

struggling with this nasty situation.

Thanks!

OnceBitten Says:

February 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm

Whoops. Left out the actual link as I am not so savvy with the XHTML. Here it is in plain text:

http://bitingmites.blogspot.com/

shanlilac Says:

March 31st, 2008 at 5:40 pm

OnceBitten,

I’m glad you are making an effort to help others as you battle this

problem yourself. As I read your blog, I thought that it would be very

helpful to read the kind of detail you give if we were back in that

situation ourselves. I think your straightforward assessment of

day-to-day efforts is good. I wish you success.

Shanspirations » Blog Archive » Closing a Door on What Bugs Me Says:

April 2nd, 2008 at 2:07 pm

[...] Help! I’m Being Bit By Something I Can’t See! What do I do? [...]

Patti Says:

June 30th, 2008 at 9:43 am

Greetings

to all my fellow sufferers-in-itchiness. When I read Ren’s post, I was

amazed at how similar to mine. My battle began after I had what I

thought was a spider bite. It seemed very different from what I thought

a spider-bite would be in the sense that it didn’t want to heal. That

was right before FCAT (Florida’s state test) About a month after that

is when I began itching all over and began seeing more and more “spider

bitesâ€. Like Ren, I have seen the little black specks. Whenever I douse

myself with tea tree oil and olive oil mix, I can stand there and watch

and little black specks or little black short thread-like things appear

on my skin, as if out of nowhere. I always wash them off as they appear

or spray them with alcohol and then wash them off. I am intrigued by

the whole spider thing. One day I was getting ready to pull down a

towel to wash and I saw what appeared to be a white fuzz-ball on it.

But when I went to remove the fuzzball, it backed away from me. Upon

closer examination, it appeared to be a spider with what looked like

lots (more than

legs. I searched google images for spiders but didn’t find anything

resembling this one. Don’t know if there is a connection, but am

wondering if anyone else who is suffering in this way notices that the

bites always come in 2’s as if by a spider. Your friend, Patti

Patti Says:

July 5th, 2008 at 8:48 am

Do

you think Oxyclean Versatile laundry cleaner could replace the

ExtremeClean? Am running into the old financial crunch. Thanks. PPike

Betty Says:

August 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

,

Please describe your bites to me. My family is experiencing a

problem and have for 2 months. Dermatologists no help. My bites appear

different all over my body. Some like a pimple. Some no more than a red

dot under the skin, with not swelling at all. Others are large with

several nodules in a row. I don’t know what to make of it. The only

ones that itch are the ones that have bumps. I do experinece the

stingiing feeling, as well as the crawling feeling, but not at the bite

sites. I have searched in vain for photos that match my description,

but cannot find. The ones that perplex me the most are the tiny red

dots. The Derm called them teleangiactasias, though I do not believe

they are as they are occuring with a great frequency since the other

bites and sensations began. Any info you could share would be

appreciated.

BJ

Betty Says:

August 10th, 2008 at 6:08 pm

,

I read an earlier post that answered my question. However, I noticed

mention an infection that you cannot get rid of when he was

responding to the gentleman who moved into the apartment. Is that gone

or are you still dealing with that? Your remedy sounds so positive,

then I read about how you have no furniture and are dealing with

infection. How is life really? Do I have reason to hope my family will

live a normal life again?

Ray Says:

August 19th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

Hello,

. I have been dealing with bird mites for 6 weeks now. Symptoms

include crawling sensations, pin prick-like biting with some bumps

(some are mosquitoes-like bumps and others are clusters of tiny bumps).

I have been reading birdmites.org and cedarcide.com along with many

other websites, looking for the answer to get rid of this problem. So

far, we have powdered the mixture of DE and Boric acid throughout the

carpet, left it on there for 4 days (we were away on vacation), came

home and got the carpet steam cleaned professionally. That did not help

at all. We have purchased cedarcide products (BEST YET and PCO Choice)

and fogged the house 5 times so far, fogged the car more times than

that, treated the entire outside of the house including the walls of

the house and grass, concrete areas. Washed clothes with epsom salt and

detergent. They are still here. I am depressed. I have 4 yr old, 3 yr

old and 4 months old children. My husband is the least affected with

bird mites and therefore he is not that desperate, however he is tired

of seeing me crying and depressed all the time now and because of that

he has been willing to help. I have several questions and if you can

answer, I will greatly appreciate.

1. Crystal menthol that you mentioned-does it kill the mites or just repell them?

2. How much should I use it on the diffuser? And where can I find the

cup warmer that you used? I want to have the best fume possible.

3. I have read that 70% rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, oils (baby oil,

tea tree oil, neem oil, etc), epsom salt will kill the mites. Do you

know if they are true?

4. When you started the systematic treatment at your house, how long

did it take to completely eradicate the problem? How did you know that

you re-infested the house, rather than all the bugs were simply not

dead?

5. Does borax kill the mites?

6. How did you treat books, and paperworks such as important documents

that you cannot get rid of? I have several boxfull of important

documents, photo albums…etc. It will be difficult or almost impossible

to treat sheet (paper) by sheet (paper) or page by page of the books.

But mites could be there also.

7. When you spread the powders (DE and the other one) on the floor, did

your child run about the house? Is it safe? Can we sit on the furniture

with the powders on it?

8. How about Nylar? Is it safe, too?

9. I learned that mites are airborne and therefore we have to treat the

ceiling. But our ceiling is very high. How did you treat your ceiling?

10. I don’t remember if you mentioned computer key board and mouse. How

did you treat them. I can feel te mites crawling/biting as I am typing.

11. Most people with this problem feel the bugs at night, but I feel them all day, all night. How about you?

12. Wherever I go, they(bugs) are with me. Am I infesting the places that I go?

13. What did you use to bathe your child?

I am so sorry that I have so many questions. I have tried to get in

touch with an entomologist at local university, but he has not returned

my call. I have been seeking any help to get rid of the bug, but most

of them are either not willing or don’t know what we are dealing with.

I want my old life back. It sounds so difficult for me to do the

treatment alone like you did because my husband stays busy and I have

to do all by myself with three small kids with me.

dawson Says:

August 21st, 2008 at 11:52 am

Thank

you for creating this website for us “mite†sufferers. I have had

continual bites and the crawleez for aboutu two months now and your

site was the lynchpin for triangulating on what kills these pests. If

you follow the trail of the beekeepers and their woes, the cure is

definitely menthol. I am not trying to make light of other sufferers

with my ingredients but my infestation began when I, stupidly, decided

to cut the deep growth in the back of my yard dressed in shorts and a

tee shirt. Moreover, I didn’t take a shower for hours even though I

could feel the crawleez. Then two weeks later, I repeated the same

stupid thing. What I’m trying to say is that I infested my bed and a

few other places, while, I have read the bird’s or rat’s nest things in

the house. For those who have had shorter durations of infestation,

start thinking that you’re a live peppermint stick. Menthol is the key.

The reason why Selsun blue works is because it’s medicated or has

menthol as a property. I am going today to pick up a pound of menthol

crystals and a coffe mug warmer, Walgreens sells them for $4. A local

herb store has menthol crystals which I will buy a small lot because

they charge and then buy on-line from Oregon Organins, 1/2 lb for $13.

Okay, here’s the good stuff and available everywhere: there’s a product

that Chiropractor’s use for sore muscles, SOMBRA. Its active ingredient

is menthol at 6% (). You can buy SOMBRA from Massage Warehouse

(online) or call around to Chiropractors in your area - it’s like $12

for a 4oz jar and Massage warehouse sells an 8oz for the same money.

BIOFREEZE has the same menthol ingredient, 6%, and I believe you can

buy it at Walgreens.

Now for the good news. I awoke this morning at 3:30am with the

crawleez. Seems they start feasting from that time to about 5:00 am. I

started reading online boards connected with Bees and menthol and

remembered that I had some Sombra. I immediately lathered myself with

it. The product has some cayenne in it so don’t be alarmed that you

will be glowing. The cool thing is (no pun intended) that the itching

and crawling stopped within a minute. Sombra lasts about an hour but

the results are immediate. My red patches began to fade. I lathered up

again at 9:00 am, took a shower at 11:00 am, and then did a king

lather. I was glowing in mint.

From what I’ve read the menthol disturbs the nervous system of the

mite. Well, I can tell you when using SOMBRA and lathering it all over

my body, my nervous system also tingled for at least ten minutes -

REALLY TINGLED. Don’t be alarmed. This stuff is supposed to be used for

a sprain ankle not to douse oneself. The red patches are fading more.

I’m going to pick up those crystals. I’ll write a follow-up this

week-end. Thank you everyone for your time in writing about your pain.

But there is a cure.

shanlilac Says:

August 21st, 2008 at 12:42 pm

Patti,

I don’t know whether Oxyclean Versatile laundry cleaner could

replace the ExtremeClean or not, but it won’t hurt to try. However,

simple Borox is very inexpensive and it works very well. A cup or so of

Borox per load of wash along with a scoop of Biokleen allergen fighting

formula laundry detergent will do the trick.

Your symptoms are pretty different from what ours were, though, so I can only speak from our experience.

shanlilac Says:

August 21st, 2008 at 1:14 pm

Betty,

To answer your question, the skin infection did go away. It took

anti-fungal creams applied to the sores and going on a sugar free

(anti-yeast) diet for months. And I had to repeat the diet several

times because the skin sores would start coming back a week or two

after I stopped the diet. At this time however, I’m not eating very

healthy (unfortunately!) and do not have skin sores. I have been free

of the skin infection for a long time, but cannot remember exactly the

time frame for when it went away. (I also find it hard to even remember

all that we’ve written in the comments and elsewhere on the blog since

I’d rather put it out of mind.)

The reason we focused on sharing our answer for the “bugs†is

because that was the worst torment for us and that was what we were

blessed with a solution for. Most people don’t get a residual infection

like I did, and I can’t clearly explain it, so I did not address it.

I’m just thankful the sores are gone.

As for whether life will be normal again, maybe not. But if you go

through anything of the magnitude we did, then if your life gets to the

way ours is now, you will likely feel very thankful. We have even

introduced a love seat back into our home again:) But there are many

ways in which life will probably remain different. For example, I don’t

ever go into a thrift shop and try on clothes without washing in

special soap in the shower that night just in case. And I like to use

Borox in every wash load, too, as a protection. When I’m camping I

bring along a spray bottle of TKO cleaner and a spray bottle with water

and epsom salts to spray on our clothes and bedding. (there are many

bugs when you go camping most of the time!) I feel that bugs seem more

attracted to me now when I’m outside. There are many ways I’ve adjusted

and haven’t gone back to my old ways of thinking. But it is natural and

isn’t a great effort now. And I sleep well every night

I hope that helps and encourages you. It is understandable you’d be

worried and skeptical. When we were in worst of it I feared it would

never end. I would recommend being very thorough and thinking outside

the box as you deal with this problem. Your situation may be different

from mine, but always keep hope! Become an optimist as much as

possible. I’m not naturally a true optimist, but cultivating a

positive, faith-filled outlook really does help. If you can believe (I

know not everybody can since I once didn’t), focus on what is true,

that God is good even though really hard things happen.

shanlilac Says:

August 21st, 2008 at 2:14 pm

Ray,

I’ll try to answer your questions in order…(keep in mind, it was

nearly two years ago that we first faced our mites, so I forget things!)

1.) Menthol crystals don’t just repel but kill them over time as best we could tell. Consistency is important.

2.) Use as many menthol crystals as you want. As long as they melt

into a liquid, it will work. Our cup warmers weren’t special; any will

do. And you can melt the menthol in a pan on the stove if you need to.

3.) About using 70% rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, oils (baby oil,

tea tree oil, neem oil, etc), epsom salt to kill the mites, we tried

several, if not all of those at one time or another. It is hard to go

back and remember to what degree each worked. I recommend

experimenting.

But before you experiment, why not use some tried and true things

first? Borax, Borax, Borax! (for the laundry) For a car spray, use TKO

cleaner (and keep menthol crystals in the car as well). Also make a

solution of Epsom salts and water in a spray bottle. Spray bedding and

carpets and even your skin with that. But watch out using the Epsom

spray around metal since salt causes rust. For that reason I would

avoid it in the laundry, too.

4.) You asked: “When you started the systematic treatment at your

house, how long did it take to completely eradicate the problem? How

did you know that you re-infested the house, rather than all the bugs

were simply not dead?â€

Great question. We knew we re-infested because things had gotten

really good. We knew what it was like to be free. Then when we went to

our storage, for example, we might suddenly begin feeling bites and

creepy-crawlies. It was obvious that this was something new that we had

no longer been experiencing at home.

As for how long did it take, I think I’ve answered that before, but

right now I’m struggling to remember. The chronology really gets fuzzy

for me after all this time. I might have to read my own blog more

extensively to answer your question:) Perhaps a month once we found

what worked? And during that month, progress was noticeable but still

gradual. But by the end of the first month after we’d found our answer,

it never got bad again. Even the re infestations were minor compared to

the original scourge.

5.) Yes, borax is a wonder!

6.) Treat books and papers with menthol. Not directly, just let the

menthol diffuse into the air where they are. That worked for us.

7.) We felt safe with the D.E. However, I think I would revise my

recommendation for you since you have a house full of children; we only

had one and could somewhat keep her away from places. Why not try the

Nylar and menthol and borax and Epsom and definitely wash the carpets

with the purple soap, etc, and see if all that will work without any

powders? Maybe you won’t need more.

8.) We thought the Nylar was safe and we hope it was, but I can’t possibly know for sure!

9.) I can’t remember about our ceiling. Do what seems right to you.

10.) Keyboard and mouse: menthol crystals diffusing in the room with the door shut. Worked for us!

11.) I felt them all day and it was miserable, but it was worst at

night. Then it was pure torture because I could not get any good sleep,

period.

12.) You could be spreading them to others, certainly. Mostly via

sitting in a chair where others will later sit, etc. Please don’t try

on any clothes in stores for the sake of others until you get it under

control.

13.) To bathe our child we most often used Dr. Bronners peppermint

liquid soap. It made her cold and she did not like it! But it seemed

the safest soap to use for her. You could also spray their skin with

Epsom salt/water spray after their bath and use it on their bedding as

well. That seems completely safe to me.

Your last statement, “I want my old life back. It sounds so

difficult for me to do the treatment alone like you did because my

husband stays busy and I have to do all by myself with three small kids

with me†fills me with compassion. I don’t know how I would have gotten

through without my husband. Beg God to send you the help you need;

maybe He will. And remember that doing something is better than

thinking you have to do everything only to get too overwhelmed to do

anything.

shanlilac Says:

August 21st, 2008 at 2:18 pm

Dawson,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Especially the part about making

the same mistake twice! We did that before, too. Lots of people have.

If you’re ever creepy-crawling after working outside, it seems so much

better to just shower with an effective soap and potentially save

yourself so much hassle and grief.

Ray Says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm

Thank

you so much for your response. I was reading your response with tears

because I found someone who was willing to help me with this fight. I

have a few more questions, if you don’t mind, re: treatment.

1. Crystal menthol- Can we stay in the house while treating the other rooms with door closed?

2. XTreme Clean- How often do I have to clean carpet, matresses, and

furniture with this product? I don’t think we can afford to keep

renting Rug Doctor. Any other alternatives?

3. Wash hard flooring and surfaces with Clorox solution- How often? Every day?

4. Spraying BioNeem on walls, carpets, ect- How often? Every day?

5. When spraying Nylar or epsom salt solutions on carpets, mattresses

and furnitures, do I “just spray†or do I have to make it “really

soaked†with the solution? And how often do I treat with these

solutions?

I am so glad that I found you. Hopefully I can send you a successful story soon. Please pray for my family.

shanlilac Says:

August 22nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm

I’m thankful to be an encourager to you in such a bleak time.

1. Menthol - yes, safe to be in the house, and probably even in the same room.

2. We only ever used the XTreme Clean once. Then we put down the Nylar and it has a long-term effect.

3. Wash hard flooring every other day.

4. BioNeem once a month for a while.

5. Light spray for Nylar, light to medium for Epsom Salts. Nylar

once every three weeks at first, then only every 2 months until you

don’t need to use it at all. But I am not sure you even need it that

much. I can’t remember exactly how often we used it.

I will pray and I would love to hear good news in a month or two!!!

dawson Says:

August 24th, 2008 at 10:13 am

Here’s

my follow-up from Wednesday. I haven’t received some of the products

that I ordered that were recommended by this site; however, I did find

the menthol crystals and the first and second day, used two coffee mug

warmers bought from Walgreens for $4.99 each and used 4oz in those two

days. That made a difference. Since Wednesday I have been using various

remedies on my skin for the bites: tea tree, eucalptus, rosemary,

olive, coconut oil; also Ben-Gay extra strength, Sombra, Icy Hot balm

(these three have high % menthol), Arrid xtra dry stick, a combo of

Borax and 3% hydrogen peroxide, 70% isopropyl alcohol, Witch hazel, and

MSM cream. The best of all of them - bar none is the combo Borax and

hydrogen peroxide. This site I credit with the Borax and another site,

earthclinic.com, a poster named Ted gives a chemical analysis of the

combo and why it has to work. Basically it dries out the bite FAST,

like in less than thtree hours and also kills anything inside. Borax is

able to pierce the waxy exoskeleton of the mite and release its only

moisture into the air. The other big difference is washing the wood

floor with a Borax solution. Not only does it clean but when dry leaves

Borax behind. If any critters are walking on the floor, they get some

free granules.

Now, I also tackled the bed according to this site. I bought two sheets

of 4 mm plastic (couldn’t finf 6mm) and duct tape and sealed the

boxspring and mattress. Before placing the plastic under the boxspring,

I sprayed it with diluted bleach and then sprinkled Borax and

Sergeant’s Gold, bought at Walmart. Sergeant’s Gold is a dog flea

powder that contains Pyrethrins and Nylar. On the mattress, I sprayed

with diluted bleach, sprinkled Borax and then heavily sprayed with

Arrid extra extra dry. I also placed some Bounce sheets on the

boxspring and mattress before securing all seams with duct tape.

My car is also infested and I sprayed with diluted bleach last night. I

will continue spraying until I don’t feel them landing on me.

Since Wednesday when I awake, which is usually about 4:00 am, I am

covered with bites: upper legs, arms, waist, and chest. All of the

products that I have used on my skin work so that in about five hours.

I shower exclusively with Selsun Blue according to instructions on this

site, morning and night, wash my bedding and towels in Borax and

ammonia everyday, and for the remainder of the day and evening, I am

bite free and thus able to lead a normal life.

Last night I tackled the bedding outlined above. I expected that I

would get bitten and thus when I awoke at 4:00 am and stripped in front

of the mirror, I was right. There must have been 200 bites. Was I

worried? No. Some percentage came from the car and the rest from taking

the mattress and boxspring off the platform and re-arranging

everything. After I had applied Borax/peroxide to my skin and waited

about an hour and a half, I then went to bed again.. I awoke two hours

later, stripped in front of the mirror and checked for any “new†bites.

ZERO!

I am not sure what mite inhabits my home but for me, all of the

products I rubbed into my skin except for the Borax/hydrogen peroxide

irritated it to some degree. The menthol, while formidable, burned my

skin and resorted to using it sparingly. The Arrid exrta dry while it

worked, leaves a huge residue of aluminum — which is toxic to one’s

innards.

This morning I’m going to wash the floors again - first with a combo of

diluted bleach and diluted white vinegar, then coat again with Borax

solution. I keep on forgetting to buy the flip flops but I feel certain

that the resideue of borax left behind after I wash the floors, coupled

with the menthol burning on the warmers will be the one-two punch for

the mites.

I’ll follow-up again in a week or less.

Thank you all for commenting and/or listening and putting up this website.

dawson Says:

August 26th, 2008 at 5:31 am

Follow

up from Saturday. I have not as yet received the cleaning products and

DE. I have been diligently following a systematic approach to this

hellish problem and this morning I had fewer bites than in any previous

days.

On Sunday, I stored all of my clothes in plastic bags, washed down the

wood floors with a solution of very diluted bleach/vinegar. Then washed

down another solution of Borax/few drops of Ivory liquid dish soap.

That night I laid on the floor on a no pile rug and the next morning

discovered two hundred bites on my right side of my body. Out went the

rug and thin mat and I washed the floor where the rug had been with the

Borax/soap solution. I really liked this rug so I wrapped it in plastic

and put it into a large freezer where I plan to leave it there for a

week. I read that 48 hours in sufficient but what the heck, 125 hours

should do it!

Every morning when I awake, usually about 3:30 am, I immediately get up

and take all the sheets and towels and wash them. I also inspect my

body for bites.

The process takes a good 45 minutes but well worth it, especially if

you have to work in an office and don’t want to contaminate anyone-else.

The process is: after I inspect my body, I don’t my any judgments. I

view the bites as one would view dirty smudges on the floor - you just

clean them because you know they won’t be there after you wipe them

down with a sponge. I think it’s very important, psychologically, not

to be critical toward oneself. You have to remember that you’re a

newbie and self-nurturing is the only doctor in town.

After I inspect my body, I grab the 70% isopropyl alcohol and wipe down

all of the bites. I use gauze pads instead of cotton balls. Gauze pads

hold up better and are more coarse, enough to open the pore and let the

alcohol really clean the bite wound. I then grab my trusty solution of

Borax/hydrogen peroxide and with my finger dab the solution on all the

bites. This Borax/hydrogen peroxide needs to be constantly stirred in

order for the solution to be super saturated. What that does, when it

dries on the skin, is to form a type of glue/scab over the bite and

within two hours most of the bites are less swollen. For the really

irritated bites and they’re are always several, I pull out extra

strength Bengay (10% menthol) and dab it onto those few big bites

and/or cluster of bites. This stuff burns when I apply it and may cause

the skin to be somewhat irritated but it kills whatever is inside that

bite. You can buy a knock-off extra strength Bengay at Walgreens called

“Ultra Strength Muscle Rub,†which is a couple of dollars less and an

ounce bigger.

Around 7:00 am I take my shower, soap first with a sulphur bar that I

bought from Whole Foods and then use Selsun Blue as a body wash and

lather good and don’t rinse off for at least three minutes. I shampoo

my hair as well with the Selsun Blue too. I then use a fresh clean

towel to dry off and then re-apply the Borax/peroxide solution. By the

time I go to work, the bites are contained and there are no mites

on my clothing. I wash my clothes every night so that I am using fresh clean the next day.

By the way, yesterday afternoon, when I came home from work, my rug was

till outside rolled in plastic. I got two big plastic trash bags and

sealed the rug and mat in them. I then took it to a friend’s house,

across the street, and stored it in his freezer. The process of bagging

and putting in the freezer took about four minutes and I realized I

probably would get bitten. Yup. But I immediately doused myself

with the alcohol, then Borax/peroxide and within an hour or two tose

bites had receded. Of course, the next morning I had more. Some of

these bites don’t show up immediately but I was ready for them. I can’t

wait to receive the other products.

Lastly, heating the menthol crystals and encasing my bed in plastic, I

believe, was self-empowering. I knew that everytime I laid on my bed

prior to encasing it, I was fodder for those mites. But now when I lay

on it, I feel more at peace.

Thanks everyone for sustaining this board.

dawson Says:

August 26th, 2008 at 5:31 am

Follow

up from Saturday. I have not as yet received the cleaning products and

DE. I have been diligently following a systematic approach to this

hellish problem and this morning I had fewer bites than in any previous

days.

On Sunday, I stored all of my clothes in plastic bags, washed down the

wood floors with a solution of very diluted bleach/vinegar. Then washed

down another solution of Borax/few drops of Ivory liquid dish soap.

That night I laid on the floor on a no pile rug and the next morning

discovered two hundred bites on my right side of my body. Out went the

rug and thin mat and I washed the floor where the rug had been with the

Borax/soap solution. I really liked this rug so I wrapped it in plastic

and put it into a large freezer where I plan to leave it there for a

week. I read that 48 hours in sufficient but what the heck, 125 hours

should do it!

Every morning when I awake, usually about 3:30 am, I immediately get up

and take all the sheets and towels and wash them. I also inspect my

body for bites.

The process takes a good 45 minutes but well worth it, especially if

you have to work in an office and don’t want to contaminate anyone-else.

The process is: after I inspect my body, I don’t my any judgments. I

view the bites as one would view dirty smudges on the floor - you just

clean them because you know they won’t be there after you wipe them

down with a sponge. I think it’s very important, psychologically, not

to be critical toward oneself. You have to remember that you’re a

newbie and self-nurturing is the only doctor in town.

After I inspect my body, I grab the 70% isopropyl alcohol and wipe down

all of the bites. I use gauze pads instead of cotton balls. Gauze pads

hold up better and are more coarse, enough to open the pore and let the

alcohol really clean the bite wound. I then grab my trusty solution of

Borax/hydrogen peroxide and with my finger dab the solution on all the

bites. This Borax/hydrogen peroxide needs to be constantly stirred in

order for the solution to be super saturated. What that does, when it

dries on the skin, is to form a type of glue/scab over the bite and

within two hours most of the bites are less swollen. For the really

irritated bites and they’re are always several, I pull out extra

strength Bengay (10% menthol) and dab it onto those few big bites

and/or cluster of bites. This stuff burns when I apply it and may cause

the skin to be somewhat irritated but it kills whatever is inside that

bite. You can buy a knock-off extra strength Bengay at Walgreens called

“Ultra Strength Muscle Rub,†which is a couple of dollars less and an

ounce bigger.

Around 7:00 am I take my shower, soap first with a sulphur bar that I

bought from Whole Foods and then use Selsun Blue as a body wash and

lather good and don’t rinse off for at least three minutes. I shampoo

my hair as well with the Selsun Blue too. I then use a fresh clean

towel to dry off and then re-apply the Borax/peroxide solution. By the

time I go to work, the bites are contained and there are no mites

on my clothing. I wash my clothes every night so that I am using fresh clean the next day.

By the way, yesterday afternoon, when I came home from work, my rug was

still outside rolled in plastic. I got two big plastic trash bags and

sealed the rug and mat in them. I then took it to a friend’s house,

across the street, and stored it in his freezer. The process of bagging

and putting in the freezer took about four minutes and I realized I

probably would get bitten. Yup. But I immediately doused myself

with the alcohol, then Borax/peroxide and within an hour or two tose

bites had receded. Of course, the next morning I had more. Some of

these bites don’t show up immediately but I was ready for them. I can’t

wait to receive the other products.

Lastly, heating the menthol crystals and encasing my bed in plastic, I

believe, was self-empowering. I knew that everytime I laid on my bed

prior to encasing it, I was fodder for those mites. But now when I lay

on it, I feel more at peace.

Thanks everyone for sustaining this board.

john Says:

October 1st, 2008 at 1:37 pm

I need to know how to capture and see bird mites.

I have not been able to see them with a 30x lighted magnifier even

when I look right at the places where my wife can feel things crawling.

I can’t find any place that sells a stronger magnifier. I bought a

microscope that goes from 100 to 300x, but I can’t look at anything

unless I can capture it.

So I need to know 1) how strong a magnifier do you need to see bird

mites? and 2) how can I capture at least several of them to be able to

see them?

I need to know because in dealing with mold. I was only successful

when I was able to culture the mold we were dealing with in a petri

dish and then try the different things that claimed to kill mold until

I found what actually killed the mold that we have. Out of 10 things I

tried that people claim kills mold, only one product actually killed

the mold in one application so that it did could not regrow when

moistened again. all but 2 products had virtually NO affect on our mold.

So I need to know IF what my wife is feeling is bird mites, rat

mites, or what. They can’t be invisible so I need to know what

magnification you can see them at (even dust mites are visible at high

enough magnification). Then I can start trying different products to

see what kills them, i.e. the mites that WE have. Also I need to know

what areas and things are infected with them.

Everything I’ve read says they are as small as a period. I have

looked at a period at 30x magnification and it clearly visible in every

detail. So whatever my wife feels has to be smaller than that.

Also how fast can they move. Should I be looking for something that

moves too fast to be trapped under a magnifier, something that crawls

slowly (like scabies, about an inch in 2 minutes) or faster, like

spider mites ( an inch in 1 second)

Please let me know if you know the answers to these questions or

where I can find them, especially how to capture them to look at in a

microscope and the magnification needed.

Thanks.

Jim Says:

October 4th, 2008 at 6:46 am

I

found your website after many days of searching the internet. I now

realize that what I’ve been experiencing is very real and similar to

what others unfortunately went through or are still going through.

I got a case of chiggers and saw some “pepper-sized†specks on my

ankles. I picked theseâ€pepper-sized†specks off with a pair of

tweazers. It was a few days before I went to the doctor to get for the

chiggers. This may have been the reason for my troubles….I still don’t

know. The treatment I received for the chiggers worked fine. The

chigger bites went away fairly quickly.

A few days later I began experiencing something biting me. I

couldn’t see anything. Something appeared to be crawling on

me….especially in my hair. It felt like a tingling sensation, but it

later turned into a biting sensation. I went to my doctor and he

couldn’t find anything. I continued to have these bites. I went to the

emergency room at the hospital. The doctor said he couldn’t find

anything. Still, I continued to have these bites. I went to my doctor

again. He said he couldn’t find anything. He referred me to a

dermatologist. She couldn’t find anything.

In the meantime I have used “foggers†in my house to control the

“bugsâ€. It helps temporarily, but they seem to come back after several

days. I have continued to wash clothes, bedding, etc. over and over.

Still I have the problem.

I continued to search the internet to research about mites. I have

learned a lot and believe that this is the cause of the problem. I

appreciate the information and just knowing that I am not alone in

experiencing this problem lets me know that I’m on the right track to

fixing the problem.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions!

Ray Says:

October 4th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

,

I don’t know if it will work for you, but when I feel the crawling or

pin-prick sensations, I rub the exact spot with my fingers and then

examine the finger under the bright light very carefully. About 80 % of

the time, I catch something white with the crawling sensations and

black/brown/gray with pin-prick sensations. They are extremely small

(almost as small as a grain of flour). Then I put it on a scotch tape.

I am collecting these several specimens so that I can send to an

entomologist to be identified. My whole problem started with bird nest

under our back porch. It has been 3 month already and I am still

feeling these crawling and pin-prick sensations. I feel them in my car,

too…just about everywhere. But I have noticed that I don’t have those

terrible skin sores like some people do, even though I get bumps

occasionally from the bites and get itching, but they heal pretty

easily. So what I am trying to do is to find out what exactly we are

dealing with (mostly me, my husband does not have any symptoms; my two

little girls complain that they itch daily) and go from there. Try it

as I look on my skin when I feel the crawling, I cannot see anything

there at first, but when I rub the area, I get something from the spot.

I thought about it being a skin flake or dust, but when I rub the other

area of the skin I don’t get any.

Says:

October 7th, 2008 at 1:28 pm

Does

anyone know any doctors in the SF Bay area (south bay especially) who

specialize in finding and identifying mites or microscopic parasites?

Ever since we cleaned out an old shed on our property (has rats,

possums and even raccoons living in it) my wife has been feeling things

crawling on her, especially at night.

I can’t see anything with as high as a 30x lighted magnifier, even when I look exactly where she feels them.

I need help fast to identify what we’re dealing with so we can get rid of them effectively.

tina Says:

October 8th, 2008 at 9:55 pm

,

I have mites as well, and have really been working hard against them

for a while. I feel like whenever I am making progress I just fall back

down into the same slump after a couple of days. I live with other

roommates and none of them have it. I have been using Natural Ginesis’s

Kleen Green enzyme cleaner and spraying that, I shower daily and wash

my blanket daily, aswell as my laundry for the next day. I had my room

exterminated twice, and he used DE aswell as Tempra Ultra SC, and a

growth regulator spray.

Did you use Kleen Green in your laundry? I have used ammonia and borox

and though that seemed effective I still felt a crawling sensation . I

also tried Kleen Green in the wash yesterday and that seems less

effective.

Has steaming been efficient?

I have been sleeping on an air mattress, plastic side up, and spraying

that with enzymes and that seems to help me sleep alot. I have used

permethrin creams but that is only useful temporarily (yet my

dermatologist refuses to prescribe me anything else and says the

crawling sensation I am feeling is just residual itching). I have also

showered in sulfur body wash 5%, in an attempt to actually dry out the

mites in my skin, but I must say that I thought the coal tar idea you

suggested was really helpful for a while. I am reading so many

different things online and it is just confusing me further and I would

really appreciate it if you could help me in the right direction! thank

you!

john Says:

October 9th, 2008 at 3:15 am

tina,

The enzymes like kleen green are not for laundry. To use them spray

areas that have mites, keep damp with kleen green. The enzymes work

best that way. adding it to laundry will probably kill the enzymes that

kill the mites. Enzymes don’t work like other cleansers.

shanlilac Says:

October 9th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Tina,

I agree with john that enzymes are not the best for laundry. Even

though the sites that sell enzymes may recommend them for laundry, we

found borax, ammonia, etc. to work as better and more economical

choices. Of course I don’t know what kind of bug it is you have (or

what we had, for that matter), so I don’t know if the same things that

worked for us will work for you.

But, assuming they will work, you may still have itching for a

couple washings. This happens, I believe, because the Borax/ammonia

doesn’t kill eggs, only whatever is hatched. After you get your

environment under control and you have washed an item a couple times in

Borax/ammonia and detergent, it really should be pretty good because

there are no more live bugs left to keep laying eggs and all the eggs

that were there have hatched. This is my theory. Hope it is helpful.

shanlilac Says:

October 9th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Ray,

Your experience of finding something in the spots that itch is

similar to what ours was. But we never did get ours identified, so I am

interested to hear the results if you do.

Ray Says:

October 10th, 2008 at 9:57 am

,

I have mailed out the specimens to an entomologist a couple days ago. I will let you know as soon as I get the results.

john Says:

October 11th, 2008 at 1:06 am

Ray,

How do you catch specimens (I can’t see anything even with a 30x

magnifier looking right at where my wife feels things crawling). and

where can you send them to be identified?

Thanks,

Jim Says:

October 11th, 2008 at 7:16 am

I’m still continuing to have the sensation of something crawling on me. I feel them in my house, car, and at work.

I have noticed that when I am physically (many times at work)

standing close to another person, the sensation of the “bugs†gets

“very active†and within a few seconds / moments the other person

starts scratching their head or other parts of their body. I feel I may

be spreading something…..something I don’t even know and can’t find. I

have told this to the doctor / dermatologist. They don’t say anything,

but I wonder what they are thinking. They say I’m fine to return to

work.

Has anyone ever had this sensation?

Says:

October 14th, 2008 at 10:14 pm

Mites can’t jump and as far as I know can’t crawl very fast. Even lice can’t jump from one person to the next. Fleas can.

Most doctors think people who talk about having mites are

hypochondriacs, since they believe that the only mite humans can have

is scabies.

Again I need to know where in the SF bay area (south bay) one can hve their property or bodies checked for bird mites.

Doctors act like you’re crazy and won’t even examine you with a magnifier unless you have a typical scabies rash.

Who do you call for analysis of property or for a diagnosis. I mean

the things are not invisible. They have to be viewable at some

magnification.

Does anyone know who does this?

Thanks

rachel Says:

October 20th, 2008 at 8:59 pm

Wow…I

just found your site because I have been suffering the same type of

symptoms you are describing as biting mites. I went to the

dermatologist thinking it was a rash, he said he couldn’t say “for

sure†but thought they might be mite bites. What kind? He couldn’t say.

I did some research and narrowed in on bird mites, since there was a

bird’s nest on my house a couple months ago. But I need to know it’s

it’s bird mites or other mites or just an allergic rash in order to get

rid of it. Doctor totally UNhelpful. I got an exterminator in twice to

spray, the second time a couple days ago. But I am still itchy/crawly.

I live alone and have a very busy job. I don’t have time to do all

the many steps you all have gone through to rid myself of this plague!

Alcohol seems to be the only things that quells the itch…for awhile.

And once one crop of bites/red spots heals up, a new one crops up

elsewhere. They tend to come in clusters, and mostly on the trunk of my

body, as opposed to arms and legs…though there were a few individual

spots there too. And I certainly have the general crawly itchy feeling

even where there aren’t any bites. I have a jewelers lupe with 8x

magnification but can’t see anything! Other people I spoke to said they

could SEE the mites however small they are.

I went to buy a better vacuum and the lady there said she gets a

similar rash…from dust mites because she’s allergic to dust/mites. So I

started thinking that THAT might be what this is, and not bird mites.

So I went out and bought a new mattress (can’t wait for them to deliver

it!) Because for now, I am afraid to sleep on my old one. And afraid to

sleep on the couch. And now that people have said it’s in their car

too, I can’t even sleep in the car! This is so depressing I can’t sleep

or eat. I am afraid I might go insane if this doesn’t stop.

I can’t imagine bagging up all my clothes and finding somewhere to store them. This is insane.

But I appreciate knowing that I am not alone and not imagining

things. Thanks for all your suggestions. I don’t know what I am going

to do. But I will start with the Borax (if I can find it) and menthol

crystals tomorrow and give that a try.

Rei Says:

October 28th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

,

Borax is easy to find. If you go to Walmart, Borax is on the Detergent section, probably near Bleach. It is in a box. Good Luck.

john Says:

October 29th, 2008 at 1:47 pm

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION

I REALLY need to know how to capture and see these “mitesâ€.

I have not been able to see them with a 30x lighted magnifier even

when I look right at the places where my wife can feel things crawling.

I can’t find any place that sells a stronger magnifier. I bought a

microscope that goes from 100 to 300x, but I can’t look at anything

unless I can capture it.

So I need to know 1) HOW STRONG A MAGNIFIER DO YOU NEED TO SEE BIRD

MITES? and 2) HOW CAN ONE CAPTURE ONE TO BE ABLE TO SEE IT UNDER A

MICROSCOPE IF 30x IS NOT POWERFUL ENOUGH MAGNIFICATION?

I need to know IF what my wife is feeling crawling on her at night

is bird mites, rat mites, or what. They can’t be invisible so I need to

know what magnification you can see them at (even dust mites are

visible at high enough magnification). Then I can start trying

different products to see what kills them, i.e. the mites that WE have.

Also I need to know what areas and things are infected with them.

Everything I’ve read says they are as small as a period. I have

looked at a period at 30x magnification and it clearly visible in every

detail. So whatever my wife feels has to be smaller than that.

HOW FAST CAN THEY MOVE? Should I be looking for something that moves

too fast to be trapped under a magnifier, something that crawls slowly

(like scabies, about an inch in 2 minutes) or faster, like spider mites

( an inch in 1 second)

Please let me know if you know the answers to these questions or

where I can find them, especially how to capture them to look at in a

microscope and the magnification needed.

ALSO WHERE CAN I FIND AN ENTOMOLOGIST OR MD THAT CAN IDENTIFY WHAT THESE ARE IF I CAN CAPTURE ONE?

Thanks.

shanlilac Says:

October 29th, 2008 at 4:33 pm

,

I just don’t know the answer to your questions about how to identify

what is afflicting your wife. Part of our frustration was that we

couldn’t find someone to help us with these things. We could only guess

at what we were dealing with and assumed it might be a mite.

I disagree that you need to know what it is in order to do something

about it. We got rid of ours without ever knowing what they were. If

you read more of the posts on this blog and especially the comments

from people, you will encounter a lot of information that may be of

help in knowing what to do.

Whatever bugs we had could move very fast. At least that was how it

seemed because you could walk into our house and feel attacked by them

within the first couple minutes even if you just stood by the door. We

assumed they were much smaller than a period because we couldn’t see

anything. But just once at the very beginning, my husband thought he

saw something and it was clearish white and moved so fast it was a blur

across his arm.

Using tape we did “catch†a few things and look under a microscope.

Some looked like some kind of larvae, but the magnification we had was

just not enough to see much detail and the tape obscured things a bit.

shanlilac Says:

October 29th, 2008 at 4:41 pm

,

One more thing: when we were researching bugs that bite, the current

information typically available just didn’t add up to fit our

situation. We had to conclude that either scientists don’t know all

that they think they do about various common bugs, or there is some

kind of bug that isn’t commonly known or studied that is biting people.

Since I don’t read up on this topic anymore, I don’t know what info

is currently available. But if you do find out what is affecting your

wife, I hope you will share so others will have the information. I

think the reason no one is answering is because they just don’t know.

Ray Says:

October 29th, 2008 at 11:06 pm

,

Read the post from Oct. 4th to collect the specimen. Or your wife can

put a piece of scotch tape on the spot where she feels the crawling

sensation and then fold it in half to see under the micorscope (you

will get more of the skin flakes this way, though). My understanding is

that immature “mites†are whitish or transparent (therefore difficult

to see with naked eyes) and when they suck blood, they become visible

(blackish or red) because of the blood. As for as the entomologist, you

can call your local city office and get the contact number to the

Agricultural department. Someone from there can ID the bug or if not,

they should have a connection with an university with Entomology

department. They can send the specimens to the university for you.

Stu Says:

November 2nd, 2008 at 11:33 pm

,

This handheld microscope may work for you. It doesn’t cost much but

it’s kind of small. It says it will magnify x60 - x100. Maybe you can

see something with it, I may try one myself also.

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId= & kw=microscope & origkw=microscope & sr=1

Here’s something else that will hook up to your tv. It says it can magnify x200. I’ve never tried it though.

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=172103 & catid=88096

carol Says:

November 23rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm

oh

dear god thank you for letting me find this site and for you keeping it

up. my son and i have been suffering with this for about two year. i’ve

never been able to see what this “bug†is and wouldn’t ask a md for

fear they’d commit me!!! at first i was thinking it was a dog we got

from the pound but after seeing this site it made me remember that we

found a fledgling in our yard and i brought him in to keep the dog from

killing him and so i could call the spca. when i went to get the bird i

noticed a zillion little grayish white bugs crawling on it and my

floor. i thought i killed them all when i washed the floor but now i

know i didn’t. i’ll try your “recipes†and pray i’ve found the answer.

thanks.

PS just a note, i’ve been spraying my sheets with Orangeglo and

putting olive oil mixed with tea tree and garlic oil on my skin before

going to bed and it helps ALOT

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I

am , a 31 year old Christian, mother of one and wife to my best

friend and highschool sweetheart. This blog is a place to share with

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