How to treat and get rid of mites

Mites live everywhere. From deep below the soil and underwater to living on your face, we’ve been living with these nearly invisible creatures without even realizing it.

While most mites peacefully live in silence, some can cause serious problems for us and our pets. Mites like scabies and chiggers bites us to create painful itching, which could lead to secondary infections. Dust mites live in carpets, feeding on dead skin cells, causing allergic reactions to vulnerable people with respiratory issues.

Many mites are parasitic on either humans, birds, insects, and mammals. Some species of mites feed on plants, and other species on mites eat those mites that feed on plants! The ones we are most concerned with are those that feed on human blood or eat flakes of dead skin in our homes. Plant mites can be problems on our house plants, landscape plants, and gardens.

Even though they are difficult to spot, it’s important that we understand the symptoms and signs of a mite infestation.

Different species of mites come in a variety of sizes and colors. They can be red, brown, blue, or even bright green. Since they are arachnids, they have 8 legs. Their larvae actually only have six, but they grow an extra pair as they mature into adults. Mite bodies are typical round and oval in shape and the largest mites can be ¼ inch long. That’s beefy for a mite!

You might not be able to know you have a might problem until you start to notice signs of an infestation.

Scabies

For scabies, you’ll notice intense itchy from little pimple-like bites. They are usually passed from prolonged contact with another human. Scabies will burrow into the skin and they can bite nearly everywhere on the body.

Chiggers

Signs that you have chiggers are similar to scabies, except that the bites will be around the folds of skin or areas with thin skin, like the ankles, groin or waist area, behind the knees, and in the armpits.

Dust Mites

If you are sneezing, have runny eyes, or a runny nose in your home, then you might have dust mite problems. Symptoms can be similar to a respiratory illness, like the flu.

Spider Mites

Switching gears to your household and outdoor plants, if you notice that your plants have little yellows spots on their leaves or stippling, webbing under the leaves, or the leaves are bronze in color, then spider mites could be the culprit.

It can be tricky to know what to do when you suspect mites are the issue in your home. Each species will have their own unique habitat and behavior, and each one will need a separate approach. However, there are a few overlapping things you can do to eliminate or reduce the amount of mites in and around your home.

Try these pest management tips below:

• Seal cracks and gaps around windows, doors, and foundations.
• Keep your lawn short and mow frequently
• Remove weeds or tall vegetation from around your home
• Rake leaf litter away from your home
• Keep your house clean
• Vacuum frequently (including carpets, furniture, curtains, etc)
• Change bed sheets often and wash them in hot water to kill any mites
• Use mite-proof mattress covers
• Bathe your pets with medicated shampoos

Mites are so small that nearly 100,000 can live in a single square yard of carpet. Also, Demodex is a mite that lives on your face inside your hair follicles. You probably have them on your eyelashes right now! But don’t worry, they do don’t anything except eat your dead skin or the greasy stuff that comes from your oil glands.