ahhhh! mites everywhere

[akane]

I've been getting bitten up by something for months. It's sudden appearance we thought hives, then it started to persist and we decided I have human mange (scabies mites), but that didn't really match. Doctor agreed it just doesn't seem like a human mite infestation. So I did more research and experimenting.

Those darn wild rodents we can't manage to kill have spread a rodent specific mite and given my rodents the mite. The neighbors amount of pigeons living in their roof 5' away could also have fowl mites being spread by the rodents since they will form a temporary host. I knocked several off a gerbil onto some white paper towels. I tried to capture them but they are too tiny to swipe into something and can stick to everything. If I finally get them off my finger they climb up glass and get squashed in the lid.

For months I have been treating myself with tea tree oil and 10% sulphur soap and lotion. The dogs and cats were treated with revolution a couple weeks ago for suspected flea allergy since food allergies were not being discovered. I've got a bag of DE I want to roll in. Can I throw some between the mattress cover and sheets? They drive me nuts in bed so I switched blankets and vacuumed the sheets and pillows. My ivermectin is expired but we will probably get more and more 1cc syringes to treat gerbils and guinea pigs. I want to bathe in ivermectin too. :x These things are driving me and the animals crazy. We got a new poison to try to kill more wild rodents but the internet said as they die the mites may flee from the nests and dead rodents to find other hosts. It may get worse before it gets better. I foresee more dips in ice cold baths to stop the itching temporarily. Sometimes that's all that works.

 

[a7736100]

Would solarizing the mattress be enough to kill mites? If it is you can wrap it in thin plastic drop cloth and leave in the sun.

Would hot bath with a bit of mineral or vegetable oil added be enough to smother them?

 

[akane]

I have been taking baths in borax, tea tree oil, and sulphur. The dang things get just under the skin and I have to scrub the places until it starts burning to get rid of them. I've more been relying on the tea tree oil and sulphur lotion. They can't live on us or in the mattress long term. They can only live on rodents or fowl mites can live on birds and temporarily on rodents. If the wild rodents die and the pet rodents get treated the mites should go away on their own. It's just getting those dang mice killed. We've been at it 2 years and reached the point of "throw every type of poison in the kitchen ceiling and hope it doesn't contaminate anything or kill the cats". I've made dents in the population several times and thought I had them with nonpoisonous means but they came back again.

 

[a7736100]

Tiger Balm ointment may give you some itch relief. It contains champhor. I've seen it in grocery stores. I rub a little on mosquito bites and it has a cooling effect.

 

[michaels4gardens]

don't know if it would work for your mite situation-- but-- for chiggers I use regular kerosine [not deodorized] or-- make a hot oil from cooking habaneros in vegetable oil till the peppers just start to turn black-- I dab it on the the chigger sites with a q-tip, and it kills them in seconds---

 

[alforddm]

I know putting 1/2 c bleach in a bath works well for chiggers and seed ticks. Just soak for a bit wash and rinse well.

That is the old time remedy around these parts.

 

[akane]

Josh got bentonite DE designed for feeding horses. Don't tell him I went ahead and spread it under the sheet. It's the first night I've slept without itching so I will totally risk turning everything brown. I will sleep in the stuff if it kills the mites. I've been giving dishes of it to the gerbils and started stripping everything out of that room. I found I have some poultry mite killer left which would work on the wood floor and cages but it's a room full of aquariums. I debated putting the gerbils with the guinea pigs but then they'll have even more food. They seem less interested in the guinea pigs with no other steady food source available. If I just emptied the room of rodents for 2months it would be mite free. Waiting on 1cc syringes to dose everyone. <br /><br /> __________ Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:59 pm __________ <br /><br /> Stripped the hallway, sprayed it down, pulled some male gerbils I am growing out into the hallway and tested ivermectin on them. Now I'm emptying out the guinea pig room so I can sterilize all cages, treat all animals. and put them all in the same room. I was thinking sevin dust spray in that room. Problem is to clean the room i have to get infested in mites myself. :

 

[alforddm]

Would OFF (the insect repellent) help? I know it helps with chiggers.

 

[akane]

Deet is highly toxic to dogs and probably other animals. I try not to use it around the animals because there are often plenty of effective and safer options. Our usual spray has no deet. I did use some last night but we were exploring the county marsh nature area and fishing in various places. <br /><br /> __________ Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:07 pm __________ <br /><br /> Yay! the itching has steadily been reducing. I can work in the fish room now. I just treated a cage of guinea pigs again though because one is bald all across her belly and doesn't want handled. It could just be a complication with her being very pregnant but better to treat them all and clean and treat the cage before little wheekers are born. The mites don't seem to like the guinea pigs as a host so they will probably be fine but I might need to treat the gerbils again. I need to check the birds over to see if the mice carried any fowl mites from the pigeons living 5' away in the overhang of the neighbors roof.