It has now been well over a year that this problem has persisted.
Yesterday I spread a powder mix of 20 Mule Team Borax and salt everywhere on the carpets. Frontline and flea collars have stopped working on the cat.
I found that Zyrtec made me too drowsy and did not help with the cat. Allergist said that Claritin just works better for some people, so I switched back to Claritin. He said that it helps with the itching, too. It does for me, but it seems my partner does not get relief from allergy medicines.
I find that Head and Shoulders with Mint helps keep the hair clear. I also use Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, the orange label with tea tree oil. Antibacterial Dial helps. Shampoos with sulfer help, these include Selsum Blue, one of the Head and Shoulders brand shampoos, and some generic types copying the Selsum Blue bottle.
I've used Diatomacious Earth several times on the apartment. It appears to have no effect. The mites are not visible (although both of us and the cat are itchy), so it may be D. Gallinae which apparently is harder to dessicate (kill by drying it out).
Sarna Lotion and Activ On Anti-Itch stick (purple label) are excellent. I used to use Sting Eeze and Benadryl itch sticks but Activ On is much more effective even if it is bulkier to carry around.
I've dropped my laundry to only Borax and an Arm and Hammer detergent. I am also only using Bounce dryer sheets now.
I still find the dehumidifyer to be helpful.
The ozone generator appears to suppress the mites temporarily.
My car hasn't been a problem in a long time. I have it vacuumed frequently and still keep plastic bags on the seats and Borax on the floor.
I still spray myself with Cedarcide each night as well as my bed. I also use my Eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, and witch hazel home-made bug spray on my bed and sometimes in my hair. Very little of the oils, witch hazel is the main ingredient as a carrier.
I've stopped taking ivermectin, but my partner gets better when they take it and worse if it is forgotten.
I intend to put rodent poison behind some kitchen fictures as I'm assuming anything that might be there would hide from the cat.
15 comments:
Hi - I check back here now and again. I'm not sure if you said if you tried my advice of spraying everything you own and the whole flat, walls carpet with a permethrin based spray (eg most flea sprays for carpets). Check my comments a few ones down which game more details. Another commenter found success in this approach and I have read one other success with this approach. It worked for me and it sounds like a similar problem to me. They started to come back after a couple of months so I blasted the whole lot again. It's most likely to kill any mites but doing it every monbth or so just to really be sure. Let me know. Most of the natural solutions don't seem to work well as you have found - but exposure to a bit of permethrin certainly won't kill you (probably will do nothing) and I imagine you would be willing to try anything. It does kill fish though. I sprayed whole place then went out for a few hours. It was that simple.
Hi-
I'm having to treat my apartment in a couple days. Can you tell me the name of any of these permethrin sprays? Also, have you had any luck with bleach?
Hi. I MIGHT HAVE VERY USEFUL INFORMATION TO HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEM
I've had these "biting, microscopic mites" for about a month or more now. They crawled all over me and my clothing, and got in my mouth and throat and made me sick. I treated my mattress, got mattress covers, and threw out all of my stuff to try to get rid of them, only to have them come back. Every time I told my landlord or an exterminator about them, they told me that they didn't exist. This made me very angry and frustrated, to the point of tears because I couldn't sleep without these invisible creatures attacking me, and it seemed that there were no answers.
Finally, today, I met with an entomologist from the Natural History Museum, who was nice enough to look at my belongings under a microscope and saw that there were NO bugs.
He said that a lot of people come into his office, describing the very thing that I described (including the biting and crawling getting worse at night), and it turns out to be a MOLD issue. That is why, when you attempt to exterminate it as if it were an insect, it goes away for a little while and then comes back. Once the chemicals dry, and the spores are not bogged down by the dampness, they go back into the air.
Apparently, the mold on your skin creates the illusion of something crawling and biting. Every time someone tried to tell me it wasn't a bug, I was annoyed, but the way this man explained it: it made sense. He said that in the cases that he saw, there had recently been some sort of moisture problem in the house. (I had had leaky faucets and mold in the bathroom right before the problem happened). He also said that a perfectly normal looking house could have a mold problem.
So, there may be some relief in looking for ways to solve a mold issue instead an insect issue. I feel very relieved, and hope that this helps others. I think that all exterminators should know about this information.
Apparently, there are dogs who are trained to detect mold, and there are mold-detecting kits.
Some sources say that bleach kills mold, which might explain why some people on these boards have had some success with bleach.
Good luck, all
Apple
Read my comments further down in this thread: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2457904586844743790&postID=7159696575604634357
Anything with permethrin and metheprin I think it was worked for me when used in excess. Make sure you have ruled out everything else before using it but it worked for me.
I haven't used bleach at all! What would I bleach, my whole room? My clothes? Sounds risky.
note: Apple and Anonymous on this thread are the same
re: what would I bleach?
I'm planning to wash my walls and floors and belongings in bleach, and then leave for a couple days.
Have you had any water leaks or moisture prolems? That can be a source.
Not really, though there was a previous fungus problem on the wall of my old flat when I had problems too.
But I have found I don't have a problem since I sprayed the insecticide so i'm not convinced it was a fungal thing issue really. Though maybe the mites prefer damp conditions.
One or two others in different threads have had success with the chemicals I used is why I so recommend it. You might wonder why I check back here then, but that's because I want to see if it helps others because I remember how terrible it was for me.
I did at one point spray a borax and water solution which might do similar to bleach. But this had no effect. Personally I recommend ditching all this "hokey" stuff and going straight to the chemicals known to kill crawling insects - i wish I had done so immediatly or had someone telling me how to do it.
You can buy household flea sprays from pet shops or even supermarkets and they are designed to be sprayed in your house as I did. Just check the label says permethrin (and metheprin as I found, though as they are so closely related I would imagine permethrin would work alone).
Affect was almost instant. Legacy biting and itching sensation dulled over the course of a day or two and that was it: gone.
However i did have to do another dose a month or two later as I felt "them" coming back. It did have a swift affect however and no more issues some 5 or so months later.
Both household pest control companies I spoke to before this totally dismissed what I had to say which was certainly frustrating.
You could try your bleach idea, but if you know you're going away I recommend buying a can or two, spraying liberally over whole rooms, wardrobes, in draws (don't breath it in) and clothes - then leave for a few hours (or days if you're giong away).
Remember that your bag, clothes and stuff you pack could be infested although if they are in the room or you are wearing them as you do it, proximity to the spray would likely kill them.
Personally I recommend spraying - leaving for a few hours, then coming back and packing. From personal experience it is possible to transport this problem between 3 flats before I acctually solved it.
I honestly believe it would solve your problem as it did me, but if you are keen to try the bleach, good luck. I'll check back here to see how it goes - i have to say i am not convinced but good luck anyway.
Loviatar,
Could you email me? I'm working on opening a new web site on biting mites and could use your help.
My address is: blog marc (at) g mail (dot) com
Thank you,
Marc
Dental Toxicities http://www.parasitetesting.com/
Digestive health starts in the mouth: For many patients, dental and digestive health seem to go hand in hand. Currently there are a multitiude of procedures and materials that have been developed by the dental industry to promote dental health, not to mention to ward off infections and improve oral hygiene. Manufacturers of dental materials spare no effort to provide dentists with the widest array of amalgams, composites, sealants, varnishes, cements, adhesives, pastes, etc. We all know about mercury and heavy metal toxicity; see for example, Ziff (2002). What we did not know about is the involvement of dental sealants (liners in the causation of a newly discovered disorder called neurocutaneous syndrom (NCS) (Amin, 2003, 2004).
NCS is a disorder that degrades the skin (cutaneous tissue) and neurological system of patients who have been treated with sealants during filling or root canal procedures. Patients sensitive to sulfa are especially susceptible to experiencing the neurological and dermatological toxicity symptoms of NCS. Neurological symptoms include but are not limitited to pinprick and/or creeping, painful, and irritating movement sensations, often interpreted as loss of memory, and light sensitivity may also be experienced. The cutaneous aspects include the development of small itchy sores or inflamed, elevated, pimples that may eventually evolve into painful open lesions with a tendency to spread. General symptoms include compromised immune system, fatigue, and psychological trauma.
A complete description of NCS symptoms, the syndrome, compounding factors, and the toxic sealants, with case histories and treatment protocols, is given by Amin (2003, 2004) Dental practitioners should be aware of the adverse effects of using sealants, and employ this knowledge to safeguard the well being of their patiesnt.
SOURCES:
Amin, O.M. "On the diagnosis and management of Neurocutaneous Syndrome (NCS), a toxicity disorder from dental sealants." Explore, vol., 13, no. 1 (2003): pp 21-25.
Amin, O.M. "Dental sealant toxicity: Neurocutaneous Syndrome (NCS), a dermatological and neurological disorder." Holistic Dental Association Journal, no. 1 (2004): pp. 1-15
Ziff, S. Silver Dental Fillings: The Toxic Time Bomb. Santa Fe, Aurora Press, 2002.
Wow, I just started dealing with this problem a couple months ago, and I must say I am quite depressed you haven't found a permanent solution. Your approach seems quite methodical and does have a lot of tips. Have you tried the menthol crystals in diffusers as described on Shanspirations? I'm trying that currently and seems to be giving me a lot of relief, though its unknown if its a permanent solution.
I would love to read a current update. Your last post was shortly before I realized what I was dealing with and started searching the internet.
It amazes me that this is not more widely known. Seems if I could get infested it could happen to anybody. I wish I had known of this and I would have been way more aggressive about dealing with it when I first started noticing the bites and crawling sensations. Well, I didn't and the bugs took over, though now maybe I've beaten them back a little.
Thanks Loviator for your helpful suggestions, here and on other boards. Just knowing other people have dealt or are currently dealing with a similar problem is some comfort. Hopefully together we can find a solution.
Great story as for me. I'd like to read more concerning that topic.
BTW look at the design I've made myself A level escort
I have found that the Avon Skin-so-Soft (body oil) kills them on contact, pour it all over your body and if you then rub it into your skin, it will start to get the mites out of your pores. The SoS dries out your skin, so also use a skin moisturizer cream.
Also the Steri-fab insecticide kills the bugs in your home. It is available on the web or on EBAY.
I want to thank you for the Blog. I found quite a bit of useful information on here. Am going to start using Dial soap, adding some essential oils to the dryer loads, and possibly concocting a body/fabric spray of essential oils in a carrier oil: Olive will do, but Almond, grapeseed and hazelnut oils probably smell better. The ratio is 3% essential oil, the rest carrier oil. Maybe add the hydrogen peroxide and a capful of orange oil to each wash load. Lots of very interesting resources and links on here too.
Below is my story. If any thoughts come to mind (other than ridding the house of all animals and nests: a must-do no matter what), please let me know:
I moved into my current house last September. It has a one bedroom living area upstairs; downstairs is a two-car garage and a separate laundry/furnace/storage room. When I moved in most of my possessions had been in storage for 4 years in a bin on the Connecticut shoreline, where I put them after I broke up with my fiancé (our rented house required two incomes). While ridding the storage bin of unneeded items prior to moving, I came across several empty field mice nests (I threw those boxes out). When moving I put all the storage bin contents directly into the basement area, with the intention of doing further culling and cleaning when I had the time. None of the items came upstairs.
Prior to moving here I never got a single bite, and even after moving never was bitten until Christmas time. My employer was closed for a week, I took an extra week off, and tackled clearing out a space downstairs for my car to park out of the snow. I also started moving some useful items upstairs. Suddenly I started getting bitten severely, several times a night. I say night as I never felt a bite and only noticed bites after waking up.
I did some research online. Because of the bite grouping patterns and the nocturnal nature of the bites, I at first assumed bed bugs. But I have yet to find a bed bug:
- I have searched every screw-hole, crack, nook and cranny of the bedroom, including removing electrical outlet covers.
- I vacuumed using a near-hepa quality shop vac and searched the contents diligently (after leaving it outside for a week with the hose sealed off): no bed bugs there.
- I have had my bed moated for several weeks and not a single drowned bed bug showed up. I do question whether that matters, as I understand the (very) soapy water can break down the shell and I do get clumps of whitish goop that I have assumed is soap. But it could be what's left of the bugs after the soap (Murphy's oil) dissolves the shells. I have climbup interceptors arriving next week.
At this point I am beginning to think it is mites of some kind, most likely from the mice. It turns out that mites also bite mostly at night and with the same bite pattern. I have been bitten during the day lately. I understand that with bed bugs, daytime bites are associated with heavy infestations and visual presence of bugs in the open during the day. That is totally the opposite of my situation: the odds of having a heavy infestation AND finding no bugs or traces after the above-described search are astronomical. The shop vac I used to vacuum every crack and crevice in the house is extremely powerful. It would have sucked up at least one identifiable bed bug.
Mites....
I know now that the only way to get rid of all this skin trouble is to have my teeth worked on...(crown and dental sealer contains toxic substances). Otherwise we all continue to "treat the symptoms" which includes the sores, the bugs, the "delusions" - as described by 5 doctors to me over the years. The answer is here: http://members.cox.net/llyee/faces/faces_neuro.html
Soreness of bed bugs bites do not appear quickly. It will appear after some hours, days or even a week.
Does it help when people bring up the most hairbrained chemical concoctions to marinate themselves in? Also, why whenever I read about bird mites on a forum some random person posts about like for example, "Proof your pancreas can fool the body into feeling itchy!".
I don't want to kill myself with chemicals and let microscopic mites with the war. Two, if some of these blogs/forums were moderated better the subject could remain about bird mites, their symptoms, and treatments (not veer off into medically shady promotional material).
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