A Partial Guide to Essential Oils Used In Mite Control

Although primary host eradication may be key to the elimination of blood feeding mites, essential oils (EO) have proven to have anti-ectoparasitic properties and can be helpful in the battle against mites--particularly considering how well they survive through normal pesticides, soaps, shampoos, and any other number of measures.

These oils include Anise, Balsam, Basil, Bay, Birch, Cajeput, Camphor, Caraway, Cedar, Cinnamon, Clove, Coriander, Dill, Fennell, Fir, Garlic, Hemp, Lavender, Lavendin, Lemongrass, Marjoram, Nutmeg, Orange, Peppermint, Pine, Rosemary, Rue, Sage, Spearmint, Tea Tree, Thuja, Thyme, Wintergreen and Ylang-Ylang. You can purchase these oils in their pure forms from herbal or vitamin shops such as GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, or even locally owned natural remedy shops. Tea Tree Oil, one of the most popular, can be readily purchased at most pharmacies and even some grocery stores.

Realize that even though essential oils are sold expensively in small quantities in their pure form, you will probably not be using them in their pure form. Never put pure EOs on the skin. It must always be diluted. Also, never allow EOs to contact the eyes even in diluted form--if you get EO in your eyes, rinse your eyes for a few minutes with water. Also, never ingest EOs, if you accidentally ingest an EO, call a poison control hotline and/or go to an emergency room.

Most uses in mite control either involve using essential oils in diluted products or in small quantities. You can save on cost by purchasing these oils in larger quantities, for example a 500 ml bottle of eucalypus oil. If you buy essential oils, make sure that you first research quality standards and active ingredients. For example, not all Tea Tree Oils are equal as some do not have the right amounts of the active ingredient terpinen.

If you plan to use EOs for mite control, make sure you are using them only as a part of a much larger plan. Find and eradicate the original host and its nest. You will still need to do vacuuming, putting mattresses and pillows in mite covers, keeping clothing in bags etc. etc. I recommend contacting a professional pest control service, such as Oreckman and consulting a doctor, preferrably a dermatologist. This may be difficult due to lack of knowledge in these fields concerning biting mites.

For information on mite control in Honeybees through the use of essential oils, see the following links. It may provide insights into how essential oils function when controlling mites. Mite Control in Honey Bees With Essential Oils and Control of Varroa Mites Through the Systematic Application of Essential Oils in a Liquid Honeybee Diet and USDA Bee Lab Teams Pursue Mite Controls.

EO Use in Laundry

These oils that are derived from aromatic plants have been shown to kill certain mites when the oil is added to the dryer. This can be done by simply adding 25 drops of an essential oil (such as Eucalyptus Oil or Lavendar Oil) or you can purchase Arm and Hammer Essentials dryer sheets labeled Lavander (Link). If you are attempting to eradicate mites with the dryer sheets, I recommend putting at least four sheets into one dryer load and running the dryer on the hottest setting. I use the Arm and Hammer sheets in conjunction with Bounce dryer sheets (three bounce sheets) to combine the effects of both of them.

You can also add Tea Tree Oil (TTO) in the washing stage, add half a tea spoon (or if you want a whole one) into the wash. It might be a good idea to dilute it in a cup of water before putting it in among the clothes. Or, you can buy already produced TTO laundry additives such as De-Mite (Link) or other already mixed detergents. It is a good idea to still use Borax, vinegar, or ammonium in laundry. I am not sure how well TTO works in laundry, but it might be worth a try. Be aware that some detergents may be labeled as lavendar or other scents that are common in EOs. This does not necessarily mean that the product contains EOs, it may simply be chemically scented to smell like something. Make sure to read the label and affirm that it actually has EOs. This goes for lotions and bath products as well.

House Dust Mites can apparently die from clothing and soft objects even from simple exposure to the fumes of essential oils in a tightly enclosed space. I am not sure whether or not this would kill blood feeding mites, but it might be worth a try, see this patent explanation: Method for Killing House Dust Mites in Clothing and Other Soft Materials Link.

EO Shampoos and Soaps

One recent study in Australia found that 5% TTO killed a resistent strain of crusted scabies mites (Baker, Laurence "Tea Tree Oil May Be Used to Treat Scabies." Archives of Dermatology 140 (2004): 563-566 Link). Although scabies is a more fragile species of mite than blood feeding mites, a scabies like treatment can be used both to kill mites on the body and to act as a preventative measure. The difference is that when you should only use Lindane at most once a month and permetherin once a week, you can use EO shampoos and soaps on a daily basis (or twice daily or more) with the same level of effect as one treatment of permetherin (I say this only concerning house infesting biting mites, not scabies--scabies has a different treatment with TTO which I will not discuss here).

As a last exercise in the shower (perhaps after washing with Dial antibacterial bar soap or Dawn antibacterial dish soap), the person suffering from biting mites can turn off the shower, lather the entire body and hair with tea tree shampoo, leave it on for two to fifteen minutes, and then lightly rinse it off. This will both kill the mites and may leave sufficient amounts of TTO in the skin to discourage further bites. TTO shampoos usually have around 2 or 3% TTO.

Be aware, however, that TTO can cause redness and inflamation of the skin and may even have side effects such as nausea and drowsiness. If you notice these symptoms, immediately wash the oil off. It is possible that you can still use TTO in this way in a more diluted form or for a shorter period of time. You can dilute it with Olive Oil (not an EO) or by adding a non-EO normal shampoo to the Tea Tree Oil shampoo.

TTO shampoos come from many different brands. You can find these at herbal shops, bath shops, some pharmacies, and beauty salons. You can also make TTO shampoo by simply adding a few drops to normal shampoo in your hand or by adding a somewhat larger quantity (tea spoon or two) to a bottle of normal shampoo. This shampoo will also kill lice.

You can also use other EO soaps and washes to the same effect. One line of such soaps is Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps which can be purchased on line (Link) or from most health-herb-vitamin shops. Be aware that even though these soaps are already diluted, they may still be too harsh. You can add some of Dr. Bronner's soap in a diluted TTO shampoo to add strength to it, or take other measures to dilute the soap.

Head and Shoulders (which in itself can be used as an anti-mite body wash) has come out with a product with Peppermint Oil already added to it and Dawn antibacterial dish soap (which also can be used by itself as an anti-mite body wash) has come out with a line that uses orange extract (Orange Oil?).

Cedarcide: Cedar Oil As a Pesticide

Other studies have been conducted by Cedarcide industries who add 10% Cedar Oil to a saline solution and thus use it to eradicate mites from homes, pets, poultry houses, livestock, and even orchards. Some people who have experienced distress from blood sucking mites have found relief from Cedarcide, but in some cases it has apparently only suppressed the mite population and required a daily application with a trijet fogger for the temporary relief. It appears effective only as a contact killer for the mites. It can also be sprayed on oneself when you feel crawling and may have some repellant qualities when it is on the skin.

If you plan to try to eradicate biting mites from a house with this product, purchase the trijet fogger and several gallons of Cedarcide. Also, buy at least one quart sized spray bottle to use under furniture and places that the trijet does not contact. The mist will fall from up to down and any surface with something on it (chair, piece of paper) will not be exposed. (Cedarcide Industries take on mite infestations link).

Other Sprays and Concoctions

Some people have had luck in mite control by spraying Orange Oil cleaners. These cleaners contain Orange Oil, usually to get rid of grime. You can find it in most stores that sell bathroom and kitchen cleaners. Others have used EOs in concoctions with a number of other ingredients (one example is "Spray Concoction that Helps" on the birdmites.org Forum near the top Link). I have experimented with a similar concoction that contains Witch Hazel, a teaspoon of TTO, and about 20-30 drops of eucalyptus or lavendar oil in a small spray bottle. I usually don't spray this on myself, but I've sprayed my bedding with it right before going to sleep. It is my hope that it will kill any mites that are there and repel them till morning.

Lemon Eucalyptus EO has also emerged as an insect repellant line from Cutter and Repel. Cutter includes 30% Lemon Eucalyptus Oil and both have a label repellant time of six hours. Since you should only use this product no more than twice a day, I like to alternate it with a Picardin containing repellant (which also should be used only once a day) so I do not overexpose myself (Picardin is not an EO, I'm just sharing this info FYI).

There are a lot of other products and uses out there for EOs. Trial and error must be used in seeing how well these work. Notice that some products, such as lotions, may have such small quantities of EOs that they do not repel mite bites.

Wikipedia article on Essential Oils

University of Western Australia Tea Tree Oil Research Group

HerbMed on Tea Tree Oil

Florinated Silica Aerogel Dust as an Effective Mite Control Agent

This explanation of how to control blood sucking mites (Tropical Rat Mite, House Mouse Mite, Chicken Mite, and Northern Fowl Mite) is one of the best I have run into. It may be difficult to find someone who uses this method to control mites, but if you find a pest control service that does, let me know. This portion is excerpted from Walter Ebeling's Urban Entomology Chapter 9 Part 3 (Link here):

"Within some households certain individuals are affected while others are not. Sometimes, much time and money will be spent on ineffective medication and it is usually difficult for the infested person to obtain a correct diagnosis. This acariasis cannot be distinguished from flea bites, and is sometimes misidentified as scabies.

"The complete control of rats would, of course, eventually result in the elimination of tropical rat mites from infested premises. However, rat control often proves to be difficult, and "ratproofing" an attic may also be difficult and very expensive. It should also be borne in mind that trapping or otherwise killing rats may increase the attacks on the inhabitants of the house for a time because of the suddenly increased number of mites that leave the bodies of the dead rats. Unfed protonymphs have been observed to survive for as long a period as 43 days without food (Sudd, 1952).

"Acaricides that depend on toxic action lose their toxicity too rapidly, particularly in the high summer temperatures of an attic. Reinfestation may then occur. HCN gas fumigation has been used successfully, but it is expensive and leaves no residue.

"The successful results of a fluorinated silica aerogel dust, blown into attics for the prevention of drywood termites (Incisitermes minor) suggested a similar use of this material for the control of the tropical rat mite (Ebeling, 1960). In 5 infested houses and 1 2-story apartment house, in each of which 1 or more inhabitants had been attacked by rat mites for prolonged periods, the silica aerogel Dri-die 67 was blown into the attic at the rate of 1 lb to 1,000 sq ft (0.45 kg to 93 sq m) of attic area. For 4 of the houses, the dust was also blown into the crawl space under the house at the same rate (for floor space) as that for the attic area. An electric duster with a 1-gal (4-L) hopper was used to apply the dust. In the attic, the dust was applied entirely from the crawl hole, and under the house, from 1 or 2 crawl holes or a larger number of foundation vents. Since in all cases the mites were already distributed throughout the dwelling, some dust was applied with a small bellows hand duster under mattresses, on the spring supports of beds, along the edges and in the 4 corners of bed frames, into the junctures of seats and back or arm rests and under the pillows of sofas and lounges, under furniture and other out-of-the way places, and in a few spots along the floor boards and ceiling moldings.

"The decision to make use of Dri-die 67 dust was made in an effort to bring about the immediate cessation of mite attacks. Principal reliance was placed on the dusting of the attic for longterm control.

"Rat mites may live as long as 63 days with no food (Scott, 1949), so those not coming into contact with the dust may continue to infest the inhabitants of a house. In all the buildings treated, severe infestations had been experienced up to the date of treatment, but ceased immediately afterward, and were never resumed except in 1 house where the housewife received a few more bites after treatment. In this instance, she applied more dust behind the electric outlet plates and various other areas that had not been covered the first time. Control was soon obtained, and no reinfestation occurred. Conventional liquid acaricides could have been applied in the living spaces of the treated houses, for people usually try to avoid leaving an unsightly residue. However, dusting is appropriate in attics, wall voids, and other inconspicuous areas. The dusting should be done before rat control is attempted, so that mites leaving the bodies of dead rats will contact the dust and will not be able to reach the living space and infest its occupants. "