Responding to past comments

Ahopeful-I haven't tried the permethrin blitz but I do know someone who beat the mites with Zodiac, which someone else in the comments had used. I think my cat has used flea collars with the other ingredient from Zodiac. The flea collars seem to help him a lot. It seems the mites adapt to pesticides quickly, so the best way would be to kill all of them at once as you did. If you still have pigeons nesting on the roof above, this needs to be taken care of to finish them off for good.

I've been considering buying a pesticide powder to see if it might help further. So far, the best thing has been a salt and borax powder mix that I have used on the carpets. This has worked so well that we have stopped vacuuming the carpet regularly and we have not used the ozone generator.

Someone in the comments was talking about treating the car. The best solution I have found is to have the car professionally vacuumed. Steam cleaning was $100 per cleaning, but a professional vacuuming was about $10 a time, so it is chemical free and it can be done often. If you vacuum it yourself you might pay $1, which is cheap. I put the seats in large plastic bags (so I sit on a big bagged seat) and lots of borax on the floors.

Recently a friend of mine who has struggled with mites for some time found that he probably had a squirrel living in his attic and mice living in his walls. Any treatment for these is likely not to work so long as you have some small animals or birds living in your building.

Never use a flea collar meant for a dog on a cat. Some dog collars contain Amitraz. While Amitraz is the most effective pesticide for chicken mites (and likely for other types), never use it for a cat.

Another friend who is struggling with them has found that Ortho Home Defense really helps. He sprays his house and car with it often, but the constant use of strong chemicals may not be very healthy.

I'm very glad to read about people getting rid of this! It gives me hope and makes me glad.

Update

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.

Allergy Medicines a Big Help.

The first allergy medicine that I used for these mites was Benadryl. I used it only to fall asleep and it seemed to help with itching. Then, I've also used Claritin which is non-drowsy. I thought it didn't help as much as I would have hoped and didn't use it much as I thought it might be a waste of money. Then, I started to take Claritin as I am allergic to cats. There has been very little itching, but my bites can be rather large.

At one point, I found a bed bug infestation in the apartment I live in. I got alarmed that perhaps I did not have mites after all, but I had just suffered from bed bugs for many months. The PCO came and did his thing three times and I haven't seen any signs of bed bugs, but the itchiness and bites persist. I went to a clinic where they looked at my bites and told me that they are not from bed bugs. They were certain that they were from "small spiders."

Fancy that, mites are arachnids and so they are small spiders. They told me that I needed to put a 1% Cortisone cream on my bites to put down swelling and to take Zyrtec once a day. They told me that I should use Zyrtec rather than Claritin as for some reason Zyrtec is more effective on skin allergic reactions.

Since I started taking Zyrtec, I've noticed drowsiness, but particularly if I use Melatonin to fall asleep. I haven't slept so well in a long time. Studies showed that 14% of those given Zyrtec experienced drowsiness with a 6% drowsiness in the placebo group. This means that the medicine is more likely to cause drowsiness in perhaps around 8% of people. None of the candidates stopped taking the medicine due to drowsiness.

It doesn't seem to help as much with the cats that I am allergic to. I find that I have a stuffy nose and my eyes water. I am also not convinced that Zyrtec affects me as long as the 24 hour promise. They told me at the clinic that everyone's body is different and that if Zyrtec doesn't help with the cats, I can go back to Claritin.

Now, I am planning on using up the remainder of my Zyrtec and then moving back to the Claritin and using it up before I buy anything more. I figure if both cover only one of my problems, why should I waste my money buying more of one to not treat the other. They told me not to use both at the same time.

To be honest, I try to buy generic medicines whenever possible and I don't use brand name medicines if I can at all help it. The reason I use the names of brands is that it is easier to understand what I am talking about. Claritin's scientific name is Loratadine and Zyrtec is Cetirizine. Both are over the counter now. Any pharmacy or big box department store will carry these as generics.

I hope to make a post soon comparing the prices that I found for Cetirizine at various big box stores and pharmacies to help you know where you might want to go if you want to get some to relieve swelling and itchiness.

Always use medicines as directed on the package and inform your health care provider if you start a new medicine. Make sure you are aware of any effects it may have on other medicines or health conditions. Be aware of side effects. If you have questions or problems with medications, direct them to your health care provider.

Concerning other medicines and supplements I have taken in the past: I want to give my liver and kidneys a rest, so I've stopped taking Ivermectin and all supplements except a multivitamin tablet along with my allergy medicine.

Suggestions for man with mites from Iraq.

The Dallas Morning News ran the following story in November 2007:

"My son returned from Iraq and thinks he brought back biting mites that are infesting his house. He has set off insect bombs and sprayed and mopped with orange oil, but nothing helps. Do you know about this mite and how to get rid of it?
R.J., Canton

"I'm not familiar with such a bug, but here are a few suggestions. First, don't use bug bombs. They are toxic, coat the entire house with chemicals and don't work.
Wash all clothing and bedding. Add a cup of hydrogen peroxide and a capful of orange oil to each wash load. Spray the house with orange oil mixed with a product called Plant Wash or a mild liquid detergent. Use 1 ounce of Plant Wash or liquid detergent and 2 ounces of orange oil per gallon of water. Spray surfaces well and then wipe them dry with a cloth. This will help get rid of pests and clean residue left by the bug bombs. (If you cannot find Plant Wash in stores, the manufacturer's Web site is www.soilmender.com.)"

Current Protocol.

Use your own discretion if you try any of this, read labels, follow directions, research their safety, I am not responsible for any action taken in relation to whether someone does what I am doing. This is what I'm doing right now. I've gotten a bit sick from past things I've done and if you get sick from anything, stop right away.

1) Shower before bed and when getting up (after breakfast).

2) After shower, thick vaseline around ankles and in areas that themites like, for me on the inner thighs, pubic area, chest,shoulders. I shave off all body hair and since I'm a guy, my head. Iput the vaseline on after both showers. Once when I tried notputting it on, I got bad bites in those areas.

3) Spray bed with Witch Hazel (by rubbing alcohol in stores)with adribble of tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil before shower so it driesout a bit by the time I get to it, you can buy these in largerquantities at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe etc. Witch Hazel is good fromgeneric brands.

4)I spray myself from head to toe with Cedarcide before bed andsometimes I spray my bed as well. This repels them so well, I eatbreakfast with the stuff on, but because of the smell, I need to washup before I go out of the apartment. Some people have been able toget rid of them completely by fogging their house several times witha trijet fogger using Cedarcide (Joan).

5) I take Garlic and Cayenne Pepper supplements several times a day.I used to take B1 and Vitamin C a lot but I've cut down.

6)Thick layer or Borax on car floor (thanks Rita) and 50 gallon blackgarbage bag over car seat.

7)Synthetic clothing--sports wear (thanks Myrtle Maui). The bugsdon't infest them very easily and they wash easier.

8) Avoid sugar and alcohol.

9)Use foot powder in your shoes. Puff some in there and then shakeit so it spreads inside. Take out the sole of the shoe and do it,then do it again with the sole inside.

10) After wearing shoe, spray inside with Witch Hazel conction(mentioned earlier) and rubbing alcohol.

11) Sarna anti-itch lotion on itchy bites.

12) Hemp lotion seems to repel them--I've largely shifted to hemplotion (from Nature's Gate from Whole Foods) when I used to useCutter repellant that contains Picardin. I still use Picardinrepellant on the outside of clothing when I go to my car.

13) Baby powder can be poofed liberally inside underwear when thebugs start biting or crawling.

14) Rubbing alcohol can be sprayed on crawling areas or biting areas,it kills on contact. Try not to inhale it. I spray the floor andseat of my car with it before going in, but you need to air it outthen.

15) In addition to the Borax etc. in laundry, for drying, I use threeBounce sheets and 4 Arm and Hammer "Essentials" sheets. "Essentials"contain essential oils that seem to help a lot in killing/repellingthe mites. I ran out just recently and it seems I had much moretrouble with clothes that I hadn't treated with "Essentials."Lavender is a good scent with this. I'm now going to experiment withanother.

16) Stromectol brand ivermectin every week. This is a prescription drug. Your doctor would have to be willing to sign off on its use as an off label use. This is a decision that you will have to make in consultation with your doctor. To my knowledge, ivermectin has never been approved for long term use in humans and may have unexpected and possibly dangerous side effects.

19) Shave all body hair and if you can, your head.

20) I wash with Dial Anti-Bacterial Soap the entire body and then with Tea Tree Oil Shampoo. I've used a variety of brands of Tea Tree Shampoo. The American Crew worked well for me but I can't find it now. I've also used Jason, Nature's Gate, and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap.

I have full spectrum lights in my room, but I don't know how wellthey help. I also have a dehumidifyer, that I believe helps a lot,and an ionic air purifyer that creates small bits of ozone and helpsa bit, I think.I am limited in how well I can treat this. I can't use an ozonegenerator or spray stuff, or put down diatomacious earth or Borax onthe floors, so I can't take care of it as whole sale as I would like to, but these are ideas.

Also, check for birds or rodents in your house or around your house.Put out rodent traps just to see if you catch any and poison to seeif it gets eaten (if you don't have pets). Rodents can get in reallytricky places and they can bring this plague of mites on us. I thinkI may have rodents nearby and they may be making things worse. This all started for me with a dead rat.

Suggestion on Why Biting Mites Are Spreading Now.

It seems that increasing temperatures are affecting the population of bugs. National Geographic reports that at an earlier time with higher temperatures, bugs began to eat plants much more--they got the "munchies" (article here). Other scientists speculate that a warmer climate will cause some insects in tropical areas to die off and for a larger number of species to move toward the warming temperate regions (article here). We are already seeing animals that are used to warmer climates moving their range north. Recently, the BBC reported that the stink bug, which was not able to live in Britain, has now established itself into the British climate. They speculate that growing urban heat islands may be allowing warmer-climate bugs to survive in England (article here).

If I may say so, I do not believe the idea that some tropical insects will become extinct due to warming temperatures. Why? For one thing, they are already moving north. If it becomes uninhabitable in current tropical regions, they will survive in the new tropical regions. Secondly, the warming climate is causing humidity to go up (and glaciers are even growing due to this) which will result in increased precipitation.

In the book, Unstoppable Global Warming by Dennis T. Avery and S. Fred Singer, the authors point out that past warm climate cycles have been warmer than the current one we are experiencing. On this would indicate that our bugs are in no trouble at all. However, we, humans, are in a lot of trouble with these bugs. They record in their book that past warm cycles have seen a change in horticulture to warm-climate plants in northern regions, which seems to correlate with the idea that fauna are also migrating toward previously colder regions. To add to the issue of a growing global humidity (which actually buffers the rise in sea levels), naturally warmer regions received great amounts of rainfall and became very soggy.

So, it appears to me that whatever may be causing a global increase in temperatures, this increase is allowing bugs that normally could not live in more northern regions to live there and it is increasing humidity to allow for humidity sensitive bugs to thrive in areas where they were previously checked by dry air (and cool weather).

The suggestion that vermin and disease spreads with climate cycles is not far fetched (here's one article). Both major outbreaks of the plague can be traced to changes in climate as rat carried climate appears to have broken out at a cooling phase in the cycle, once in the Dark Ages at the end of the Roman warming and again at the end of the Medieval Warming--the plague was directly related to the migration and population size of rats, which were apparently reacting to climate change (and their fleas, which also may have been affected by climate change). Furthermore, malaria has been known to flourish as far north as Scandinavia if the conditions are correct. Some scientists have speculated that malaria could return to the US with the bugs that carry it (yes, there was a time we had malaria here, Washington, DC, was built on a malarial swamp).

So, higher humidity and warmth are allowing bird and rodent mites to fourish. Maybe this has happened before, between 1000 and 1300 AD, when we had a trend toward a warmer world. We just don't read about peasants fighting these crazy mites. The best thing would be to bring back DDT, it will prevent the spread of many anthropod born illnesses and was shown to be quite effective against rat mites, and most likely would be just as effective against all bird mites (article). Then, this long term hell of months of fighting invisible biting crawling monsters could be finally over.

Academic Research on Tropical Rat Mites.

Since I compiled this bibliography on academic sources on Tropical Rat Mites, I've added a few more sources, so I'm posting that post again on this link.