While mites are all around us, we know so little about them, especially microscopic mites. Outside the scientific realm, they do not exist for us. In this modern scientific era we are in the infancy of our understanding of microscopic mites.
Besides the obvious dilemma that their activity is not subject to common observation, the study and understanding of mites exists in academic silos. If you were to ask a variety of doctors, they would all respond from their professional strength, whether it is a gastroenterologist, a dermatologist, an entomologist or a veterinarian. Of course, a psychologist will tell you all the reasons it may be imaginary, which it might be.
There is a new inter-disciplinary field emerging that will greatly help our understanding of mites. It is called conservation medicine. TheTUFTS University Center for Conservation Medicine has become a leader in this field. This diagram graphically depicts conservation medicine as that field which studies the relationship and intersection of human, animal and environmental health.
conservation medicine diagram
Zoonosis, the transmission of disease from animal to man, is a major component of conservation medicine. Many of these diseases are not transferred directly from animal to man, but rather act as vectors that transfer diseases from other life forms to man. Imagine your pet dog or cat was a bus, transporting vast mite populations from out in the wild to your domestic environment.
conservation medicine and pest control
Pest control sits squarely in the field of conservation medicine. The pest control profession has been fighting environmental pests that infect humans since its’ infancy. With the advent of the environmental movement, the pest control profession slowly began adopting integrated pest management, our industry specific term for what might otherwise be called conservation medicine. Of course, pest control technicians don’t prescribe medicines, but we do proscribe inter-disciplinary treatments and refer to other specialties.
The pest control field is inundated with complaints about mites, microscopic mites. A very unique pest control professional is needed to solve this problem, one who appreciates the inter-disciplinary skills needed.
You believe that mites are in your environment and have become pests. You came to us because you were fine until one day you came into contact with something in your environment and suddenly you had the sensation of biting. You intuitively knew that it was not a psychological problem, but that something happened outside that got inside.
Perhaps you first noticed the condition on your pet cat or dog? Maybe your pet started scratching or became ill? Then, it happened to you. One of many forms of mange may be the cause.
sarcoptic mange mite
mangy dog with cheyletiella mites
Perhaps you were in the garden, when you suddenly started feeling a crawling or itching sensation, followed by a biting sensation. The straw itch mite may be the cause. Now you sense them when you sit on furniture and when you sleep at night. You feel you are being victimized in your own bed, while you are most vulnerable.
straw itch mite
Do you notice little white stuff that seems to be moving on your arms? It may be a sign of highly contagious, Cheyletiella mites. What you might be seeing is not the mite, but rather them producing a trail of “walking dandruff.”
Cheyletiella mite
walking dandriff
Are the mites tunneling under your skin? That’s a classic sign of scabies. You need to know that there are several varieties of scabies. While some are transmitted by sexual contact, they can also be transmitted by fomites. These fomites may be physical or biological (i.e. furniture or a pet). Not all scabies are host-species specific. They may be happy to feed on a variety of mammals.
Most all pest control companies reject customers who approach them with the problem of microscopic mites. Most all the pest control companies that accept these customers do so with little understanding about what to do. They treat the problem with a classic flea treatment and hope for the best, happy to get paid, but slow to return for a follow-up service.
Dust mites have been treated for a long time even though they are microscopic, but the pest control field seems to have great reluctance entering this field or extrapolating the lessons learned so as to approach the broader subject of investigating and treating microscopic mites. True, the vast majority of pest control technicians are under-educated. They would be over-extended and under-prepared to attempt to treat this matter.
Broad Pest Control Guidance by Parasitosis Explanation
In the most comprehensive and respected structural pest control book in the field, Handbook of Pest Control, by Mallis, contributing author, Dr. James Goddard extensively discusses mites and parasitosis. Reading the text closely, you see the irony of the situation. In the chapter on mites, Dr. Goddard describes tropical rat mite behavior this way:
“It is known to attack people even where rats are abundant. Tropical rat mites are sometimes found in stores, restaurants, theaters, and other buildings. The mites usually feed at night or in semidarkness and retreat to cracks, crevices and other dark places until their next meal. The mites tend to accumulate in walls, particularly where there is a source of heat.” But then in the chapter on parasitosis, Dr. Goddard’s tip number 10 for determining imaginary “bug bites,” lists “They come out only at night.”
This was one of several points where the actual behavior of many species of mites contradict the list of customer statements leading to a diagnosis of parasitosis.
The Iowa State University Center for Food Security and Public Health Fact Sheet on Acariasis and Mangestates that Dermanyssidae are zoonotically significant. Dermanyssidae are non-burrowing, zoonotic mite species found in birds, chickens, turkeys, pigeons, canaries, dogs, cats and human hosts. They spend most of their existence in the environment, dropping off the host after feeding. Dermanyssidae feed on blood and tissue fluids at night and hide in nearby cracks and crevices during the day. Their eggs are laid in the environment. Adults can survive in the environment for prolonged periods without feeding. Poultry houses can remain infested for six months after all of the birds are removed.
It may be excruciatingly difficult to identify the type of mite, but it is possible to draw conclusions from a combination of both microscopic and environmental evidence.
What Dr. Goddard fails to emphasize is that mite species and behavior is as diverse as most insect behavior. You can’t describe them in one swooping statement. You certainly cannot classify the psychology of the patient based on descriptions of mite infestations as they actually happen in nature.
Whether or not mites are actually present, we believe one question will determine whether or not some percentage of the problem is psychological. That question is, “Will you see a doctor to obtain a medical opinion?” (We suggest that a dermatologist is the best first choice). If the client refuses, something is not 100% normal.
The Mind-Skin Connection
According to Dr. Maite Verde, DVM, PhD, a presenter at the 2005 North American Veterinary Conference, “It has been estimated that over 5% of cases presented in human dermatology clinique are directly attributable to animal ecto-parasites.” Sometimes professionals will conclude that it must be parasitosis because only one person in the house is getting bit, even when they sleep in the same bed. But, as Dr. Maite continues, “The simultaneous appearance of lesions on the owner and his animal, or the presence on a person of lesions restricted to areas of contact with the cat are strongly suggestive of a zoonotic dermatosis. Transmission in the house will not necessarily involve everyone because of variation in individual susceptibility.”
One area of psychology with enormous positive outcomes for sufferers of dermatological ailments is psychodermatology. WebMD states there is a “mind-skin connection.” WebMD cites Karen Mallin, PsyD, “Studies that show that at least 30% of all dermatology patients have some underlying psychological problem that, if addressed, could have a very positive and powerful impact in improving the skin condition. The mind and skin are connected on many different levels. A lot of nerve endings are connected to the skin, which wraps around the organs, so as emotions are played out neurologically, they can be expressed through the skin just as stress can be expressed through gastrointestinal symptoms, increased anxiety, or hypertension.”
A New Breed of Pest Control Professional
Fortunately, a new breed of pest control professionals is arriving with better education and a broader understanding of their profession.
In our experience, which we have taken to a deeper and broader level of investigation, we have learned much about mites, their impact on pets and human and we want to share that knowledge with you. First, we want you to know that we understand your physical and mental pain, as well as your hardship in finding support and solutions from people who can only begin to comprehend the problem you face.
popular lesions of due to
scarpotic scabies
chronic lesions from Cheyletiella
flea bites
lesion caused by Microsporum canis infection
Start finding answers to mites and bites in bed and in your environment today.
Advances in our understanding of mites and other pests that can enter your bed or afflict you at home, causing bite-like symptoms are:
Conservation medicine
Holistic Pest Management
People suffering from bite marks or allergies may be suffering from one of a multitude of Microscopic mites. Such microscopic mites include:
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