Mysterious Mites? We are desperate please help

[belmar1]

Hi everyone,

If you have had experience with this we really need your help! We have been fighting with this mysterious little crawling mite for the past couple of weeks. We called the council and they kept one of the insects for identification, but the lab results will arrive next Friday, so sadly they won't take action before the next 10 days and in the meantime the little monsters are wrecking our lives, we are desperate.

We were deep cleaning the house (we had friends and family over for Christmas and the house was a bit of a disaster) and once we were done my DH decided to give a good clean to the shed outside as well and brought in some of our old clothes that have been sitting there for months. The clothes sat in the house for the afternoon and after that I decided to bring them to the local charity shop (I told them about the problem since and they said to not to worry cause they always sterilise everything).

On the same evening I started to feel itchy. My DH didn't and my DD (5) felt fine too, so I didn't take any drastic action, thinking that it was all in my head or that might have been because of some kind of allergic reaction. The following morning I had a hot shower I felt a little relieved, until I put my jacket on and I clearly felt bites on my back. I went back home and checked my back and yes, they were bites indeed! That was on the 28th of December and that's when our nightmare officially started.

We cleaned the whole house again. We then got the carpets professionally cleaned, together with our mattress and upholsteries. Cleaned all our clothes in a hot wash and sprayed the whole house with Rentokill fleas&mites spray.

Eventually my husband got couple of bites too, luckily my DD doesn't seems to be affected at the moment. I am particularly sensitive to insect bites and allergic to some of them so that's probably why I have been affected the most, but I am incredibly scared that my daughter will eventually get bites too if we don't get rid of this problem ASAP. At the moment I am just keeping her out of our room and living room as much as I can.

In the beginning we couldn't spot any insects although I was feeling itchy all the time, then on NY we spotted two little bugs on our (freshly cleaned) blanket. Eventually we worked out that all my clothes - even those that have been cleaned - are infected, and every time I leave the house I get new bites.

My GP gave us a cream for scabies treatment, which of course didn't help. And we are wearing tropical repellent with 90% DEET in it, but they don't seem to mind. We have been vacuuming the house and had very hot showers every single day. Our clothes are all sealed in bin bags.

We are desperate.. I personally haven't been able to sleep at night because I am so itchy and I had to take a couple of days off work because of that. My DH managed to catch one of the bugs (they move incredibly fast and it's hard to see them!) and we showed it to the pest control guy who couldn't recognise it. He said that might be a bird mite, but he's not sure. We won't know for sure until next Friday and I am not sure wether they will spray/fumigate the house immediately after the results are out either.

I am just so afraid that the council pest control won't take care of this properly. I am afraid that we are not even close to getting rid of them. I am already so sick of it I can't even think properly. It's going to be two weeks between the moment I first called the environmental health office and the day they'll (hopefully) spray the house. We just can't afford to call a private company at the moment... right after Christmas...

If anyone has any suggestions and thoughts about this all please let us know, any type of advice is highly appreciated.

[Nevercan]

Could it be bed bugs?

[belmar1]

Hi Nevercan,

Thanks for your answer. No - the disinfestation guy said they're definitely not bed bugs. They don't look like bedbugs and they don't behave like them either. They look more like nits - that's why we thought they were body lice, but the disinfestation guy said that they're extremely rare!

If we were going to call a private company, how much do you reckon they would ask?

[Room101isWhereIUsedToLive]

Do they look like these op?

[MooseBeTimeForSnow]

Any straw or hay in the shed?

[MooseBeTimeForSnow]

Hmm. Bird mites? They apparently target the torso, limbs and head. Any chance a bird might have got in there?

[ktmummy1]

Carpet beetle larvae?

[belmar1]

Hi everyone,

I apologies for my late reply. I have been ill (bad luck recently!) so I haven't checked my computer. Thanks so much for you replies.

It's definitely not a carpet beetle larvae Ktmummy1 - and Room101 I thought they were body lice as well, when I first saw one I thought they were looking a bit like nits, but my DH and the pest control man reckon they're something else.

MooseBeTimeForSnow, no straw or hay in the shed no. There is a chance that they're bird mites, we live in central London and there are plenty of pigeons around.

At the moment, my husband and I aren't getting any new bites, instead we are getting this burning red patches that are incredibly itchy, but the redness/itch last only for few minutes. My DD is a bit itchy sometimes, but that might be just because she knows we are itchy and I can't see any bites or red patches on her. The pest control should call back tomorrow, fingers crossed. I will update this post and let you know how it goes!

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Could be red mite? My chicken shed is infested with red mite. They're actually tiny and grey until they feed. I sometimes see the odd one on my arm after ive been in the shed and they do itch. Ive never been bitten though.

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Can you get some indorex spray from Amazon? It's flea spray but I reckon it will kill all sorts.

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

mites of the uk

[belmar1]

WhoTheFuckIsSimon, mmm red mite, I'll definitely look into that! Thanks

We actually did get Rentokill flea and crawling insect spray (Permethrin) straight away and we absolutely bombed the house. Initially didn't seem to work, but we did few spraying sessions , the situation seems to have settled a little bit now. I mean, we are still getting itchy, we have those red rushes, we are still terrified and our home is still a mess, but it's a little more manageable at the moment.

Our clothes have all been treated and sealed in vacuumed bags, that might have helped too. We also bought some plastic boxes where to keep few outfits and things to use until the pest control company treats the house.

Ha, they didn't end up calling today, and on Monday is going to be exactly two weeks since I have called the first time and they still have't scheduled an appointment! I'm speechless and a bit hopeless.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted!

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Sounds awful, I hope it gets sorted.

[lapunka]

hi Belmar1

Just wondered how things are going with your bird mite infestation. We have environmental health coming tomorrow, but from what I've read on the net and on this site, I'm certain we have bird mites in our bedroom. I have been fastidiously cleaning and covering any cracks in the room for over a week and have seem a massive reduction i.e. just finding a few a day.

However I am beside myself with the itching all over and the horror stories i have read about never getting rid of them!! (birdmite.org)

Even though Environmental health are coming tomorrow, I am feeling really stressed, and to be honest depressed, as although they may be able to spray the rooms, I'm not sure what they can do for humans.

Any update on your situation would be good as at least I know where I stand.

thanks.

[CornishTea]

Hi lapunka Im just wondering if the OP will see this as its 6 months ago, she might not look at threads Im on that far.

If you send a p.m it might show on her emails.

Hope you get it sorted, it sounds awful.

[lapunka]

Thanks CornishTea,

It's kind of you to let me know.

I only signed up to mumsnet when I posted the message so don't know the site well. How do I send a PM? my computer skills are really bad!!

[CornishTea]

Are you on a mobile?
If so press on the 3 dots at the right hand side of the post & it will give you the option.