Re: BIRD MITE NIGHTMARE
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Posted by Bug_bite_hater on August 24, 2004 at 08:07:26:
In Reply to: BIRD MITE NIGHTMARE posted by Tim on August 24, 2004 at 03:09:37:
Tim, I don't have anything to offer except my sincere sorrow and worry for you. You've definately been through Hell. I guess modern medicine doesn't have anything in the form of a respirator that would rid them in your respiratory tract. I'm just so very sorry. Here you were simply removing an old nest and became a victim. Thank you for posting your story here. I know that it will help someone before their situation gets as bad as yours. : I had recently posted this on the scabies forum due to the number of people that are having bites at night and can't figure out what it is (when not scabies). Thought maybe this would be helpfull to other tormented souls. :
: Since I have been able to get a lot of good advice from others here, I wanted to share my story and provide some tips that have helped me. I have been dealing with some type of bird mite for over two years now and it has been a total nightmare, I didn’t think people could be this tormented by something so small (except for microbes like viruses, bacteria, etc). I had assumed that mites were somehow beneficial, and only since I have been researching my problem have I realized how nasty these things are. If you have scabies, then you already know this. : My saga started two years ago when I removed a sparrow’s nest from my garage after the young had vacated the premises. About a week or so later I started to get these bites all over my back, and some on my arms and face, when I woke up in the morning. My bedroom was only about 10 feet from the garage and I slept with the windows open, since it was in northern Ohio and I didn’t have AC. : I soon realized that I had some type of bug, but thought it may be fleas though I don’t have a pet and am very good about vacuuming, etc. I then thought it was the ‘no see ums’, but I don’t live near water and these things don’t fly but crawl and are worse at night. I thought it could be bedbugs but they are too small and don’t infest a home and the respiratory system the way these things have. I vacuumed, washed and disinfected everything I could, but still no luck. Thanks to a lot of good websites I finally figured out that I had some type of bird mite, and have had info from others that have been dealing with this same dilemma. : Like mosquitoes, these types of mite are drawn to heat, warmth, moisture, and CO2. That is why they will often crawl in your nose, mouth, ears, groin, etc. They are actually arachnoids, members of the spider family. They are ectoparasites, so they don’t live in the blood system, but they sure don’t mind nostrils, etc. I often blow my nose and see little red dots. Apparently they become red after getting blood, while the others that I would see were more opaque. And like mosquitoes, the female needs blood to reproduce. The immature mite has six legs; the mature ones gain an extra set of legs. I notice that some crawl real slow while others seem to hop and move fast. If the room is heavily infested, you will feel them on your head, arms and legs as you enter the room, since they can be in the carpet, on the walls or ceiling. These things are very small, and I have only seen the opaque ones with two magnifiers working together. I set out a pan of hot water in a darkened room with only one light shining on the water. After a few hours I could see several of them moving in the water, so they don’t drown. : One of the frustrating aspects of this nightmare is the lack of knowledge by so called experts. The dermatologist was of no help, and many entomology websites will say that these mites only live on host birds. However, they acknowledge there are thousands of yet unidentified mites and that these predators are capable of adapting to the environment. If no bird is around, blood from another mammal is just as good. I am using the term ‘bird mite’ in a generic way, since there are several different type that are host on birds and I am not sure which one I am dealing with. : I had my mattress and box spring in sealed plastic, vacuumed the carpet daily, washed all my clothes after wearing them only once. I tried every type of spray out there. Some seem to help some but I was not able to actually eradicate them, that’s how insidious these little buggers are. The spraying got so bad that it would choke me and burn my eyes. I would often have to go to a hotel for a few hours night sleep and to breath fresh air. They ended up in the car, at work, and any place where I would be for any length of time.The 100% DEET I put on my skin would often burn and would only work for a few hours at best. I even bought a ULV fogger/sprayer that professional pest control operators use, and bought some really strong chemicals, and had to wear a respirator to spray them. Since they so easily can hide anywhere, it did not get rid of them sufficiently, and I had to move. I have moved several times since but they are still here, although I have them under control to some extent. : I got rid of all my furniture, and things I kept were in sealed plastic bags with mothballs. After a while I realized that I had become the host and they were living in my respiratory system, at least temporarily; as well as inhabiting the environment. During the night my mouth and nostrils have them more than any other area. They would crawl in my ears too, so I have been using Mack’s silicone ear plugs while sleeping and this has helped. They bite the groin area, so I would sometimes wake up with painful erections that were not related to any type of dreams that I had experienced as a young man. I am 51, so I don’t need to be bothered by this. : I even bought a parakeet to see if maybe they would switch host and not bother me any more. I put glue strips around the bird cage to try to get rid of them. Well, the poor bird was tormented too and so was I still. It would aggressively peck at itself and flap its wings for long periods, more so at night. So I had to get rid of the bird. : These mites were most active late at night, and consequently I wasn’t getting a lot of deep restful sleep. After a few month of this it was very discouraging, and then depression became a factor, mainly from lack of sleep and inability to kill them. After about a year of torment I became suicidal as I just didn’t want to deal with this anymore, as it was affecting almost every area of my life. Also, this is something you just can’t share with others very easily; they will either think you are crazy or they will want to avoid you so they don’t end up with this problem also. Also, I am very reluctant to be around others for very long, as I don’t want others to be bothered. And intimacy is out of the question. : Some things have helped some in at least letting me sleep for a few hours and to keep their numbers down. For example, I use a small vacuum frequently to get them off of me. I use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and rubbing alcohol to wash down my mattress covers nightly. : Sorry if this is long-winded, but I wanted others to know about this, as I have read some posts here that sure sound similar and they are not dealing with scabies mites. Also, the things that work for getting rid of one type of mite may actually help others with different mites. I know scabies is very bad, but at times I almost wish that it was this type of mite I had, as I could then know exactly what I am dealing with as well as take something for it, and start to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
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