Re: Biting mites

Posted by Catherine on January 26, 2003 at 04:20:05:

In Reply to: Re: Biting mites posted by Deb on July 24, 2002 at 20:52:48:

Hello everyone,

I am living in Sydney Australia and my partner and I had the same problems as the ones you are describing for some time.

Here are some things which I have done to reduce the problem with success.

1. Wash linen (towels included)and clothes daily in water temperatures of over 55 degrees celcius.

2. Wash tiled areas such as bathrooms and kitchens (including benchtops if they are designed to withstand heat ie:granite or marble etc. may be OK but I do suggest that you check first) with boiling water splashed directly from a jug or pot in large proportions covering the entire tiled area.

3. Vacuum your matress really well but in saying this, you actually need a special vacuum cleaner which has encased and very fine filters which do not just spread the bugs throughout the whole area being vacuumed.

4. After vacuuming the bed, (by the way a latex matress is best as it gives these bugs nowhere decent to hide), cover your entire matress with either a soft rubber sheeting or alternatively an
allergy resistant matress protector preferably the ones that have zips to cover the entirity of your matress.

5. Use latex pillows as again these bugs dont seem to be able to nest or hide inside this product.

6. I have not yet tried this personally but these bugs love humid environments (and that is why I believe that you only started noticing them after heavy rains) and so I do suspect that a de-humidifier may aid in your success to reduce their
numbers. (making the environment less comfortable for them).

7. Use a steam carpet cleaner very regularly but particularly at the same time as you are implementing all the above steps.

8. It should be noted that for the most effective reduction, all the above steps should be done at the same time.

9. Now regarding your body, I have personally found a soft bristled body brush and dog flea shampoo all over the body (left on the body for about 5 to 10 minutes before being strongly showered off) to be quite successful. I further reccomend the removal of all body hair as they then do not have anywhere to nest/hide.

10. Remove any clutter and excess fabric such as cotton table cloths and furry toys.

11. Now don't laugh when I tell you this next bit of information. Think of your house as a contaminated zone. By this I mean it is no good for example spending hours washing all your fabrics etc. in a way to rid your fabrics of your bugs only to then place them back into a contaminated zone such as a cupboard or onto a bench either of which could be contaminated/infested with the pests as it just won't work. To avoid this, create a zone (maybe even outside under shelter) which is contamination free and slowly but surely transfer all your de-contaminated fabrics etc. into this zone, being mindfull not to take the bugs with you on the clothes that you are wearing, shoes etc. I personally scrub my hands and arms to the excess before touching any freshly washed linen etc.

12. If finance is not an issue, then I suggest that you change fabric covered dining chairs for wooden ones and fabric sofas for vinyl covered ones.

13. If finance is an issue, I suggest steam cleaning all fabric upholstered furniture such as dining chairs and sofas along with all carpets and rugs, mats etc. very regularly and maybe even as often as once a day for a period of about a week along with the household carpets and both sides of matresses in order to have an all-out attack on these bugs.

14. As for window furnishings, you may wish to swap the fabric ones for wooden or metal venetian blinds or alternatively vinyl blinds. Once again dependant upon ones' budget, you may wish to contact a cleaner who specialses in removing bugs from bed linen such as duvets etc. for further advice. Just remember that it is no use having perfectly clean flooring only to leave contaminated curtains in place.

15. Now again I have not tried this personally but I have heard that eucalyptus oil is successful in removal of similar types of bugs.

16. WATCH YOUR FEET! After having de-contaminated bathroom, kitchen and living areas
be mindful not to step from a contamination-free zone into a contaminated zone. This can be dealt with, at least partially by having different shoes/sandles for different areas.

17. FOR A QUICK FIX (temporary solution only)! Buy a latex matress and treat linen as suggested above. Scrub the body as suggested before going to bed. Be mindfull not to get the bugs from the floor into bed by wearing sandles/shoes from the bathroom to the bedroom or maybe two different pairs as suggested above. This should ensure a relatively bug free night.

I do hope that this helps in reducing the problem for all of you.

Do send me any success stories. Remember to be a bit of a perfectionist as far as these guys are concerned as it is either that they win or you win.

PS. I suspect that deep within most matresses millions of these guys are lurking around ready and waiting for their next meal therefore cover and encase the matress as much as possible.

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