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Bird Mites


Summary: Are you getting itchy red bumps that stick around way longer than mosquito bites? Bird mites are most likely the problem. Check inside for info on how to get rid of bird mites, once and for all.

Are you one of those people that love waking up in the morning to watch that nest of beautiful birds right outside your bedroom? Or, maybe you fancy canaries enough to actually keep a few as pets. Either way, are you also one of those people who ends up with small, mosquito-looking bites that never seem to go away? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you need to know about avian mites, commonly referred to as bird mites.

Bird mites can infest any bird, so if you happen to be a bird watcher, bird-

Birdmite.jpg

lover, or bird-handler, beware! Bird mites require an avian host in order to survive, but they can sometimes stray from the host to nibble on our human bodies. They won't actually stay and have a meal on us, but the bite they use to test our blood will certainly be red, itchy, and irritated for up to a few weeks. Here are a few ways to identify these pesky critters, and then get rid of them for good.

There are many different types of bird mites such as canary lung mites and chiggers, but the most common troublemaker is the red mite. Red mites are generally less that 1mm in length, and are typically white or clear until they feed, at which point they will turn dark red to brown. These mites will most often feed at night, which will keep any pet birds you have awake and antsy.
The easiest way to determine if you have bird mites is to cover the areas in question with a light colored sheet. If it looks like there's a spattering of dirt or pepper on the sheet when you check it in the morning, you've got a problem.

The mites will often infest birdseed, especially if the seed is left outside. If you notice the bird seed appears to be moving slightly, the best recommendation is that it should be disposed of, although freezing it for a week or so has also been known to be fairly effective. I just cannot imagine bringing infested birdseed inside to put in my freezer.

Bird mite colonies can reach tens of thousands in size in a relatively short span of time if left unchecked, but don't start to panic and throw a bug bomb into your house just yet. Avian mites can be exceedingly difficult to get rid of, however at times a non-toxic solution may be available, as long as the problem is limited to the outdoors. If you know the source of the infestation, such as the nest outside your window we mentioned before, removal of the nest is necessary. Bird mites can survive two to three weeks without a bird host. So, if you are a bird nest collector be sure to place the nest in a plastic bag and freeze it for a couple of weeks before putting your bird nest on display.

Treat the spot where the bird nest was sitting and surrounding areas with a water and soap solution. This can be done by filling a fertilizer dispenser attachment on an ordinary garden hose. If your main concern is the safety of the birds, don't use antibacterial soap.

To capture a bird mite it has been suggested that you place a pan of hot, steaming water in the middle of a darkened room at night. Light the pan using a single light. It's best to use a red IR lamp. Leave the room for a couple of hours, then return to check what you have captured. Use a strong magnifying glass to see them in the water and preserve them in a vial with alcohol.

Birdmitenest.jpg
bird nest

If the mite infestation has invaded your home, you can start with 20 Mule Team Borax, an over the counter natural detergent available at most general stores. Mix this with wax and wax floors with it, sprinkle it on infested areas, dump it on your head, if necessary. No, don't actually do that last one. But, it is all natural, so feel free to be generous with it.

If your mite problem is bad enough, you may need to resort to re-insulating your home and replacing tiles in your roof where birds may have nested. This can be very costly. Before going to this point you might want to try an over the counter pesticide, such as Sevin 5% Dust, which is available at most hardware stores like Ace Hardware. It's an insecticide that kills over 75 different species of bugs, and is used on produce, so you'll be okay with it in your home, but let's keep it out of reach of the children.

If all else fails you're going to have to call the bug guy and have him do his magic. Professional pest control services will do the trick, but can get expensive. Tent fumigation kills everything, but the process requires a special license and trained personnel. It's really expensive!

Another method to consider is heat treatment. ThermaPure is a system that licenses its product to trained professionals who will prepare your home for the introduction of heated air. Temperatures are brought up to and held at a level that kills all stages of the insect including the eggs. In some cases it would be necessary to tarp the structure to assure that heat is permeating the exterior walls, as well.

There is hope for those of you who feel like your bird mite fight is never-ending.





Comments

dem
18 Nov 2009, 22:02
We hired the TheramaPure company to heat our house for the treatment of bird mites. They failed to rid our house of mites at all due to the unprofessional job they did. They heated parts of the house to less than 110 F and parts of the house to over 170 F. They charged us thousands of dollars for the job and we had to spend thousands to refinish all of our wood floors. I would not have minded the $10,000 total if they had gotten rid of the bird mites... but what they did had no effect. We have been tormented for 10months and no pest control company has been able to solve this so far. According to at least one study from Sweden, certain bird mites (there are hundreds of different kinds) can live up over 5 years with blood meals (from biting humans, rodents, pets...) with no avain host at all and bird mites can survive up to 8-9 months with no meal at all.
Wayne
19 Nov 2009, 04:17
The heat treatment has no residual effect, so they've probably just reinfested from outside and/or the treatment wasn't adequate as you indicated. Can you give me some info on that swedish paper? (author, title).
Wayne
19 Nov 2009, 04:20
Can you obtain a refund and compensation from ThermaPure? and considering the high cost i wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
Alan Elias
20 Nov 2009, 00:45
Dem: which Thermapure licensee did your work? Where do you live?

The results are unacceptable and I'll be happy to look into it for you.

Alan Elias
ThermaPure
May
04 Dec 2009, 02:46
I've been dealing with this since August and it's so upsetting to read post after post of how this problem never seems to get better and lasts for years.. I've had my apartment sprayed several times, all my clothes are in storage containers outside of my bed room, I put everything I wear in the dryer for 20 minutes on high heat before putting it on, and without fail I end up with new bites by the end of the day.

I have a couple questions for those you dealing with this.

Are they always this black, pepper-like spot, because I've seen a little slow moving white on occasion and wondering how I am still being bitten, but not seeing any of them. Which brings me to my next question, when you feel the crawing sensation or feel the pinprick bite do you ever see them?

If I could at least see them I'd feel a little more sane. It seems like I'm being attacked by phantom bugs. Is this what it's like for all of you?
Wayne
04 Dec 2009, 18:11
I've seen one mite crawling on me on one occasion using a handheld microscope. It was a species of storage mite, probably Lepidoglyphus destructor. On all other occassions I havn't been able to see them using magnifiers or microscopes. I've seen doctors, specialists and pest exterminators. My next step is to see an environmental health consultant. I've had the problem 17 months, but it's not so bad now. I still feel crawlers everday, with occasional stings plus bite marks. Maybe it's a matter of waiting them out if nothing else works, or moving house. If and when I move house I plan on renting first to avoid transfering the bug to a new house.

May, if you are quite certain you can see them crawling on you, catch one (or more), pop it into a small medicine bottle and take it to an entomologist or medical entomologist for formal IDing. Then you'll know what you're dealing with for sure. Major hospitals, agricultural departments or universities should be able to get hold of an entomologist for you.
DEM
05 Dec 2009, 00:06
The Therma Pure company that heated our house was the only one that services the CA Monterey and SF Bay Areas. We are in Santa Cruz. The sales person who promised us results is named Ed Work. He said they would heat the house so that the heat would penetrate completely through our walls into the insulation. In reality, the people who actually did heat the heat house did not heat the inner walls at all and they did not tent the house and they told us they had NEVER threated a house for bird mites before with heat... only with sanition methods scrubbing walls and vacuuming, etc... During the height of the heating process the outer stucco walls were as cool as coluld be and the air at the air-vents from the subarea was only mildly warm. I was able to place my hand on the vents as long as I wanted with no fear of getting burnt because and they were not at all hot. We took temperature reading of only 103 degrees F in our laundry room at the height of the heating process as we walked through the house without breaking a sweat.

I wish my husband did not pay them after they clearly botched the job, but neither of us had energy for a law suit. Our wood floors are ruined and we still have bird mites. The mites are not coming from outside. They were brought by rodents in our subarea and attic. Once we killed the rodents, the mite came at us full-force and have not let up... The heat in the parts of the house that were actually heated well did nothing to kill the mites because the mites were able to hide from the heat by moving to cooler places in the house and moving into the walls in the insulation which was not heated at all.

Basically, Therma Pure lied to us from start to finish and took advantage of us being too exhauted from the mites to fight them in court.
Dave
05 Dec 2009, 01:36
Damn does this sound familiar! Tiny white thingies that stick to your skin, having to put the clothes into a dryer before wearing them, the exterminators giving up and hanging up on you, these thing following you even as you move your household. It's so unbelievable that these things are so completely unknown to everyone, except to the few unfortunate us, who managed to run into them!
Wayne
06 Dec 2009, 03:06
DEM, I hope therma pure can come to the party here and fix your problem without further expense. I see it as an opportunity for them to help a lot of suffering people, but we need the testemonials and credible evidence before we start handing over the big dollars.
Wayne
10 Dec 2009, 17:20
In recent weeks I've been getting very good results from menthol crystals. I disolve the crystals in pots of hot water which fill the house with menthol vapour, which I do once or twice a day. The menthol re-solidifies once the water has cooled and the cold water poored off. So the menthol can be reused many times and is very cost effective.

I'm not sure whether this positive result is just coincidence so I'd like to ask people with long term mite problems to try the same and report their results here. Menthol Crystals can be purchased online.

PS There have been scientific studies showing positive results against certain species of bee mites using menthol crystals.

Best Wishes
Mike
25 Jan 2010, 19:34
My wife and I have just identified bird mites in our house in Honolulu, HI. Source was a dead bird in a nest above our bedroom window that we found yesterday. We both felt the crawling sensation at night, but only I was being bitten. I have over 60 bites on my body from the last couple of nights we spent at home. They go for the warmer areas of the body, I believe. This is so awful! The mites are < .5 mm and are black/clear unless filled with blood.

We have called Sandwich Isle Pest Control and are arranging for treatment. We have evacuated our house with a few valuable belongings and have washed some clothes in very hot water and have those with us, too. (Couldn't find any Borax in any stores in Honolulu, they are all sold out, which makes me wonder...) We taped ourselves off completely (skin and clothes) before leaving the house the last time yesterday. Please pray for us! We are so upset by everything we've read. If we are successful in getting rid of the mites, I will let everyone know how we did it.
lisa
11 Feb 2010, 08:54
FOr all of those who have problems with bird mites or any other kind of mites please buy ARM AND HAMMER POWDER DETERGENT, PERFUME FREE DYE FREE DERMATOLOGIST TESTED. its non toxic and the easiest cheapest way to kill mites. just mix a few teaspoons of the powder in water and use a spray bottle to spray the house . it kills mites on contact. I read on topix.com its a cure for mites. alot of people were able to kill them by soaking there house in the arm and hammer detergent solution. you can bath with it as well...its the easiest way and most non toxic way to kill. i have used it myself and it really kills them on contact! it does not smell either. just buy the right product...u can even use the cool breeze kind works the same.
james
13 Feb 2010, 14:24
I have been raising birds outside in flights in los angeles ca since 1983. several time i have come into my flights, looked in nests and found an outbreak of mites. These catch me off gaurd and have run up my arms by the thousand and attack me. I have been successfull at getting rid of them on multiple levels of infestation including in my house. I live in the desert and wild mice are a real mite problem as well as my arch nemisis the common hous sparrow. All the mice and sparrows that i have killed in the wild are full of them and at least 200 sparrows fly around my yards, sleep in my trees and even try building nests in my truck engine almost weekly. I am going to invent a sparrow eclectrical zapper. My problem is that with my exotic pet bird it is not if the mites will get them but when. I use Piretherins for dog and cat flea dips on the birds with a garden pump sprayer. I mix it about 15% to water. I also use a little instant coffee and chewing tobacco extract for added affect. I remove all nest boxes that are unused, clean the flight and spray birds and everything. the plastic kid fishing pool i suspend in order to keep out rodents is washed. the birds don't like it but they get no choice. Sometimes the babie birds stress and die and i might loose some eggs. Over all, one good spraying will kill everything. The spray stays out of the birds food and water. For me, i just spray myself in the process, launder my clothes and take along soapy shower. i suspect that all of you are facing a mamail mite that can thrive off your blood. Because i raise lab mice for my snakes, i have also gotten thouse. they are more dark thatn red but can still be red. my reptiles have gotten mite and they can not be treated with toxins. that is the worst! also diotenatious earth powder will kill andy mite alive if it touches them. if you have furiture or appliances, put them out in the sun if safe and it will kill everything when it cooks. i use this on bird cages and tanks. good luck.
Elizabeth
13 Feb 2010, 21:03
I feed wild birds on the ledge of my window, as well as squirrels, in front of my house. I also have bird houses and bamboo houses for Wrens to sleep in where they raise families. The birds, Cardinals, Doves, Wrens and others all depend on the food and the refuge. I never even considered bird mites when I checked on the houses. Recently I was on the back porch putting up baskets for protection in the pending snow storm. Then my nightmare began with bites and itching. Not only do I have the horror of this, but I also have my inside birds to consider, and now they will probably be contaminated with bird mites, which they have never had. My main fear is to use something to get rid of the bird mites that would kill one of my birds. I am in the shower washing my hair and washing clothes to no avail. I ordered SteriFab, but it has to make contact with the mite to kill it, and I worry if it is safe to spray in any vacinity of my birds. I ordered Diatomaceous Earth, too. I thought Borax was poisonous or dangerous for animals, but don't know for sure. I have rescued dogs and birds. I appreciate all the comments so much, and am absolutely frantic and depressed. I don't want to just abandon the outside birds, they have depended on me for years. They sing from the trees when they need more food, and the little ones are safe at night under the roof of the back porch. Now I don't know how to protect my inside birds from mites that are biting me!! So far they show no signs of having them, and are not scratching.
For me, I am miserable and my nerves are shot from this nightmare, and need to know safe things to use that will not harm my birds. I cannot use the heat treatment. Do mites just crawl or can they jump long distances? It has reached the point that when I walk out the back door I feel that they are biting my legs, but I may just be so stressed out that I am imagining that!
Thank you for taking the time to share your stories!
T.J.
14 Feb 2010, 15:19
I will use all civilized methods to rid myself of bird mites, but I will not, nor do I respect, using cruel and inhumane actions that result in the deaths of helpless birds. Cruelty toward birds, any kind, and toward any kind of animal is just barbaric and mean. ALL animals are loved by God, and He sees the sparrow when it falls. Likewise, mice deserve to live and not die a horrible death. Taking the high road is a good thing, and protecting the helpless is much to be respected and admired. Animals have a hard enough time without being cruelly treated or killed. So I am interested in all information about removing mites that doesn't involve cruelty or danger to birds or other animals. Thank you.
james
15 Feb 2010, 13:16
Mites do need certian things to live, and of course I do beleive that God will let us kill them, even pregnate mite and babies. Animal keep them under control because they know what to do and we can learn from that. Birds and rodents will take dust baths. Mites will dry up and sufficate with diotenatious earth. Mites breath through their abdomines so they will not choke when they bite us. Oils and barriers on our skin will kill mites. My cockatoos all love natural insectacides. Eucaliptis tree leaves have such a natural bug KILLER in it that my birds will put them on their backs and rub them under their feathers just for the fun. They will even groom eachother with it and look like an indian covered with decorations. My goffens get horny and put it into nests with their eggs.Coffee and tobacco tea will KILL mites and here us people spend millions on it. Mites need food and have several life stages of which only a couple require a feed. Unless mites have a large plentifull food source they will never reach swarm status. Stop and isolate the food and they will starve. Even thou they reproduce quickly, so does their life expire. Never will you hear of the 40 year old vergin mite. Snakes love to drownd them. There are even backyard mites that eat mite. Some people use a type of paracitic fungus to KILL mites and you can buy it on the internet. Most all house hold chemicles will KILL them. Don't panic friends, we will over come this with good cleaning and prevention. Some homes have wild animals in the atic and under the house and in the ivy. When I worked for animal control I did find that this built up for weeks to months in order to reach swarm porportions. most mites are host spacific and like the EXTERMINATOR (someone who KILLS) said, CAN NOT LIVE OFF HUMANS BUT ONLY BITE US IN DESPERATION. Starve them, poision them, sufficate them, let them die of old age, don't let them panic you, they are not as clever as the human, stand your grownd and win, win win! l.o.l.
DNL
17 Feb 2010, 21:09
Have had success with a regimen:Shower in am and pm before bed. Wash bedding with bleach, Tide, Borax and 1/2 c blue Dawn. Some days I soak them until I get home from work. AM shower: Use Denorex on Hair, on body. Use Tea Tree Oil (Dr. Woods) afterwards. Dry off...use Gold BOnd Body Lotion Green Bottle...then Use JR Watkins Pain Relieving Liniment. Spray with Off Deep Woods. PM Shower: Denerox on hair, body. Then use Epsom Salts in plastic cup (1 cup ful). Hands are wet, dip index finger into salts, put down throat (feel like vomiting) and drink shower water to swallow Epsom salts. Put index and middle fingers into Epsom Salts (finger are wet), stick into my nose. While shower water is running onto my hand, I put my nose in my hand with the water and blow the salts out into the water...you have to feed the water into the nose. Microwave clothes one at a time: denim jeans level 8 for 20 seconds, cover up the metal and push down onto plate. Long sleeved shirts level 8 for 30 seconds. Brassieres 10 seconds level 8...wait till cool, then 10 seconds on level 7...have to roll hook side under the clasp side and then roll the whole bra into a long cigar shape...socks and underpants go level 8 for 30 seconds. Sheets and blankets one at a time for 45 seconds level 8...take out the plate for the blankets...spray rubbing alcohol onto plastic covers on bed and pillow then put on bedding. I found if I spray rubbing alcohol into the heat ducts, the black specks are far and few between...soak shoes in rubbing alcohol in dish pan overnight. Rinse, let dry. I have been wrapping my feet in Glad Cling Wrap and then putting my tights/trouser socks/gym socks over the cling wrap...noticed a great difference with feet...bug bomb with hot shot every 3 days in apartment...also the car with small orange raid can...cover up plastic speedomoter with plastic bag and then cover that with towel...do every 3 days...heat car up first. Best thing found is to use Compound W for bumps...can apply onto finger, then onto the bumps on buttocks, back, arms, etc...had a teardrop shaped shell "planted" inside the arm on inside of elbow...was hard and grew when I scratched it...knew there were eggs inside...used small knife point heated with match to cauterize the hard shell...it took a few days of doing this 2x a day...but then I finally broke through and that shell depleted itself...I squeezed the area and a creamy whitish substance squirted...kind of like a pimple...use ear drops with sulphur and eye drops when feel critters moving around...keep vaccuum cleaner bag in ziplock bag that I spray Raid Garden stuff in...these things are inside cavities in my body...I use toilet paper sprayed with rubbing alcohol and stick it in anus to clean...also spray another toilet paper (2-3 sections) with rubbing alcohol and swipe front that has been shaved completely. House in the north reinfests me during school breaks...even with pest control...this summer will try the tent...hope and pray it works...cannot have family over to house...had 3 bird's nests...opened screened windows on nice summer day last year and voila, in came those black specks! Am in the south working...stay clear of people who hug...don't want them to get this...have noticed black specks in toilet paper...kleenix...bathroom counters, bathtub walls...in the hotel rooms...so I know a lot of people are going through all this...we all need help...they do make you tired and your body starts to ache...use vaporizer to keep them out of the lungs...did the lady from NY ever have success with her hospital stay and the eradication from her home?
Sharon
18 Feb 2010, 09:24
I have tried everything. Am going to try Arm and Hammer powder detergent that Lisa suggested. But don't know how much water you add to the powder to spray. Please advise.
anonymous
21 Feb 2010, 01:04
Dealt with this problem for over 4 years...started with robin's nest on back door. DON'T let birds live around or near you unless you're crazy. Nothing has worked for us, this is crazy.
Ruth
27 Feb 2010, 00:38
I use Arm & Hammer detergent and Borax and it gets them out of my clothes.
So will make a solution with the detergent and spray everything with it and see how it works. My body wash & shampoo has been Dawn,tea tree oil and borax and( soap up three times and leave it for ten minutes each time)it kills the ones that are crawling around but they keep coming back.
Now going to try Baby shampoo, coffee, Arm& Hammer laundry detergent. If this doesn't work I'm going to try a Zapper.
CssPeck
28 Feb 2010, 23:14
Neem oil. It smells like rotten Lima beans but it works great. Rub this all over your body after you bathe- a little goes a long way. Rub in ears and under feet. Chlorinated baths a couple times a week to remove their pheramone. Amonia makes the jump like crazy- use in steam cleaner. Vasaline on my feet seem to reduce their #'s. You are the bait. Trap them then kill them. Daily sinus rinse and vasaline on a cotton ball in the ear will kill the mites there. Ear doctors say no but with warm water and dawn you can rinse out vasaline. Also sticky fly paper under a bandaide on your bottom of feet at night will give u some
peace. Question: I have moved out from house but husband has not. Why hasn't he been bit? He chewed tabacco for 20 years. Do you think that's it?
NameWithheld
01 Mar 2010, 01:51
Can you guys tell me if bird mites ever present as head lice?
CW
01 Mar 2010, 17:37
I've been dealing with mites since last May. Turns out I had a double whammy with my parrot bringing them in from outside and house finch nests near my windows. (I'm on the second floor but the vines on the building were thick enough for nests, 2 I could see and another 4 I couldn't). After spending hundreds on all the bombs and insecticides, I've found the best way to deal with them is with boric acid. Mix 1 cup of powder (which dissolves better than the crystals) in a gallon of water and spray and mop with it. I keep a bottle handy to spray myself too (it isn't toxic to people or pets, I keep some at home and at work and spray it where and when I feel them). Borax hand soap helps too, I add that to the laundry and bathe with it. Eye drops that contain boric acid are also handy. Though the problem isn't completely gone, it no longer controls my life and I can sleep again, wahoo. I did find a new home for my parrot after giving him multiple doses of ivermectin and my cat gets Revolution every 3-4 weeks (but still lives with me and scratches on occasion). Early on I used Arrid extra dry but it is really nasty, so I was glad to find a replacement.
WD
01 Mar 2010, 23:31
DNL, have you ever captured any of those black specks and had them formally identified?

After 20 months my problem has all but gone, mostly I believe through natural attrition. Taking the occaional > 1 week vacation provides some mental relief.
LM
04 Mar 2010, 17:11
We've had red bird mites for almost 2 years. Our dog and our cat also have them. We spent thousands trying to get rid of them. I've come to believe that I will die with bird mites. The first year I didn't buy clothes, but now I don't care. I try on clothes when I need to buy something. My dogs smell other dogs on their walks. I don't however, let anyone come to my home. This is really isolating.
Maxic
05 Mar 2010, 21:06
There doesn't have to be any birds for bird mites to survive. They can take our blood. I have the problem now because of contact with a bird cage months ago on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
WD
07 Mar 2010, 20:12
LM and Maxic, there are different species of bird mites and non-bird mites. According to their biology bird mites need bird blood to produce "viable" offspring. However, some bird mite species and non-bird species can go into diapause to survive adverse conditions or between breeding seasons of their hosts, so up to 9 or 12 months in some species. The red chicken mite is one.

If you believe you have a mite that defies scientific knowledge, catch it for proof and take it to an entomologist.

I'm not doubting you guys. I too have had a long term infestation (most likely Fodder Mites) which seems to have extinguished itself after 20 months. My explanation is their 12 month diapausal state and poor food supply.
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