Linen mites: photos and main characteristics, signs of bites and ways to get rid of insects
Bed or sofa mites are microscopic parasites that live in a person's home. Despite their small size, pests cause a lot of problems: they cause allergic reactions in the form of a chronic runny nose, cough, and in especially severe cases can cause the development of bronchial asthma. You can fight them, but the process is long and labor-intensive.
Content
What is a bed bug
The size of a bed mite does not exceed 0,2 cm. Other names for the parasite are dust, linen, sofa mite. These are not separate species of arthropods, but the household name for ticks that live in human habitation, in places where it is dark and dusty.
What do bed bugs look like?
It is impossible to examine this arthropod with the naked eye; this requires a microscope. External signs of a pest:
- flattened body, covered with chitin, yellow-brown;
- 3 pairs of limbs on which suction cups are located;
- head in the shape of a triangle.
Stages of development
The life cycle of household pests lasts no more than 80 days. Already in the third week of life, individuals can breed.
The main stages of arthropod development:
- egg;
- larva;
- nymph;
- an adult.
Features of nutrition and reproduction
According to the type of food, household ticks are saprophages, they do not attack warm-blooded animals, they do not feed on their blood. The food of these parasites is dead skin cells, dandruff, fallen hair and wool.
For a week, about 1 gram accumulates on bed linen. dead cells, this is quite enough to feed an entire colony of parasites.
Having received food, the parasite begins to multiply actively. The female is able to lay about 300 eggs per day. The ideal temperature conditions for their reproduction are 18-25 degrees.
Habitats and causes of appearance
In addition, parasites are carried by:
- the person himself (on clothes, shoes);
- domestic animals (on wool);
- other insects that parasitize in human dwellings (cockroaches, bedbugs).
As mentioned above, the household mite hides in the warm corners of the apartment, where it is dusty and where a person does not get during cleaning. He can live:
- in the upholstery of upholstered furniture;
- under furniture, where there is a lot of dust;
- in soft toys;
- old wadded blankets, feather pillows;
- on books;
- in mattresses;
- in woolen things;
- bed linen and accessories.
In addition, he can settle on curtains, carpets made from natural materials, furniture upholstery.
Varieties of house ticks
There are several varieties of household parasites. All of them have similar characteristics, but differ somewhat in their favorite habitats.
The size of the parasite is not more than 0,5 mm, so it is impossible to detect it without a microscope. Pests can get inside the home with household dust or on pet hair. Settle inside pillows, blankets, mattresses. In addition to human habitation, linen mites live in laundries, seats in public transport, beauty salons, and so on.
This species is similar in characteristics to the one described above. Most often, these parasites live in the mattress filler, especially if the product is old and has not been dried for a long time.
Furniture mites most often live in wardrobes, but can move into upholstered furniture, bedding. They are distinguished by a bright yellow-brown color. Despite the bright color, it is almost impossible to notice them.
Microscopic parasites can settle in the folds of clothing, most often outerwear that has been stored in the closet for a long time.
What harm do they do to a person?
After feeding, household parasites defecate. Their feces contain special protein compounds that are a powerful allergen for humans. As a result of the accumulation of this substance, a person begins to experience unpleasant symptoms:
- inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat;
- sneezing for no reason;
- lacrimation, conjunctivitis;
- dry paroxysmal cough;
- redness on the skin;
- sleep disorders;
- nervousness.
There are cases when an allergy to a household tick became the cause of the development of bronchial asthma.
Linen mite bite
Household ticks are saprophages, the structure of their mouth apparatus does not allow them to bite through the skin of a person or animal, and they also do not have a proboscis for sucking blood. However, other parasites, bed bugs, can appear in bedding and upholstered furniture.
Unlike microscopic mites, they are predators and feed on the blood of warm-blooded mammals. These insects can be seen with the naked eye if you look closely, their size is from 3 to 8,5 mm.
Pests are nocturnal, during the day they hide in shelters - clothes, beds, crevices, under wallpaper, books, so their detection is quite difficult.
With their bites, bedbugs annoy a person - they cause redness, inflammation and severe itching. Diagnosing them is quite difficult, they are often confused with the bites of other insects, as well as dermatitis and allergic reactions.
Why bites are dangerous
Most often, bedbug bites do not pose a particular danger to humans; there is no scientific evidence that parasites carry any infections. However, the bite gives a person pain and itching, deprives them of normal sleep and rest, performance decreases, nervousness and irritation increase. In addition, they do not look aesthetically pleasing, multiple bites on the skin cause disgust in humans.
How do bed mites bite?
Symptoms of bed bug bites
The first symptoms of an attack by bed bugs are the appearance on the skin of a large amount of reddening of a scarred or flat shape. The parasite prefers to feed in one place, so the bites are located in a heap or in one line.
At first glance, these marks are similar to the bites of other blood-sucking insects, but they have a characteristic feature - they occur systematically and their number on a particular area of the skin increases every night.
Bedbug bites cause very unpleasant sensations: pain and severe itching. At the same time, they should not be combed - thus, a dangerous infection can be introduced into the body.
The reaction of the body to a bite
Each human body has its own individual characteristics, so the reaction to bedbug bites may vary. Some experience a minimum of discomfort, others suffer from unbearable pain and itching. In addition, a bite can cause an allergic reaction of varying severity, in some cases a person may need emergency care.
Treatment of an allergic reaction to bed mites
The first remedy to use if you are allergic to house mites is to avoid contact with them. Medicines may also be needed to relieve symptoms.
Medications
For the treatment of allergic reactions, drugs of the following drug groups are most often prescribed:
- Corticosteroid drugs. The most commonly used products are in the form of sprays. Their action is aimed at reducing inflammation of the mucosa and controlling the symptoms of hay fever. Oral corticosteroids are also available, but they carry a greater risk of side effects than nasal sprays.
- Vasoconstrictor agents. Nasal drops and sprays can temporarily reduce swelling of the mucous membrane and make it easier to breathe through the nose.
- Leukotriene modifiers. Their principle of action is to block the action of certain chemicals of the immune system.
- Salt solutions. Washing the sinuses with sea water and other saline solutions facilitates breathing, eliminates congestion.
Antihistamines
Antihistamines prevent sneezing and runny nose, relieve swelling and inflammation by reducing the immune system's response to contact with the allergen.
Folk remedies
You can try to relieve allergy symptoms using folk methods:
- Eucalyptus oil. Add a few drops of eucalyptus or lavender essential oil to boiling water and inhale over the steam. These aroma oils have a powerful cleansing effect, so they will help to quickly clear the airways.
- Infusion of calendula. Mix chamomile decoction with calendula infusion in a ratio of 2:1. Rinse the nasal sinuses with the resulting product.
If inflammation is found on the skin, itching and irritation can be relieved using the following improvised means:
- lotions from the infusion of a string, chamomile, calendula;
- squeezed bag of certified tea;
- diluted vinegar.
These recipes cannot be used as an independent method - they can only relieve symptoms, but not cure allergies. To prescribe therapy, you must consult a doctor.
How to get rid of bed mites
The fight against bed mites is a long process and it is almost impossible to completely get rid of parasites, but there are ways to significantly reduce the size of the colony. To do this, use chemical, physical and folk remedies.
The fight against bed mites: preparations
There are many home pest control products on the market today. It should be understood that all of them are toxic to one degree or another, which means that they can adversely affect human health and cause an allergic reaction. The most effective of these include the following:
Destruction of bed mites folk remedies
You can try to get rid of dust mites without resorting to chemicals. There are several folk methods that were used even before the invention of insecticides:
- Fragrant herbs. Ticks are afraid of strong odors; wormwood, wild rosemary or tansy are suitable for scaring them away. These herbs can be made into an infusion and applied to surfaces, or dried, put in small rag bags and placed in the habitats of parasites.
- Alcohol and soap. 50 gr, shavings of laundry soap and 100 ml of ammonia are diluted in a liter of water. Apply the resulting product with a spray gun to the surface.
- Salt. In a liter of water, dilute 200 grams of ordinary table salt. Wash the surfaces with the resulting solution: floor, shelves, cabinets, window sills, paying attention to the corners.
Physical Methods
There are several other methods that can be used as helpers.
How to get rid of bed mites by washing clothes at high temperature
Freezing
Parasites do not tolerate both too high and very low temperatures. Adults die at temperatures from -20 degrees. In winter, you can take out bedding, pillows, blankets to the balcony or to the street.
Small items, such as soft toys, can be placed in the freezer.
It is worth noting that this method will not help to get rid of parasites for a long time, since only adult ticks die in the cold, after a while new larvae will appear from the eggs.
How to remove bed mites: professional treatment
If none of the proposed methods has proven effective and pests continue to annoy with their presence, it is recommended to contact a special service. It is important to bear in mind that the professional treatment of the premises is carried out with the help of potent toxic drugs, therefore, the premises will not be used for at least 7 hours.
When choosing a service, you need to be interested in what drugs are used in the work. All products must be certified according to the system of the State Standard of the Russian Federation, and also belong to low-hazard substances of the fourth group.
Prevention of the appearance of ticks in the apartment
All of the above methods are a last resort and it is best to avoid situations where you have to use it. In order for the population of domestic ticks not to increase, it is recommended to carry out preventive measures:
- do not use feather pillows, replace them with synthetic fillers;
- do not neglect regular high-quality cleaning of the premises, paying attention to places where dust accumulates;
- do not enter living quarters in street clothes, do not sit on the bed in it;
- wash soft toys and dry them thoroughly;
- regular washing and combing of pets;
- replace wool carpets with synthetic ones;
- change bedding at least once a week, wash it at high temperatures.