NOT Bird Mites

[Lnova]

We were so sure we had bird mites. Started feeling the painful needle-like pricks usually at night in parts of the house that we spent the most time. Called Orkin and sure enough they found a sparrow’s nest and seven dead sparrows in our attic. We had them removed, entry sealed and attic sprayed with Delta Dust (by another company because Orkin won’t spray in attics). The Orkin inspector also found carpet beetles and larvae in our home which can also be brought in via birds nests but more commonly they just get into the house from outdoors.

Orkin sprayed several more times in the house with Onslaught which is one of the insecticides specific for these mites. It seemed to help right after they sprayed but didn’t last long.

Some background information: Several months before we experienced the “mites” we though we had bed bugs brought home from a Colorado resort. I was bitten badly there (but not my husband) and started noticing bite marks after we got home – me only. No pain or crawling – just marks that looked like dotted lines or scratches after I woke in the morning. I also had several small bruises on the side of my body – weird. We had several pest companies in but no one saw actual bed bugs. They sprayed anyway. Finally, we decided to spend the money (about $1500!) for thermal remediation to get some relief and had a company bring in heaters and fans and heat our entire house up to over 130 degrees for several hours.

Well the bite marks persisted and it was soon after – a couple of weeks – that we started feeling the needle-like “mites”- painful sticks on our body, head, feet. Washed all clothes in hot water with boric acid and bagged the in giant Ziploc bags, tried Neem oil, Deet, had carpets steam cleaned, washed walls and ceilings with Lysol, vacuumed EVERY SINGLE DAY for nearly 4 months. We contracted with a company to rip out all of our carpeting and replace with vinyl. It was when I started spraying all surfaces including carpeting and furniture with Lysol that we felt a slight improvement. Lysol is so much cheaper than the Benzarid that we also. Dollar Store brand “Pine Glo” has the same ingredients and is cheaper than both. We also puffed boric acid combined with Cimexa on our carpets, raked it in and let it sit a couple of hours then vacuumed up. When we would feel the bites, we sprayed the with Isopropyl Alcohol and the bites stopped. We figured it killed the mites. We started spraying down our bed and sheets with alcohol and it seemed to help.

However we never saw any actual bugs or mites. Some say they’re microscopic but I was assured by our local University Extension that they’re visible. One of three dermatologists I visited said that if they were microscopic that we wouldn’t be able to feel them. All reputable scientific sources said that while tiny, they’re not invisible. I was seeing little black dots in a lot of places but they weren’t moving and didn’t appear “alive”. One dermatologist gave me a topical cortico-steroid because he said my “bites” looked more like an allergic reaction and the medication did calm down the redness and seem to heal the bites.

After four months of living with this we were miserable, exhausted and surviving by prayer. The entire time I’d continue to research and pray for answers. I came across some information from a bed-bug company in the UK about Carpet Beetle Dermatitis https://static.bed-bugs.co.uk/uploads/2018/07/bed-bugs-carpet-beetle-information.pdf. Carpet beetles were what Orkin said they found four months ago. Some of the symptoms fit what we were going through. I sprayed distilled water as the article recommended, everywhere – on carpeting, furniture, clothing. Then I saw a product that combined alcohol and distilled water specifically to get rid of static so tried mixing alcohol with distilled water (about 1/2 and 1/2) and misted it everywhere. No more bites!! It was static all along, generated by the carpet beetle larvae “hairs”! The static was intensified by our daily vacuuming and probably helped along when we heated the house to rid it of bed bugs. Now I believe that we didn’t have bed bugs but carpet beetles! They eat natural fabrics such as cotton and though I washed the bedding every single day in hot water and dried on hot for an hour, I was still getting “bites” because the tiny larvae hairs were causing an allergic reaction. These “bugs” were also in our car – that’s how I “knew” they were bugs. But when I sprayed the entire car with Lysol — and later distilled water and isopropyl alcohol, the biting stopped.

We threw out all of our bedding, went to Homegoods and purchased cotton/polyester blend and polyester sheets, blankets, pillows, comforter. We also cleaned out everything and threw away a lot of clothes and clutter.(The larvae hairs apparently cannot be washed out but need to be vacuumed out.) No more “bites”!! We’ve now been bite-free for nearly three weeks and I’m trying to get the word about about Carpet Beetle Dermatitis and static. Three Chicago-area dermatologists had no clue. Our university extension had no clue. I hope this helps someone. This was one of the worse things I’ve ever been through – completely exhausting. My heart goes out to anyone suffering something similar. So consider an allergic reaction. My allergic reaction actually broke the skin. Consider static – especially if you’ve been vacuuming a lot. Consider carpet beetles – the larvae hairs they leave behind can cause a prickly sensation and allergic reactions. And get to know your Good Shepherd. I did get to know mine better during this time via Psalm 23 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023&version=NLT. He is with you in this.

• This topic was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by Birdmites.

[milly]

Hi LNova
I just read the article from your provided link. Only thing I’ve read that actually computes and makes sense for me. It would explain the tiny (microscopic) black hairs I find after sweeping my skin with Alcohol or Peroxide and looking at various things from chairs and sofas in home. I’m exhausted from the cleaning, washing floors, walls ceilings, emptying closets and drawers, laundry, steam ironing, steaming rugs etc ad infinitum. Nothing has made much difference, and I’m still left with more questions than answers. Acrually feel as if a lightbulb has lit after reading this article. Thank you – I shall proceed with the instructions given, and a lot more hope. 🙂

[milly]

….and also, my story is similar to yours – suspected bedbugs, pest control could find nothing, sprayed anyway. Then I found a little dot that under a magnifyer looked like a carpet beetle. Little black, unmoving dots in various places which looked like nothing insect-related, (actually suspected mold spores, but that was ruled out).
The situation improved has never gone away. It ebbs and flows, but in 2 years have not had a proper night’s sleep. Woke up one morning covered from head to toe in an ugly rash. Dermatologist suspected an allergic reaction to something, but never got to the bottom of it. We are surrounded by palm trees, and after reading about bird mites it seemed to sum up the problem, even though I have never actually seen anything alive! I read once that bird mites are self limiting, but due to the amount of non-stop cleaning I started to disbelieve this theory. My husband is totally unaffected and so has everyone else who has stayed here. Yes, I warned them before thay came – family, so easy to talk about. However, they all now think I’m a little crazy – I just let them think that’s indeed what it might be because I had no answers and was too tired to explain any further. I was happy enough to know I wasn’t crazy – something was getting at my skin and causing dreadful reactions – the pin pricks and the ‘bite’ marks! All the symptoms I’ve read about on here. So, thanks again for your post. Maybe this is it!

[Lnova]

Hi Milly,

Oh, I hope you’ve found a solution! Washing your bedding doesn’t work, Orkin told me, you have to vacuum it or throw it away. We threw all of our bedding away, replaced it with new and more more “bites” in the morning! Also, vacuumed all our upholstery and carpets like crazy for several weeks straight to get rid of the allergens they can leave behind.

Please let me know how you are doing 🙂

[af2k18]

Hi,

Thanks for your post, your story seems to be identical to mine. I have had this intense itching problem for nearly 2 years. Pest control came to the house but did not find anything, the only insect I have seen in the last 2 years was a single carpet beetle.

Please could you let me know what other symptoms you had? I seem to have white lint-like fibers all over my house and clothes which I am wondering if you had the same experience.

Thanks!

[Lnova]

Hi af2k18,

I’m sorry to hear of the itching that you’ve experienced for nearly 2 years. I’m not certain what the white, lint-like fibers could be. If you believe they might be insect-related you could view them under a high-powered magnifying glass or take them in an envelope to your local University Extension for examination.

The itching could be an allergic reaction to something. Does an antihistamine such as generic Claritin help? You might see a dermatologist for advice. My experience was different in that there were no white fibers around the house and I didn’t experience itching.

[Author]

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