[Pandemic Bird Mites]

We’ve been fighting a bird mite population burst since April 2020 (but I think they were slowly growing in numbers for a few years before this). This year is much better than last year and here is what we think helps for us:
– installed and use AC and dehumidifiers constantly (we try to keep temps below 70 F and humidity below 45%);
– got rid of all carpet, major decluttering;
– vacuum and washing clothing and bedding daily (with borax, ammonia, detergent – you can get all from laundry section at grocery stores);
– nightly showers using medicated Selsun Blue as a body wash and tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner (generic Paul Mitchell) and using a scrubbing cloth (Salux brand from Japan – from Asian markets or Amazon);
– using Aveeno lotion nightly (has dimethicone – keeps skin moist, thought to impede the mites;
– I am the preferred host and modified my medications (ones that had hormonal effects) and take supplements (NutraCore B-complex, Thank You structured silver, sweet wormwood pills (Prince brand from Korea, from Amazon), garlic pills);
– monitoring my thyroid functioning (I am borderline hypothyroid and will try to get supplementation as soon as clinically indicated). I sometimes take supplemental iodine but very cautiously;
– Cedarcide Tick Shield with extra essential oils (like tea tree oil) added to it, which I spray on myself under the blankets before bed. I figure I might as well hit the sheets and blanket at the same time;
– will start using biopesticides (Aprehend, a mycopesticide, and Elector, with Spinosad from soil bacterium) – fingers crossed;
– sleep with fan positioned over the bed at night. I believe the mites deliberately crawl to the highest places they can reach, so they can fall on their targets.
– when we had the energy to vacuum ceilings regularly, it helped a lot. Aprehend can be sprayed on ceilings and lasts three months, which I am trying out now over “hot spots” like over the computer desk and our bed, and feel it may be starting to be helpful but time will tell.

I am so sorry for all of us suffering through this. And for most of us, there is no quick, easy or cheap solution. But I believe getting the support we need to keep us going, doing whatever we need to do to stay resilient and resolute to keep killing the mites just bit faster than they can reproduce, holding on firmly to our vision of a happy life unaffected by mites (even if not completely mite-free) can help us prevail and find some silver lining from this horrible situation. Hang on, ask for help from those who can support you, blessings!

[Pandemic Bird Mites]

Ever indebted to Takwakin, FinallyFree, CNDNGirl and everyone who posts on this forum.

I think we’ve had a low level of bird mites in our home since 2017-18 (I was getting an occasional bite but thought it was some errant flea from our old dog, now deceased, or random garden bug, which gradually got more noticeable and bothersome over time), but the population exploded in spring 2020 due to many reasons, some of which I’ve learned about here:
– kept backyard poultry until 2018
– kept bird feeders/hummingbird feeders very close to front door until 2020
– in 2017, started a new medication, spironolactone, for blood pressure but it also changes sex hormone levels (used by dermatologists for adult acne)
– adopted two rescue cats in April 2020 during pandemic lock down, like everyone else, which seemed to be the trigger for our bird mite population explosion or else they just spread the mites throughout the house.

I am the preferred target, but husband still gets some bites (though much less than me) and during the worst of it in the summer 2020, my child also got a few bites (thankfully now seems ignored by the mites). I experience the whole bird mite shebang – slow healing bites, swarming/crawling sensations (scalp, eyes, nose, throat, privates, etc.), high stress/sleep disruption, etc. It is much better now, but the beginning was the living hell that so many have suffered.

This past fall and winter, after all the interventions – removing carpets, decluttering, constant vacuuming/laundry, dehumidfiers (keeping 30% humidity), HEPA air filtering fans (esp blowing across the bed at night), house temp around 68 degrees or below, room ozone shock treatments, Hot Shot No-Pest strips for the car overnight, melting thymol crystals with mug warmers, 99% alcohol sprays, all kinds of cedar oil/neem oil sprays, house fogging (one-time), monthly professional pest spraying service, Bravecto for the cats, change of med for me, months of ivermectin horse paste, daily colloidal silver solution, garlic and MSM pills, Natrum Muriaticum 1 M, homemade anti-mite tea of steeped dried oregano and thyme, neem oil baths (a couple of times), lathering up with medicated Selsun Blue shampoo nightly (wait a few mins before rinsing off), slathering on 100% Neem oil in AM and bedtime, and iodine supplements, etc. – the mite population and my bites have reduced greatly but not gone. (I plan to post again with more detail about what seemed to be most effective after we are further in the clear from this infestation, which I expect to happen later this year- power of positive thinking!)

I also discovered a nearby neighbor also had a mite infestation about 3-4 years ago – it took them 1.5 years (they got rid of all their many houseplants, did constant cedar oil spraying and vacuuming, neem oil baths, Selsun Blue and swear that’s really all they did), but they seem back to normal now (with an occasional bite every month or so). They think it was around March that they noticed the population decreasing. I’ve also read The Year of the Mite (Ishka) and Mites No more (Johnson) – Ishka wrote her mite infestation also started to improve around spring (I could not tell timing from Johnson’s book).

My question is about timing and seasonality. At least two people have noticed their bird mite population decreasing around spring. I am wondering if Takwakin (and anyone else) can remember the time of year that her and her sisters’ mite infestations started to noticeably improve and most importantly, seemed finally ended?

I am also wondering about the hormonal changes that seem to attract the mites – I think both men and women are affected but my impression is that more women than men are attacked – have other noticed this too? I wonder if anyone else has noticed menopausal/thyroid/other hormonal or health changes that might be triggers, like FinallyFree reported?

Thank you all for reading – I hope some of the information is useful to others and I plan to post more on what I think were the most effective interventions for us later on this year. I went through many, many low points as well, and still do, fearing the worst for myself and family, but thanks to reading many other people’s stories, supportive family, twice daily transcendental meditation (VERY challenging with crawling sensations going on I will say, but it gave me the mental resilience I needed), I am feeling closer to ending this infestation. I pray that all others going through this horrendous experience may also have all the support they need to overcome their battles as well.

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