Entomological Update

After a truly traumatizing night involving our guinea pig, rabbit, and thousands of our unidentified Nasty Buggers, samples of the offending critters were sent off to Texas A&M to be identified by an entomologist. The verdict is that chiggers are not, indeed, our culprits. No, it couldn't be anything that mundane. Noooooo... We have Ornithonyssus mites. Depending on the species, their hosts are either wild birds or roof rats; the two look so much alike, it's very tricky telling them apart (the mites, not the birds & rats).

So, using common sense, remembering our roof rat revelers that stayed around for 3 weeks or so, and utilizing the knowledge that the mites had attacked the guinea pig, but not our birds, I believe we are looking at an attack of Ornithonyssus Bacoti, the Tropical Rat Mite. According to Texas A&M, one usually notices the mites once the hosts have died or left the building (the rat bastards left after they finished off all the kitty treats in the TV cabinet). Although they can't live off human blood, they will readily bite them, causing all sorts of hellish itching. And apparently, they aren't terribly uncommon... then why haven't I ever heard of them?!?!?

Anyway, armed with pyrethrin and diatomaceous earth, I'm off to war. Any other suggestions welcome.

Comments

[RedMolly]

Ew, ew, ew! I feel your entomological pain. *shudder*

We moved into a house inhabited by tiny sugar ants. So far, I haven't felt the need to do anything but wipe down the cabinets with dish detergent (it apparently breaks their scent trails and discourages them from returning... so far so good). If it escalates into all-out war, I guess I'll go for the boric acid. But I'd far rather have ants any day than tropical rat mites! *shudder again*

Best of luck to your family in your bugs-go-bye-bye endeavors.

[Carol]

I have either bed bugs or mites, still don't know which one beacuse I cant't find anything, started about 2 weeks ago. I've been sleeping on my washer/dryer!!! Painful bites on my rib-cage area. I am going to dust my whole house in food-grade diatomaceous earth tonight. Hope it works.

[Eric]

When I was living in south Georgia my bed was infested with something similar. The bites first appeared on my feet and ankle. Since I sleep with my feet out of the covers when it's hot I thought it was a spider. I sprayed all the windows and doors and every crack I could find. I still woke up with bites, now on my hands and legs. I was afraid of bed bugs or chiggers so I washed all my bedding, clothes and showered multiple times a day, and slept on the couch. More bites appeared on my chest and ribs. I would guess I ended up with over a hundred bites, easily, in patches all over. It's like they feasted somewhere else every night. I never saw any potential culprit and no one I saw could tell me what it was by looking at the bites. I still have no idea what did it. The problem was solved when I moved 300 miles.

[QuackieChau]

Omg! I hope this is what I have. I've been agonizing about it for WEEKS. At first, I thought I had bed bugs, but I checked my bedding and mattress and nothing. I washed my linens and clothes, vacuumed my room, but I was still getting bitten.

Then I realized there were tiny little itty bitty bugs on my hamsters. Not knowing what fleas looked like, I thought they had fleas. From a rat I'd found near their cage a week or two before. Sprayed their cage and area with a pyrethrin solution I got from the pet store. Well, the hammies seemed happy enough... but I was STILL getting bitten!

Then I thought it might be chiggers, because I'm definitely getting bitten where chiggers bite (waist, underarms, neck). Just couldn't figure out where I could have picked up the darn buggers and if they could even live indoors.

Anyway, I hope this is what I have. I can't even find any of them anymore, and yet, I am still mysteriously getting bitten. I guess it's time to spray everything with pyrethrin. Thanks for the info!

[zeracore]

quickest way to git rid of chiggers is several bleach water bath over about a weak

I work out side in Arkansas were i git exposed to chiggers a lot
and it is there larva that bites you
there larva lives on your skin and anything your skin touches hens the bleach water bath