Another one bites the dust

Posted on April 3, 2008
Filed Under Bites |

Another one Bites the Dust or do the Dust Mites Bite Me?

Another one bites the dust was a great song by the rock group Queen, but not such a great feeling when a human has been bitten by a dust mite. These little insects can be very irritating for their human hosts. It takes trained personnel in a laboratory setting to identify a mite bite. Though the technician may be singing another one bites the dust, this individual is concerned with preventing the insect from biting humans.

Diagnosis is sometimes difficult because it is often time hard to distinguish one insect bite from another without the aid of a skin scraping, or even a sampling from your vacuum cleaner.

House Dust Mites come in difference sizes ranging from 1/200 to 1/25 of an inch. Some are not visible while others will appear as tiny black, gray or red oval specks. These insects have four legs and mouth parts grouped together in such a way that they look like they have a head.

The variety of mites called the House Dust Mite does not actually bite humans. Yet, another one bites the dust because the human in question becomes allergic to the mite’s feces which can be found in pillows and mattresses and furniture. It is believed that 50% of all household have these insects whether they are aware of it or not.

The Northern Fowl mite feed on live birds such as pigeons and poultry but as soon as another one bites the dust, they quickly flock in droves to find a new host. Farmers and other egg handlings are commonly bitten by these little creatures. Their bite will cause itching and in some cases a skin condition called dermatitis. This particular mite can live as long as three weeks away from a living host.

The Chicken mite will look for a human host after the death of their poultry host. They enter the house and then another one bites the dust, this time a human, who will scratch like crazy. These mites can live up to a month without finding a new host.

Tropical Rat Mites

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