What is this a spider or a mite
December 21, 2009
Dear Sir … for the last compile of days we have been finding these running all over our skin. What are they, and are they harmful, and where do they come from?
The are smaller than a pin head, and move very quickly so taking good photos was a challenge. I hope you can help.
Thank you
Bernard
South Africa

Mite

Dear Bernard,
We can confirm that this is a Mite, but we are unable to provide any additional information.  Many Mites are found in the home.  Mites might infest pests and food products depending upon the species, and that identification would take a degree of expertise that we do not possess.  Perhaps an acarologist will be able to provide us with information if one happens to read this posting.

Mite

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Mouse Mite Hell!
This is my candidate for the Worst Bug Stories page.

Last winter I went through Mouse Mite Hell. Picture a rural street with a few landed houses on one side and nothing but wild land, covered with blackberry bushes, on the other. I lived in a 150 yr-old farmhouse, the pride of my life.

In late summer and early autumn a developer started clearing the property across our small, rural street. Bushes were cut and land bulldozed flat, preparatory to building “upscale” housing.

The local field mice, having no where else to go, decided to become house mice and my 3 neighbors and I were overrun. My house, being old, had numerous “settling” places large enough for a mouse to enter and they overran everything! They even scratched and chewed the headboard of my waterbed, eating the books and chewing the wood. They destroyed my piano. My life became a nightmare of mouse hunting and hole-stopping, day and night. I spent tons of money on steel wool and wood putty and paint to cover it all up. One day my electronic trap killed 6 while my cat did away with 7. In one day!

The result of all of this mouse genocide was that the mites they carried turned to my dogs, my cat and myself for their daily bread. The bites tormented me day and night, first with a fiery burning sensation, immediately followed by intense itching. They woke me up all night long. My pets would jump and cry out and scratch themselves to death.

Despite my dislike of chemicals, I gave in and bombed…nothing changed. A day or two of rest and the mites were back in force. Then, I read on the Net that a strong bleach-and-water solution (1 cup bleach to a gallon of water) would kill the mites. IT WORKED! I’d put the pets out, open the windows and bleach the heck out of every surface that wouldn’t be damaged. I sprayed the cloth furniture with bug spray. Every day. Even dry, the bleach seemed to kill or deter the mites. Even before I plugged the last hole and killed the last mouse, the biting stopped.

I never want to go through anything like that again and I always make sure I have a gallon of bleach in the house…just in case.

I love this site and have recommended it to a lot of people. The work you do is superior and I agree with your liking for insects (except Mouse Mites). Please keep up the good work. (And thank you for the Net’s only intelligent CAPTCHA.)

Sandy

Dear Sandy,
We arent’ sure what a CAPTCHA is, but we thank you for the compliment.  We will be posting your letter and tagging it with the Worst Bug Stories Ever.

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Mite or Tick ?
November 19, 2009
i’ve finished my new Azureus tank a few weeks ago, and i’ve found, several times, during the last few days these bugs crawling around my water feature edges.
some info of whats in the viv:
NO Frogs In The Viv ATM !!!
few broms and some riccia starting to expand on the ground.
water feature of waterfall and a pond ( false bottom ). the substrate is a mix of Baltic peat and coco peat/shreds.
thats about it.
omer hauser
U.S.A

Unknown Mite

Hi omer,
We needed to do a bit of research just to understand your questions as you used so many abbreviations and words we did not know.  Now we see you have set up a habitat for Dendrobates azureus, poisonous tree frogs, and that the plants are growing.  This looks like a Mite to us.  Not sure what though.  Mites are not our specialty.  Perhaps an acarologist will write in with an identification.

Hi Daniel,
I’m really really sorry for using words you didnt know ( sometimes, i forget that not to long ago i didnt know these words myself ) and you had to spend time on research. My sincere apologies.
Thank you for your reply and if you come across a definite answer in this issue, i’d be more than happy if you let me know. I really want to know the common name and the scientific name of that mite.
Thank you again and have a nice weekend.
Omer Hauser

Hi Omer,
Since we do not keep track of our contributors’ email addresses, the best way for you to get your answer is to provide a comment on your own posting, requesting the identification.  If an acarologist writes in the future, our website program will contact you that a comment has been posted to your comment.

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