Sep 10, 2011 – Bird Mites Bite
QUESTION:
A client of mine has a relative in California who says she has Bird Lice in their house and it is driving them crazy. She said it started with a bird nest outside a window and they are constantly being bitten and / or having itching on skin. Any recommendations?
ANSWER:
As always with claims of "mites" biting people inside homes or businesses this should begin with an inspection to verify whether or not these mites really are there. We should NEVER take the word of the untrained homeowner on what pest they have. Far too often they may have perceptions based on someone else telling them they have mites or just a previous mite presence that now has their imagination fired up. If you were to assume they were correct and begin a treatment for mites it could well be that there are now no mites there at all, or perhaps it is springtails or some other arthropod that is small, crawls on their skin, and makes them think it is mites. Use insect glue traps liberally around the home to capture anything that may be present and crawling there and examine those traps after a week using HIGH magnification to verify what may be on them.
IF it turns out to be bird mites then control begin with eliminating the source, and this means the birds that brought the mites here initially. Unfortunately this often will be swallows that are nesting in their mud nests around the eaves and roofline of the home, and if it is swallows they can NOT be harmed or molested once the nest is completed. You would have to wait until they and their young have abandoned the nest on their own, and then the nest can be removed and the areas around it and inside the home treated to kill any remaining mites. These mud nests can be removed during the process of construction next year, but once completed must be left alone.
Bird mites cannot survive for very long without their bird hosts, and cannot reproduce and continue their presence. They will bite humans, but only as a temporary alternative when a blood meal is needed. So, eventually the problem will resolve itself once the birds are eliminated and good exclusion is done to prevent more birds from entering, but it could take a few weeks for this to finally happen. Again, if these mites were there weeks or months ago it is possible they are not even present anymore and the resident simply is feeling a continued biting and itching due to their imagination working overtime. This is perfectly normal, so using glue traps to verify the presence of the mites, and which kind of mites they may be, is needed first.
If there are mites then a very, very thorough vacuuming of all floors, walls, and furnishings can begin the removal of them. You can use a pyrethroid insecticide directed to likely pathways such as wall to floor junctions, edges of walls, etc. as well as a dust directed into wall voids. Attics and other enclosed voids can be treated with a dust, and the best dust may be an inorganic material such as silica gel or diatomaceous earth in voids that people may later get into. The use of a "deep void injector" would allow you to fog within voids as well, possibly with a pyrethroid labeled for use in these devices.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
A client of mine has a relative in California who says she has Bird Lice in their house and it is driving them crazy. She said it started with a bird nest outside a window and they are constantly being bitten and / or having itching on skin. Any recommendations?
ANSWER:
As always with claims of "mites" biting people inside homes or businesses this should begin with an inspection to verify whether or not these mites really are there. We should NEVER take the word of the untrained homeowner on what pest they have. Far too often they may have perceptions based on someone else telling them they have mites or just a previous mite presence that now has their imagination fired up. If you were to assume they were correct and begin a treatment for mites it could well be that there are now no mites there at all, or perhaps it is springtails or some other arthropod that is small, crawls on their skin, and makes them think it is mites. Use insect glue traps liberally around the home to capture anything that may be present and crawling there and examine those traps after a week using HIGH magnification to verify what may be on them.
IF it turns out to be bird mites then control begin with eliminating the source, and this means the birds that brought the mites here initially. Unfortunately this often will be swallows that are nesting in their mud nests around the eaves and roofline of the home, and if it is swallows they can NOT be harmed or molested once the nest is completed. You would have to wait until they and their young have abandoned the nest on their own, and then the nest can be removed and the areas around it and inside the home treated to kill any remaining mites. These mud nests can be removed during the process of construction next year, but once completed must be left alone.
Bird mites cannot survive for very long without their bird hosts, and cannot reproduce and continue their presence. They will bite humans, but only as a temporary alternative when a blood meal is needed. So, eventually the problem will resolve itself once the birds are eliminated and good exclusion is done to prevent more birds from entering, but it could take a few weeks for this to finally happen. Again, if these mites were there weeks or months ago it is possible they are not even present anymore and the resident simply is feeling a continued biting and itching due to their imagination working overtime. This is perfectly normal, so using glue traps to verify the presence of the mites, and which kind of mites they may be, is needed first.
If there are mites then a very, very thorough vacuuming of all floors, walls, and furnishings can begin the removal of them. You can use a pyrethroid insecticide directed to likely pathways such as wall to floor junctions, edges of walls, etc. as well as a dust directed into wall voids. Attics and other enclosed voids can be treated with a dust, and the best dust may be an inorganic material such as silica gel or diatomaceous earth in voids that people may later get into. The use of a "deep void injector" would allow you to fog within voids as well, possibly with a pyrethroid labeled for use in these devices.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
