Talk:House dust mite

Idea to put forward, Should we include things about the body of a mite?

we seem to go on about what they do and how they effect us but we dont talk about their brains, bodily parts or genitals. look at this image for instance [1]

Fingerprints??

Sorry if it sounds like im treating this as a forum but on the image we have displayed, is that fingerprints embedded into the dustmite? --Casket56 (talk) 12:19, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Dust mites are the most common cause of asthma and allergic symptoms worldwide

it says that, yet it also says this about cockroaches I am a heavy asthmatic, and have no idea what to trust —Preceding unsigned comment added by Coheed56 (talk • contribs) 12:21, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Definitely not this. We've been trying to study house dust mites, but it's rather difficult when they seem nearly extinct. The only ones that we've been able to find were from straw mattresses, and those are getting rare these days. --84.250.69.87 (talk) 14:41, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

btw its cute that some SHILL has inserted Montelukast in the sentence

"Most treatment has relied so far on trying to counteract the released chemicals with anti-histamines, Corticosteroids or Salbutamol. Commercial brands of these medications include Montelukast or Ventolin."

as a "commercial brand" of "anti-histamines, Corticosteroids or Salbutamol", this is "cute" as it is none of these!

If anything ventolin should be first, and then secondly a corticosteroid. I am going to remove montelukast as it is a very recent treatment and doesnot have extensive epidemiological support as dose salbutamol and corticosteroids.

Further the montelukast article mentions; "June 12, 2009 the Food and Drug Administration concluded their review into the possibility of neuropsychiatric side effects with leukotriene modulator drugs. Although clinical trials only revealed an increased risk of insomnia, post-marketing surveillance showed that the drugs are associated with a possible increase in suicidal behaviour and other side effects such as agitation, aggression, anxiousness, dream abnormalities and hallucinations, depression, irritability, restlessness and tremor." So who ever takes the suggestion to try these leukotriene drugs just be aware that you are balancing the severity of your asthma against side effects that are not present in the widely accepted epidemiologically supported treatment, corticosteroids. I accept that these medications also have considerable side-effects. Remember to gargle, repeat*n (I am an asthmatic and I wish I could take a medication with tolerable side-effects which greatly improved my asthma, and would be willing to pay for this benefit!) 220.101.92.34 (talk) 08:13, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Size

How big are these puppies? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.50.4.4 (talk • contribs) 13:57, 14 October 2004

A few hundred micrometers. Arvindn 19:48, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

that is less than half a millimeter, less than 1/32nd inch, so sometimes visible when properly illuminated -- works best when you already know that the speck of "dust" you are looking at is a mite, after using a magnifying glass. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.131.22.245 (talk • contribs) 16:34, 19 November 2006

They're large enough to see with a naked eye, as long as they're not on white or grey surface. --84.250.69.87 (talk) 14:38, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

the article says that these mites are 400+inches in height and length, that has to be micrometers right? I am changing that to micrometers from inches--Coppermallow (talk) 20:32, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

I read an article from University of Sydney entomology department that agrees with that.[2]--Coppermallow (talk) 20:36, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

If you actually look at the page on Acari you see that not all have eight legs. Quite variable in fact. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.225.81.78 (talk) 07:17, 24 October 2010 (UTC)

I reverted the description to an older version. It's absolutely ridiculous to claim that the mites cannot be seen by naked eye. The smallest particle visible to the human eye is about 40 microns, and these mites are ~400 microns in diameter. [3] 80.222.145.74 (talk) 09:51, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Morning Breath and mites?

This statement seems to require a reference. If I cannot find one, I'm removing the comment. Roodog2k 16:11, 17 May 2005 (UTC)

Scientific proeminence in the 1600s ?

"gaining scientific prominence only in the 1600s after the importance of sanitation was recognized." Is it really the 1600 ? 1960s seems more believable to me, but I don't claim to know anything. I'm just correcting what I think looks like a typo (You don;'t usually say the 1600s right You'd say the 17th century ... or maybe it's the 1900s ? Also, "scientific proeminence" ... maybe it's the 1900s though. Flammifer 1 July 2005 07:16 (UTC)

Shedding skin?

Under "Habitat": 1.5g/day * 365day/year ≠ 3-4.5kg/year. Although I know nothing here, 3kg sounds really high. 1.5g sounds reasonable and is widely repeated in Google search results (although that means nothing). I don't see the 3-4.5kg figure in any reputable sources.

The OSU reference claims .2 oz/day (equal to .8g/day), so perhaps that figure should be used.

The figure of roughly a million mites also seems hard to reconcile. The OSU reference states 10^5-10^7, but in the next sentence talks about dead mites. It's unclear whether they are only counting live animals.

Assuming half of all skin is shed in bed, using a high estimate of .7g/day, rations .7µg/mite-day. I cannot find a mass estimate for each mite, so assume a 400µm spherical mite at 3.35*10^-5 cc and the density of water (overestimating size and underestimating density a bit), or 33.5µg for one mite. Most animals require well over 2% of their body mass in food per day.

All the numerical data I can find relating to these critters looks a little dubious, and perhaps totally invented by the bedding and air filter companies.

(Of course, this all assumes skin as the sole food source. Perhaps there may be as many mites, but nutrition is primarily something else.)

- Potatoswatter

— Preceding undated comment added 17:55, July 23, 2005

Someone has changed the sentence to read "An average person sheds about 1.5 grams of skin a day (approximately 0.3-0.45 kg per year), which is enough to feed roughly a million dust mites." I also have doubts about the statement. It doesn't seem that's enough food for a million dust mites. Can someone provide a more accurate statistic or a citation? —Lowellian (reply) 23:58, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Considering their size, a million house dust mites would take a rather large amount of space. We've never found more than few dozen samples from one mattress. --84.250.69.87 (talk) 14:44, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Haven't had time to read through it's info on dust mites yet, but in general, PubMed is a great source of accurate information on the biological and medical sciences. If you like reading actual papers, that is. It probably has the answers to those questions above. Luuknam 00:34, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

Name in other languages

note that in other languages these little beasties have a single-word name, and that helps a lot to take it seriously. When a concept or thing has a single word to name it, people don't question whether it is real, and whether its effects are imagined. French is "acarien", Italian is "acaro / acari (plural)". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.131.22.245 (talk • contribs) 16:34, 19 November 2006

A First

This is the first Wikipedia article I've ever read that I really wish I hadn't, and I've read some weird ones. Suddenly sleeping is a little creepier. Where did that Morning Halitosis thing come from, by the way?Marstead 18:58, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

There are more articles I can suggest that will stop you sleeping at night :D --Coheed56 (talk) 07:55, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

dust mite and fecal particles

I heard that a mattress doubles in weight from the dust mites every ten years.

It's crazy to think that were even possible...how much does the fecal stuff weigh...wouldn't it decompose before it accumulates anywhere? If the dust mite lives 80 days max; how long before it decomposes and do the mites feed on their dead friends? I spent a fair portion on pillows made from the best feather down...I threw them away because of the dust mites....I could have just washed them in hot water. I have seen people pull mattress from the refuse and take them home, I have not heard of anyone dying from those mattresses. How much of this information is propaganda and how much should we be concerned. We have bacteria living on us and in us (normal flora), can we really say just how much is deadly or how much can cause adverse affect? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.79.240.251 (talk) 16:40, 24 January 2007 (UTC).

Which species?

House dust mites seem to encompass two species, D pteronyssinus (European house dust mite) and D farinae (American house dust mite). Both names redirect here, but the taxobox only mentions one. How should this be fixed? --JianLi 04:15, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Only two species are mentioned, that may be correct, but the following, which reads as an essay-writer's addition, implying at least four, does not tally:
"Some species of mites prefer to eat skin cells, a large component of household dust; others prefer flour dust."--SilasW (talk) 08:22, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

@SilasW: I redirected all species to the article. --David Hedlund ^SWE (Talk) 03:14, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Alimentary System

Can anyone provide more information on the Rudimentary alimentary system of dust mites? aka no stomach.

custiom: how to clear mite in my sofa and carpet? am in asia cuntrey the wether is diffren .

The *ADVANTAGES* of our dusty friends

Not that I'm a particular fan of intelligent design - but surely the dustmites are doing *some* favours for us and our mattresses/houses by disposing of all of this fecal matter? Isn't there some kind of minature ecosystem that dustmites set up within our houses? Given sufficient time, could dustmites not reverse all the environmental damage that buildings, tarmac and general human development on earth have caused?????

Well there IS a miniature ecosystem that can develop- depending upon how "dusty" you let your house become. Some dust mites eat other dust mites. They have mite predators. This might good info for someone to add to the article. I'm fascinated by these little critters! http://www.phe.bwk.tue.nl/Research/Documenten/House-dust_as_an_ecosystem.pdf mz (talk) 23:19, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Consider the mass of carbon within dead human skin cells. If dustmites eat dead skin - do they not reduce the mass of the stuff within human houses by converting it to CO2? Does anyone know of the chemistry of dust mite ecosystems?

Well, I can't imagine the EPSRC funding that one in a hurry....

Sorry, just being fecel-tious : —The preceding unsigned comment was added by ConcernedScientist (talk • contribs) 18:28, August 20, 2007 (UTC).

I'm sorry to report, but no--it seems that dust mites dont have ANY redeeming qualities or features that are advantageous in nature. (Currently known to man). Look here: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/dust-mitesdo-they-do-any-good-in-the-world-1547581.html mz (talk) 23:16, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Effect of bleach on dust mites

This article states that bleach and strong soaps cannot kill dust mites. There is no source for this information and a quick Google search for "dust mites bleach" reveals at least one site which explicitly states bleach is capable of killing dust mites although there is little verifiable information either way. Wikipedia:Verifiability Can anyone provide a source for this information or should it be removed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fiber B (talk • contribs) 21:08, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Outdated information?

Has there actually been any major research during the past decade about the prevalence of these mites? The local university sampled several hundred mattresses (ranging from clean to extremely filthy) for them, and only about 3% had mites. Modern mattresses seem to be completely mite-free, and the statement that they're common cause of asthma seems bit doubtful. The only mites they found resided in hay mattresses, and hardly anyone uses those anymore. Certainly seems like the mite problem is 'slightly' exaggerated these days. Many parts of the article almost seem like urban legend... -- Andemon (talk) 19:11, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

• [4]... Looks like they're almost extinct these days. I suppose they're big business for bedding manufacturers and such, but mass hysteria has no place here. The article is in a need of almost complete overhaul. 85.157.43.241 (talk) 17:48, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

I think some countrys have a climate that is good for mites, and other places have a climate where the mites cannot live. 212.120.84.45 (talk) 01:18, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

It's worth noting that while the house dust mites can survive in almost any climate, [i]Aspergillus repens[/i] requires high humidity. No fungus == house dust mites starve, no matter what the climate is. It probably should be mentioned in the article. ...and no, human body doesn't generate nearly enough humidity during sleep, unless we're talking about bedwetting. --84.250.69.87 (talk) 14:57, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Personally I agree, as an asthmatic the only mattresses ive found problematic were ones exposed to pets, which may not have been dust mites, as well as some futons not exposed to pets. but my point was just to say that although it may be true that many cases of asthma dont have a causative factor in the mattress there is also the rest of the bedding, I think wool covers are among those ive found problematic, particularly when they move around the house, including exposure to pets. In addition to bedding dust mites may still be present in other places in homes and our environments and thus be problematic, despite not being commonly detected in mattresses. Just my experience and some speculation. 220.101.92.34 (talk) 08:31, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Attention by a Literate Expert Needed

This article is more of a hodge-podge of badly connected and badly written bits than most. Every keyboard and his wife seems to have put in its two bits worth every second day (perhaps in good faith but that does not excuse making an ill-considered article).
Take this solid lump under Life Cycle:
"A simple washing will remove most of the waste matter. Temperatures of over 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) for a period of one hour, and freezing is usually fatal to dust mites;[1] a relative humidity less than 50 may also be fatal. Dust mites reproduce quickly enough that their effect on human health can be significant."
Whatever gumption tells you the editor was trying to say, one must ask how one washes a house mite.
"Temps and fr is" (is they?).
Their effect on human health is hardly classifiable under Life Cycle.--SilasW (talk) 11:14, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

The last section 'Eradication' especially seems to be suffering in this way. I tidied it up slightly , at least the grammar and spelling, but refrained from removing it despite the fact that there was little which made sense or hadn't been stated earlier in the article.

One thing that needs to be checked is though is the washing times. "It is recommended by the health government that beds, pillows and other soft furniture are washed regularly for 8 weeks". That's one darned long wash cycle! I'm assuming it's meant to be washed every 8 weeks but as there was no citation I couldn't corroborate. Plus from everything I've heard and read the bedding ought to be washed weekly. OldYokel (talk) 20:56, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Removal of dust mites

Hi All,

I've removed a paragraph from the bottom of the Habitat and Food section which I didn't believe and which lacked citations. Feel free to add it back in if you can find sources:

The best way to get rid of the dust mites is heat. Cover your mouth with your blanket and take a deep breath of air. Use your lungs as filtration. One deep breath can effectively kill 10,000 dust mites.

On the other hand, removal of dust mites is a topic that probably should be covered in the article.

Isaac (talk) 11:31, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

It's kind of obvious that it's vandalism. But not too obvious. These vandals are getting better. It's a far cry than the valdals that say things like "JESSIE HAS A BIG DICK!!!111?!", and the only thing that identifies this as valdalism is that it's retarded. Kevin (talk) 16:58, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

Y@Isaac: I added how to do that. --David Hedlund ^SWE (Talk) 06:34, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Proposed external link(s) to add

I propose that we add a link to this fact sheet on house dust mites that provides information on habits, habitat and prevention tips. If you approve, please add to external links. - http://pestworld.org/for-consumers/Pest-Guide/Pest/House-Dust-Mites 74.10.204.218 (talk) 17:32, 26 May 2010 (UTC) National Pest Management Association

Researching dust mites on the web is an endless maze of material put out by biased parties, but I believe I've come across a site that documents original research (actual science) on the growth of HDM in the home and I think is worth adding. Take a look:

• A Hygrothermal Model of House Dust Mite Response to Environmental Conditions in Dwellings, University College London/University of Cambridge, June 2002

Among its findings:

• a chart showing data on reproductive rates versus temperature and humidity
• a computer model of the microclimate created by a sleeping person in a bed, which causes a zone of moist conditions under the person which persists for several hours after they leave the bed and assists HDM reproduction
• migration speed of mites through materials (they definitely move through materials towards regions of higher RH)
• building materials and ventalation practices are much stronger determinants of HDM population growth than bedding materials (contrary to the position of the industrial-bedding complex)

Anybody opposed to adding this (apart from folks who sell HDM-management products)? If not, will someone add it to the article in the right form? Thanks, 75.37.27.177 (talk) 23:53, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

I propose this link

• house dust mites on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site. Trfasulo (talk) 15:14, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I would like to propose a link the the following article *[5] from the National Research Institute for Child Health and Development (Tokyo, Japan) about 'Preventive effect of bedding encasement with microfibre barriers on mite sensitization'. If no objections, thank you for adding. London3 (talk) 23:07, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I propose these: *[6][7]. Unfortunately the second one is written in Finnish, but to sum it up: zero dust mites found during past 15 years. They're not even remotely common in modern homes, 'Habitat and food' section needs fixing. 80.222.145.74 (talk) 17:07, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

seeing dust mites in tap water

can someone tell me if they have ever noticed some kind of bug, looks and sounds like a dust mite, in tap water? It is opaque white and only seen when light is reflected off of the water. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.240.135.127 (talk) 04:37, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Low temperatures that prove fatal.

As stated in the article, 20 Decrees C to kill dust mites. My house has been significantly below 20 Degrees C for most of this winter and yet they are still there, to put it plainly it has been as low as 10 Degrees C inside, though usually 12-14. This, therefore, is invalid.

Also for consideration, that in most climates in nature, temperatures regularily drop below 20 Degrees C, even in the Deserts.

I would like to know what low temperature actually kills them, or the effect of UV light and pesticides. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.71.66.13 (talk) 12:11, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

They are a contamination from the outside

A new hypothesis about house dust mites breaks with the idea, that the mites do live in our homes. Read more at www.tehallas.com about "house dust mites and common sense"94.145.240.242 (talk) 09:45, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

N This is nonsense. --David Hedlund ^SWE (Talk) 06:29, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Colour

Hi. At a size of just under half a milimetre for larger subtypes, some dust mites are likely within a visible size range for some human age groups. Thus, they would appear a certain colour, and the article would benefit from mentioning this. Other visual characteristics are also important. Thanks. ~AH1 ^(discuss!) 01:53, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Agreed. Color photo would be nice. The article claims that "Both male and female adult house dust mites are creamy blue"; but as far as I know, they're creamy yellow [8]. There are many kinds of mites, some of them bluish, but this article is about Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. 80.222.145.74 (talk) 15:53, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Y@AstroHurricane001: I added colour photos. --David Hedlund ^SWE (Talk) 05:37, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

eradication

I saw that the section on “eradication” said that “Ten minutes in a household clothes dryer at lethal temperatures has been shown to be sufficient to kill all the dust mites in bedding.”  I added the specification of “near 105 °C (221 °F).”  Please check to see if I interpreted the source correctly. 68.55.112.31 (talk) 23:38, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Y I revised this. --David Hedlund ^SWE (Talk) 06:25, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

• If anyone can find a study which finds total eradication, that could be worth adding - or at least I'd be interested in hearing about it. The article Bedrooms without house dust mites : final report from a preliminary study pointed to a study that comes a bit close: Reducing relative humidity is a practical way to control dust mites and their allergens in homes in temperate climates where mite allergen was reduced tenfold in after maintaining relative humidity below 51% for 17 months. II | (t - c) 19:27, 16 April 2019 (UTC)

articlesbase.com

I doubt that link to an articlesbase.com article in the page is much use to anyone. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 111.85.175.220 (talk) 15:42, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Y Its not there any more. --David Hedlund ^SWE (Talk) 06:26, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Article cleanup

What is this article even about? Classification shows [i]Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus[/i], but most of the references are about the North American Dust Mite ([i]D. farinae[/i]). Shouldn't just lump all the mites into one article. For instance, [i]D. pteronyssinus[/i] is larger and clearly visible to naked eye, but the article claims that it isn't because the american mites aren't that large. What a mess. 94.22.103.96 (talk) 10:05, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

Dear authors, could you make this article connected to the same article written in German language. Thx! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Reljicb (talk • contribs) 24 January 2016

It is really neccessary to decide what about this article should be. Maybe the best way would be to split it to three articles. House dust mites, European house dust mite and American house dust mite like in the frwiki: fr:Dermatophagoides, fr:Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and fr:Dermatophagoides farinae. --Diwas (talk) 19:14, 24 January 2016 (UTC)

I think it is good to have an article specifically about 'dust mites' as this provides useful information. The different species are identified in the text. Dividing the article might be better for an etymologist, but not for the lay person. I see a need to 'lump all the mites together,' as they generally lumped together when describing household allergies. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.147.28.72 (talk) 23:13, 27 November 2016 (UTC)

HEPA filters

HEPA filters in the vacuum cleaner can trap the allergens (rather than blowing them through the room). But i have a hard time finding out which HEPA class is required for this. Is E12 sufficient or do you need H13, or even H14? Hope someone finds a reliable source on this. PizzaMan ♨♨♨ 08:12, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

I did some more searching, but i can't find the size of the mite feces in any scientific article. Perhaps they're too varied? Thing is, the hepa classes are about the percentage of particles of a fixed size that will be filtered. Not about increasingly small particles they can filter. So essentialy the hepa classes are possibly not even appliccable. Even though HEPA filters are often sold to people with dust mite allergy for that purpose PizzaMan ♨♨♨ 12:41, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Difficult to read

This article is quite difficult to read for someone who does not know a lot about biology; maybe the vocabulary should be simplified, or more links should be added explaining the terms used. Cassie Schebel (talk) 19:32, 9 March 2022 (UTC)