Where do dust mites come from and will they bite?
Where do dust mites come from, what do they eat and are they harmful?
In this article we will look at where these microscopic critters come from, what they eat and if they are a concern.
Dust mites come from almost everywhere.
They are naturally-occurring creatures, and their microscopic size makes it easy for them to get into homes and other indoor areas. The house dust mite gets its name from its habitat – household dust – and can be found in every home, no matter how clean it is.
Some homes have more dust mites than others, however. Humidity is the most important factor in determining whether a house has high levels of dust mite colonies. They like to live in warm (20-25 degrees Celsius) with humidity higher than 60%. That is precisely why dust mites are so prevalent here in Sydney. They are mostly found in bedding, pillows, clothes, soft furnishing, curtains and carpets which are easy to burrow down into and hold moisture well.
Read here for an in-dept look at dust mites and their habitats.
Dust mites in mattress
How do dust mites get into your bed?
Dust mites cannot drink water, so they rely on absorbing the moisture from the air. That's why you'll find them living in your bed where mattress materials trap sweat that collects every night. The come up to the surface of the mattress every night for a lovely drink provided by your saliva or sweat. Dust mites also eat flakes of dead skin cells that people and animals shed. An average adult person may shed up to 1.5 grams of skin in a day. This is enough to feed one million dust mites! So, what better buffet of skin cells than in your bed where you feed dust mites at least 8 hours per night?
Are dust mites harmful?
Luckily dust mites do not bite or sting and are mostly harmless to people.
However, their faeces and cast body parts can commonly trigger allergy symptoms in people with asthma, allergic rhinitis (hay fever) or eczema.
If you typically have hay fever like symptoms at night or in the morning it could indicate a dust mite allergy and you should take steps to reduce dust mites/allergy triggers on your mattress and in your sleeping environment.
Some people do not even realise they are sensitive to dust mites as they get so use to waking up with puffy eyes, runny noses or sneezes.
It should also be noted that continuous exposure to the allergen can trigger allergic reactions in previously unaffected individuals.
What to do about dust mites?
Now even if dust mites are not harmful, the mere fact that I know they are in my mattress is enough to make me cringe. That is precisely why I regularly give my mattress a SafeSnooze treatment. A treatment gets rid of the natural build-up of discarded skin cells, dust mites bodies and other allergy triggers and then it sanitises and disinfects the mattress with UVC germicidal light to destroy micro-organisms, dust mite eggs, bacteria and viruses on the mattress.
We cannot entirely rid our mattress from critters but we can take steps to reduce the colonies living in our mattresses as well as our exposure to dust mites.
Read our blog on How to rid your mattress from dust mites
Difference between a dust mite and bed bug?
Both are ugly!! However, dust mites are microscopic and invisible to the human eye. They have 8 legs and are a translucent colour. Bed bugs are about 5mm long (or bigger), have six legs and are reddish-brown with two antennae.
Dust mites feed off shed dead human skin cells and bed bugs feast on the blood of humans and their pets. Usually bed bug bites are in orderly rows. These rows are caused by the bed bug being disturbed during feeding and having to pierce the skin to feed again.
Dust mites prefer dark, moist environment like a mattresses and pillows while bed bugs hide behind headboards, under bedside tables, along the skirting board and the crevices of the mattress. You can also find bed bugs in areas with little movement like cinemas or theatres.
As you have read earlier, dust mites can cause allergic reactions like eczema, asthma and rhinitis whereas bed bug bites and leave small, itchy red marks on the skin and bloods streaks on the linen.
Get in touch with pest control if you suspect you have bed bugs.
Dust mites do not bite, but they reduce the quality of air you breath (you effectively breath their poo and dead bodies) and they can cause allergic reaction meaning you wake up with stuffy and watery eyes, running nose and itching.
For a superior clean that can help you manage the dust mites in your mattress book a SafeSnooze treatment today.
Sleep better, breathe better, live better. SafeSnooze
E: hello@safesnooze.com.au
M: 0415428035