http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ How to Get Rid of Things: Forum Topic: Biting, white insects en Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:14:23 +0000 http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1791 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:35:23 +0000 gotagrip 1791@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>rme,</p> <p>For some instances coating yourself with vaseline to suffocate the bugs might be a fix. Keep us posted! </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1787 Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:21:06 +0000 DM 1787@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Collembola</p> <p><a href="http://www.stopskinmites.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.stopskinmites.com/</a> </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1770 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:01:25 +0000 gotagrip 1770@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Dear Rme, I think you should throw away your makeup and lotions and all products associated with this problem. Products and their containers get contaminated. I am so sorry to hear about your bugged out panick attacks and having to rearrange your whole life over these bites. I notice that you bring up bleaching the floors and cleaning alot. It is possible that you have a few ailments going on here. Obviously the lice or mites and possibly a reaction to the constant cleaning chemicals all your life. Since you went so far as to move from your apartment due to the infestation I wonder how you would actually do in a sterile environment free of germs, chemicals and pesticides. Is it possible your apartment was sprayed before you moved in, contact the previous tennant. Maybe you are having an allergic reaction to the pesticides and you keep recontaminating yourself. Were you single? I have a feeling that you are having a bad skin reaction to bleach and chemicals as well as bugs or a similar skin rash and bugs and bleach. The bugs on the plants that killed the plants seem like they would like plants not humans. I think there are some serious problems with that appartment. Good luck. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1730 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:08:45 +0000 doucediva 1730@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>My house is filled with these tiny flying insects that seldomly bite. They are barely perceptible to the naked?<br /> eye and only when standing next to a light and there is a dark background. They appear colorless sometime black ro grey. I have treated everything using lysol,RAID, bed bug spray, and natural non toxic solutions. I use lysol everyday.<br /> I cannot get rid of them. I have no idea what they are. I can feel them when they get on me and cannot see them unless they get on something dark. Once they are on something they are too small even with a magnifying glass to see what they are. They fly too fast to catch. I have tried all kinds of sprays and can't get rid of them. They are in my clothes. No matter how much I wash they are still in them. They are always on my person. Like I have fleas but they don't bite as much. Has anyone else had this kind of problem and if so how did you get rid of them? WHAT ARE THEY? I'm going crazy with them.<br /> They are worse at night and late afternoon. Professionally cleaning carpets was no help. Washing all my bedding and clothing is a daily requirement just to be able to be in the same house with them. They do not appear to bother most people. Please help. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1717 Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:32:38 +0000 rme 1717@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Am deleting the blog because the technical side of blogging is far more complicated than I'm able to figure out. It's just a mess with images that are too small to show anything helpful.</p> <p>rme </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1713 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:38:38 +0000 rme 1713@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>OK, have put more pics up on the blog. Sorry it's such a mess.</p> <p>I don't know about the grain beetle you mentioned, get a grip. I'm not responsible for what falls in to my bowls of water or what ends up in my orfices. Perhaps the pictures are not big enough. The bugs are only about 1/16-1/4mm in size, each. As for something not belonging here, last summer my neighbour showed me a giant silk moth that she'd had i.d'd. It had flown in her balcony, in Hamilton, ON. Not 'sposed to be this far north (I think she said Florida was as far north as they were supposed to go), but there it was in all it's 6" wide glory. So as far as I'm concerned, anything is possible.<br /> Blog address again; bugsrme.blogspot.com </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1698 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:41:04 +0000 rme 1698@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Clarification, HAVE MORE PICS. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1697 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:40:25 +0000 rme 1697@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Well, the nurse was told that by someone who made a wrong diagnosis. I have more pics, but don'thjave a computer at home. Am having to book time on the libraries. Jave amny more pics, looking like dual infestation of body louse and northern fowl mite. Will post when I have time. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1692 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:45:54 +0000 getagrip 1692@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Looked at your pics. Sorry but it looks like a saw tooth grain beetle which has NONE of the characteristics you mention.Let's get real here..The Canadian nurse told you that you were crazy and you said the Canadian health care system is good. So......well..just a thought. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects/page/2#post-1691 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:48:46 +0000 rme 1691@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Well, I've tried to set up a blog...I have NO idea what I'm doing. Geocities was easier but it's going to be disappearing soon, apparantly.<br /> <a href="http://bugsrme.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://bugsrme.blogspot.com/</a><br /> is me and my bugs. I can't see anything that I thought that I was posting, except the bug from my ear canal that I caught on the inside bit of an ear-plug.<br /> Will keep on trying to figure this blog thing out, as time booked on the library cmoputer permits... </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1690 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:39:39 +0000 samoya22 1690@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>RME, start a blog for free at blogger.com and then post the pictures there. Then, link to them from here. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1686 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:26:59 +0000 rme 1686@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Is there any way to upload images? I have several that are very good, and thought that posting them might be helpful. A head shot, a body shot or two, a lot of shots showing long antennae...etc.</p> <p>From what I can see, this is a bird mite. I have caught a red speck that is harder to see because it doesn't show up as well as the white ones, but there are a few landmarks (i.e. sphere shapes dotted along the side of the body, I think eight legs, for example) that make me think that it may be a blood engorged bird mite. Since it is white when not full, I fear that I may have an infestation of the kind of bird mite (someone said "Chicken mite") that is really hard to get rid of. I have not heard of anyone actually managing to get rid of an infestation of bird mites, and from what I've read, these little white ones are the toughest of them all.</p> <p>One of the nasty specimens that I caught was from the inner piece of an ear-plug that I used last night. Theh picture shows a head with two long antennae coming out from it. This thing came from inside my ear canal! I feel just sick... </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1685 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:47:12 +0000 getagrip 1685@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>#10 was just the end of Chapter 1. You'll have to try harder to keep up! </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1682 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:35:47 +0000 samoya22 1682@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>You guys lost me on post #10. I'm afraid you'll have to find an entomologist. So we ruled out louse how, again? I don't remember what happened between when you solved the problem and when it escalated. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1680 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:18:54 +0000 rme 1680@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>We get no-see-ums in northern and north-central Ontario, but not ususally here in southern Ontario. Really, the profile of the bird mite fits my experience exactly. Likes humidity, likes women (estrogen), tiny, white (I have begun to find small black specks on my bites, too; maybe more than one type of infestation?) comes out at dusk, can get to you by waiting on countertops and other objects, bites cats and humans, infests balconies. These are not the only behaviour matches that make me feel that I have bird mites, there are more. I spoke to a couple of Pest Control companies today: they say that no bird mite behaves as my bugs behave. Then again, they also said that no body louse behaves that way, either. They have their training and education, and feel that anything that falls outside of that doesn't exist. Or so they say. </p> <p>I have bought a Celestron digital microscope. With the digital zoom I can get up to 1600x magnification. I was only able to see a basic outline of the sample that had already been identified by the taxonomist, when I tested it at the store. I'm hoping that with a bit of manual reading, I can get a better visual and take a picture of what's on the screen (it has a built-in "Snap" function and memory). I am getting quite sick and desperate so I hope that the microscope helps me turn up good samples to send to a qualified entomologist. </p> <p>Has anyone ever gotten rid of these things? </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1679 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:47:14 +0000 ShellyT09 1679@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>If you live in the South, like Florida they are called no-see-ums;meaning they bite you but youcan't see them or find them!!</p> <p>I'll tryto look up some info. for U. ShellyT09 </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1676 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:32:31 +0000 rme 1676@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Hi. yes, I told the shelter when I was bitten. I told them I was having a problem before I went in, as well. They accepted me, but told me that should I continue to get bitten, I would have to leave. After three (?) nights, I left on my own accord. </p> <p>I am being bitten again, since opening those clothing bags. Getting desperate again, folks. Have just looked at <a href="http://www.birdmites.org/nightmare.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.birdmites.org/nightmare.html</a><br /> Feeling very stressed. His story seems just like mine. Identical. <a href="http://www.prohealth.com/blog/boardDetail.cfm?id=191865&amp;setBoard=ChitChat" rel="nofollow">http://www.prohealth.com/blog/boardDetail.cfm?id=191865&amp;setBoard=ChitChat</a> is from a woman in Canada whofinds the same thing with her bird mites that I've found with my bugs: they seem to like estrogen. I'm really concerned now becuase although body lice seem to be like herpes ("for life"), there seemed to be some light at the end of the tunnel for some people. With Bird Mites, it seems suicide or a life of infestation. I DO have the coughing and sneezing that's mentioned on the URL<br /> <a href="http://www.pestmall.com/rodent-and-bird-mites-in-homes.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.pestmall.com/rodent-and-bird-mites-in-homes.html</a><br /> "Some with a prolonged bird mite infestation in the home eventually have problems with the mites becoming internal for at least part of their life cycle. Some symptoms include: a productive cough with white phlegm in the morning, itching ears and eyes, sneezing and coughing when the mites are in the nose/mouth"<br /> I am also suffering the joint pain, just started recently.</p> <p>I am a conservative, quiet-living, middle-aged woman who has always been meticulous about personal hygiene, laundering and housework. If I could get body lice, anyone can. Perhaps it really is a bird mite, which under the circumstances (there were a lot of pigeons on the building although my balcony was netted off) may seem more likely. I did not have this problem until I moved from a middle-class building to a lower-income building.</p> <p>I am not sure about the insect taxonomist's diagnosis. His opinion was tentative, based on a distorted, newly hatched sample. And he was never told of the insects behaviour. Biting from an outdoor location, being worse in a humid area, biting cats...these do sound like a bird mite. Are there any that look like body lice, or would look like a body louse when newly hatched? I have seen pictures of some varieties, online, that seem to. Does anyone know what variety these are and the likelyhood of them being mistaken for a body louse? </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1674 Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:31:15 +0000 getagrip 1674@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>How long were you in the shelter and since it seems you had the problem before you went in, it may be prudent to contact the shelter. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1672 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:19:09 +0000 rme 1672@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>I feel like such a fool! Last night I thought that it would a good idea to take a (previously boiled) sweater from out of one of the airtight bags that I've had sitting on the livingroom floor for the last month. Each has been periodically sprayed with bleach. WELL, I took out the sweater, put it into the pot, got it boiling, and had a shower. Put on the nightshirt that I had hanging in the kitchen from the morning's boiling. a few minutes later BAM! 5mm itchy bite on the end of the right eyebrow. Aiya me! I rubbed around on my face trying to catch something, but no avail. Threw the nightshirt into the pot with the sweater, had another shower with carbolic soap. I ended up with 2mm bites around the eyebrow, and later that evening I felt something doing a rapel-style fall down my left cheekbone. Got three 2mm bites on the left side of my neck. With tape, I caught something hard and white and elongated on my cheekbone. I don't know if it's a bug. After two showers the chances of it being a skin secretion are small. The vet tech that I know has kindly agreed to look a the previous samples to see if they are very damaged, and at this new one to see if it's a really good sample to show the prof' again.</p> <p>I have discarded all clothing that I cannot wear in a day. So I have a total of two nightshirts, a pair of flip-flops, one set of underwear, a tank top, a pair of capri pants, a bandana, and a sweater. Period. That's all I own in clothing. Nothing else soft. Hopefully it was the bags on the floor that were my downfall, and now that they're gone, things will continue to improve. All items are stored in airtight plastic bags in the fridge.</p> <p>I'm not sure about the helpfulness of the fridge because at one point, when I was leaving a shelter that I was staying at, and I took out from the freezer the frozen food I had saved there, that action resulted in bites all up my hands and arms, and eventually my neck. And the insects have shown that cold means nothing to them in the past. After all, the sofa cushions spent the whole, cold Canadian winter on the balcony, and still were crawling when they were brought in again.</p> <p>The man at the university told me not to despair, that things can be done to rectify this. But iif permethrin spray, malathion, chlorine bleach, shaving all hair, eating garlic, and erradicating anything soft cannot help, then what can? I'm feeling deperate again. I have developed panic disorder as a result of this situation and it makes it harder to deal with it. Some websites mention that there are permethrin and malathion resistant body lice, but no mention is made of what else to try. All seem to think that treating the individual and washing/ironing the clothes will be enough. I think I've done all that's humanly possible. What more can I do? </p> <p>I'm asking, here, what more can I do?</p> <p>Feeling desperate,<br /> rme. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1665 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:38:40 +0000 samoya22 1665@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>rme, I would like to thank you for sharing this with us. Hopefully people will find this thread (people with body louse problems) and find it helpful. Congrats on figuring out the problem. I look forward to future updates.</p> <p>Thanks to getagrip as well for providing as much input as he has. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1664 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:27:18 +0000 rme 1664@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Yep, I read the postings by angiemitehater awhile ago. Thanks.</p> <p>Well, the trip to the insect taxonomist at the local university seems to have paid off. He says that the samples were damaged, and it was hard to see much clearly, but one really intrigued him. He spent half an hour turning it over and over and came to the conclusion that IF (He put it in capital letters) it is an insect, that it is a newly hatched one because of the softness of the body, and the tranlucency, thus the damage when picked up with tape. He says that it can only be a louse. That's good enough for me. I know the samples were damaged because these critters are very soft, but the veterinery technician saw a very clear, intact bug when she looked at them. This satifies me that the delicate sample was a tad more distorted by the time the professisonal insect i.d'r got to it. A person with that kind of professional reputation doesn't go throwing around opinions casually. Since he says IF it's an insect (and he was "intrigued by the sample"), then it's definitely a louse, then IT'S A LOUSE. The vet tech said that it appeared to be a louse, but longer than a head louse. So, then, body louse.</p> <p>I haven't been bitten for three days, now. </p> <p>I'm thinking that all the possession disposal, bleach spraying, showering with carbolic soap, body hair shaving, and dehumidifying has worked. I won't truly believe it until I've been bite free for 8 weeks at the least, but I'm very hopeful. When the pest control company was hired by the landlord to spray with permethrins, it got worse/the situation did not improve. The new apartment was also sprayed with permethrins before I moved in. Since this had no effect on the louse, I'd say it's one of the resistant strains I've read about. We have eMailed the man at the university to ask if he has any ideas on how to combat a permethrin reistant body louse. I hope that he eMails back. He has been very good to us thus far. If he does have suggestions, I will pass them onto the landlord in the hopes that he will give erradicating the bug another try.</p> <p>So I hope this helps some people reading this forum thread. I've been battling the bug for a long time. Like I said, until it's been eight weeks bite free, I won't believe it's over. But a diagnosis has been made.</p> <p>Thank-you all who have given advice and information. Please keep an eye on this thread as I will be continuing to add information to it as things progress.<br /> Wish me luck! :-)</p> <p>rme </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1663 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:19:16 +0000 getagrip 1663@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Hey rme read the post by angiemitehater..we DO have some talent on this site. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1657 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:25:35 +0000 rme 1657@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Oh, have had no bites for two days. I hope that posting this doesn't jinx things. I hope to be able to wear a coat and boots this winter.</p> <p>By the way, Canada has many great Health care systems. Ontario's means that I don't have to pay for a doctors visit, and that serious illness won't end up with you in debt. We're happy that we don't have to either pay for insurance, or get no help. So don't worry about me in that regard. :-)</p> <p>rme. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1656 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:22:11 +0000 rme 1656@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Oops, I got metric and imperial measurements mixed up: I should've said thte little bugger travels at around 1cm/second. Still pretty fast.</p> <p>Someone has a case of beer riding on this? Oh no, I already have too much pressure on me! :-p. No more, please.</p> <p>I will keep you posted. </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1650 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:54:46 +0000 samoya22 1650@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Just one case? You said a keg! </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1647 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:45:21 +0000 getagrip 1647@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Fingers crossed!!Let us be the first to know, you have a lot of people on edge even though they don't post ..they read..and don't forget the case of beer J and I have riding on this! </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1643 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:30:53 +0000 rme 1643@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>Hi y'all. I have read that body lice are quite fast movers. I have observed a little white speck crawling up my arm (almost 3/4" /sec?). So I have considered them as the culprit. However, there are some atypical behaviours such as crawling up the legs and biting, from the balcony, as well as biting my two indoor-only cats. I can't be 100% sure that the insect that infested the plants out there was the same one that's biting, but it sure looks the same, and it would be a big co-incidence if it is not (plants infested, malathion not working. Removal of plants resulted in bugs biting me outside, then suddenly I am being bitten inside when ever, initially, I am near the blacony door). I have wondered if this is some kind of imported body louse. But it could be something else entirely.</p> <p>When I looked at the insect under Dad's microscope, we did try very powerful flashlights aimed at the sample, to no avail.</p> <p>No-one else except my mother has reported being bitten. The bites started within days of moving to a new apartment, Oct '07. The cats started scratching first, then about 2 or three days later, I started to get the odd bite. I didn't really think about them until June '08. That's when I started balcony plantings, the plants got infested, and I really started getting bitten a lot. The cats were crying and exclaiming as they would suddenly stop and then start biting and licking at something on their bodies. I had to avoid that part of the livingroom completely.</p> <p>I agree that it's possible that the bites I notice in the shower were not actually being made while I was in there. The bites I get do tend to welt up immediately (I've caught an insect on a bite by A. feeling the bite and B. seeing the lump welt up), but water on them makes them hurt and itch. So an old bite of a few days old may cause distress for several days after whenever it gets wet. At one point, when I still had hair, I was shampooing with Flea Shampoo. This really seemed to tick the bugs off, and I would go into the shower sans bite, and come out with bites all around the hairline. That would seem that they are capable of biting in the shower. I've been dealing with these critters for so long that I would believe almost anything possible of them.</p> <p>GOOD NEWS: an insect taxonomist at the local university has agreed to take a look and try to I.D these little critters. I am hopeful that he will be successful, and will be able to tell me an effective way to kill them off for good.</p> <p>I did try to get in to the doctors office a few months ago. I was shunted off to the health nurse there, who told me I was out of my mind and that there are no bugs that look like this or bite like this, or that are this hard to erradicate. After I continued to request that she advise me as to whether or not there was something to "make me less tasty" to bugs, she prescribed Kwellada-P lotion, 5% permethrins. I haven't used it yet. I have been intending to use it when the Pest Control Company used by the Landlord finally makes their move to kill off the things. Then I will use the lotion and put on clean clothes so that while I am away from the apartment when it's being sprayed, I am bug free (I hope-- this depends on whether or not Kwellada kills these things). Then hopefully then I can reurn to a bug-free apartment and not bring any nasties back with me. That's the PLAN anyway. Fingers crossed. So far, though, permethrins in the form of "Dragnet" haven't been effective in the last apartment.</p> <p>And fingers crossed that the insect taxonomist will be able to I.D. them, and that they're killable, and that I can get back my life... </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1641 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:46:05 +0000 getagrip 1641@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>LOL.. Democrate propaganda back at ya! Define "not that bad". Only 3 months wait for emergency surgery, unless you're a gov't offical or celebrity? Woohooo..let's ask rme. Why haven't you gone to a doctor rme? </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1639 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:00:18 +0000 samoya22 1639@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>The Canadian health care system is not that bad! Republican propaganda.... </p> http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/topic/biting-white-insects#post-1635 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:15:22 +0000 getagrip 1635@http://www.getridofthings.com/forums/ <p>One point rme is overlooking is that insect bites don't usually appear the moment you're bitten, it takes time for a welt to appear. She feels that she's being bitten in the shower but I'm guessing the welts are appearing to her there. Not only do we need a positive ID on the lice/mite but we need a doctor, there must be something to put on the skin. Good luck she's in Canada. </p>