The following are resources you might find useful.
General information about mites (biting and non-biting)
- North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension on Mites
- Oregon State’s “Mites that Bite” (click to load PDF)
- Texas A&M’s Biting Mites in Homes
- University of Iowa Dept. of Entomology bird mite page (includes photos)
- University of Sydney bird mite page (includes photos)
- Photos of bird mites from bed-bugs.co.uk
- Click to load PDF of Biting Mites in Homes (rat and fowl mites)
Pyemotes Mites (also known as “itch mites” and “straw itch mites”)
- Entomologist David Gordon’s Could pyemotes mites be biting me? and
- Mystery bites in southeast Kansas (full of pyemotes information)
- University of Nebraska’s Itch mites hit Lincoln (full of information on pyemotes / itch mites)
Rat Mites
- Click to load PDF of Biting Mites in Homes (rat and fowl mites)
Scabies
- CDC on scabies
- Wikipedia’s scabies page has useful photos of scabies in humans
Other Conditions which might be causing itchy “bites”
If you are not certain you are being bitten by mites, then another condition may be responsible. Some of the following links might help you figure that out.
- Even though bed bugs are larger than bird mites, they can be hard to find. Bedbugger.com on bed bugs, especially this.
- About.com on folliculitis
- Medical conditions, medicines, and other causes can also make you feel you are being bitten when you are not. It’s worth ruling this out: Wikipedia on Delusional Parasitosis.
