This is an article from the Press of Atlantic City, about a young woman who had birds nesting on her air conditioning unit:

Chickadees nested in a protected area adjacent to her air conditioner outside the window of her Brigantine apartment. It was pretty cool getting a close-up view of chickadees raising their brood.

But when the fledglings took flight and the chickadees abandoned the nest, the bird mites that thrived by biting the birds suddenly went looking for a new blood meal.

The nearest animal was the young woman.

The mites had no problem crawling through the tiniest cracks around the window casing, since including legs and head they’re no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence, and their bodies are smaller still.

Bird mites are not very common, but when they do appear, this is a likely reason why.

The solution is to identify the problem (you can use tape to pick up bird mite samples on a window ledge, for example).  And then get a pest management professional to treat it.

Hamilton County, Ohio has recently warned residents about suspected Pyemotes herfsi (itch mites) cases in the area.

Now, another suspected itch mite outbreak: according to 1490 WBEX, the Ross County Health District is also warning residents of Chillicothe and Ross County of the possible presence of pyemotes.

Although not dangerous, bites from the itch mites can cause individual sores and even a rash.

Outbreaks have occurred in Kansas and Nebraska, along with one just last year in Chicago.  In Cincinnati and Hamilton County a number of “possible” cases have been reported in recent days. Locally, the health district has received a few calls from residents with questions concerning bites and rashes.

“We can’t be certain that it is the itch mites, but it’s certainly possible,” said Rami Yoakum, director of communications at the health district. “The bites are not dangerous, but they do itch and if they are scratched they can become infected.”

More from Ross County Health’s website.

According to Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate WLWT.com, the Hamilton County Public Health Department (in Ohio) is now warning residents of a suspected outbreak of Pyemotes mites in the area.  The source of the itchy bites is yet to be positively identified.

Last year there was an outbreak of Pyemotes mites (also known as “Oak leaf gall mites” or “Itch Mites”) in Chicago. The same happened in 2004 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in Kansas.

WLWT said,

Hamilton County Public Health is warning about occurrences of insect bites from what appears to be itch mites (oak leaf gall mite) and an investigation is ongoing to confirm the source.

The health district said recent bites appear to be consistent with those from microscopic mites, which are not known to transmit disease in humans.

“We suspect the cause of these insect bites is itch mites which inhabit in tree leaves,” Health Commissioner Tim Ingram said. “The mites cannot be seen and the bites are not felt, but leave an itchy red mark that can resemble a skin rash.”

The article also says “The bites are described as having tiny scabs in the center of a reddened area sometimes extending 3 to 4 centimeters.”

This site has pictures of Pyemotes itch mite bites.

If you’re in an area with an itch mite problem, the article recommends a number of preventive measures including DEET insect repellent, laundering clothing daily (since itch mites can live on it for a few days), showering when you come home, and avoiding woody areas in the evening.

It is also important to remember that Hamilton County and Cincinnati are also suffering from the bed bug epidemic.  Remember that itchy spots that appear to be insect bites might also be bed bug bites, as well as a number of other things.

The Erie Times-News reports on another scabies outbreak in a nursing home.

Tiny parasites forced one of Erie County’s largest nursing homes to repeatedly disinfect its Alzheimer’s unit and treat many of its residents.

Fifteen residents of the Gallagher Center of Saint Mary’s Home East, 607 E. 26th St., developed what physicians believe was scabies, a contagious skin infection caused by skin mites. An unknown number of staff and patients’ family members also developed the condition.

“We never found the organism on any patient, but based on their symptoms, we believe it was scabies,” said Dorothy Candib, M.D., Saint Mary’s Home medical director.

The first case was reported in the spring, though most cases were reported in June and July, Candib said. The original patient was treated by a dermatologist, but other cases followed.

The first case was identified after family members came down with scabies following a visit to their relative in the hospital:

Carla Slomski and several members of her family developed scabies after visiting their father, Thomas Piotrowicz, who was a resident in the Gallagher unit until his death April 30.

Apparently the problem is cleared up now. According to the article, no one currently has scabies in this unit.

You can read the article here.

The Ottawa SUN reports that five confirmed and two suspected cases of scabies meant 137 employees and 55 residents required preventive medical treatment:

Five confirmed and two probable cases have been diagnosed in the Foyer du Bonheur at 125 Lionel-Emond Blvd. in the Hull sector. All of the cases are on the same floor.

The facility had a scabies outbreak a year ago.

You can read more about scabies mites here.
Or read the Ottawa SUN article here.

In summer 2007, an outbreak of what were called “itch mites” broke out in Chicago. As of September, scientists were trying to determine which species of Pyemotes mite caused the outbreak. Pyemotes are traditionally associated with galls on oak trees. Interestingly, the article suggests that was not the case here:

Because it has been difficult to find oak leaves with midge galls, and reports of bites and rashes were coming from neighborhoods that had few, if any, oak trees, the mites may have built their population on a food source other than oak gall midges.

There are links to more information on Pyemotes in our useful resources page.

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