MITES! They're biting me!

[dawg53]

When bed bugs feed, they poop almost immediately. The stains left behind are one of the signs you will see.
They are dark stains that "bleed" into fabric. Inspect your sheets and pillow case for stains.
Also, it's possible you may see blood stains. The bugs are full of blood after feeding. The bugs get crushed between you and the bed when you roll over.

 

[Seaecho]

I read that in my research, dawg. I have navy blue sheets. I inspected, but didn't see anything. I'm going to put a white sheet down tonight. Will be a lot easier to spot something!

 

[sumi]

Well they only bite me in the middle of the night never in the daytime. I've been researching it off and on all day. Driving me crazy, because I can't pin down what it is. We had a rat get into the house recently (is now dead) so it could even be rodent mites! There are over 46,000 different types!

Sumi, how long did the mites bite you? Did they go away by themselves? I read that if they don't have a chicken, they will bite a human, but that is not their natural host, so will eventually die, and not be able to reproduce. I just need to identify what the bugs ARE at this point so I know if they are going to try to stick around! Thanks for the suggestions!

You're welcome! They stuck around for a few days, but as soon as we treated our clothes, linen etc with carbaryl they were gone.

 

[Seaecho]

We did wash the sheets, comforter and pillow cases in hot water, although didn't use carbaryl. Will have to try that next. So far, it's been going on for over a week, and they're still biting. Now I know why I have more bites some mornings than others. The adults only feed about once a week!

 

[SGH]

I've been being bitten at night, and can feel bugs crawling on me. Never had a problem until we got chickens. I've checked them for mites and can find nothing, although there is a dark colored Silkie, frizzles, and bantam cochins, so they have a LOT of feathers. I'm about to lose my mind! I have bumps on me (at least a dozen) that itch like crazy. I see no evidence of bed bugs, and wonder if it is, in fact, mites. Anyone have any experience with this?

A few years back, one of our neighbors hens went broody and made a nest in my haystack. A few weeks later, my husband thought he could feel things crawling on him. He also has a lot of anxiety and is also germs phobia / bed bugs phobia. I thought he was crazy until one day while he was carrying hay he said “something is crawling on me”. In the sunlight we looked and yes, he did have tiny tiny little mites crawling on him! Needless to say, we were completely freaked out. Ran off the neighbors chicken every time she came over, and ended up spraying the barn a few times with pesticide. Luckily, I only had a little hay at that time and was able to completely drench the barn when the hay was gone. You could see mites crawling all over her nest in my hay. Those mites were so tough to get rid of. We could spray and still see mites the next day. We were completely freaked out and i did get about 10 bites on me. We had trouble sleeping for at least 5 nights waking up thinking things were crawling on us. We envisioned a complete house infestation, but that never happened.
The good news is after about a week, and running the chicken off and spraying, it all went away.
This episode almost ruined me on chickens forever. It was awful.
Good luck. I bet it’s mites. They are very difficult to see unless you have great eyesight. I suggest putting clean sheets on the bed, taking a shower before bed, and maybe watch where you leave your clothes after handling the chickens. (If it is chicken mites).

 

[504272]

When my chickens allowed me to handle them I started getting bites also. This is not a natural remedy but it works. I bought head lice shampoo at Walmart and used it all over myself, left it on a good 15 boring minutes, then rinsed. Launder everything washable. Spray things that can't be washed. And, oh yeah, treat the chickens! I will say that I do not know for a fact that it was from the chickens; it may have been Oak Itch Mites as I had been working in the yard. I don't blame my chickens.

 

[SGH]

I've been being bitten at night, and can feel bugs crawling on me. Never had a problem until we got chickens. I've checked them for mites and can find nothing, although there is a dark colored Silkie, frizzles, and bantam cochins, so they have a LOT of feathers. I'm about to lose my mind! I have bumps on me (at least a dozen) that itch like crazy. I see no evidence of bed bugs, and wonder if it is, in fact, mites. Anyone have any experience with this?

I found this article, maybe it helps

https://pin.it/2qpqkwjpdgtjhv

 

[Seaecho]

I did read that hay can sometimes have mites in it. Seems they can come from more sources than I ever dreamed! I did see a mite on me after handling my chickens yesterday. It was tiny, but I have good eyesight up close. That is the only one I've ever seen. SGH, I will read the article now. Thanks!

 

[Compost King]

I had straw that became Mite infested, when I used this Straw I mixed it with DE and the mites seemed to cease to be an issue after that. Using DE in a poorly ventilated coop can be harmful to chickens lungs I have heard but I can not verify if that is true. I just used this straw in the runs instead. used shredded newspaper in the coops until I bought a new batch of straw.

 

[Seaecho]

I'm very sensitive to inhaled substances, so have decided not to use DA. Also, their coop is only 4x3, and I would be worried about the chicken's airways. I'm thinking of using that Chicken Protector spray, but I wonder how effective it will be? This is just great. I have to worry not only about the house, but the chickens and their area too!