HOUSE DUST MITES
Dermataphagoides
While these microscopic mites are found in the United States, they are much more prevalent in England where humidity is very high, so use a dehumidifier. House dust mites sometimes cause allergic reactions. Cast skins and body parts of house dust mites accumulate with other dust and small household allergenic disintegrated matter. Vacuum intensely. A new and effective control method is to spray carpet with tannic acid solutions obtained from carpet cleaning suppliers. We prefer that you mop and/or use a rinse-and-vac with diluted enzyme cleaners.
Non-toxic Dust Mite Control:
1. Remove (if possible) any dust catching materials,
e.g., textiles, furs, feathers, woolens, drapes,
carpets, etc. and enclose mattresses in plastic or spray with enzyme
cleaners as needed..
2. Avoid sleeping with or keeping pets.
3. Keep windows and doors closed and as weather-tight
as much as possible to avoid the entry of
pollen and insects.
4. Keep food products in glass containers and
control all insect pests.
5. Reduce the relative humidity below 70%;
repair all plumbing/moisture problems; install a
dehumidifier and/or air filtration system.
6. Avoid wet mopping, but vacuum very thoroughly
with a rinse-and-vac, water vacuum or Li'l
Hummer once a week - go very slowly and allow the vacuum to actually
suck up all materials;
dust furniture and shelves before you vacuum.
7. Shampoo or steam clean all non-washable
carpets at least one a year.
8. Washing sheets, pillows, rugs and carpets
in soapy water at 140o F. will kill all mites.
Least-toxic Control:
9. As a last resort, you may have to try a
cleaning solution called Allerite® which penetrates carpet fibers and
when vacuumed up dislodges all allergen-bearing mite feces. Houses severely
infested with dust mites might require four vacuumings with Allerite®
over a two-month period to reduce mite allergens to tolerable levels (less
than two micrograms of allergen per gram of dust).
10. If none of the above options work on your dust mites, there are two insect growth regulators, Altosid® and Altonar®, the mosquito repellent diethyl-m-touluamide (DEET), and the herbal mixture Paragerm®, which contains solol, thymol, terpineol, citrus fruit natural essence, natural essence of Syringa and Nardus spp. plants, two halogenized phenyl alcohols and light liquid paraffin. The herbal product, hopefully, will not affect asthmatics or those with allergies.
NOTE: Negative ion plates and other ionizers help precipitate small dust particles from the ambient air.
(Web Mistress Note: A little license was taken with title and some emphasis. However, the content is correct as it appears in "The Best Control)