Biting mites within homes and other structures: A challenging and poorly understood pest system

Several species of mites are known to “bite” humans within homes and other structures, ostensibly during blood feeding in the absence of their primary hosts (commensal rodents and / or birds). Infestations of biting mites may cause dermatitis, secondary bacterial infection, traumatic stress, and sleeplessness. Pest management professionals usually control these mites by eliminating or removing their primary hosts. In the period between rodent or bird control and the crash of the mite population, however, which sometimes spans weeks or months, residents may continue to sustain bites. Initial surveys and observations in California indicate prevalence of tropical rat mite, Ornithonyssus bacoti (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae), in association with commensal rats and fowl mites, O. bursa and O. sylviarum, in association with nesting birds. Other biting mite species, such as chiggers (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae), chicken red mites (Mesostigmata: Dermanyssidae), “sidewalk mites” (Trombidiformes: Erythraeidae), and itch mites (Trombidiformes: Pyemotidae), though not usually found indoors, may be associated with specific landscape features. Considering that these pest systems may be more common than realized, government agencies, university extension offices, and pest control companies need to develop capacity to identify specimens, detect and monitor for mites on vertebrate hosts and within vertebrate nests, and detect and monitor for mites at infested indoor sites.