THE ITCH! I hate mites

[The Snark]

The afternoon monsoons of May failed to materialize. Huge shade tree over our house. About 20-30 Mynas consider our roof and the tree their stomping grounds. Consequently the mite load that accumulates on our roof and rains down on the porch is a little excessive. In the billions would be a safe guess. Usually the rains wash most of them on down to the ground where they compliment the millions of mosquitoes making life outdoors very miserable brief ventures.
Taking inventory this AM I've got about 300+ little red itchy bumps. Appears to be three varieties, just bumps, mostly on legs, some bumps much larger and leave a bloody dot and a general massive rash over my chest and neck.
Time to declare war on the Mynas. Mostly puerile revenge but it beats sitting here itching. scratching and gnashing my teeth.

Anecdote. A room mate returned from a hiking trip, grungy and itchy. Changing his clothes and searching for ticks he dug out a couple of leaves that had got in his pants. I confirmed they were poison oak. He made a mad dash to the bathroom and grabbed the calamine lotion, applying it liberally to his private parts. Then an anguished wail when he discovered the bottle was that athletes version of Icy Hot topical analgesic.

 

[BoyFromLA]

Oh my…

 

[Conor10]

******, It only gets worse as you scroll down

 

[The Snark]

If only it was something easy to deal with like lice. Just shave half your body, set the hairy half on fire then stab the little barstards with an ice pick as they run out of the flames.

 

[Scp682]

I feel itchy i didn't need to read this. I can't imagine how there's that many mites is that a regular thing ?? Are you ok? Also what the hell is a myna..

 

[schmiggle]

I feel itchy i didn't need to read this. I can't imagine how there's that many mites is that a regular thing ?? Are you ok? Also what the hell is a myna..

Medium sized scavenger bird from tropical and subtropical central and southern Asia.

@The Snark good luck getting rid of them, hope you fair better than the government of Australia...

 

[The Snark]

I can't imagine how there's that many mites is that a regular thing ??

Every year, if not quite this bad. It's shaping up to be a perfect storm year. Had quite a bit of rain early in the hot season to kick things off then the usual rains in May haven't happened. They tend to wash most of the mites down to the ground.
As for the mites themselves there are several species of trees that attract them which hitchhike on the birds, and a species of mite that the birds host. So it looks like Mom Nature pulled out all the stops this year.

good luck getting rid of them, hope you fair better than the government of Australia...

Getting rid of them just isn't in the cards. Most of us here on AB know how resistant arachs are to pesticides, though the pest control companies will be delighted to hand you a BS sales pitch along with a monster bill. A reasonable attempt to reduce their numbers would involve multiple sprayings with a powerful commercial insecticide which would eradicate just about all our local critters while giving the mites something to giggle about.

But on the bright side? I put this itch at around a 5 or 6. Compare to a flea in your underwear at a 1, a good dose of Rhus at an 8 and a penicillin reaction at 9.9+. 4 to 6 showers a day and Tiger Balm on a q-Tip until the rains get serious in July and August. Welcome to the tropics.

Off to find some firecrackers this evening to chase off the Mynas. Shutting the barn door after the horse disappeared over the horizon but mildly entertaining.

 

[The Snark]

Worked out a regimen. Get chased out of bed by the itch. Shower, scrubbing toes to hair line. Shampoo as well. Dry off and coat feet, ankles, hands and wrists with vaseline. Go out on porch and sprinkle laundry detergent. get entire floor and up the walls soapy and leave it that way. Coat major itch areas with more grease. Dust mop entire house. When the boss wakes up start the vacuuming around all windows with a brush. Make certain all clothes I wore yesterday are immersed in soapy water. Chores done, sit and itch until it gets to me and I take another shower. Repeat dust mopping two or three more times during the day. NEVER touch or lean against the windowsills. Made that mistake 2 days ago and my entire chest, neck and stomach area a major infestation.

 

[Jess S]

I'd love to see a photo of these mites, as I'm picturing something evil looking like those "face hugger" mites in Ants Canada..

 

[The Snark]

I'd love to see a photo of these mites,

Me too. The entomologist thinks there are quite likely two or more species.or genus one of which is in the pyemotidae family and is quite common here.

 

[Jess S]

Me too. The entomologist thinks there are quite likely two or more species.or genus one of which is in the pyemotidae family and is quite common here.

I read an interview by a guy who studies mites for a living that said if you find a mite when out walking, chances are you've discovered a species undescribed by science as there are so many thousands of species out there. He also said if from orbit above earth you could see nothing but the mites, you could still make out the shape of the continents and islands, as mites are so prolific everywhere.

 

[The Snark]

I read an interview by a guy who studies mites for a living that said if you find a mite when out walking, chances are you've discovered a species undescribed by science as there are so many thousands of species out there.

I have only the minimum of knowledge about the discovery of an new species of animal and getting it entered into a catalogue. It is apparently far more complex than what most of us assume. As a perfect example, my friend here and his partner, both accredited professors of entomology, have tentatively identified over 60 unknown species of mosquito in the northern Thailand, Burma and Laos area over the past 3 decades. So far I think he said six have been appropriately recognized and entered into the correct catalogue. With some animals the process is relatively easy. Numerous researchers, adequate funding, and comprehensive cross referencing.
But if the discovered animal doesn't get the attention of the correct experts and there isn't enough data to go on, it gets. like all their mosquitoes, stuck in a 'tentative' holding pattern with a very real possibility of the information getting lost or buried under other research. Even if white papers are published that doesn't automatically get the animal entered into the correct all encompassing catalogue. Peer reviews by competent authorities can be rare or next to impossible as the white papers get placed in a perpetual holding pattern or simply lost in the wash of other research.

Another excellent example was the world wide meeting and symposium of infectious tropical diseases where it was determined that, at best, less than 15% of the diseases in the wild have even been described. Some place the figure at less than 1%. Infections with such trivial symptoms that they fly under the radar. Cumulative effects of contracting multiple diseases at the same time which produce much more serious complications rarely if ever makes it to the table and comes under scrutiny.

Paraphrased from one physician, "We know a heck of a lot about almost nothing."

My discovery spider demonstrates the problem perfectly. Probably a sparassid. It's been in a holding pattern going on 6 years now. Simply not enough data to properly identify and catalogue it. The deadly words attached, "Proper identification criteria not met."

 

[Arthroverts]

Sounds fantastically annoying and painful! Hope the rains come soon.

I will say though that reading @The Snark's stories is far more riveting than most of what's on television.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[The Snark]

Sounds fantastically annoying and painful! Hope the rains come soon.

The rains are teasing us. Weather reports (fantasy land) have promised us several monsoons this month. Severe Thunderstorms expected last night. As in five minutes of lightning flashes, a little distant thunder and enough rain to make the porch slightly damp.

I will say though that reading @The Snark's stories is far more riveting than most of what's on television.

Over 60 years of stupid moves has given me a vast repertoire.

 

[The Snark]

How the real man (or woman) deals with it. Use a Scotch Brite pot and pan scrubber in the shower. Who needs all those extra layers of skin? If you're feeling daring after you got your skin glowing like the setting sun, dry off and use Bengay or Liquid heat on the itchies.

 

[Scp682]

Medium sized scavenger bird from tropical and subtropical central and southern Asia.

@The Snark good luck getting rid of them, hope you fair better than the government of Australia...

Oh that explains it, for some reason i thought you were from Canada but i obviously confused you with someone else on the forum. I don't know why i was thinking it was a dinosaur or mythical animal, i think since you said stomping i thought of an elephant type animal

 

[The Snark]

Muy bien, pequeños bastardos. Esto significa guerra

Sulfur lye soap. Check. Sulfur exfoliant ointment. Check. Locally made firecrackers. Check. (Sounds roughly about .44 mag ka-bang). Tea tree oil-dishwashing liquid in water spray for window sills and doors. Check. Laundry detergent washed and wetted porch and roofs eaves. Check.

Sulfur and slaked lime, the tried and true red spider mite biocide.

Turns out one of these mites packs a venom. The itch lasts for several days. Firecrackers are, of course, to show the Mynas my un-appreciation for transporting the mites.

 

[Dry Desert]

Muy bien, pequeños bastardos. Esto significa guerra

Sulfur lye soap. Check. Sulfur exfoliant ointment. Check. Locally made firecrackers. Check. (Sounds roughly about .44 mag ka-bang). Tea tree oil-dishwashing liquid in water spray for window sills and doors. Check. Laundry detergent washed and wetted porch and roofs eaves. Check.

Sulfur and slaked lime, the tried and true red spider mite biocide.

Turns out one of these mites packs a venom. The itch lasts for several days. Firecrackers are, of course, to show the Mynas my un-appreciation for transporting the mites.

After reading your entertaining preparation for the eradication of your present " little friends", I am pleased to be a UK resident and pay hard earned money towards my scorpion collection, rather than have the privilege of wild collecting as you have. Hope the rains/ storms arrive soon. Hope you don't get overpowered by all the foam from the laundry detergent when they do arrive.

 

[The Snark]

rather than have the privilege of wild collecting as you have.

We don't collect. They invade, we sort and cope. Some are welcome to freely roam the house, some get shown the door or are relocated to safer locations, and with some it's pure barbarian warfare keeping us from being over run.
Laundry detergent is primarily Sodium Tripolyphosphate. No known ecological or environmental hazard.

 

[The Snark]

Itch drove me out of bed this AM. Idly wondering if I'm going to end up looking like those abandoned alley dogs around here, pink, bald and wrinkly