What are dust mites?

According to wikipedia.org, “the house dust mite (sometimes abbreviated by allergists to HDM) is a cosmopolitan guest in human habitation.” Environment, Health and Safety Online refers to them as “microscopic bugs that primarily live on dead skin cells regularly shed from humans and their animal pets.” They live where the skin cells are most commonly found; mattresses, pillows, furniture and the corresponding carpeted areas. Their presence is barely felt, and most definitely never seen.


Here are some commonly known facts about dust mites-

• Millions of people are allergic to them, and their waste products
• They create a similar reaction as pollen allergy and can produce asthma-like symptoms
• 30,000 dust mites can be found in one ounce of dust
• Each mite can produce 2000 fecal particles in its lifetime

Where do dust mites live?

As previously mentioned, dust mites live most commonly in mattresses and pillows, and can also be found in furniture and the corresponding carpeted areas. Dust mites need warm, moist surroundings to survive, making locations such as mattresses ideal. Mattresses, pillows, carpets and furniture also allow dust mites to burrow deep into the fabric allowing them to escape direct sunlight and vacuums, which would lead to their death. While mites do prefer warmer temperatures, they have been known to survive all climates, only needing absolute humidity to survive, which can, according to wikipedia.org, “be generated by the human body during several hours of breathing and perspiring.”

Additionally, according to Environment, Health and Safety Online, “humans shed about 1/5 ounce of dander (dead skin) each week.” Most of that shedding occurs during sleep and in the bed, providing the dust mites an exorbitant amount of sustenance. This reinforces the notion that mattresses and pillows are ideal habitats for a dust mite.

What do dust mites look like?

The common belief is that in order to view a dust mite, you would need at least 10x magnification or a magnifying glass with a well-lit area and black background. There also seems to be a minor disagreement about the size of a dust mite, with wikipedia.org listing a dust mite’s length as 420 microns and Environment, Health and Safety Online listing it as being between 250 to 300 microns in length. Either way, we know these things are small. They are so small, in fact, that dust mites may be transported via small air currents caused by everyday household activities such as walking.

Their actual physical characteristics are as follows:

• Oval shaped
• Creamy white in color, with a tough translucent shell
• Striated cuticle
• Eight legs in post-larval, six in larval stages
• No eyes
• No antennae
• Long setae extending from the outer margins of the body, and shorter ones throughout the rest

Are dust mites harmful?

Dust mites themselves are harmless. Being blind and deaf leave them virtually harmless to living humans, as they mainly feed off of dust and dead skin. So why bother? Well, they have a repulsive overpopulation crisis larger than that of China and India put together.

Dust mites can live up to approximately four months, with one of those months dedicated to their growth from egg to adult. During this time, the female mite can lay approximately 40 to 100 eggs in the latter half of her life. This breaks down to each egg-laying female being able to create 25-30 new dust mites in one week.

To give you an idea about the level of dust mite overpopulation, here are a few figures:

• 1/2 a teaspoon dust can contain 1,000 dust mites
• 30,000 dust mites can be in one ounce of dust
• Based on the age, a mattress can contain 100,000 to 10,000,000 dust mites

If those figures weren’t startling enough, each of those mites, based on a 10-week life span, will produce about 2,000 fecal particles. That figure doesn’t include the staggering amount of enzyme-infested dust particles that have been partially digested. What this means for you is that your mattress’ weight can double over a 10 year span due to dust mites, deceased dust mites, fecal particles and partially digested dust particles. Additionally, your pillow’s weight will increase by 10% each year with the exact same contents.

Dust mites’ connection to allergies and asthma?

In case nausea hasn’t been induced at the thought of how dust mites look, sleep in your bed, or the simple fact that they are fecal waste and reproductive proliferators; dust mites are also the most known cause of asthma and allergic symptoms in the world. Approximately 50 to 80 percent of people with allergies or asthma, which breaks down to about 10 percent of the population, are sensitive to dust mite allergens. These allergies begin very early in life; when a newborn is exposed to dust mites in their first year of life, it can and will trigger a lifelong allergy. It is thought that most cases of allergies to dust are actually allergic reactions to dust mite fecal matter and cast skin. With dust mites producing approximately 200 times their body weight in allergenic waste, it’s easy to see why this may cause alarm.

A dust mite allergy triggers symptoms similar to pollen allergy, as well as symptoms of asthma. When inhaled, the small dust mite fecal matter or cast skin can get caught in the bronchial tubes causing bronchial asthma.

The dust mite allergy is traced to an enzyme, DerP1, which dust mites use to digest dead skin. This enzyme also breaks down the protective function of our living skin, leaving us open to dermatitis eczema and other allergies. DerP1 can be found on dust mite fecal matter, partially digested food and cast skin. Allergy symptoms occur when the enzyme comes into contact with our skin or are inhaled, leading to allergic asthma, rhinitis and conjunctivitis.

Symptoms of dust mite allergies are usually contained in respiratory inflictions and include:

• Sneezing
• Itching
• Watery eyes
• Wheezing
• Nasal stuffiness
• Runny nose
• Stuffy ears
• Respiratory problems
• Atopic dermatitis
• Asthma
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Congestion

Some reports have included a red rash around the neck as a symptom, though a rash is not a direct byproduct of the enzyme allergy; it is traced to dermatitis eczema that occurs.

How to detect dust mites?

While largely unnoticeable, the enzyme can be smelled strongly in a full vacuum bag. This is one way of detecting whether or not you’re infested with dust mites.

Often times after being diagnosed with an allergy to the house dust mite or its enzyme and realizing an infestation, the infested will request some sort of control. What this entails is collecting samples from mattresses, pillows, furniture or carpets, and microscopically confirming their presence. After the specialists, with the proper equipment and know-how, identify your infestation, they confirm it. “Okay?!”, you might be thinking, but that’s all they can do. Dust mites are found in almost every household.

This makes actual testing completely unnecessary—and simply an added expense.

How can you combat or prevent dust mite allergies?

Take a shot and you’re in the clear, right? Wrong. Unfortunately there currently is no known cure for dust mite allergy. A medical practitioner, whom is specially trained to aid against allergies, also known as an allergist, can provide you with immunotherapy or “allergy shots.” However, this has only been known to work in sufferers of hay fever and asthma.


The only thing left is to fight them, learn to prevent them and protect yourself from their waste. Because the entire house is full of dust mites, our suggestions will be concentrated on where your contact is the highest, your bed; where you spend 1/3 of your life. A good portion of these suggestions can be utilized and carry over to the other aspects of your home:

• Mattress & pillow encasements–These serve two purposes: trapping existing dust mites and their allergens while keeping new mites from entering. Therefore, you’ll immediately be protected from dust mite allergens, enabling you to get a good night’s sleep without congestion and morning allergy symptoms. If you can, it is also suggested to purchase box spring and duvet encasements.




• Wash all linens every two weeks - Regular washings do not kill dust mites, you need to wash at 140 degrees or higher, and dry on hottest setting as well. While most machines do not get this hot you can add dust mite killing detergents or laundry additives. You should also use a little bit of bleach in each washing as well.
• Avoid feather or down pillows and comforters - While this topic has been widely debated, with some researchers saying to avoid down and feather altogether, and others saying synthetics actually have a higher concentration of dust mites. Either way, the most important thing, again, is to clean every two weeks and encase them.
• Monitor temperature and humidity- Try to keep the room temperature below 70 degrees and the humidity levels below 50 percent. If dust mites love warm humid temperatures, why make them happy? A single-room dehumidifier set at 50 percent is more than enough. Some research has shown that simply airing-out your bed during the day helps lower the dust mite numbers as well.
• Clean regularly - Damp dust your plastic mattress cover to get rid of accumulating dead skin. Weekly change and wash pillowcases, sheets, and under blankets. Vacuum bedroom, around the bed and on the covered mattress using a HEPA filtered vacuum. Steam cleaning also can help reduce enzyme allergens since the heat of the steam breaks down (decomposes) the compound. Also make sure to dust often, making sure to get rid of dust bunnies on ceiling fan blades and hard-to-reach crevices.
• Purify the air- Use a HEPA air filter to purify the air of dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander and other allergens. Remember dust mites can’t fly, but are small enough to travel via air currents caused by normal everyday activities.
• Remove carpeting - If you can remove the flooring from your bedroom, it is highly suggested. Try to eliminate as many places for these critters to hide. But if you must keep the carpet, make sure it is cleaned and vacuumed daily.
• Freezing kills mites - This is one of the most effective methods for killing dust mites, though freezing your room is not recommended, nor probable for most. Additionally, it only kills them, not remove them or their residue.

**Special note on children’s soft cloth toys - try buying only washable cloth toys and washing them regularly in hot water.