WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE INSECTS BITING YOU

If you think that you have insects biting you:

STEP 1. 

Have a Pest Management Professional (PMP) check your house for

a.  bird mites

b.  bed bugs

c.  fleas

STEP 2. 

If the PMP does not find any of the above, check with your doctor to determine if you have:

a.  Scabies mites

b.  Harvest mites

c.  lice

d.  a nutritional deficiency

e.  a neurological problem

f.   a drug interaction problem

g.  another health problem

If the doctor believes that you have an insect (or arthropod – an insect relative) infestation of your body, the doctor may prepare a microscope slide in such a manner that the slide will not present a bio-hazard to others.  The doctor may send the slide to Public Health for identification.  If Public Health can not identify the problem from the slide, they may send the slide to the University of Delaware for assistance.

There are few arthropods that bite humans:

mosquitoes                                  

deer flies         

ticks                                               

fleas

bed bugs                                       

bird mites

harvest (straw) mites                   

chiggers

scabies mites                               

lice 

Of these, only scabies mites and lice attach themselves to the human body and spend their entire life on a human host.  Mosquitoes, deer flies, ticks, fleas, and bed bugs take blood meals and leave the human body.  If bird mites, harvest mites or chiggers bite a human, they do so by accident.  Humans are not a suitable host for these mites and the mite will die without its appropriate host.  Bird mite infestations in homes may occur when birds complete nesting and abandon the nest.  The left-over mites will die on their own without their host after a short time; however, residents may wish to have a Pest Management Professional treat to shorten the time the mites are present in human living quarters.

Scabies mites and lice are extremely contagious.  Individuals with these parasites must seek immediate medical care.  Neither Cooperative Extension nor the Pest Management Industry has a role in dealing with these medical conditions.