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Bed Bug?

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iandrews

newbite
Joined: May '11
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Posted 1 year ago
Wed May 25 2011 3:59:38
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Hi, any idea what this may be.

Bug
Close up of Bug

I live in London, UK. In the last few days I have seen a few of them in the bedroom / study. They look white to the naked eye, and are about no more than 1mm long. If you squash them it seems to totally just disappear. The bug is on my iPhone, for an indication of size it’s in the little grove between the screen and metal edge. The 2nd photo is just a crop of the first showing more detail in the bug.

Thanks.
bed-bugscouk

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Joined: Apr '07
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Posted 1 year ago
Wed May 25 2011 6:49:25
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Hi,

Not bedbugs, you have a problem with bird mites.

Have a look at:

http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/birdmites.html

Hope that help.

David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited
iandrews

newbite
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Posted 1 year ago
Wed May 25 2011 14:24:29
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Thanks, that makes sense, there were some Pidgins nesting / sitting on a nearby window plant box, so if they have gone now the mites may have come in via an open window.

I have only seen a few of them, and from pictures they look like the "baby" ones.

There does however seem to be conflicting info on the web about how "bad" an infection can be. The doc you linked to links off to http://www.birdmites.org/ and that seems to say that "Once a home is heavily infested, they are very difficult to fully eradicate" and the site has horror stories. However other sites, including this one: http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bird_mites.html seem to say that they can’t service in the home (away from the nest / birds), to quote:

"There is no evidence whatsoever that any of the bird/nest mites infest homes. Rather they enter houses when their natural animal hosts are absent but they don't establish a permanent infestation because we are not a suitable substitute host"

So not sure what to believe.
bed-bugscouk

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed May 25 2011 15:25:20
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Hi,

Although bird mites are relatively uncommon in the UK having seen cases with thousands ofites invading homes for multiple weeks I can assure you that they can in some situations be a significant issue.

I personally will not treat this particular pest so have no axe to grind or interest financially.

Without resolution including anti bird roosting measures the source can return and deposit more.

Yes the internet does have variable information posted on it, I think the best example is wikipedia which varies from good to absolutely absurd. In this case I am confident that the document I linked you to is accurate but I can offer the same assurance on anything linked from there.

The bottom line is that it's an issue that can get worse if not dealt with correctly.

David