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Mystery Bite Information.

1. 

   lieutenantdan
   

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   Posted 5 years ago
   Fri Nov 2 2007 11:54:09
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   I am posting this site about mystery bites. Bite image included.

   http://mail.pittstate.edu/~dgordon/MysteryBites/MysteryBites.html

2. 

   lieutenantdan
   

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   Posted 5 years ago
   Fri Nov 2 2007 11:59:34
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   Also read this.

   Could Pyemotes Mites Be Biting Me?
   http://mail.pittstate.edu/~dgordon/MysteryBites/PyemQuestions.html

   The source says:

   "The chances of finding a mite on a bite is slim to none. A local vet had many pet owners visit him during the fall with the bites. He understands mites and took scrapings from the people just as he would from dogs or cats to look for mites. He found none. Our experience was the same. The mite is most likely long gone by the time you get the reaction. The reactions range from reddening to a vessicle forming, then scabbing over. Most bites itch, the vessicated and scabbed bites itch intensely and demand that you apply some ointment that will numb the area to reduce itching and scratching. Scratching does not usually produce relief, but actually hurts. Scratching leads to more damage and potential infection. It is not a good idea to scratch. Itching and other symptoms last 10 - 14 days or more. Pyemotes mites inject a toxin that some people have allergic reactions to.

   "It was not easy to make the initial connection between the bites and the leaf galls. People were getting bites and thinking they were from infestations in the college dorms, from flying insects at football games, from flying insects near ponds/ lakes, etc. Researchers at the University of Nebraska made the connection to the galls, told us about it, and when we looked, we confirmed their findings. After that, it all fit together and made sense. Prior to that none of the connections we suspected could be traced to a biting culprit.

   "Pyemotes herfsi mites have been found in leaf galls formed on three species of oaks [pin oaks, red oaks, and black oaks]. They are not found on burr oaks. We plan to survey next year to see if they are on other related oak species or other hosts plants reported for earlier outbreaks. Virtually nothing is known about the mites or the midges beyond the basic life cycle. Next year we hope to determine when the midges begin making galls and the mites begin infesting the galls, and some details related to how they do this. We suspect that the outbreak was connected to unusual weather last summer that led to a bumper crop of gall midges and subsequently the mites. If this is the case, there may not be a population explosion next year and we may not be able to find many mites at all. On the other hand, if this is a newly established mite population, it may present a continuing problem and spread to other areas next year [in the way that West Nile Virus has become established and has spread in the U.S.]. We won't know the answer to that until next year."

3. 

   pleasehelp
   

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   Posted 5 years ago
   Fri Nov 2 2007 12:16:50
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   Thanks for posting this, LtDan. I continue to be bit, but haven't seen any bb signs. Hope they're mites, but my bites sure do seem like bb's.

4. 

   lieutenantdan
   

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   Posted 5 years ago
   Fri Nov 2 2007 14:39:01
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   Knowing how bad that the bb epidemic is I would never rule out the possibility of bed bugs. I posted this to make people aware that we may have other insects that may or may not be biting us. If I was informed and educated about the bed bug epidemic I would have caught our infestation much sooner by inspecting.

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   pleasehelp
   

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   Posted 5 years ago
   Fri Nov 2 2007 15:00:19
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   Yes, I've got lots more places to inspect because of clutter. Haven't found a thing on the bed, boxsprings, metal bedframe, or nearby. Do you think at this point it would be a good idea to encase the mattress & box springs in case they're there but not visible?

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