Gardening Basics

Help! My Allergist Says I am Allergic to Dust Mites

Posted by Kristina Brown

Dust Mites. What are they? Are they living? How many are there in my house? What do they eat? Why are people allergic to them? There are many questions pertaining to dust mites, however very little people know anything about these creatures that exist almost everywhere. I am going to go over a few questions and answers that concern dust mites.

How Would Someone Define Dust Mites? The existence of dust mites is obvious to many, yet only a small percentage of the population know anything else about dust mites. Dust mites are animals that stem from the arachnid or spider branch and even have 8 legs like a spider. They eat, breathe, and defecate similar to any other animal. A male dust mite will live for approximately 30 days, while a female dust mite’s life span will double a male’s life span by about 60 days. Within the entirety of a female dust mite’s life span, the dust mite will create and lay approximately 100 eggs.

How Large is a Dust Mite? Not very large at all, in fact a dust mite is not visible to the human eye; the only way to view a dust mite is through a powerful magnifying glass or microscope. The approximated size of a dust mite is half a millimeter large.

How Many Are in My House and Where Do They Live? The exact amount of dust mites in your house is unknown however there are millions of dust mites in the typical mattress. They live in your pillow, sheets, blanket, couch, chair, carpets etc.

What is the Reason Dust Mites Take Residence in my Bed or my Couch? Dust mites greatly enjoy places that contain a large amount of humidity, so any place you drool, sweat, or breathe creates optimal living conditions for dust mites. Dust mites also nestle deep within a carpet or couch fibers, to avoid sun exposure and prevention against being sucked by a vacuum cleaner, or beaten by a vacuum cleaners brush roll.

What is it Dust Mites Feed On? The answer to this one is simple. Dust mites like to feed on you. Dust mites thrive and feed on the dead skin that sheds off of humans on a daily basis. A solitary day of shredded skin from a human is enough to feed thousands of dust mites.

Why Call Them Dust Mites, Why Not Skin Mites? A majority of dust is comprised of dead skin. The dust you see in the attic, on your TV or in the air is comprised mostly of your dead skin. Because it contains so much dead skin dust mites pretty much consume what we call dust, therefore making them ?dust? mites.

You now possess a greater understanding of what dust mites are and how they live. Hopefully this will help you understand the true amount and lifestyle of the dust mites in your house.

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