Virtually invisible to the eye dust mites have adapted to eat the dead particles of our skin and are constant companions of man. With the growth of the population, these tiny creatures can do a lot of harm, provoking the development of allergic symptoms and other dangerous diseases.
Virtually invisible to the eye dust mites have adapted to eat the dead particles of our skin and are constant companions of man. With the growth of the population, these tiny creatures can do a lot of harm, provoking the development of allergic symptoms and other dangerous diseases.
Where do dust mites come from?
A tiny home dust mite fell into a man's house millennia ago with the fluff of a bird and fur of animals, it is easily tolerated with pieces of food, clothing, shoes, pets. Microscopic organisms find shelter in bedding, books, soft toys, carpets, folds of upholstery upholstery, in crevices under the skirting boards. Dust mites adore the room temperature within 18-25 ° C at a humidity of 55%.
Dust mites in the mattress
It is almost always possible to find home dust mites in our mattresses. This is due to the optimal conditions for life, which are created in the human bed. Under the blankets is always a stable temperature and the percentage of humidity, here most of all is the remains of dead skin particles - the favorite food of small parasites.
Dust mites in cushions
Horny pieces of the epidermis accumulate in large quantities in pillows consisting of soft tissue and feathers of birds, so dust mites in beds often create huge colonies. Knockout and processing in autoclaves can not completely destroy these dangerous neighbors. Experts recommend people prone to allergies to replace pillows with down and feather on bedding, consisting of hypoallergenic and antibacterial materials - bamboo fiber, microgel, hologofayber.
What is dangerous dust mite?
People who first learned about the existence of these organisms always have a question: "What does a dust mite do and what does it feed on?". Microscopic neighbors are not dangerous with their bites, they do not have stings or teeth that can cause significant damage to human skin. Damage is brought by their excrement, scales of shells and other products of vital activity, gradually accumulating in our dwelling. These tiny grains are powerful allergens. Having risen in the air, they permanently hang and easily penetrate into the respiratory system.
What diseases are caused by dust mites:
- allergic rhinitis;
- bronchial asthma;
- atopic dermatitis ;
- conjunctivitis;
- rhinoconjunctivitis;
- respiratory allergies;
- acariases;
- angioedema.
Dust mites, how to detect?
In the question of how to find out whether there are dust mites in the apartment, you can not rely on your own vision. It is extremely difficult to visualize this parasite visually, its adult size does not exceed a few tenths of a millimeter. Detect the creature on the surface of the laundry or in lumps of dust can be using a powerful magnifying glass or a special device, for example, a microscope. The safe concentration of dust mites is the number of a population of no more than 100 insects per gram of dust.
What do dust mites look like?
If you want to know more about what a dust mite looks like, you need to use a microscope. The average size of the individual does not exceed 0.1-0.3 mm. There are over 150 species of these arachnids, united in the genera Euroglyphus and Dermatophagoides. There are between them peaceful individuals and predatory mites, which are used as food for their fellow humans. Taurus in insects is oval in shape and covered with bristles, they move with the help of four pairs of legs. They feed on parasites with the help of powerful pincer-like appendages. These organisms live up to 80 days, in one cycle the females are able to lay up to 60 eggs.
Dust mites are the symptoms
The human body is pathologically affected by proteins that are found in large quantities in the excrement of small insects - Der f1 and Der p1. They are able to penetrate the skin and cause allergy on contact. It is believed that the culprit of 70% of asthma is a home dust mite. If you have any signs of an allergic reaction of incomprehensible origin, then you should immediately pass the tests and start fighting with tiny, but extremely dangerous neighbors.
Symptoms of an allergy caused by a dust mite:
- Often a stuffy nose, but without other major signs of a cold.
- Constant attacks of coughing and sneezing.
- Poor appetite.
- Appearance of shortness of breath.
- Itching on the skin and swollen eyelids.
- Rashes on the body are red.
- Conjunctivitis.
How to deal with a dust mite?
Many methods have been developed to combat these arachnid insects, but most of them give temporary positive results. In the question of how to get rid of dust mites, winding of bedding on the street in frosty or hot weather helps. Preventive maintenance and constant maintenance of cleanliness in a dwelling will help cardinally reduce number of parasites up to safe limits. Adult dust mites die from severe cold and under the influence of ultraviolet, and a good drying of the tissue and fillers makes their living conditions uncomfortable.
Methods for dealing with dust mites:
- Temperature processing.
- Treatment with acaricidal means.
- Proper care for feather or down pillows.
- Go to bedding made of synthetic materials.
- Periodic treatment of the room with a vacuum cleaner.
- Regular wet cleaning.
- Replacing the upholstery fabric upholstery on the skin or leatherette.
- Removal of rooms carpets and other items that can accumulate dust.
Vacuum cleaner for removing dust mites
If you are constantly concerned about dust mites, then the problem of how to get rid of parasites can be solved by buying a powerful vacuum cleaner. Only devices that are equipped with powerful HEPA filters are considered effective. Specialists call the best 13-14 class devices, capable of delaying 99.95% and more of the smallest particles. Filter elements can be paper disposable or washable. In high-quality HEPA models, they come in combination with bags, cyclone or water filters - Thomas AQUA-BOX Compact, Karcher DS 6.000, Thomas perfect air allergy pure.
Exposure to steam helps to get rid of insect larvae and dirt at home. In the question of how to destroy dust mites, the use of a modern steam cleaner plays a big role. Heated to high temperatures, steam contributes to the rapid dissolution of the chitinous cover of parasites and other harmful microscopic particles. Steam cleaners are convenient to handle a complex surface, for example, numerous crevices in upholstery furniture or soft toys.
Mattress from dust mites
With dust mites, the fight will be more effective if treatment and prevention are carried out in the places of their favorite habitat - bedding. Modern mattress covers serve for a long time, but it is recommended that even beautiful and whole-to-look items be replaced with a periodicity of at least 8 years. Good reviews were given to hypoallergenic cases of polyester Protect-a-Bed, certified at the famous Independent Entomological Laboratory of Canada. Their top layer of a unique micromembrane breathes and protects well from moisture, prevents reproduction of parasites.
What is a dust mite afraid of?
If you want to deal properly and effectively with tiny insects, you need to study their weaknesses well, to know at what temperature a dust mite is dying. Even at its decrease to 10 ° C and lowering the humidity to 40%, the vital activity of the creatures decreases noticeably. In these conditions, these small arachnids do not live longer than two weeks. They are destructively affected by high temperatures, when ironing or washing clothes in hot water (60 ° C and above), most ticks are destroyed.
Many experts recommend that the room be cleaned with quartz. Use ultraviolet carefully, when switching on the lamps you need to leave the room and take out indoor plants. UV radiation in just 20 minutes kills mites, mold, microorganisms. To process the atmosphere in the room, you can use modern safe air cleaners with UV lamps and ionizers. Completely to overcome parasites this method is impossible, hiding in crevices, under furniture and blankets of creatures it is necessary to destroy by methods of deep clearing.
Means against dust mites
In difficult situations, when the war with parasites does not bring tangible results, people have to resort to the help of special means. They are supplied in the form of aerosols, carpet treatment fluids, laundry additives. Many people are interested in folk methods against dust mites, how to deal with these small creatures in a house with young children. Some recipes are cheap and available, simple soda, salt, popular household chemicals are required for their realization.
Folk methods against ticks:
- Wash the floors and wipe the furniture with a cloth soaked in a 20% aqueous solution of salt.
- You can add salt and soda in an equal amount in water, this will strengthen the impact of folk remedies on insects.
- When wet cleaning, add 5 liters of essential oil of lavender or lemon to 10 liters of water.
- Well expels the mite diluted in water with chlorine, use periodically Whiteness or bleach ACE during general cleaning.
Chemicals against dust mites:
- Milbiol - an acaricidal preparation in the form of aerosols, is made on the basis of vegetable oil from the seeds of tropical wood. The product has a weak onion smell, which quickly goes away, helps against ticks and fungi.
- Allergoff is a spray based on permethrin, pyriproxyphene and benzyl benzoate. It has good advantages - low toxicity for humans and animals, preserves the effect up to six months.
- Easy Air - exists in the form of a spray or additive for washing things, is made on the basis of organic components.
- Oreck Allergen Control Carpet Cleaner is an emulsion based on trichlorometaphos-3 for carpet cleaning. The liquid is diluted with hot water according to the instructions and applied to the carpet. Flush the drug is not possible, for best effect, you should wait for the natural drying of the product.
- Allersearch ACARIL - additive for washing based on tea tree and other substances, non-toxic, does not cause shedding of things. A bottle of 240 ml is enough for 12 cycles.