According to an article written by The Johns Hopkins Hospital the highest concentrations of dust mites can be found in our bedrooms and making some simple changes can help get rid of them. Mites feed on dead skin that we shed at all times and like all things they need food and water to live. If you take the necessary steps to separate them from their food supply they will starve and die. Removing them from our environment will help to reduce or even eliminate asthma and allergy reactions in many people.

Some steps you can take to get rid of dust mites in your mattress

• Wash all bedding in hot water every 7 to 10 days
• Dusting the furniture in your house including walls, closets and ceilings
• Use an encasing or mite free mattress covers on your bed
• Avoid down and feather pillows
• Use pillow encasements
• Manage humidity levels
• Reduce room temperatures

Washing bedding in hot water 130 degrees F or higher removes all allergens and will kill these pests. This alone will not be enough to provide any lasting benefits, you must use dust proof pillow and mattress covers. The removable mattress cover will keep the mites that are in your pillows and mattresses from getting out and reinfecting your bedding. Dust mites and their waste can account for up ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow.

A mattress can have from 100,000 to 10,000,000 mites living in it at any time. Although these pests are microscopic, imagine that many little creatures living, defecating, dying and decaying in your mattress.

Managing temperature and humidity is also an important part of dust mite control. Temperatures below 70 degrees F and humidity below 50 percent are less than desirable for dust mites and helps to reduce their populations in your home.

It is important to note that having dust mites in your home is not an indication of a dirty house. They are common in most areas of the world and survive from feeding on dander (dead skin cells) that people and pets shed normally as we go about our daily lives. This is a normal process of life and there is nothing unusual about it. Dust mite allergy symptoms can be particularly bad for those who have asthma or other breathing problems.

Some of the symptoms of dust mite exposure are:

• runny nose
• stuffy nose
• itchy watery eyes
• sneezing
• wheezing
• coughing
• shortness of breath

Dust mite allergy symptoms may become worse with prolonged exposure and may also be dose related, this means that the more dust mite waste and other by-products you are exposed to the worse your allergy symptoms may become. This makes the dust mite control strategies discussed on this site even more important.

Where you will find the highest concentrations of dust mites

• Pillows
• Mattresses
• Carpeting
• Upholstered Furniture

The above areas of your home are the most common places that you will come in contact with dust mite allergens. This is directly related to our lifestyles. We spend a great deal of our time in these areas and as much as 1/3 of our lives are spent in bed. That means these places where dust mites find an abundant supply of food. The longer these items are in our homes the more time dust mite populations and waste have to accumulate.

People who are allergic to dust mites react to proteins in the bodies and feces of the mites. These fecal particles are found in the highest concentrations in pillows, mattresses, carpeting, and upholstered furniture. Allergic reactions can range from mild to severe and sometimes have to be treated medically.

Strategies to relieve dust mite allergy symptoms

• Avoid coming in contact with dust mite allergens
• Use allergy medications to reduce allergy reactions
• You may be able to get shots to help reduce symptoms

The best defence of course is to avoid coming in contact with mites at all. This is pretty difficult to do of course but you can work to control dust mites in your home. This involves using dust mite proof bedding, mattress covers and pillow covers among other things. The prime season for dust mite populations to explode are during summer months when temperature and humidity levels for dust mites are ideal for reproducing and survival.

Allergic reactions can range from mild to severe and sometimes have to be treated medically. You should never assume your allergies are the result of dust mites or other allergens. You should have a professional diagnosis and be fully prepared to manage your allergies properly.

How many dust mites in bed

Beds are one of the prime environments for dust mites to live and flourish. A mattress can have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites living in it. One of the things that makes a mattress a beneficial environment for dust mites is the warmth and high humidity provided by us when we are sleeping. One of a dust mites favorite foods is dander from humans and our pets. Dander nothing more than skin flakes which we shed continuously as we go about our lives. Every year the weight of a mattress increases due to dust mite waste and dead mites.

Dust mites and pillows

Pillows are another favorite place for mites to live. It is estimated that 10% of the total weight of a two year old pillow is a combination of dead dust mites and their waste. This is significant for those of us how suffer from allergies and asthma.

What you can do to remove dust mites from your bedroom and the rest of your home

It is very unlikely that you will be able to totally rid your bed or your house of dust mites. What you can do is try to control their populations by using dust mite proof bedding such as a mattress cover and mite proof pillow cover and utilizing other strategies to reduce their numbers. In this way you will be able to coexist with them and reduce or eliminate any allergic effects they may have on you.

Dust mites are ancient creatures that have adapted well to a variety of environments and are closely related to spiders, scorpions and ticks. They are members of the. Although not exclusively found in homes they have adapted very well to our environment and thrive in domestic settings.

There are three common types of house dust mites that we are interested in. All of these different species of dust mites are very common and not restricted to one part of the world and all three species may be found in the same area. The American dust mite is probably the most common because it is found worldwide.

• The American house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus
• The European house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae
• The Euroglyphus maynei which is widely distributed

The average life span of a male dust mite is about 10 to 19 days and females live as long as 60 to 70 days. During the female dust mites life span it will lay between 60 and 100 eggs and the life cycle from egg to adult is about 1 month with the adult living an additional 1-3 months. It is important to note that during a typical dust mite life span it will produce about 2000 pieces of fecal matter.

What do dust mites eat

Dust mites consume organic material and that’s where humans enter the picture. People shed many skin cells (dander) every day and so do our pets. This provides enough nourishment to feed millions of dust mites.

Dust mites don’t drink water, they absorb moisture from their surrounding environment and that is why they do better when humidity levels are above 50 percent. People loose moisture constantly. When we are in our beds sleeping humidity levels and temperatures are perfect for dust mites.

What do mites look like

The common house dust mite is about .015 inches long (.4 millimeters) which makes them virtually impossible to see without a microscope or some other form of magnification. Male dust mites are smaller than the females.

Their bodies are oval and plump and very sparsely covered with tiny hairs. They have eight legs like their cousin the spider and their bodies are a translucent creamy white color. Their color is determined by what they have been feeding.

Where do dust mites come from

Dust mites are all around us and it is impossible to avoid them. They are on our cloths, carpets, furniture, in our mattresses, bedding and pillows, at work and any place that has food and favorable humidity conditions. They are transported from place to place on our cloths and other household items.

Because of their light weight they can become airborne when we move around our homes or when making our beds. We even transport them to and from work.

There are many sources of information about dustmites and how to control their sometimes large populations. Most sources agree that they are not easy to eliminate entirely but that controlling their numbers is the best strategy when dealing with the allergic reactions that many of us have to their waste.

Getting rid of dust mites can be a daunting task and is next to impossible because they are found virtually everywhere we go. People and animals shed skin cells (dander) constantly and this is the main food source for these little creatures. Here we look at some of the most common and safest methods of controlling dust mite populations to help manage allergy and asthma symptoms so you can lead a normal life.

Like people and our pets, these pests flourish in warm humid environments. Try to maintain humidity levels in your house below 50 percent at all times. Maintaining humidity in your home below 50% has a negative impact on dust mite populations. This is much more difficult to do during the summer than in winter but using a dehumidifier will help greatly.

How to remove dust mites from your bedroom

We spend a great deal of our time sleeping which makes our beds one of the prime environments for dust mites to live and breed. Bedding should be washed in hot water above 130 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have severe reactions then every week or two may be necessary for maximum benefit.

Allergy relief bedding (dust mite covers) is also available to help rid ourselves of mites. Cover mattresses and pillows in allergen blocking dust proof covers which zipper. This provides a barrier that dust mites can’t penetrate. This prevent them from colonizing these areas and eliminates one of their primary breeding grounds.

How to remove dust mites from your carpeting

Carpets and certain types of furniture are also common places where dust mites live comfortably. Use a HEPA vacuum cleaner to clean your carpets. HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners work better than standard vacuums because of the HEPA filters that are incorporated in their design. HEPA stands for "High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance". They are the most efficient air filters available. A great deal of dust passes right through standard vacuum cleaners and gets distributed back into the environment. It is a better idea to avoid having carpets in your home at all if your allergies are particularly bad. If carpeting is a must, try to have low pile carpets.

Many sources recommend steam cleaning carpets as another means of dust mite control. The benefits of steam cleaning are twofold, the high temperature steam kills the dust mites and the water helps to wash out any mites and any other contaminants that may be contributing to your allergy symptoms.

Remove dust mites from the air you breathe

Use efficient furnace filters in your heating and air conditioning equipment. This will remove more dust from your home and reduce the distribution of dust mite excrement and pieces of their dead and decaying bodies. These are the things that cause most of the allergic reactions that most people experience.

To help children who suffer from these allergies, wash their stuffed toys in hot water. Your child’s favourite stuffed toy is also a good environment for dust mites to flourish. These toys are usually held close to children’s faces which can intensify any reactions they may have.

Managing allergies can be a daunting challenge and requires constant control and monitoring of your environment. Is it possible to get rid of dust mites entirely? Probably not but implementing some or all of these strategies will go a long way toward controlling their numbers and allow you to coexist in relative comfort without negatively effecting your health.