The Moving Planner Blog

If you are planning a move or thinking about moving, you need to be vigilant when it comes to dust mites.  These small critters are hard to spot but can cause a whole lotta trouble!

Dust mites are too small to be visible to the naked eye and are around 0.3mm in size. They are like small spiders, have eight legs and go under the scientific name of dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.Each mite will live for up to six weeks and produce approximately 50 eggs and 20 faecal packets a day. The faecal matter contains the allergen “Der P1″  which triggers allergic rhinitis and asthma. This allergen will become embedded in bedding, clothes, furniture and carpets. It will also stay airborne for long periods. Basically you cannot escape it.

What conditions do mites need to survive?

1. They need at least 70% humidity as they extract the water vapour from the air to live.

2. Mites are cold blooded so they need an environmental temperature of at least 20 degrees centigrade.

3. They are rarely found in houses above 1500 metres of altitude.

So cool dry and sterile environments help.

Why are the mites attracted to human habitations?

Basically they eat the flakes of dry skin which every human sheds.That is why they are found where we spend most time, in our beds and on our sofas.

How quickly do they grow?

Unfortunately their rate of population growth is very fast and within 3 months a new mattress will be thoroughly infected and house over 10,000 mites.

What are the allergies or symptoms arising from dust mites?

The symptoms are often compared to all year hay fever typified by a congested runny nose, sneezing and nasal itching .The medical name for this is allergic rhinitis.

What are the main options to control house dust mites?

1. Impermeable bedding covers.These are supposed to restrict the exposure to allergens caused by mites in bedding. However there is a lot of doubt as to whether they really work, see points below.

2. Use of chemicals to kill the mites , specifically acaricides.This is a pesticide which is used to kill ticks as well as mites. It is used both in medicine and in agriculture.However there are alternatives here and the chemical can also be found
in oils such as Cloves,rosemary,eucalyptus and caraway oils as reported in this study

3. High efficiency particulate air filters ( HEPA).There are two types of HEPA filters,True or absolute filters will capture at least 99.7% of particles down to 0.3 microns.HEPA type or HEPA like filters are less efficient at capturing particulates, they do not have to pass stringent tests to achieve certification but they are often much cheaper.The filters are typically fitted in air cleaners or sometimes as filters for a vacuum cleaner.

Source

A recent Cochrane review examined nine clinical trials involving 501 participants. Although some of the data was held to be unreliable they were able to say that the impermeable bedding option was not effective. The use of acaricides to kill the mites held the most promise but there is concern that this chemical might cause other allergies.

Other references

Uncertainty as to the effectiveness of bedcovers was also covered by this trial

Whereas this report said that although the bed covers reduced the exposure there was no improvement in the medical symptoms

Article written by Mike Holly. Mike lives and works in the north of England and has been exploring luxury cottages along hadrian’s wall.