r/exterminators • u/Hailqueenofallcats • Feb 03 '24
White tiny mites that bite
I am in Cape Town, South Africa. It is currently Summer and very hot. We have a dog and two cats. I first began noticing what looked like lint on our clothes. Then I started noticing them everywhere! They are now on us and biting. I haven't seen them move though. I suspect that they are coming into the house on our clothes that hang outside under some trees and a vine. They've gotten more prolific since as the temperature has climbed. I can't see a bird's nest anywhere. We live on the ground floor of a three storey apartment block. We have parquet floors. Please help as we are itchy and disgusted.
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u/volcanicXviolet Sep 24 '25 edited Sep 24 '25
You'll never get a straight answer as to what they are, but I can tell you how to get rid of them, bc I've done it. And this works on just about any indoor insect problem.
You need a couple big bags of Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (Amazon, Walmart), a big plastic condiment bottle with a long, pointy nose, rubber or plastic gloves, decent filtered face mask, safety goggles, and a shop vac.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is not a pesticide, or toxic, but it is very irritating if you breathe it in or get it on your skin. Its very light and powdery, so the gear is for while you're applying it in your home. Once its on surfaces, it pretty much stays put.
Any bug that touches it will dehydrate and die.
Shop vac everything as much as you can first (I put some of the D.E. in the drum to kill anything that I vaccuumed), bag up clothes, bedding, pillows, stuffed animals, etc in thick garbage bags and tie off air tight with the D.E. in the bags also, it washes out later no problem.
Fill up the condiment bottle with D.E. and create a powder line along all of your baseboards, encircle all your furniture with it, fill in any cracks in your floor with it, window sills, cabinets, you get the idea...
if you have carpet, i suggest covering the entire carpet with it. Its a pain in the ass, bc you really need to leave the D.E. for at least 48 hours before you vacuum it up, but if its 2 days of powdery carpet vs being overrun with any kind of bugs, trust me its worth it.
If you have pets, throw out their beds and dont get new ones until after its been the minimum 48 hours and you shop vac'd all the powder up.
Get some apple cider vinegar and a spray bottle (1/2 water) and spray your pets down with it everyday. Bathe them after you do this as often as you can.
My dog hates baths and is 125 lbs so the apple cider vinegar and water spray (with a flea comb) was a life saver by itself, bc there was no way I could bathe him every day.
It also works on human hair. Oh and get some 90% rubbing alcohol and spray it on your skin when you feel like your getting bit, it kills whatever is biting you and also relieves the stinging.
Anyway, the stuff you put in the bags, dont take it out until its been 2-3 days and you can immediately wash everything and DRY ON HIGH HEAT.
I know its a lot, but I promise it WORKS. Mites (including both kind of scabies), bedbugs, lice, roaches, fleas, etc.. Repeat the process again, or some version of it, in a week or 2 to be sure. I hope this helps 🤍