DUST MITES & THEIR HABITAT

Dust mites are extremely tiny bugs that belong to the spider family. They live in house dust and feed on the dead skin cells that people regularly shed. Dust mites can survive in all climates and at most altitudes. Thriving in warm environments, preferring those at 70°F (21°C) and 70 percent relative humidity.

When you breathe in the waste products of dust mites, your immune system kicks into high gear, as a result, it will produce antibodies against the normally harmless substances. This overzealous immune response causes the symptoms associated with a dust mite allergy, such as sneezing and runny nose.

Aside from allergy symptoms, long-term exposure to dust mite allergens may lead to sinus infections and asthma.

Dust Mite Habitat

First of all, dust mites require food, moisture, and a dark warm habitat. Furthermore, it needs a narrow range of high temperature and humidity conditions to thrive. Its populations show optimal growth at conditions between 18oC to 25oC and 60% to 70% relative humidity. When the relative humidity falls below 50%, the dust mites desiccate and die.

The dust mites feed on the dead scales of skin, as a result, the scales become too dry when they flake off the human body for the mites to eat so, they need to condition in a moist atmosphere for a few days to absorb water from the air, and to promote the growth of miniature surface moulds,

The real key to controlling dust mite populations is to control the temperature and most importantly, relative humidity indoors to prevent the warm, humid conditions that dust mites need to live. The easiest way to achieve this is to ensure good ventilation in the home, most importantly, in bedrooms, and also avoid excessive temperatures.

The physical action of vacuum cleaning will probably provide sufficient agitation of the carpet surface to allow allergen particles to be stirred up into the atmosphere.