Dust mites are eight legged microscopic creatures that live throughout the home. The good news is that they are not parasites. They are not particularly harmful but they are a major cause of human allergies. Dust mite allergy generally manifests itself with symptoms comparable to pollen allergy as well as asthma. The mites survive mainly by eating dead skin cells from humans and pets. Humans weekly shed over a quarter of an ounce of dead skin which is a good amount of food for them but pet dander supplies an endless feast. The average dust mite leaves over a dozen excrement droppings a day which contain protein that many people are allergic to. This is very gross but it is true.

The most favorite place for dust mites to live is in the bed where people spend about a third of their life. A single bed usually has thousands of these little bugs. There is literally an army of tiny little bugs going to bed with you every night. A prime location on the bed for dust mites is right under the nose where you are sleeping. For some people this produces perennial rhinitis or inflamed mucous membrane of the nose. This is downright disgusting but it is true.

Carpets are another typical place for these creatures. This is where your cats and dogs spend most of the time. Because of their fur, pets make an even better home for dust mites than humans.

One can never eliminate dust mites. Their army is simply too big and too strong. You will just have to live with that fact. There are, however, a number of things you can do to decrease their number. First, try starving them by taking a daily shower before bed. This will get rid of a lot of dead skin scales that have accumulated on the body throughout the day. Make sure, though, that your head is completely dry. The mites thrive in warm moist areas. Each day a bath is skipped results in feast that evening for these microscopic bugs.

Next, of course is to wash the bed sheets often. Most people wash their sheets once a week. Daily would be great but that probably is not practical. Replacing the bed pillow every couple of years is a good idea too. Also, you could buy a new mattress. This would eliminate a vast amount of the little critters from your home. Of course, it is not affordable to do this often. Because of the dander they produce, not having a pet is a great way to keep the dust mite population down. Finally, ripping up all the carpet in the home and replacing it with tile or hard wood is an excellent way to get rid of these nuisance pests. A standard ten by ten carpeted bedroom can easily have a million dust mites. That just boggles the mind.

Although you can never completely rid the home of dust mites, taking these steps will keep them under control and will provide great allergy relief.

Author Bio: David Q. Price is the author of the zebra bedding blog at zebrabedding.blogspot.com. Your daughter needs zebra bedding like this.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: dust mites, zebra bedding