Even if you keep your mattress in perfect hygienic condition, it may be infested with unwanted microscopic visitors known as mites. And since they are not detectable to the naked eye, the big question is: how can I tell if there are mites in my bed?
What are mites
Mites are tiny arachnid insects, meaning they belong to the same class of arthropods as spiders and, like them, have four pairs of legs.
The main food source for mites is bits of dead skin from animals and humans. Additionally, they can also feed on fungi like mold, plant debris, and microparticles from food.
Their natural habitat is any place where dust accumulates, which is why they are also called dust mites. The more dust there is, the more comfortable mites feel.
Therefore, their favorite places are carpets, rugs, upholstered furniture, and, of course, mattresses. And believe it or not, mattresses accumulate a large amount of microscopic dust.
To check, clap your hands on your mattress when sunlight directly hits it and be amazed by the clouds of dust you will see through the sun rays.
Mites, great colonizers of dusty surfaces
An almost incredible fact is that one square centimeter of carpet can contain up to 100,000 of these dust mites, and each mite can produce feces around 20 times a day.
Health disorders caused by mites
The big problem with these tiny insects is that they can trigger allergies in certain people, some of which can be significant. These allergies are not caused by insect bites, but by organic reactions to their feces and the shedding of their exoskeleton.
With the exception of allergies, they are harmless to humans. However, they can be very harmful to some pets, especially ornamental birds like parakeets and canaries, in which they can induce severe respiratory disorders and even death.
Can mites be seen with the naked eye?
Their size ranges from a quarter to a third of a millimeter, making them indistinguishable to the naked eye. If you can see them, rest assured they are not mites but another type of insect or parasite.
How to know if there are mites in your mattress
Although you will find information stating that a microscope is necessary to visualize them, the reality is that you can see them if you get a powerful magnifying glass (of at least 10x magnification). And with a professional 20x magnifying glass, you will be able to clearly distinguish their shape.
10x magnifying glasses can be easily found at any optical store, and 20x magnifying glasses are available at specialized stores for laboratory materials and tools for watchmakers.
To find out if you have mites in your bed, use a non-opaque adhesive tape. Clear packing tape is the best option due to its width and adhesion.
Stick plenty of pieces of tape on the surface of the mattress, especially in the crevices or indentations, and once removed, examine them with the magnifying glass. If you see small translucent insects with eight legs, those are the mites. And their feces look like small brown balls.
If you have a microscope, even if it's for kids, you will see them in detail. You will clearly distinguish their eight legs, transparent body, and even their mouth.
How to eliminate mites from the mattress
Suppose that after a thorough inspection, you have just found out that you have mites in your bed. In that case, don't panic. Getting rid of them is relatively easy, as long as you don't skip any of the following steps:
First, thoroughly vacuum the mattress. Use a powerful vacuum cleaner and make several passes to remove all the dust. Remember that dust is the perfect habitat for your unexpected bed companions.
After vacuuming, it is advisable to do an additional cleaning of the mattress surface. You can use a cloth soaked in water and ammonia or a specific product for cleaning upholstered surfaces.
Once the cleaning process is complete, it is likely that there are still many live mites left. Therefore, to finish the operation, it is necessary to insecticide the mattress.
Although you will find various home remedies on the internet to eliminate the mites that may have remained in the mattress after thorough vacuuming and washing, the reality is that none of them are particularly effective, and many are impractical.
For example, using vinegar leaves an unpleasant smell, and the baking soda solution is cumbersome to apply, and even more so to remove.
An effective treatment is to spray the mattress several times with pharmacy-grade ethyl alcohol, preferably 70 degrees so that it evaporates slowly.
But the most practical and quick solution is to perform a light spray with unscented insecticide spray, whose active ingredient is permethrin or tetramethrin. The effect is practically immediate, and not a single mite will be left alive.
If you choose this last solution, do it in the morning and let the mattress ventilate for two or three hours. Once the mattress is well-ventilated, you can use it without any fear, as long as you do not belong to the group of people allergic to the two indicated substances.
After the insecticide process, we will perform an additional vacuuming of the mattress to remove all traces of mites, and for added safety, we can complete the operation with a new pass with a cloth.
Now that we have clarified the question: how to know if there are mites in my bed? We take the opportunity to suggest that if you have found mites in your mattress and it is already too old, the best thing you can do is get rid of it and buy a new one at our online store muellesensacados.es.