Useful websites & relevant journal articles*:
Listed below are just some of the many mites which may affect humans, with links to further information about them. Always ask about contact with animals and plant materials, occupation and hobbies, and remember that parasites are masters of adaptation. Some species may attack humans if their natural host is not available. Clues which may be present include intense itching, often worse at night due to many mites being nocturnal, and crusting/scaling as the skin reacts to try to expel the parasites. Don’t wait to find a published report before being suspicious. Remember that reduced immunity is likely to allow proliferation so clinical signs could appear or progress in response to immunosuppressant medication. Any infestation of this type can cause sleep disturbance, anxiety and depression.
- Prostigmata: mites with a respiratory system which opens near the chelicerae (front appendages/fangs)
| Common name | Scientific name & further information | Habitat/source | Notable features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiggers’/ ‘Harvest/ Scrub Itch’ Mites | (Trombicula alfredugesi) 2,3,4 | Grasslands. May transmit scrub typhus, rickettsiosis. | Often a line of small red pimples or pustules, clustered around waist or lower legs. These mites have weak mouth parts so target softer skin areas and folds.2 |
| Eyelash Mites | Demodex folliculorum, D.brevis Photos and evolutionary history5 & Clues for Demodex in skin6(section 6.3) | Hair follicles/ sebaceous glands of most mammals. Possible role in the ‘Allergic March’.6 | Highest levels around the orifices, eyes & upper torso. Demodectic mange often affects face and paws in dogs so consider hand and foot involvement in humans. Contain Der f allergens (as found in house dust mites) which may enter the respiratory system via tear fluids.6 |
| ‘Straw itch’ mite | (Pyemotes ventricosus)7 | Hay, straw & grains. | Affect insects, bees & humans, injecting powerful neurotoxic venom to cause multiple, intensely itchy lesions with minute white wheal and central red vesicle. Remaining mites may be visible as a minute white speck in the centre.7 |
| ‘Walking dandruff’ mite | (Cheyletiella)8 | Cats, dogs & rabbits & associated soft furnishings. Easy transfer to humans. | Feed on skin scales causing unrelenting itch, often worse at night, sometimes seen as moving white or yellowish specks. Likely to affect children due to close contact with outdoor pets, and the immunocompromised. Distribution may be widespread or localised to where animal contact has been, and seen as general redness and inflammation or localised patches8. |
- Astigmata: respiratory openings are absent
| Common name | Scientific name & further information | Habitat/source | Notable features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bird ‘Scaly leg mite’ | (Cnemidocoptes)9 | Poultry, pigeons, sparrows, starlings & their nests & nearby locations. Prefer warm humid conditions. May encounter a human host particularly after young birds have flown the nest in Spring/early Summer. | Numerous itchy bites on exposed skin forming red papules & vesicles, worse at night/early morning. Crawling sensation in the skin caused by saliva injected during feeding.9 |
| ‘Dust mites’ | (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus)10 (Dermatophagoides farina)10 | Soft furnishings in warm humid settings. | Feed on skin cells but don’t bite humans. Dust from their faeces, urine or allergenic debris may be inhaled triggering anything from mild nasal symptoms & watery eyes to persistent cough and asthma attacks in hypersensitive people.10 |
| ‘Ear mites’ | (Otodectes)11 | Very common in dogs & cats, causing them to scratch and shake their heads & have dark debris in the ear canals. May survive briefly in nearby soft furnishings. Close contact is needed as they don’t fly or jump. Visible with an otoscope | In humans may cause ear itching, pain, foreign body sensation, tinnitus, drainage of fluids & signs of otitis externa. Risk of secondary infection and ear damage. See 11 for treatment suggestions. |
| Horse ‘feather mites’/ ’chorioptic mange’ | (Chorioptes)12 | Affect horses in areas of longer hair. May survive in stable areas for up to 70 days increasing risk of transmission to humans. | Itchy scabs initially on lower legs, dandruff-like scaling12. |
| Notoedric scabies, ‘Cat handlers’ itch’ | (Notoedres)13 | Cats, rarely in UK, common in Japan, India, Czech Republic (1986 data). Sometimes visible on human skin. | Highly itchy papulovesicles on face, hands & legs. Unlike human scabies no burrows, not in finger webs or genitals. Self-limiting on human skin13. |
| ‘Scabies’/ ‘Sarcoptic mange’ | (Sarcoptes scabiei) For patients14 For clinicians15 | Humans, especially children | Intense itching & widespread eczema-like rash, sparing the head and neck except perhaps in infants & elderly. Thread-like burrows and minute red spots, particularly between fingers and toes14. |
| ‘Sheep itch’, ‘sheep scab’, ‘cattle scab’/ ‘psoroptic mange’ | (Psoroptes & Sarcoptes)16 | Farm animals | Intensely itching skin lesions, resembling scabies, most commonly upper extremities, then lower extremities, face, ears, genitals & abdomen. Less active at night, can cause sustained infestation in humans16. |
- Mesostigmata: respiratory openings are above legs III-IV
| Common name | Scientific name & further information | Habitat/source | Notable features |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Chicken mite’ | (Dermanyssus gallinae)3,20 | Poultry, pigeons, sparrows etc. Blood-sucking mites attack host then stay close by in coops, poultry farm enclosures, nests. May feed on mammals including humans, usually at night. Considered a FAO/OIE/WHO tripartite One World 2017 health issue. Visible crawling on skin, clothes & furniture. Can bite in 1 second. One bird may carry 500,000 mites. 20 | Non-specific persistent rash, often misdiagnosed, may affect whole body including ear canal & scalp. 1-3mm papules, grouped where clothing e.g. a belt restricts movement. May carry Borrelia (Lyme Disease), Coxiella (Q Fever) & Bartonella (urban trench fever). 20 |
The following infections and infestations are not mites but cause major distress to patients (this list will grow!)
- ‘Bed bugs’ – (Hemiptera, Cimicidae)17 also see CDC advice)
- ‘Hair fungus’, ‘piedra’ (Trichomycoses)18
- Morgellons’ Disease (Controversial aetiology)19
If you have suggestions to improve this page, please email Contribute@TheDemodexProject.org.uk.
Further reading /viewing:
- Pawelczyk O, Pajak C, Solarz K. The risk of exposure to parasitic mites and insects occurring on pets in Southern Poland. Annals of Parasitology. 2016;62(4) 337-344 ref 31. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org
- Dhooria, M.S. (2016). Medical and Veterinary Acarology. In: Fundamentals of Applied Acarology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org (access required)
- McClain D, Dana AN and Goldenberg G. Mite infestations. Dermatologic Therapy. 2009;22: 327-346. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8019.2009.01245.x
- Bad bugs slideshow: identifying bugs and their bites
- Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons (Documentary, available on Amazon Prime)
*Disclaimer: These links appeared safe at the time of posting and are copied as footnotes for you to inspect. Please always use your own judgement before visiting new sites. The information provided is a small sample of the information available. It is intended to increase awareness of the possibility of infestation by mites of many different types. Please discuss anything that concerns you with your clinician, senior colleague, microbiology lab or other specialist department. We accept no responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this material.
©2025 Diana Senior-Fletcher for The Demodex Project
Updated 8/3/26
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Mites ↩︎
- WebMD: Chigger Bites ↩︎
- Dhooria, M.S. (2016). Medical and Veterinary Acarology. In: Fundamentals of Applied Acarology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1594-6_23 (access required) ↩︎
- Webmd: Chigger Bites: Should I Worry? And How Should I Treat Them? ↩︎
- https://robdunnlab.com/projects/meet-your-mites ↩︎
- https://www.frontiersin.org ↩︎
- ScienceDirect: Pyemotes Mites ↩︎
- Cheyletiella Mites in Humans ↩︎
- DermNetNZ: Bird Mite Infestation ↩︎
- https://www.lung.org/clean-air/indoor-air/indoor-air-pollutants/dust-mites ↩︎
- https://www.verywellhealth.com/ear-mites-in-humans ↩︎
- Liverpool Vet: Chorioptic Mites PDF ↩︎
- Chakrabarti, A. (1986), Human Notoedric Scabies From Contact With Cats Infested With Notoedres cati. International Journal of Dermatology, 25: 646-648. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-4362.1986.tb04527.x (not open access) ↩︎
- https://www.bad.org.uk/pils/scabies ↩︎
- Sunderkötter et al. Scabies: Epidemiology & Treatment. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2021;118(41):695‑704.
PMC8743988 ↩︎ - Elston DM. What’s eating you? Psoroptes mites. Cutis. 2006;77(5):283-4. Psoroptes mites (Elston, 2006; Cutis PDF). ↩︎
- Akhoundi et al. Bed Bugs: Classification & Dispersion. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(12):4576. PMC7345932 ↩︎
- Sentamilselvi G, Janaki C, Murugusundram S. Trichomycoses. Int J Trichology. 2009;1(2):100‑7. PMC2938571 ↩︎
- Middelveen et al. History of Morgellons disease. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol.
2018; PMC5811176 ↩︎ - Cafiero MA, Barlaam A, Camarda A, Radeski M,Mul M, Sparagano O & Giangaspero A. Dermanysuss gallinae attacks humans. Mind the gap!, Avian Pathology (2019) 48:sup1, S22-S34 ,https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03079457.2019.1633010#abstract
