How to get rid of mites

How to get rid of mites
There are many types of skin mites that affect both us and our pets during our lifetimes, and these resilient and annoying parasites often prove very difficult to get rid of. Indeed, how to get rid of mites is a discussion that often enters into controversial territory, given that the various methods may involve the use of dangerous chemicals.
First, a brief description of what mites are: skin mites are tiny – often practically invisible – creatures of the arachnid family that choose to live on our skin and feed off our blood. In the case of the common scabies mite – otherwise known as the itch mite and found on cats, dogs and humans – it burrows under the upper layer of the skin and lays its eggs, while the ear mite – commonly found as mites and dogs and one of the mites cats have to endure regularly – likes to live in the ear canal, but is also found elsewhere.
There are other types of mites – house dust mites and harvest mites – that are equally annoying, yet the house dust mite does not live on our skin but in bedding and soft furnishing; how to get rid of mites of this type is to rid the house of carpets and as much in the way of soft furnishings as you can, although eliminating them completely is considered impossible.
Scabies mites, and other types, are often treated with insecticide lotions and creams, and this is where the controversy arises; permethrin, the insecticide used in common itch mite treatments, is a powerful insecticide that is synthetically made and may have minor side effects – skin irritation and so on – while Lindane, the second of the common insecticides, is banned in many countries and should be used with great caution and, if unsure, not at all. For cats and dogs there are similar treatments, yet you must check with a qualified professional before use as some may not be suitable for certain animals.
Washing with tea tree oil shampoo – an essential oil drawn from the leaves of the Australian tea tree plant and known to have medicinal properties of some sort – is a popular natural remedy, and shampooing regularly, plus keeping the house and furnishings clean and well vacuumed, is also a step towards ridding yourself of the mites.
Whatever you do, it is essential that sufficient treatment is commenced quickly as leaving the mites to spread can cause greater problems in quite a short time.