My husband thought he was being dive bombed by bugs that bit him at night. A friend feared they had bed bugs. My own mysterious bug bites left itchy welts that stuck around for days.
For me, the mystery went unsolved until late July, when The Washington Post revealed what’s been biting us: the oak mite, better known as the oak leaf gall mite or itch mite.
An example of oak mite bites from Wikimedia Commons.
The bug’s scientific name is pyemotes herfsi. They are tiny things, invisible to the naked eye. They feed on midge larvae by injecting a neurotoxin that paralyzes the target, and they may be here this year in larger numbers because of another feast in our oak trees – the eggs laid by the now departed 17-year cicadas.
The female oak mites can give birth to as many as 250 at a time. Most of the offspring are female, but the males emerge first, and they mate with the emerging females. Then, they are dispersed by the wind. And if they come to rest on a human, they attempt to feed. For us, that neurotoxin becomes an itchy irritant within 10 to 16 hours.
Can they be avoided? WTOP reports long sleeves and insect repellent with DEET might help. And a dermatologist told the Post, “As poetic as it is to sit under an oak tree, this may not be the summer for that.” In her August 13th constituent update, Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh wrote that “between August to October, as many as 300,000 mites may drop from a single oak tree.”
[Editor’s note: After reading the sentence above, your humble web editor had to stop everything to scratch several itches. Now, back to Marlene.]
Suggested treatments include calamine lotion, an antihistamine or cortisone cream, or spray or salve containing papain, an enzyme found in meat tenderizer. This 2008 Wired article explains why it works.
Meat tenderizer might relieve itchy bites too. CNN Health recommends mixing it with a bit of water to make a paste, then leave it on the welt for 10 to 15 minutes.
Have the mites been biting you? What have you done to relieve the itching?
Michael Chorost says
Lord yeah they’ve been biting me. I hate those things.
Elizabeth says
Several people on NextDoor were recommending showering and washing clothes within 4-6 hours of spending time outside as the best preventive measure. Long sleeves & hat helps some.
Diana Hart says
They are microscopic. Articles mention they can be carried by the wind and can enter via window screens. Keep windows and screen doors closed if possible. I’m staying off the balcony.
Gloria Maria Garcia says
Only thing that has worked for me is to rub alcohol swabs on the bites popping the blister and repeating alcohol swabs every 8 hours and after every shower. Long sleeve shirts and hats do help! I have found that DEET doesn’t work on these critters like it does on mosquitoes/ticks. Good luck all!!
Soful says
Between August and October is correct. I live in the Town of Leesburg where the cicadas camped out in heavy numbers for 4+ weeks. They lined my fence line and I believe I accidentally brought many oak mites into the because the biting stayed inside and on us until now. We’re still dealing with it but notice it’s starting to wane, only after vacating the home. What a nightmare.