Why do I recommend that you really dry your quilt regularly?

Among all animal phobias, spider phobia is definitely not rare. However, there is a type of tiny "spiders" that have penetrated into every aspect of our daily lives: from clothes and bedding to flowers and green plants, and even in some foods; they even "enter the house" and silently parasitize on our bodies... This type of "mini spider" is a mite .

Mites are a large family, belonging to the order Arachnida and the order Acarina , and are relatives of spiders. There are more than 10,000 known species of mites in the world, but most of them are very small, so it is difficult for people to notice them until they cause some trouble, then they will attract our attention, such as...

The mite family is full of talents. Today, I will introduce you to these “mini spiders”.

They are in my house and can never be removed.

Among the mites, the most "common" one is the dust mite. It is common because dust mites are everywhere in our room: wherever there are clothes, beddings and other fabrics, there are dust mites breeding; but you have probably never seen it - after all, the dust mite is less than half a millimeter long and cannot be seen by the naked eye . You have to use a microscope to see its spider-like shape.

If you don't know what it looks like, you won't be afraid. Image source: bushi1800cleaner.com.au

The number of dust mites in our rooms may exceed your imagination: scientists have estimated that there are 100 dust mites in 1 gram of bed dust . These mini spiders mainly feed on food scraps, fungi and bacteria, and even human skin scraps. If you like to eat snacks in bed, you may have accidentally become the breeder of these "little spiders".

Dust mites do not directly harm humans, but their excrement contains a variety of proteases that can cause allergic reactions in people, inducing bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, etc. Unfortunately, it is an impossible task to eradicate dust mites in the home. Dust mites are numerous and have strong reproductive capacity. Under suitable conditions, they will quickly repopulate the country. In fact, as long as you clean the room regularly and keep the density of dust mites at a low level, there will generally be no problem (a small number of people are naturally allergic to dust mites and need to follow the doctor's advice).

There are several common methods for preventing and controlling dust mites: there are special chemical dust removers and dust repellents on the market, but chemical agents inevitably make people worry about safety. There are also several physical dust removal methods: ultraviolet rays can kill mites , so frequently drying bedding in the sun can kill most of the mites (there is a saying on the Internet: the "sun smell" after the quilt is dried is the smell of mites being burned. In fact, it is the ozone produced by ultraviolet rays, mixed with the smell of heated fibers, and has nothing to do with dust mites). But it is the excrement of dust mites that causes allergies, so bedding must be patted to effectively remove the allergens.

In addition, there are methods such as frequent washing with water or vacuuming, but these two methods can only remove dust mite excrement and have little effect on living dust mites.

What causes itchy face?

In daily life, sometimes when large red spots appear on the face, people say that it is "mites". What we are talking about here is another type of mite - Demodex.

Demodex mites are so small that they are invisible to the naked eye. They live in human skin and, in order to adapt to their parasitic life, they transform their standard "spider shape" into a worm shape so that they can drill in and out of pores and under the skin. In fact, everyone has some Demodex mites parasitizing on their bodies. When the number is small, it has little impact. However, if you do not pay attention to personal hygiene and do not clean your skin well, Demodex mites will proliferate. Their excrement will cause skin allergic reactions and red spots will grow.

Don't reach out and scratch your face when you see this! Image source: animalcareclinicslo.:

There is also a type of scabies mite on humans. They often live between people's fingers, armpits, groin and other places. They make holes in the skin to feed on human skin secretions and keratin tissue . The parts parasitized by scabies mites often itch extremely, especially at night. Frequent scratching can easily break the skin, leading to scabies, which requires medication.

The most annoying thing is that scabies is a permanent parasitic mite, and scabies is also a stubborn skin disease, so you must persist in treating it.

Eliminating Red Spider Mites on Leaves

Most of those who like to grow plants hate "red spiders". These little red dots that are hard to get rid of will bite the leaves of plants, leaving them spotted, thin and white, and eventually leading to the death of the plants. In fact, most of these "red spiders" come from the Tetranychus family of mites. There are nearly a thousand known species of spider mites in the world, with a body length of only two or three millimeters. In addition to the classic red color, there are also green and brown species.

Help, I feel for the leaves. Image source: indoororganics.co.uk

When spider mites are young, they feed on the mesophyll cells of plant leaves. They will drill into the leaves and make holes, leaving crooked marks. Spider mites have a strong reproductive capacity, and can produce 13 generations in a year. Female mites will inject eggs into the stems and leaves of plants, and the young mites will feast as soon as they hatch. The "pinhole array" left by female mites will not only affect the photosynthesis of leaves, but also create opportunities for various plant viruses , causing plants to be infected with diseases such as leaf spot. In winter, spider mites will lurk in the soil and the roots of weeds to hibernate, and will spread everywhere with the soil. If the "red spider" is rampant in your home plants, in addition to spraying pesticides, it is also necessary to change the flower soil.

Mites eat mites

The "red spiders" on the surface of leaves are not all spider mites that harm plants. They may also be the nemesis of spider mites - phytoseiid mites . This type of mite is only 0.3 to 0.6 mm long and belongs to the predatory mite class. It specializes in preying on plant-eating mites such as spider mites , as well as small garden pests such as aphids, thrips, whiteflies, and scale insects. Nowadays, people have commercialized phytoseiid mites for biological control.

It can be said that there is always something that can defeat something else. Image source: hortidaily.com

There are mites in cheese

Even in the food world, mites have a place - in France and Germany, there is a type of cheese with a unique flavor, called "mite cheese." Although the cheese ingredient is regular milk, during the fermentation process, foreign aid is needed - flour mites, cheese mites and other mites!

It’s okay to eat it, don’t be afraid, Image source: Media Storehouse

These mites are extremely tiny, measuring no more than 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters in length. They live on the surface of cheese, feeding on it and chewing it into pits and holes. They also secrete a unique flavor that accelerates the ripening of the cheese and adds a sour lemon flavor. Even the mite cheese sold in stores still has mites working hard on it.

Mites that are not interested in people

In the wild, some locusts and blind spiders often have bright red "blood drops" hanging from their leg joints, sometimes with several drops hanging together. Under a magnifying glass, you will find that these "blood drops" are fluffy and covered with dense cilia. In fact, this is a type of parasitic mite - the velvet mite .

A kind of mite that can be seen with the naked eye, furry and cute, source: Owlcation

When they are young, velvet mites specialize in parasitizing arthropods such as insects (they are not interested in humans) and suck the body fluids of the host. Insects have hard exoskeletons and are not easy to bite, so they gather at the weak joints to bite.

Don't be afraid that it doesn't like people. Image source: johnbokma.com

After adulthood, they become nomads, preying on small insects or insect eggs. Velvet mites are the giants of the mite family. Some velvet mites can grow to the size of peanut kernels when they grow up. Indians collect velvet mites and grind them into powder for medicinal use.

After introducing so many mites, it can be said that they are everywhere in our lives, so there is no need to be too afraid. But if you don’t want to be hurt, you must pay attention to personal hygiene!

Planning and production

Source | Bowuzai (ID: bowuzai)

Author | Xiaofeng