Posted by Mel on December 16, 2004 at 08:00:47:
In Reply to: Scabies revisited posted by Chet on December 15, 2004 at 22:16:06:
First, there is a difference in mite longevity between human and animal mites. Human scabies mites do not survive off the host for more than about a week. Animal mites used to living in the environment can survive off the host much longer. If a person is suffering from human scabies mites you are providing info that may send them in to long term cleaning mode which is unnecessary. The first step in treating mite infestation is to try to determine what type of mite a person is fighting.
The human scabies mite appears when one human hands it off to another. It's not a seasonal event. Animal and bird mites are more seasonal in nature due to nesting, nest abandonment and wintering in human abodes. My understanding was the pregnant female, human scabies mite, burrowed into the skin. This would indicate that they were fertilized on the surface of the skin.
I would not recommend to anyone that they use their bare feet to test a mite infested carpet. It's best to wear flip flops, slippers or socks at all times.
Permethrin insecticide is a contact killer, and there is a prescription formulated product for treating humans. Mixing one's own permethrin from Home Depot is not a safe thing to do. Neither is it safe to treat animals in this manner, particularly cats. You didn't mention cats, but people wanting to try your concoction may inadvertently poison their cats following your directions.
Please folks do not soak any apparel in Malathion and let it dry on your body. Your body will absorb the Malathion through the skin, and Malathion is one of the atomic bombs of pesticide. There are much better ways of going about repelling mites from your body. "Malathion does not seem to irritate the skin", perhaps not, but it can affect the genes, the reproduction process, possibly cause cancer. Thanks for sharing, but no thanks.
The fact that the mites showed up one year later in your home, in the absence of a human host contaminant leads me to believe that you are battling animal mites. You need to find the source of your problem. If you do not you will be treating yourself and your dog non-stop forever more. All the Ivermectin and Permethrin in the world won't help you if you have a continuous flow of mites from a rodent/animal pest or bird source.
By the way, what caused the death (I presume) of the one dog who is no long being treated?
Lots of itching on a dog is a sign of mites, but some dogs can carry mites and appear asymptomatic. Dogs, though not as sensitive creatures as cats, can still react violently to products that are too strong for them. Formulating your own pesticide mixture is dangerous for your animal. Your vet should be able to provide you with lyme sulfur dip and advise you on repelling mites.