This guide reveals the tiny white bugs that look like dust and chunks of lint on clothes and skin.
Some of these bugs are so tiny that experts categorize them as little white microscopic bugs.
Thats why spotting them can be a big challenge when their numbers are low.
But in this post, youll learn to spot the early signs of their presence, identify them, how they enter your home, their hiding places, and the safest ways to get rid of them.
Plus, youll find out which of these tiny white bugs bite and which ones are harmful to your health and wellbeing.
Keep reading.
Heres the list of 6 tiny white bugs that trick you into thinking theyre specks of dust.
All of these little white bugs are outdoor bugs that infest plants in your garden or yard.
However, they can enter your home too, especially when you introduce plants infested by these white bugs in your home.
Dust mites, woolly aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs are tiny white bugs that can stick to your clothes and fabric and appear as chunks of lint.
It happens mostly when you walk through vegetation that has these bugs on them.
So, how to identify these bugs? In what seasons are they active?
How on earth they spread into your home? And how to get rid of them?
The following sections answers all these questions specific to each of these bugs.
White spider mites are tiny white spider-like mites that infest plants and damp wooden surfaces.
These mites belong to the arachnid family. Its the same family where the spiders belong.
Hence, they share a feature of spiders, which is eight legs.
Spider mites are primarily garden pests that attack plants during the spring months.
Their main targets are the undersides of the plants leaves and the little branches.
They feed on the sap of the leaves and twigs. That leads to the weakening of the plants.
It also causes the leaves to turn yellowish and wither off.
White spider mites grow only up to 0.5 mm to 0.7 mm. So, they can be hard to spot when their numbers are low.
However, they multiply fast.
And when their numbers increase, white spider mites look like tiny transparent particles of dust crawling on the plants and moist wooden surfaces in your yard or garden.
White spider mites spin silken cobwebs on the plants leaves and between branches. Thats a clear sign of their presence.
White spider mites can also spread inside the home, especially when you introduce plants with spider mites inside your home.
Strangely, your home is an ideal breeding ground for spider mites.
These spider mites will multiply quickly and spread in your home.
Hence, you can notice white spider mites in places like your bed, carpets, curtains, rugs, sofas, and even inside dresser drawers.
White spider mites will look like tiny clear white spiders on your bed. At a casual glance, they look like small white baby spiders.
However, theyre not.
The main difference between white spider mites and white baby spiders is that white spider mites have a shine on their body.
Spider mites are not only white. They can be red and greyish too.
Fortunately, you dont need to hire a pest controller for the job. Neither you need to use any chemical pesticides.
You can quickly get rid of them with natural home products.
The best way to get rid of white spider mites from plants is by spraying a mixture of white vinegar and soapy water on the plants leaves.
Spray the mixture where you notice the silken cobwebs and on the undersides of the leaves.
The acidic nature of white vinegar is harmful to spider mites. It kills them and protects your plants from white spider mites.
Steam cleaning the soft furnishings in your home with a steam cleaner is an ideal option for removing white spider mites.
The heat from the steam cleaner is lethal for the spider mites. It kills the white spider mites belonging to all the life stages, including adults, larvae, eggs, and their pupae.
Use a steam cleaner to clean the curtains, bed mattress, carpets, couches, and other soft furnishings where youve noticed spider mites.
If youre using a vacuum cleaner, ensure that you wash the soft furnishings like bed sheets, pillow covers, and curtains with warm water after vacuum cleaning.
If there are white spider mites on damp wooden surfaces, then wipe off the surface with a cloth soaked in soapy water.
That would get rid of them.
No, white spider mites dont bite humans and pets. They dont spread any diseases either.
However, their presence can cause allergic reactions in the elderly, children, and sensitive people.
White spider mites dont damage the wood despite infesting damp wooden surfaces.
They feed on the mold that forms on the moist wood.
Mold mites, also know as grain mites, are small clear white bugs common in homes with a lot of dampness and moisture.
High humidity in homes attracts different types of bugs and insects. And it also attracts tiny white bugs like mold mites.
The dampness causes the formation of molds on hard surfaces, including floors, wooden furniture, and walls.
High moisture doesnt even spare books. Molds form in the books that also attract tiny blackish bugs known as booklice.
Mold mites feed on the molds that form on the surfaces.
Your kitchen and bathroom are the two areas where water usage is the highest.
Lack of proper cleaning in these places leads to the formation of molds. That attracts the mold mites to feed on the molds.
Mold mites are clear white, crme, or, depending on what type of mold theyre eating, greyish tan bugs that can be hard to detect initially.
They soon become a nuisance if you dont remove the molds.
And when their numbers increase, mold mites can also spread to your stored food, especially stored grains.
Mold mites are common pests in food storage warehouses and big grocery stores. They infest the bags of grains.
Hence, mold mites are also known as grain mites.
When their numbers increase, these tiny whitish mites appear as little crawling white ants on the moldy surfaces.
However, mold mites can also look like tiny black specks if theyve fed on the molds on damp walls.
Mold mites also invade moist electrical appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators as these appliances are moist from the inside.
Thankfully, getting rid of mold mites isnt rocket science.
And you dont need any particular pesticides for them.
The best way to get rid of mold mites is to remove the molds from hard surfaces with the help of a mold cleaner.
And secondly, which is most important, its to fix water leakages in your kitchen, bathroom, basement, and near your homes foundation.
Leaky pipes in these areas increase the level of moisture in your home. That attracts mold mites and many other bugs, including invasive pests like ants and roaches.
If an excess of moisture has damaged the walls and the floor of your home, then itll be best to repair them.
The cracks on the walls and the floors become the hiding and breeding place for many bugs.
If youre living in a humid area, then installing a dehumidifier to control the moisture levels inside your kitchen and bathroom works wonders.
Fortunately, getting rid of mold mites isnt a big deal. All you need is a little bit of patience and an eye to spot the places of mold mite infestation.
No, theyre not. But mold mites have tiny hairy bristles on their bodies which can cause itching if they crawl on your skin.
Those hairy bristles can also cause allergic reactions in sensitive people.
Dust mites, also known as house mites, feed on your dead and dry skin.
They spread faster in your homes than mold mites. Its because dust mites have a ready supply of food, which is your skin.
And dust mites are adaptable to spread in the human habitat.
When dust mites numbers increase in your home, youll start to notice them all over in your home, including in places like beds, mattress, sofa, carpet, rugs, and clothes.
An increase in their number make them spread everywhere inside your home including on your clothes. On your clothes dust mites look like lint trying to make their way to your skin.
If your skin is dry, then youll experience bites from dust mites. Those bites are from the dust mites feeding on your skin.
Another tiny bug that can live on your clothes and bites are the body lice. But theyre not white, theyre brown.
Dust mites bites cause severe itching. Red welts and rashes also develop on the bitten area of your skin.
But you wouldnt be able to see whats biting you. Thats frustrating!
The peak season for dust mites are from the month of May to October. Its during these period many homes face dust mite invasion.
The dust mites die with the arrival of winter.
Dust mites are active starting from late spring to early winter months. These tiny white mites in homes invade homes starting from May till October.
Thankfully, getting rid of dust mites doesnt need a pest controller. You can do it on your own.
Heres a three step guide to get rid of dust mites
Dusting and vacuuming go a long way to get rid of these dust mites from your home.
Keeping the bed accessories, like bedsheets and pillow covers, clean and washing them weekly in warm water kills the dust mites.
However, theres one method that kills dust mites for sure. And thats steam cleaning.
A steam cleaner produces heat that dust mites cant withstand. Steam cleaner kills dust mites instantly.
Steam cleaners are also effective in killing biting pests like bed bugs and fleas.
There are many types of biting mites that enter homes in different ways.
But gaps and cracks on the walls, windows, and door frames are points of entry for dust mites from outdoors.
The dust mites will crawl through the thinnest of the crevices on these places.
Seal these gaps with a quality sealant like a silicone-based sealant.
Dust mites can also enter homes through open windows.
Hence, its always a wise move to install a window screen mesh.
Open windows are prime entry points for dust mites and drywood termites, beetles, moths, and many other types of bugs that artificial lights attract.
More here:
6 Tiny White Bugs That Look Like Dust And Lint (Pictures Included)
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