During the summer months and on warm spring days, spending time outdoors can unfortunately become a very itchy experience due to grass mites. Occasionally, pets also bring the biting larvae of the small arachnids into the house, or you bring them into your home as a dubious souvenir stuck to your clothing from a trip to the countryside. You can find out how you can fight the pests here.
How do I get rid of grass mites in the apartment?
Grass mites in the apartment should die within a few hours as it is not a natural habitat. However, to be on the safe side, wash clothes at 60 degrees and vacuum the apartment thoroughly. Check pets regularly and check houseplants for infestations.
Grass mites cannot survive in the house
Since this is not the arachnids' natural habitat, you do not have to worry that the larvae will permanently settle in your home or even in your bed. The animals usually do not survive longer than a few hours in closed rooms.
If you still want to be absolutely sure and have noticed bites, we recommend:
- Wash all clothing worn outdoors in hot water and
- to vacuum the apartment thoroughly.
The lifestyle of arachnids
Grass mites prefer to colonize green areas. Here the females lay hundreds of eggs in the warming ground in spring. Tiny larvae hatch from these and require a suitable host for their development.
To find it, climb up the plants and wait. If an animal or a person happens to pass by, they allow themselves to be brushed off. They first crawl around on their host until they discover a place where the skin is thin enough to scratch. Here they do not drink blood, but feed on the cell fluid. The now full larva drops back to the ground.
How do the mites even get into the house?
It may be that you carry the pests into the house on your clothes after spending time outdoors. If the garden equipment to which the larvae are attached is put on a second time, there is a possibility of being bitten again, even after a few days. If in doubt, wash all clothing at 60 degrees and disinfect the shoes with an alcohol-based agent.
It may well be that your four-legged roommate is carrying grass mites hidden in their fur into the apartment. Since the biting offspring are only 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters long, you probably won't notice them with the naked eye.
Tip
The warblers rarely settle in the flower pots of houseplants that are temporarily left outdoors. If you suspect that this is the case for you, you can combat it with a spray solution specially developed against the pests (€31.00 on Amazon) or a neem product.
