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    Transformed's Avatar
    Transformed Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Aug 24, 2006, 09:16 AM
    Insects / Parasites in Clothing!
    HELP!! Does anyone know what this is? Can you help me research this pest?

    I've been searching the internet and writing people for several weeks. Yet I haven't been able to find information on this pest. So it must be something new.

    People are contracting a tiny white insect, arthropod, or parasite from clothing of retail stores or other people. This pest is neither a mite nor a flea. It's not lice. It looks like fiber or thread. Yet it's not affiliated with Morgellons or Fibre Disease.

    Please pay close attention as I describe the physical attributes and symptoms of this pest. If someone has this pest, they will see 3 types of White things:

    1) tiny round things about the size of a spec of salt; some are a little larger
    2) tiny, oblong shaped, things that look like a piece of thread or fiber; varies in length from 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch long (It grows.) **It unfolds itself to fly. It crawls also.
    3) slightly larger round white things that jump.
    I see #1 and #2 most often.

    If someone has this pest, they will have the following physical symptoms:
    1) Bites that sting
    2) Red skin rashes and/or small red bumps
    3) Lighting sensations; Victims will feel the pest or its eggs lighting on their skin.
    4) Optional: Itching **I don’t itch, but another victim has an itching problem.

    Entomologists, Health Departments, medical doctors, and pest control companies aren’t familiar with this pest. Some professionals will claim there’s no such thing. Therefore, it's difficult for pest victims to get help. **This pest is not related to Morgellon/Fibre Disease.

    If you have any information on this pest or if you know anyone who is infested with it, please write me at: twfparasite(at)yahoo(dot)com (Use the “at” symbol and period.)

    Thanks for your time and assistance.
    caadev's Avatar
    caadev Posts: 1, Reputation: 3
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    #2

    Apr 12, 2007, 08:36 AM
    Please help!! I've had this problem for months! Two exterminators did not believe me, said it was lint. Ammonia seems to get rid of them. We can't be having the same hallucinations.
    gnahcd's Avatar
    gnahcd Posts: 215, Reputation: 39
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    #3

    Nov 21, 2007, 01:47 AM
    A thread-like organism that flies? If it doesn't have wings, it isn't likely to fly. It might be able to "float" on the wind, but not actively fly. http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/ent...tpdf/ent58.pdf
    ec64's Avatar
    ec64 Posts: 1, Reputation: 2
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    #4

    Nov 23, 2007, 03:29 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Transformed
    HELP!!! Does anyone know what this is? Can you help me research this pest?

    I've been searching the internet and writing people for several weeks. Yet I haven't been able to find information on this pest. So it must be something new.

    People are contracting a tiny white insect, arthropod, or parasite from clothing of retail stores or other people. This pest is neither a mite nor a flea. It's not lice. It looks like fiber or thread. Yet it's not affiliated with Morgellons or Fibre Disease.

    Please pay close attention as I describe the physical attributes and symptoms of this pest. If someone has this pest, they will see 3 types of White things:

    1) tiny round things about the size of a spec of salt; some are a little larger
    2) tiny, oblong shaped, things that look like a piece of thread or fiber; varies in length from 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch long (It grows.) **It unfolds itself to fly. It crawls also.
    3) slightly larger round white things that jump.
    I see #1 and #2 most often.

    If someone has this pest, they will have the following physical symptoms:
    1) Bites that sting
    2) Red skin rashes and/or small red bumps
    3) Lighting sensations; Victims will feel the pest or its eggs lighting on their skin.
    4) Optional: Itching **I don’t itch, but another victim has an itching problem.

    Entomologists, Health Departments, medical doctors, and pest control companies aren’t familiar with this pest. Some professionals will claim there’s no such thing. Therefore, it's difficult for pest victims to get help. **This pest is not related to Morgellon/Fibre Disease.

    If you have any information on this pest or if you know anyone who is infested with it, please write me at: twfparasite(at)yahoo(dot)com (Use the “at” symbol and period.)

    Thanks for your time and assistance.
    My 4 year old wore some new jeans out of the packet last weekend.All week she has had a rash that starts with red blotches,then they turn a purplish pink and are raised slightly,rather like bruises to look at,then they turn into small red spots.They don't irritate or itch.The rash starts where the leg of her underwear is and finishes at the top of where her socks would be.My local pharmacist is mystified and just said they resembled bites but were too localised as only the thigh to ankle area was affected.Could this be this parasite that can live in fabric?
    blu130's Avatar
    blu130 Posts: 2, Reputation: 2
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    #5

    Jul 27, 2008, 04:46 PM
    I have been tortured by this unknown pest for the last 3 years. What is it? I have been bombing my apartment for fleas every couple of months because I thought I had flea bites. I took my cats to the vet and my cat didn't have fleas. I felt and still feel the bites and crawling sensations on my skin and I usually pull off tiny spes of round things (like specs of salt), but sometimes they are small, round and black. They usually leave bites that look like I was scratched(which eventually turn into a dark mark) or leave mosquito -like bites that itch. I contacted an exterminator and told him some insect is biting me, mostly at night and I cannot sleep. I showed the exterminator the samples I had collected of what I thought was biting me. He stated "It wasn't an insect, just probably dirt". Sometimes I find these unknown pests in my bed, clothing and on my skin. There are times when I wear certain clothing, I feel biting sensations on my legs, arms and back and when I remove my clothing and turn it inside out, I sometimes see a
    Thread-like white substance or white specs. The doctors don't believe me. They have replied its probably in my mind. If that's the case, why do have rashes on both arms, and mosquito-like itchy bites on my waist, legs and thighs. So far, I had 3 different pest control companies inspect my apt. But they want to spray for bedbugs. However they see no evidence of bedbugs in my apt. Does anyone know how to get rid of this unknown pest? I haven't had a good night of sleep in a while!
    JudyKayTee's Avatar
    JudyKayTee Posts: 46,503, Reputation: 4600
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    #6

    Aug 19, 2008, 01:29 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by WWashington
    :confused: What kills this tiny white parasite that has invaded me and my home, and will I get sick or finally die from their stings? No one believes that they exists, they say its all in my mind because they don't look like regular bugs.

    I answered one of your other posts on this subject -
    findit's Avatar
    findit Posts: 29, Reputation: 3
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    #7

    Nov 25, 2008, 11:51 AM

    I have had the same problem. There is some kind of flying mite like a midge that has invaded my home and car. I am about to lose my mind trying to get rid of it and tired of washing everything. Gets in clothes, they land and nest in drawers of clothes. I can wash clothes and they will be clean then look a few days later and unfold clothes and find these tiny white specs of bugs on the clothes. There must be something being imported from manufacturer shipping in products. Only thing I can say is that thank god I found this site and that this is not just an isolated problem for me. Doctors and pest control has told me there is nothing, then why do I have bite marks and small welts?
    zjivka's Avatar
    zjivka Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #8

    Nov 25, 2008, 03:51 PM
    Try
    Thysanoptera.

    :)
    msimmune's Avatar
    msimmune Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #9

    Nov 29, 2008, 04:16 PM

    They hate salt, peroxide, baking soda and clorox. To control the symptoms try high doses of vitamin c , b12, b6, alfalfa tablets. Makec sure you put borax in your wash. DON'T PUT YOUR LAPTOP ON YOUR BED. WEAR GLOVES WHEN YOU WASH YOUR HAIR OR IT WILL GET ON YOUR SCALP. YOU'RE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE MONSTER!
    JudyKayTee's Avatar
    JudyKayTee Posts: 46,503, Reputation: 4600
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    #10

    Nov 29, 2008, 04:41 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by msimmune View Post
    They hate salt, peroxide, baking soda and clorox. To control the symptoms try high doses of vitamin c , b12, b6, alfalfa tablets. Makec sure you put borax in your wash. DON'T PUT YOUR LAPTOP ON YOUR BED. WEAR GLOVES WHEN YOU WASH YOUR HAIR OR IT WILL GET ON YOUR SCALP. YOU'RE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE MONSTER!

    Can't they simply walk up your body to your scalp if that's where they want to be?
    nuitgoddess's Avatar
    nuitgoddess Posts: 8, Reputation: 2
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    #11

    Jan 4, 2009, 04:32 PM
    Help. I have the same problem and have had no relief. Please email me if you have found a solution. I have tried at least 1 products and solutions, both natural and poisons. Please somebody help. nuitgoddessATyahooDOTcom
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #12

    Jan 4, 2009, 06:51 PM

    Your description seems odd. Why should there be so many different forms?
    An oval, a thread that unfolds to fly, and still another than is larger and jumps?
    Parasites tend to be very simple animals.

    If this is real, please post a url for a photo that is detailed enough to be recognizable as an arthropod. If you can see this much detail, then you should be able to take a photograph.

    Thanks.
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #13

    Jan 4, 2009, 06:55 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by ec64 View Post
    My 4 year old wore some new jeans out of the packet last weekend.All week she has had a rash that starts with red blotches,then they turn a purplish pink and are raised slightly,rather like bruises to look at,then they turn into small red spots.They dont irritate or itch.The rash starts where the leg of her underwear is and finishes at the top of where her socks would be.My local pharmacist is mystified and just said they resembled bites but were too localised as only the thigh to ankle area was affected.Could this be this parasite that can live in fabric?
    This is much more likely to be a reaction to some chemical in the pants you bought. I hope you have washed them by now. And if that did not help, thrown them out. It is UNlikely to be an insect.

    New clothes are often treated with stiffeners to make them look "new." Wash before wearing. Same for any new dishes, which also may not be clean.
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #14

    Jan 4, 2009, 07:04 PM

    I think the problem here may be excessive cleaning and chemical products which dries the skin, causing it to flake--small white objects. Dry skin is easily irritated by fabrics whose fibers pull at the skin.

    If the pest guy can't find any pests in the house and doctor can't find any parasites, that's a pretty strong indication that it's something else. In any case, a few parasites are actually good for us. Read the book "Riddled with Life" by Marlene Zuk to learn how parasites can prevent asthma, allergies, Crohn's disease, etc.

    Scratching at night could cause slight scabbing, which would look like tiny black pellets as described. Our houses are normally FILLED with particles and threads.

    If perhaps you have some mild fungal or bacterial infection, the best solution is not more bleach and strong chemicals but to rebalance the natural flora that live on our skin. They are supposed to be there. Hold a child who has been playing in the dirt, or go out and lie in a grassy field in a nearby state park. Stop trying to run away from germs.

    Mice raised with zero germs don't develop their organs properly and need 30 percent more calories to survive than regular mice that have germs in them and on them. Most germs and parasites are not a devastating illness by any means.
    findit's Avatar
    findit Posts: 29, Reputation: 3
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    #15

    Jan 10, 2009, 08:07 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by nuitgoddess View Post
    Help. I have the same problem and have had no relief. Please email me if you have found a solution. I have tried at least 1 products and solutions, both natural and poisons. Please somebody help. nuitgoddessATyahooDOTcom
    Well then there are many of us with the same problem. I have narrowed it down to be some kind of biting midge (local co-op identified them) and these are flying insects so simply spraying floors and cleaning carpets and furniture is not enough or foggers either. They look like a mini mosquito about 1/8 inch. The females bite for blood like a mosquito. These are small as fine dust when hatched (white specs on furniture, walls, clothing, anywhere) and fit in any crevice corner or fold of material. Before they spawn they look like short threads and yes unfold their wings and fly off. Nothing kills them all, even switching and alternating to multiple chemicals and natural green products, it only kills the older adults while the young and larva are hearty survivors. DEET just deters them for a while, you would have to constantly pump fresh supplies of DEET. They can easily get in drawers and clothing. In clothing they will weave a nest with threads from the fabric. According to some research I have done, the larva have the great capacity to adapt, protein that covers them change to adapt to changes and survive in tempertures of the antarctic winters. In a closed environment these will look for food/survival and human skin and blood is the choice and they will zone in by detecting CO2 from your body.
    Now where are all the expert exterminators and entomologists to help us?
    WhatAreThey's Avatar
    WhatAreThey Posts: 1, Reputation: 2
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    #16

    Jan 22, 2009, 07:54 AM
    Does anybody have a suspected mold in the house. In my readings (on the internet, so not sure about the validity) that molds that are microorganisms also have much tinier organisms that would feed on them... I have this lint floating and white specks flying in my house and on my clothes. I see them in my husbands clothes and on my kids hair but they are not bothered by them. However I am bothered by them. It started in Agust 2008 and I recall being very stressed at work. I think it is because of molds... Now if I get rid of any molds (HOW) in the house can I get rid of them?
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #17

    Jan 22, 2009, 10:29 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by findit View Post
    I have narrowed it down to be some kind of biting midge (local co-op identified them) and these are flying insects so simply spraying floors and cleaning carpets and furniture is not enough or foggers either. They look like a mini mosquito about 1/8 inch. The females bite for blood like a mosquito. These are small as fine dust when hatched (white specs on furniture, walls, clothing, anywhere) and fit in any crevice corner or fold of material. Before they spawn they look like short threads and yes unfold their wings and fly off. Nothing kills them all, even switching and alternating to multiple chemicals and natural green products, it only kills the older adults while the young and larva are hearty survivers. DEET just deters them for a while, you would have to constantly pump fresh supplies of DEET. They can easily get in drawers and clothing. In clothing they will weave a nest with threads from the fabric. According to some research I have done, the larva have the great capacity to adapt, protein that covers them change to adapt to changes and survive in tempertures of the antarctic winters. In a closed environment these will look for food/survival and human skin and blood is the choice and they will zone in by detecting CO2 from your body.
    Now where are all the expert exterminators and entomologists to help us?
    Findit, I think you've confused some different insects.

    I did a little reading about no seeums, or biting midges (family Ceratopogonidae) and it appears to me that the larvae are all aquatic. In the water, they go through different stages (instars), and then form a pupa that is also aquatic. The larvae live in water. Most eat algae or detritus. A few are predaceous, but they are eating other bugs.

    Adults that come out of the pupa are full size. They don't grow after that. If you have significant numbers of midges in your house, they are all adults and you need to get fine mesh screens to keep them out. Midges can be very tiny. There are about 5000 different species. But I doubt you would find the larvae in your house, unless you have large pools of standing water in your house, certainly not on furniture, walls, etc.

    If you are finding nests with threads of fabric, that could either be clothes moths (which do not bite people) or dermestid beetle larvae (carpet beetles), which also do not harm people. These insects just eat wool clothes and carpets.

    Mosquitos, ticks, biting flies, and other blood sucking creatures do find their host by following carbon dioxide that we breathe out of our lungs. I've tried holding my breath when plagued by mosquitos, but of course you can't do that very long!

    My kids and I have been bitten by biting midges and they leave discrete huge red welts, not a scattered rash. Ours are small, about 2 mm long, but not microscopic by any means. A lot of the scientific literature on biting midges is Australian. Do you live in Australia?

    Depending on where you live, it's normal to have a few insects, spiders and mites in your house and attempting to eradicate every last one is both futile and bad for your health. The toxins that kill other animals are generally bad for us too, although obviously we are not as sensitive to these chemicals because we are so much bigger.

    To get rid of clothes moths and dermestid beetles, you need to clean any woolen fabrics you are not actually wearing day to day and put then put them away in plastic bags or a cedar chest that is hard for an insect to get into or repellant. Clean regularly by vacuuming and/or sweeping. Obviously moth balls are an option, but they smell bad and they are carcinogenic as well. If you are wearing the clothes regularly, the beetles and moths will normally leave them alone.
    asking
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    findit Posts: 29, Reputation: 3
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    #18

    Jan 22, 2009, 10:02 PM
    These are definitely no seeums, tiny as dust and airborne, females do bite, males look for food. Since they are trapped inside the house they are like crazed, in a manner of speaking, desperate to survive and reproduce as what they do naturally. One room of house had to rip out carpet and flood floor boards with bleach and wash walls/ceiling with bleach to kill them. These are not a few but many. Definitely pesticide and weather resistant super midge. I live in Northern US.
    Quote Originally Posted by asking View Post
    Findit, I think you've confused some different insects.

    I did a little reading about no seeums, or biting midges (family Ceratopogonidae) and it appears to me that the larvae are all aquatic. In the water, they go through different stages (instars), and then form a pupa that is also aquatic. The larvae live in water. Most eat algae or detritus. A few are predaceous, but they are eating other bugs.

    Mosquitos, ticks, biting flies, and other blood sucking creatures do find their host by following carbon dioxide that we breathe out of our lungs. I've tried holding my breath when plagued by mosquitos, but of course you can't do that very long!

    My kids and I have been bitten by biting midges and they leave discrete huge red welts, not a scattered rash. Ours are small, about 2 mm long, but not microscopic by any means. A lot of the scientific literature on biting midges is Australian. Do you live in Australia?

    Depending on where you live, it's normal to have a few insects, spiders and mites in your house and attempting to eradicate every last one is both futile and bad for your health. The toxins that kill other animals are generally bad for us too, although obviously we are not as sensitive to these chemicals because we are so much bigger.
    asking's Avatar
    asking Posts: 2,673, Reputation: 660
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    #19

    Jan 22, 2009, 10:07 PM

    Okay, but to repeat, what you wrote below is not consistent with biting midges:
    These are small as fine dust when hatched (white specs on furniture, walls, clothing, anywhere) and fit in any crevice corner or fold of material. Before they spawn they look like short threads and yes unfold their wings and fly off.
    Midges, which are flies, hatch from eggs into water. I do not believe you would find the larvae like "dust" on walls. The adults' wings are also not folded (as might be the case if they were a type of beetle), so they cannot "unfold their wings."

    Have you looked at this dust under a lens or microscope?
    findit's Avatar
    findit Posts: 29, Reputation: 3
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    #20

    Jan 23, 2009, 02:50 PM

    These midges were all over the yard and in garage. They might not be the typical ones you encountered. We were/are getting bite and welt marks body and scalp thinking it was mosquitoes but not. Took some to co-op extension, identified them under microscope. We were bringing them into the house on clothing and yes in hair and they were getting in through the backyard window screens. But we didn't see the no-see-ums. Hopefully frost has killed them off. Since the female lays its first batch without blood meal then each female lays hundreds of offspring and on and on, then they need blood meal for subsequent eggs. Plenty of squirrels and birds for that. There was an event of deer deaths nearby from midge bites. The yard was neglected by previous owner, bought house in winter it was our first summer here. Had the foundation water problem, fixed. Just as many have responded to the same symptoms and agony of trying to rid these things. The many of us aren't hallucinating. Tried pesticides and green products indoors/out, work for a while then they are back. This isn't living its torture. I am looking for resolution short of dumping everything I own out of my house down to the floor boards and that is no guarantee.

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