What Are Mold Mites? And How Do You Eliminate Them?
Eliminate the mold, eliminate the mold mites
Highlights
Mold mites are tiny arthropods.
They often feed on mold or yeasty foods.
Cleaning the mold should chase these pests away.
A pest control expert can eliminate mold mites for you.
You probably already know the dangers of mold. It destroys items in your home, it spreads quickly, and it can make you sick. However, there’s another issue related to mold that you might not know as much about—mold mites. These tiny creatures love mold and swarm all over it, which could be problematic to those with asthma and allergies. Fortunately, you can rid your home of mold mites pretty easily, and prevent them from enhancing your allergies and asthma symptoms.
What is a Mold Mite?
A mold mite is a tiny creature that’s actually an arthropod. This means it’s more closely related to a spider or a tick than it is to an insect.
Thousands of different species of mites exist around the world, and a few dozen of them fit the definition of a mold mite. Unless you’re an expert on mite identification, though, it’s highly unlikely you could distinguish one species of mold mite from another. Then again, they all behave in a similar manner, so precise identification is not overly important.
A mold mite is an almost transparent creature that has a slight white or gray tinge to it. It measures only about 1/100th of an inch in length, and it’s difficult to see an individual mold mite with your eyes alone, but you may see hundreds or thousands moving together across a surface, almost resembling a cloud.
Because an individual mold mite is so small, you probably won’t notice a few of them. However, a mold mite can reproduce quickly during its short life cycle–usually only 10 to 30 days. Within several days, a small population of mold mites can explode, making them easier to see.
Health Dangers From Mold Mites
Fortunately, the mites themselves don’t really cause significant health problems for humans. They primarily cause people with allergies or asthma to experience uncomfortable symptoms. They don’t spread disease.
Mold mites will feed on mold, so if you see mold mites, you may have to worry more about health dangers associated with mold. Mold can irritate breathing passageways, causing coughing, wheezing, and sneezing. Some people experience eye irritation when they’re around mold.
Over a long period of exposure to mold, you could develop infections or diseases in your lungs.
Destructive Nature of Mold Mites
When it comes to causing damage to objects in your home, the presence of mold often will be more destructive than the mold mites. You may need to learn how to kill mold on wood or how to get rid of mold in a bathroom to avoid mold damage to drywall, window sills, and wood trim.
The mold mites don’t damage these items, but they are a sign that mold is present.
The most significant damage mold mites may cause is to food. These mites feed on mold, as well as yeast and food that is high in fat or protein. Once the mites begin feeding on these items, they ruin the food for human consumption. You may not see mold on the ruined food, but you may notice the cloud of mites on or near the food.
How to Get Rid of Mold Mites
Learning how to get rid of mold usually also works to get rid of mold mites. If you eliminate the mold, the mites will often die, due to their short lifespans.
Make sure there is no other source of food for the mold mites in the area, such as food with a lot of yeast. If you have contaminated food, discard it. Tightly seal all food that mold mites may be attracted to. Be sure to seal your pet food, too.
How to Eliminate Mold
You can either remove mold on your own or hire a professional. If you have a patch of mold that’s roughly 3 square feet by 3 square feet or smaller, you can clean it yourself. If the space is larger, or if your drywall or wood molding has significant damage, hiring a local mold removal pro is by far the better option.
Disturbing a large segment of mold will release mold spores into the air, which could sicken you if you don’t take proper precautions. The average mold remediation cost is around $2,200, but the actual price depends on the size of the problem and the amount of damage. Ask the pro for a cost estimate before the work begins.
If you choose to remove the mold and mold mites yourself, wear a breathing mask, gloves, and goggles. Using a natural mold killer, such as vinegar, tea tree oil, or baking soda, should do the trick on the mold.
Understandably, many people want nothing to do with trying to clean mold on their own. There is nothing wrong with hiring a pro for this work, as the pro can do it safely and can give you a guarantee.
How to Keep Mold From Coming Back
Of course, eliminating the mold isn’t enough to ensure your mold mite problem goes away permanently. You also need to treat the reason why the mold appeared in the first place, which usually involves excess moisture in unexpected areas.
If you have leaking around windows, leaking pipes, a leaking toilet, or a leaky roof, you may want to call a local general contractor to inspect the area and to make recommendations on repairs to keep mold and mold mites away.
Should I Call a Pest Control Expert for Mold Mites?
Although mold mites will die off without a source of food, you may not want to wait for this to happen after removing the source of mold. You can contact a local pest exterminator who can eliminate the mites.
If you have a significant infestation, pest control is a good idea, as the mold mites will move throughout your home in large numbers when seeking sources of food. Large infestations will look like clouds of white or gray masses near the food source. The masses often appear to move on their own.