Eureka, I've Figured it Out! (or DAMN PIGEONS!)

Well the BAD news is we DO NOT have bedbugs, the WORSE news is we have an infestation of bird mites the WORSTORESTES news is bird mites are harder to get rid of than bedbugs hence the BAD news being that we DO NOT have bedbugs.

I finally got some time this morning to take a look at some of those mites and insects I caught my first rampage through the rooms looking for bedbug evidence. I started with the mites and found out I could toss out all the other insects I caught (well, they are still in our insect collection but no longer in the running of what was eating us). The ones I have look closest to Ornithonyssus Bursa but it's hard to tell for sure without a stronger microscope rather than this handheld thing I have. O. Bursa is also known as the tropical fowl mite and very, very tiny. The only reason I was able to see the ones I caught was because they had just fed and their bodies were reddish black otherwise they look like this:

They are very difficult to see when they are translucent but I was able to catch some that hadn't fed just because there were so many of them and I could see them on the white tile floor, but just barely. They are just about the size of a period in the Arial font at 14pt. They are definitely from the Ornithonyssus genus but there may be some differences only an expert can see under a powerful microscope as to whether it is definitely a bursa species. All I know is that the translucent ones I have look just like this picture and their abdomens are darker and rounder once they feed. That description fits all the acarology websites I read this morning and I think I learned all I ever need to know about the order Acarina, fascinating but way too much information for the time I have to spend on it...maybe there's a good book about them for some leisurely but informative reading in the future.

So that brings us to the DAMN pigeons. Remember in my earlier post I mentioned the rats with wings that hang out in the window boxes? All over this entire building? Well, I will now refer to them as damn pigeons because they are the cause of the infestation and we CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE MITES UNTIL ALL THE PIGEONS ARE GONE! The mites will just keep coming back. We'll be able to keep the worst of it under control with daily vacuuming, and spraying the window boxes but as soon as we let up the mites will be back with each resting pigeon. So the war is on.

I made the mistake of reading the experiences of several families who had infestations and I'm depressed now. I spent a lot of time on http://www.birdmites.org/ looking for a bit of hope, there isn't much. Most families dealt with this for many months and it was never ending with each experience. I'm hoping they are all exaggerating but the descriptions of the bites and resulting discomfort was right on the mark...worse than flea bites and all over the place. One of the recommendations is using Windex to spray down areas (Did you ever see My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Gus Portokalos was a genius!). When we get ready to move to the permanent apartment I am going to wash everything before we take it over there and put what can't be washed in plastic garbage bags to quarantine for 2 weeks. I know we can take care of this and I am so glad to finally know what's been bugging us!

So there you have it...the latest mystery solved. C'mon Caracas! Is this all you've got? How about some nice Dengue Fever or Bot Flies? Onchocerca volvulus would be a neat addition to the insect collection...where do we have to go to get some of those? (Just kidding! All those are MUCH worse than bird mites, I'll stick with bird mites thank you and consider it a blessing that's all the parasitic buggers we're dealing with)

And now a shout out to my entomology loving homeys:
---Hey Fox! You want some Ornithonyssus Bursa? I've got plenty! I'm sure I could find some vials somewhere since mine are still packed up...should have thought to hand carry some dang-it! E-mail me your address and I'll get some off to you. If you get these do you think you know anyone who could positively identify these mites for me? (duh, you could probably do it!) Only because I'm curious for a definite identification and can't get a hold of a microscope any time soon.