Question
I have a few very tiny red bug bites spread around my upper body in little clusters and recently found this little bug crawling around on some notebook paper. It didn't seem to be able to jump and was so tiny that my camera could not capture many details on the macro setting. It appears to have 8 legs. Can you identify it? It's very gross, and I need to get rid of it as soon as possible! I live in North Texas. Thank you!
AnswerHeather,
This is a mite. The image is too small to be certain but it could be in the group of mites that infest bird and rodent nests. These mites live in nests and feed on the host animal's (birds or rodents) blood. If the nest is abandoned mites can leave it in search of a meal. At these times the mites can bite us leaving the sort of bites you describe. The bites are not dangerous (just itchy) and the mites won't permanently infest homes but mites/bites can continue for some time. See http://www.livingwithbugs.com/bird_mites.html for a picture of these mite and information about what to do next. The most important step is to locate the abandoned nest and remove it then general cleaning is all that is needed.
Post a follow up if you have questions.
Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com
