Question
I'm so glad to have found this site, I hope you can provide some information.
I was living in a house near the west coast of Florida a couple of months ago,
when I found evidence of rats in the house. Actually saw one. The landlord
blocked them out, but said it was impossible to keep them out of the attic.
They started scrambling around in the wall between my bathroom and
bedroom. I used a sonic device the landlord gave me in the bathroom. I
forgot about it, but noticed a few days later a few tiny insects on my sink. As
I killed these, I noticed more and more. They seemed to be coming from
behind the sink. Hundreds (?) of them. Tiny, but varying in size and color
(color from beige to nearly  black, with the larger ones likely to be darker.
The largest probably a little bigger than a period. I killed them until they
slowed to a trickle, then sprayed lysol (all I had) everywhere, and had to go to
work. Landlord came the next day and caulked. I only saw a few a day after
that, but I've been getting bitten since. It's been about six weeks. I moved
almost two weeks ago to get away from them. Still getting bitten. I bombed
and sprayed (ortho home defense) in both places. I threw away anything
remotely disposable. I did have to go back in a week ago to get the rest of
my stuff and clean the old place to get my deposit.

I wear only clothes straight from the hot dryer. The rest of my clothes are in
garbage bags tied tightly. I have only unpacked 2 boxes, for fear I might
disturb more of these things. I haven't seen one in weeks, but I can feel them
crawling (and I'm actually being bitten avg. 3-4 times a day, so it's not my
imagination) I shower 2-3 times a day. I've lost weight from anxiety, and have
trouble sleeping. I spray alcohol on everything several times a day. I have
used OFF on my car seats (though it seems to say in another answer here that
that doesn't work). And alcohol. Which I spray on my shoes inside and out,
along with pretty much everything I touch routinely. Most of what I've read
says 10-12 days without a rodent host they can't reproduce. Other things say
2 weeks -2 months. First - are they really going to ever die without a rodent
host? When? Most importantly, what can I do to keep them off of me?

Answer
Michael,

I'm not sure what these are but I don't think they are rodent/bird nest mites. These mites don't do well outside the nest and away from their normal hosts (birds or rodents) so they tend to bite once then move on and usually die. In other words they don't infest rooms.

There are actually only a few insects or mites that bite people but often things like allergies and chemical sensitivities can be mistaken for bites. Here's a link to the known insects and mites that bite http://www.livingwithbugs.com/unknown_bug_bites.html and suggestions for some things that mimic bug bites.

If you feel you are being bitten try to catch whatever it is. You can use a Q-tip dampened with alcohol. If you catch something have someone examine it under a microscope so you know what the culprit is.

Jack DeAngelis, PhD
Extension Entomologist (ret.)
My website about home and garden pests: http://www.livingwithbugs.com