Yikes, Straw mites in the new hay. What to do?

heda gobbler wrote:
Some of my ponies came from Texas where they had sweet itch from chiggers, no mention of straw mites.

Glad we don't have chiggers here. They are REALLY nasty. Burrow under the skin and itch like crazy. Horses go bald scratching.

There is something similar in Australia called Queensland itch. I have never heard of straw mites either.

You guys found a Rubber Boa in the wild! I am so jealous. In my attempt to see every native Canadian Snake in the wild, I have NEVER seen a Rubber Boa! How did it feel? I love their dull little nubs of tails!

THese are NOT straw mites!
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I am surprised you are not advocating to burn all snakes now, Uno!

What a beautiful animal. Look how their sides actually wrinkle when they bend! And sooo smooooth!

You are so lucky, Uno. I would loved to have held that little beauty!

Never saw a rubber boa but... I know someone who found a snake in their washing machine. She's terrified of them so she called her husband home from work to get it out (when she spied it she slammed the lid shut). He opens the lid and starts laughing. It was a toy, must have been in a kids pocket.


Have you verified the mites? Even a small microscope should be able to show them.

I've tried searching on the subject of unknown bites and found this post that someone put on a thread;

Any chance you have been taking a high dose of Ibuprofen?

At the advice of a nurse friend, I upped my dosage to 800mg when my bad knee got torqued.

The knee appreciated this, but suddenly I was itching all over in a pattern that resembled the classic bedbug breakfast/lunch/dinner trio.

I freaked :eek: - wondering WhereTheFruitbat I had gotten bedbugs - I had been nowhere for months and noone had used my bed!

Topical hydrocort ointment helped but after a couple weeks of this torture I asked one of the pharmacists I work with and was told high-dose Ibuprofen can affect your liver function which can cause the itching.

Just to be clear, SoSillySue, that is my husband's hand holding a snkae, NOT MINE! Hubby is not a fan of snakes, but unlike the quick, darting garter snakes we have here, these are slow, sluggish, rather non-reactive. They have no marks whatsoever, similar in colour to an earthworm, have the blunt tail that is almost impossible to tell from the head until the tongue flicks out. If you just let them sit in your hand they will wrap around your fingers, they like the warmth.

I do not burn snakes. Or toads. OR bats. I make stew with them instead!

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sorry it is so big. This is a bite from today on my thigh just above the knee. I had jeans tucked into boots, jacket, shirt with long sleeves, gloves and hat and still got several bites when I handled the hay. And yes, they are itchy. and no Ibuprofen

I would still want to see them before I told a guy he had them in his field. Would the Dept of Agriculture check it out for you? Should be pretty easy for a vet lab.

Take a straw sample to the vet. They can have a look at it through their microscope.

I finally got a reply from the department of agriculture today. They have no answer. I was not satisfied with no answer and asked where the hay could be taken to get an answer. They are checking into possibilities.
Hi Eileen.

I don’t have much of answer for you.

Our pest management staff indicated that they are not familiar with these mites as a significant pest.

Our horse specialist has not encountered these mites as a reported pest with horse owners either.

In speaking to a vet, he did indicate they are found in feed but generally do not create a problem in most years.

It may be just a reflection of the harvest year.

then...
The main suggestion has been to take some of the hay and lightly bang it against black color paper or some dark background material.

You are going to get a mix of chaff (grass residue) and mites.

Depending on the color of the mites you might need a magnifying glass on hand to distinguish between mites and hay residue.

From what I can see on these mites, they are of microscopic in size, so very small and likely not possible to see with the naked eye.

Your best example to the hay producer of this situation maybe your skin reaction to the mite bites.

You might be able to verify this through your local doctor or medical clinic.


and my reply was that this is not good enough. There must be somewhere to take the hay to get it tested and find an answer to the query.

Did you try the bang against black paper test?

.

Thanks everyone.
I guess I could try the schools, but these mites bite and are air borne. (I had a cool physics teacher like that bio teacher, Tara). They do not live long out of their environment, but they can make a person miserable for some time. I have not handled the hay since I discovered what I believe to be the problem and I have no more bites. The vet may test, but I would really like to hear from the government on this issue because if next summer is hot and moist, this could be a problem for many people.