Pyemotes Itch Mites

-- Tiny biting mites that cause a BIG itch --

Summary: Pyemotes itch mites (=pymotes itch mites) are very tiny biting mites that can inflect a very annoying bite, completely out of proportion to their tiny size. Bites look like a inflamed itchy rash. These mites normally parasitize insects that feed on grain or seeds but will bite people that encounter the mites. The mites do not burrow into skin nor do they infest homes. Avoiding the mites in the first place is the best defense but skin lesions can be easily treated with OTC medications.

Common misspelling: pymotes itch mite

Tiny mites = BIG Itch!

Pyemotes itch mites are tiny, nearly microscopic mites that normally feed on (parasitize) a variety of insects, not on us. If, however, they happen to get on us, usually through handling of infested grain or straw, these mites can inflict bites that cause red, swollen and intensely itchy skin lesions. The redness and irritation can last for days but is not otherwise dangerous.

Bites from pyemotes mites tend to happen in very specific situations, the mites DO NOT infest homes. Bites most often occur when we come into contact with insects that are infested with these mites. For example, a condition called "straw itch" occurs when people who handle straw, such as when feeding livestock, develop an itchy rash from the pyemotes mites that are infesting the insects living in the straw.

In another example, a few years ago people in several mid-western states developed a mysterious itchy, red rash after working outdoors. Investigators found that the rash was caused by bites from pyemotes mites that were infesting the insects that make oak leaf galls, the condition is now called "oak leaf gall itch". Affected people had worked under oak trees which "rained" mites from their infested leaves - mystery solved!