In Message-id: <20030728034000.23869.00000668.TakeThisOut@mb-m27.aol.com>,
on 28 July '03, Flykiller (flykiller@aol.com.com) wrote:
<snip>
>most parasites are very host-specific, [...] I would suggest
>you have something that lives on people. call around to
>find a doctor who knows about these things and bring him
>a few samples of your creatures, and see what he says. he
>should be able to pop them under a magnifying glass or
>microscope and tell you right away.
For a substantial fee, most likely, in countries that don't
have a decent Public Health System. *sigh* On the other
hand, most miticides appear to be broad-spectrum, so
knowing the precise species might not be absolutely
necessary.
It's certainly correct that most parasites are host-specific,
but a few are equal-opportunity employers --including one
around here (Southern California) that seems to start on
trees (including the Ash overhanging the open porch where
my (c. 20) mouse-cages are), then attack mice, chickens,
and people, indiscriminately. (Possibly dogs & cats as well,
but I don't have a dog, and the neighborhood cat that
spends so much time watching my mice & chickens isn't
showing any obvious symptoms of infestation.) They also (I
_think_ it's the same species) seem to be able to survive
indefinitely in old lumber, logs, and bark.
On reasonably-healthy, well-fed, non-stressed animals
(including people) they seem to be more of an Irritating
Annoyance than a Serious Problem, but I _do_ hope to find
some way to combat them that doesn't involve the use of
pesticides that have serious potential side-effects.
So far, the only semi-control I've found to be effective is to
treat the new bedding-material (I use pelletized aspen cat-
litter, plus a sprinkling of shredded aspen on top) with a
little flea & tick powder intended for cats (& dogs), and
make a point of replacing the bedding every week or so, but
.... I feel some concern about the side-effects of this. In a
couple of the more-closed cages (deep plastic ones, and
glass fish-tanks, with wire-mesh tops) that don't have the
super-good air circulation of all-hardware-cloth cages, I've
observed a couple of examples of neuro-muscular problems
in litters of young, and even an occasional sudden &
inexplicable death. Not that these are all that unusual, or
numerous enough to be statistically significant, but still... I
do try to avoid using chemical insecticides on cages
containing pregnant or nursing females, more-or-less on
general principles. If there's a miticide that's both really
safe and reasonably effective, I'd sure like to know about it.
[This alt. newsgroup doesn't propagate well by way of aol
and this computer's newsreader -- almost half the messages
posted to this group that appear on my monitor are
responses to things that have never shown up -- so I'd
appreciate it if people who respond to this posting would
also send a copy directly to me (<fitchdons.TakeThisOut@aol.com>).]
Don Fitch
--
>> Stay informed about: Mouse Mites (Liponyssoides sanguineus) We're infested 
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