Mites in the carpet stay under the couch.No one really knows how they get there, but house dust mites house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae, D pteronyssoides A mite that feeds on household detritus, which is often highly allergenic; exposure to HDMs can be measured by RAST live in almost every home. These invisible invertebrates feed on skin scales. Some research shows they live in carpets, and they thrive in the upholstery in commonly used rooms, says Judith A. Mollet, an entomologist at Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, at Blacksburg; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered and opened 1872 as an agricultural and mechanical college. in Blacksburg. Mites also tend to congregate in the carpet under that furniture, she and her colleagues now report. The researchers studied mite mite, small, often microscopic chelicerate that, along with the tick, makes up the order Acarina; it is also related to spiders. The unsegmented mite body is typically oval and compact, although a few, mostly parasites, are elongated and wormlike. distribution in two infested in·fest tr.v. in·fest·ed, in·fest·ing, in·fests 1. To inhabit or overrun in numbers or quantities large enough to be harmful, threatening, or obnoxious: houses, vacuuming the carpets and furniture, weighing the dust obtained, and, with a microscope, counting the critters in the dust. In one house, the European house dust mite predominated, with 7,454 per gram of dust in the couch, 2,361 per gram in the carpet under the couch Under the Couch (UTC) is a live music venue located at Georgia Tech beneath the Couch Building on West Campus. It is run by the Musician's Network (MN), a Georgia Tech student organization. UTC was established by the Musician's Network in 1995. , and just 232 per gram in carpeting where people often walk. The other house contained mostly American house dust mites: 3,391 per gram in the couch, 269 per gram under the couch, and just 14 per gram in trafficked areas, Mollet reports. In the past, researchers had assumed that the mites most likely hung out along traffic patterns in a house because that's where flaked-off skin builds up, says Mollet. But the mites may be sensitive to relative humidity relative humidity n. The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air at a specific temperature to the maximum amount that the air could hold at that temperature, expressed as a percentage. and so may do best in protected spots under furniture, she adds. These preliminary results suggest that housekeepers using antimite chemicals should apply them under stuffed furniture, not just in open carpeted areas. |
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