Mites Bites

by Shirley
(Powder Springs, Ga. USA)

I thought I had lice, and I might have had it, but also I have mites. I was treated for lice with a prescription drug, but didn't know about the mites at that time. Would Tea Tree Oil be good for this condition? I have bites all over me. I am a fanatic on being clean.

Editors Note:

Mites on humans, depending on what type they are, may indeed be affected by tea tree oil. In a study done on mites in livestock, Tea Tree Oil was the clear winner.

It's interesting to note, that the researchers used only a 1% solution of tea tree oil for four weeks to rid the livestock of all but 1.45% of the mites on average. That's incredible! A stunning 98.55% effectiveness.

A quote from the study states

" As our previous results with imported essential ethereal oils have shown, all the tested products were proved to be effective against sarcoptic mange mites: in their 0.5-2.0% water emulsions the lethality in vitro was registered up to 95-100% in 24 hours (Mägi and
Kaarma 1999).

Thus, carrying out the farm trials, acaricidal effects of 1% ethereal emulsions in comparison with 10% local plant extract solutions were established and thoroughly studied.

The most effective ethereal (essential) oil preparation against mange mites appeared to be tea tree oil - after two weeks the number of mites in scabs diminished by 85%...After four weeks...Tea tree, citronella, hogweed, pennyroyal and tansy which belong to the fourth group, diminished the number of parasites up to 1.45% - 8.82% from the initial level.

You can read the full report on using essential oils like tea tree oil for mites by clicking on this link.

You may find a topical cream like Mite-B-Gone can help with the itching and sores that mites bites create. I found this on Amazon, and it looks like it helps with all sorts of itchy skin conditions. It has great reviews too!



Thanks for the fantastic question!