Last week was pretty rough, and it looks like the misery continues… the reason is twofold:
1) I have bird mites. Long story short, the building across the way was remodeled and all the birds that used to nest in the thatches decided my building was the place to be. This place is haphazard at best when it comes to being air tight. The birds built a nest, the hatchlings department, the bird mites found a way in through the A/C unit. Now I have creepy crawlies all over and I am highly allergic to pesticides. I am trying anything and everything that I have read to get rid of them, and praying to all the gods that something works. I removed the nest, so I’m hoping they will die out when their life cycle runs its course… Now, there is a lot of conflicting information on the interwebs; some sites (the more reputable looking ones) say three weeks, others say I am doomed. I’m hoping the three week one is correct and that some progress is underway.
2) I have (hopefully, had) a fire ant infestation in my bathroom, which explains the itchy welts that have been plaguing me. The mites are annoying, but I haven’t noticed a reaction, just the terrible sensation that they are crawling on me, which makes it very hard to fall asleep (I’m desperate and tired), but the ants are nasty. I think I traced the source to a plant I had in my bathroom. I tossed it and felt terrible for it, but I couldn’t handle anymore bites.
Among all the madness, I decided to take a shower and scrub myself with epsom salt, as the interwebs say you do… I dropped the jar and glass shattered all over my tub. I am scratched up and itchy and hot, because my A/C was doused with stuff and I’m trying to let it soak in, so I’m just waiting to see if I can get a break soon. I really don’t know what to do and an exterminator is pretty much out of the question because of my allergies and my landlords being the spendthrifts they are. I just want a nice, pest-free home again. My wallet is a little lighter after the unexpected spending on potential remedies, but something has to work, right?
If anyone out there reading this has had experience eradicating bird mites, please, share the knowledge!
marginalia and such 
Yikes! I hope you find solutions to all of this soon. I’m sorry I don’t have any knowledge to share about the mite issue. 😦 My mom uses a kind of cedar oil in her house as a pesticide-free way to get rid of some pests (mainly fleas and other pet-related things). I’m not sure if that would help with mites, though.
I found a spray at Petco that has orange oil, and another product called EcoSmart (which has some cedar and clove). I think the combination of the two is finally starting to do the job 🙂