Ear Mite Remedies - Ted's Q&A

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Extreme Case

Posted by Jodi (Kentucky) on 12/24/2007

Ted, what can a person do who seems to have the mites everywhere. I cannot get rid of them no matter what I try! I am not sure which combinations of treatments are safe to do at the same time and for how long. Can you give me a schedule of exact step by step daily routine for the most extreme case! Do you think any drugs are safe? Can these things invade your organs? Is there a name for some type of Doctor' who specializes in this type of thing? I am losing hope! Thank you

Replied by Ted
Bangkok, Thailand
391 posts

The single most important thing is to ge the dog quarantined in a small area inside a house (such as on the second floor patio) where it is 100% mite free. The dog should be shampooed daily at least for the first week of mites and the patio area is disinfected.

As a tip, once the dog is SHAMPOOED, the dog should be sprayed with OFF! or other insect repellent using DEET. This will prevent the mites from finding the dogs again. Usually most DEET spray protects about 12 hours (I doubt that), and therefore it should be technically sprayed two times a day. I actually spray on my dog three times a day.

The other area should be disinfected with a clorox and vinegar solution (50/50) sprayed over the entire area followed by a solution of borax to prevent them from coming back.

Yes I have the same problems, mites keeps coming back in large numbers, in my house, it numbers by the thousands because there is a hive hidden in the crevices of the house. The other thing I found is these mites runs quite quickly from outside when it smells a dog. A dog is a perfect target since they sleep on the floor. The reason why my house has an unlimited supply of mites it that next to my house, is a lumberyard full of old wood where the woods were cuts from deep forest. My dog nearly died of mites infestation, and I have to say that quarantine the dogs against further mites infestation plus the use of insect repellent really did the trick. There were no longer mites and fleas on the second week.

The other thing is everytime my dog goes into the garden, it gets infected with mites, the next day. Hence the garden should be disinfected with a borax and peroxide solution. In the house perhaps a more powerful clorox and vinegar solution.

I don't generally used an insecticide, but if need be, it will likely be permethrin based insecticide, marketed as "odorless" insecticide.


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