What Kills Dust Mites? How Do You Get Rid of Dust Mites for Good?

Are you sneezing, wheezing, coughing, having itchy, watery eyes or experiencing other dust mite related allergy symptoms?

Do you suspect that you have a dust mite problem in your home and want to know what kills dust mites?

If really want to know how do you get rid of dust mites for good, then you’re in luck.

In this article, we’ll share with you some of the top methods for not only killing but also removing these pesky critters from your home.

Surefire Ways to Kill Dust Mites

The biggest obstacle when it comes to facing dust mites is the fact that their main food source never gets depleted.

These little critters feed off of the dead skin cells that we shed from our bodies on a daily basis and this won’t ever stop.

This means that in order to really get rid of dust mites, you need to actually kill them.

However, you need to be very thorough in this process because they multiply easily and can reoccur as an infestation very quickly.

Below are some of the most surefire ways to kill dust mites inside your home.

Direct sunlight is one of the easiest ways to kill these pests.

Make sure to keep curtains and blinds open so sunlight can come into all rooms.

Humidity below 40-50% destroys dust mites because they need a certain level of moisture to survive.

Depending on where you live and the humidity levels inside your house will determine if you should install a humidifier or dehumidifier inside your home.

Hot water that’s 130°F or higher kills dust mites.

Always use the hot setting when washing bed linens, since this is an area where dust mites can occur the most.

Steam-cleaning can kill most dust mites embedded in a carpet, but not all.

A study found an 87% reduction in dust mites (per gram of dust) after steam-cleaning a carpet.

Extreme cold also kills dust mites.

For small objects you can’t steam-clean or put in a washing machine, like stuffed animals and pillows, you can place these in a tightly sealed plastic bag and store them in your freezer for 24 hours.

Freezing temperatures are an easy way of killing them and afterward just shake the objects vigorously outside to dispose of any remnants.

Rubbing alcohol kills household dust mites.

Using some rubbing alcohol on a rag is an easy way to clean areas that have a lot of dust build up, like on light bulbs or electronics.

What a lot of people don’t know is that allergies related to dust mites don’t come from exposure to the actual mite itself.

Instead, it’s the feces and body part fragments that are released by the bugs that cause severe allergic reactions.

Now that you know what kills dust mites, it’s also important to know that killing them doesn’t actually remove the allergens.

You need to remove the bugs and all of the waste matter associated with them.

So, how do you get rid of dust mites once and for all?

Follow these tips:

An air purifier will help keep dust mites away.

This device continuously pulls in air and exchanges it with fresh air inside the room.

This allows the air purifier to capture all of the dust and flecks of skin inside the room, which is what they feed off.

Without this food source, they cannot survive.

This article link has the best air purifier for dust mites reviews.

HEPA vacuum cleaners are essential for dust mite removal.

Using a vacuum that doesn’t have this type of filter is a waste of time and energy.

A HEPA filter is designed to trap the tiniest size of microscopic particles, which include dust mites. Use this device to clean all carpets, upholstery, furniture, and curtains.

Dust mite covers prevent these pests from living inside your bedding.

Putting these types of covers over your pillows and mattress will stop them from burrowing inside the fabric and multiplying.

Dust mite aerosol sprays are also available for purchase online or in home improvement stores.

You can use these sprays on bedding and furniture.

However, we don’t highly recommend this as a permanent solution because often the effects only last about 2 weeks, plus it can become very expensive to buy enough cans of spray to use in your entire home.