A fox with mange died in the hay loft of our bank barn yesterday 
Tonight I realized I had fleas (mange mites??) all over my ankles when I was setting up hay. 
First: are we (me and the horses) all going to have mange now? Should I worm all the horses with ivermectin proactively?
Second: I read that need to spray with permethrin - but where…? The hay on the barn floor? And then clean out all of the sprayed hay? It’s not like I can spray all the hay.
Fleas and the mites associated with mange look very different. So knowing what they are would be helpful.
The mites associated with mange are microscopic so if you saw bugs you likely were not seeing mites.
I must say, I googled what the mites associated with the contagious mange (because there is not contagious mange) look like and they are kind of cool looking microscopic things.
He probably had demodex mange which is auto immune brought on by stress, poor nutrition etc .
Agree if you’re seeing them they aren’t mange mites
Phew, ok. Not that I love fleas either if that’s what was on my ankles!
I realize that this post is probably the equivalent of one of the members of my neighborhood facebook group posting a pic of a tick, asking if she should go to the ER for the tick bite. Maybe I need to be more sympathetic to those types of posts 
Hey, it is OK to panic about something like this until you figure it out. We have all been there about something in our lives.
Thank you @Annie10, I was not coming up with the word demodex… I am glad you posted it.
Far more likely that it was sarcoptic mange, which is fairly species-specific for canids.
It’s a significant cause of fox mortality, as the intense itching and scratching cause skin infections and can lead to blindness.
Although people in close contact may have a transient self-limiting issue, the mite does not reproduce on humans.
Also, the mites don’t jump like fleas.
All 3 of my dogs got mange last year - probably from rolling on a fox or coyote carcass (not that I saw it happen, but can only guess). What a nightmare! I never suspected mange because I didn’t even think of contact with the carcass or even a bit of fur being the cause, and I know they never encountered a fox or coyote as I’m always with them.
Anyway, as Ghazzu said - your horses will not get it, and if you did end up with them being on you, it would be temporary. My (dog) vet had it once and it was very itchy so she treated herself, but she knew it was self-limiting.
If you have any dogs in the barn, though - I would keep them under observation for symptoms.
How long can/will the mites live without a host?
They can survive off the host for a few weeks, but are only in the infective stage for ~36 hours, so premise deconamination shouldn’t be a big deal.
they normally live their entire life cycle on the host and transmission is by direct close contact.
Thank you!
I adopted a puppy with mange. She had a bald face but the recovery wasn’t difficult. Ivermectin works. Or was it advantage multi? I can’t remember now…
Bird mites from nesting birds will get everywhere. Permethrin works for bird mites. Otherwise its probably fleas.
That sounds typical for democectic mange. (Also known colloquially as “red mange”.)
lol you’re welcome. unfortunately i have a lot of experience with mange from too many years at the animal shelter ugh
My experience, fox had come into barn and died, one dog rolled in spot before I could clean it up, both dogs got mange: dogs were treated with a dose of nexGuard (they had been on soresto collars per vet recommendation and purchased through vet - this was a few years ago now when soresto was new-ish and the vets seemed to like it as a flea/tick med at the time.) and a bath regimen with special shampoo/specific time to leave it on before rinsing instructions for about four weeks. Note that they were misdiagnosed first visits, so it got bad before figuring out it was mange. The cultures kept coming back negative, which I am now aware is common false negatives with mange testing.
Because dogs shared my sleeping spaces and couches etc, and it had been going on for a while by this time, as a precaution mostly, I was prescribed permethrin cream to apply topically, instructed to put on everywhere but the eyes.
I was told had the dogs been on nexGuard, they would not have contracted mange as it would have kept the mites in check. Soresto collars were tossed, and they were on nexGuard from then on.
The house had to be treated, similar to what they tell you to do for lice. They did not give me any instructions for the barn or horses though.
Years ago we also found a dead fox in a pile of loose hay. Health authorities removed it to check for rabies (Negative) but the told it it had mange. We raked up all the hay and burned it.
Sure enough, one of our dog started scratching her ears, after likely rolling on the body. Our Vet treated her and the other two dogs (no symptoms) and all ended up fine.
Demodex mange is easily eradicated with the meds mentioned and also Bravecto. Humans not vulnerable.
Vet needs to do a good skin scraping to identify living mites.
Sarcoptic mange is scabies in humans.
I am retiring soon from our animal shelter.
How long have you been there? It’s a tough job.
I have been the volunteer coordinator for just under 6 years. It’s a municipal shelter in an impoverished city. Prior to that I did 14 years at our multi county SPCA that is in a posh suburb, same job.
Ah ok. I just volunteered a ton and fostered for years and years. I admire those who work full time in the shelter environment, they are very special people .
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