Hay or straw itch mites? Major welts all over abdomen after loading/unloading hay

[Color_of_Light]

Didn’t know where to post this. Purchased hay for second time from grower. First time, purchased orchard hay, received no bites. Last week loaded and unloaded both orchard and timothy hay from this grower wearing jeans, tank top, gloves. That evening these nasty welts appeared…only on my abdomen, along undie line, and some on my back. Felt itchy/bitey. I didn’t scratch them. No welts anywhere else, even on my bare arms.

Yesterday, I restacked the hay. I immediately got that awful itchy/bitey feeling. When I removed my clothes I had many more welts. Didn’t scratch them.

I’ve been handling hay bales since I was a weanling back in the early 70’s and have never had this reaction…ever. What is this? Mites or some allergy? The welts look a bit like bedbug welts (as found on the internet), but I don’t have bedbugs. Following the second attack, I wondered about bugs in hay and came across hay or straw itch mites (
http://mitetreatments.com/straw-itch-mites/
My welts resemble ones shown here:
http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=11153

Now every time I handle hay, this will happen? Lord, please spare me! If mites, will they infest my other hay? Here I was planning on buying more hay from this grower too.

I’m the only person who handled these 55 lbs bales

[kkmrad94]

I was having the same issue that started a few weeks ago. I think we picked them up from a different place and brought them home, now they’re in all the hay. I didn’t know what kind of bug it was but I am pretty sure it is these as well. I have never seen these bugs/bites before but apparently they come out in the late summer when it is really dry.

From what I understand they will go away when it gets extremely cold. Our hay is already in our barn and I have just been wearing a coat covered in bug spray with deet and haven’t had any bites since.

I would love any input as well from someone else that has dealt with this… :no: It’s awful and the bites itch like something awful!

[bdj]

Haven’t ever had hay mites, but years ago, I did have a reaction after handling hay that had gotten some poison ivy baled into it.

[RubyTuesday]

Same here! Hay baled in Illinois off of I-55 corridor, but got some other hay from a different seller, different field and 2nd cutting, same thing. 3 out of 4 of us handling got them…my husband isn’t getting them, but he isn’t even affected by poison ivy, and I got them so bad I had to go to the doctor twice for a steroid that reduces the welts and itching.

[RubyTuesday]

Where are you located, OP?

[CopperFoxFarm]

This happened to me last year, I thought I’d made up hay mites til I googled!

They take FOREVER to go away & itch like the dickens!! I found a hot bath with copious amounts of Epsom salts really helped

[cnigh]

Aveeno Oatmeal bath should help. No idea how to get rid of the the mites.

[RubyTuesday]

I have to wonder if these mites have exacerbated my mare’s allergies; between my own reaction to them and hers, this has been the WORST allergy season ever. She has had trouble breathing, vet put her on a steroid and a brochial dilator and my buddy got a fever along with the lesions.

I had taken her off Strongid C a month ago because the store stopped carrying it and that seems to be about when her coughing started up. (Other horse has no problems with the hay.) I have now ordered it in and will give her Quest Plus before starting her regimen up again. She has been on it for a very long time and it sure didn’t pay to take her off, and I wouldn’t have except for our stupid farm store carrying less and less actual supplies.

[HorsesinHaiti]

So not quite the same insect as chiggers? The bites look very similar.

[RubyTuesday]

My husband thinks not, he has had chiggers and was susceptible to them. He also handled the hay more than anyone with no reaction. I still have faded red areas on my arms from the hives/welts, as do my friend and the hay guy.

[Mirantha]

I am in PA and work as a part time stablehand. For a few weeks in August, all of the staff that handled hay were getting a TON of itchy bites, it was horrid! We are still getting a few, but not nearly as many.

For most of us, we did not feel the bites occurring, but several hours later, or overnight, we would end up with welts all over our sides, abdomen, chest, and maybe a few on our arms. And the welts lasted for DAYS. Some of us had worse reactions/swelling than others, but we were all pretty miserable.

Anyway, I did some research, and one thing I came across was that hay/straw mites do have an association with cicadas - evidently they feed on cicada eggs. And for us, this year was the “17 year cicada” population explosion. So maybe that partially explains why the hay mites were so bad this year?

Bug spray with DEET (like “Deep Woods Off”) does seem to help, but not completely eliminate the bites. I was also told that itch mites are worst in hot/humid weather, which we were definitely having during the worst of it. In any case, I hope they are GONE very soon… I am itching as I type, lol!

[SusanO]

Does this nasty critter inhabit bermuda hay? I have been having the same itchy welts but I do not have any oat hay - it isn’t grown here much. However my spots could be chiggers.

[Color_of_Light]

On my way to the doctor…looks like these things made me sick. Got attacked by many more. Started to get really sick yesterday. Joint pain, slight fever, pain here and there. Nausea. Stiff hands. These mites can cause these reactions especially if a person has immune issues, which I have.

Sprayed jacket with industrial strength bug spray, the kind you aren’t supposed to touch the garment for 4 hours. Wore it over a tank top this morning. Didn’t get any more bites. Too hot to wear a jack. prefer sports bra or tank top. Happy to wear this jacket and sweat buckets in the process.

If my doctor can’t help today, I am going to a dermatologist tomorrow for mole inspection. Maybe they can help. Ex says penicillin. Maybe prendisone, but have to be careful about autoimmune probs.

Biggest question of the day: is there a way to get rid of this in our hay? Once we deplete the hay supply, will it still be in our barns?

[Scribbler]

Hmm. I always thought itching after loading hay was just an allergic reaction to the hay, a hay fever spin-off. Or just scratches from the hay. I learned something new. Maybe I didn’t really want to know it

[Mirantha]

Color of Light, what did your doctor say? Do you have any more info on how this can possibly affect those with compromised/malfunctioning immune systems?

My youngest daughter is 11 years old and also has some (fairly serious) autoimmune issues. She was bitten up pretty badly (she helps me feed about 45 horses several times a week), and has had some quirky symptoms. Might just be a “flare” of her ongoing issues, but time of onset definitely coincided with the mite bites.

Pediatrician just ran a ton of bloodwork on her to rule out Lymes & a bunch of other stuff. Still waiting on results.

Scribbler - I get itchy from hay sometimes, too… Kinda a mild “contact allergy” or local irritation/scratches. But this is different, definitely BITES/welts all over torso, etc. Not just red/itchy where the hay touched. And they last a loooong time, takes days to go away, as opposed to “normal” hay itchiness that, for me, only lasts a couple hours or until I take a shower.

[RubyTuesday]

Mine took WEEKS. You can still see some of them quite plainly. Thankfully it is getting colder!

[Mirantha]

[QUOTE=RubyTuesday;8865710]
Mine took WEEKS. You can still see some of them quite plainly. Thankfully it is getting colder![/QUOTE]

Actually, yeah. They only were itchy for a few days, but I can definitely still see red dots on my sides & stomach from weeks ago. Ugh.

[TBROCKS]

I had the same issue, I developed itchy red bumps that were on the arm that comes in contact with the hay as I carry it out to their paddock. It was there for a week and spreading…SO…I sprayed it with fly spray and didn’t rinse it off. Cleared it up in two days. Don’t judge.

[Field_of_Dreams_Mini]

[QUOTE=SusanO;8863890]
Does this nasty critter inhabit bermuda hay? I have been having the same itchy welts but I do not have any oat hay - it isn’t grown here much. However my spots could be chiggers.[/QUOTE]

I get them all along my left arm- the one I carry hay with. Bermuda, too. But only the older stuff- the new stuff doesn’t bother me. Hmmm…

[chism]

I’m appreciating this thread…
I’m a delicate flower when it comes to allergies, I always get a small rash on the inside of the arm I carry hay with, but two weeks ago I had a similar reaction to new hay I’d unloaded from my truck. I became extremely itchy and developed huge welts all over my abdomen. There’s still remnants of the scratching and itching that took place weeks later. I’m convinced there was something in the hay.