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House Dust Mites: Studies on the Occurrence, Identification and Control in Rural Houses of Shebin El-Kom Locality, Egypt

The present study was conducted in Elkom Elakhdar village, Shebin El-Kom, Menoufia Governorate, during 2012 to determine the species composition and the occurrence frequency of dust mites collected from three rural houses of different development stages, as well as to determine the toxicity limits of different concentrations of three essential plant oils against two species of the family Pyroglyphidae, the main cause of allergies to humans. The results revealed 11 mite species belonging to five families (Pyroglyphidae, Chortoglyphidae, Glycyphagidae, Acaridae, and Cheyletidae). Of the total collected number of mites (5276) the most dominant species were the dust mites Dermatophagoides farinae (66.1 %), followed by D. pteronyssinus (23.3 %), while the rest of the species, Chortoglyphus arcuatus, Lepidoglyphus destructor, Glycyphagus domesticus, Gohieria fusca, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Caloglyphus sp, Cheyletus malaccensis, Blomia sp. and Acarus siro ranged between 0.16 and 2.0 %. Regarding the effect of temperature on mite populations, temperature more than 25 °C in summer decreased the numbers of D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus. Toxicological tests of three essential plant oils against adult stages of D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus showed that lemon grass oil was more effective than geranium and thyme oils, with a mortality of approximately 100 % at 800 ppm concentration for both species. The LC50 of lemon grass was 228.992 ppm and 293.615 ppm against the two species, respectively. From these results it is recommended that application of control measures during summer when the mite population density is at its lowest and to use botanical oil extracts which can be effectively implemented in integrated pest management programmes.