Ear mites are a pest that inhabits the ears. They can be found in horses, rabbits, dogs, and most often, cats. They live in the ears and cause intense itching, leading the infested animal to scratch at the ears. Understanding the life cycle of the ear mite can help get rid of them successfully.
Adult mites are almost microscopic. They are white in color, with live and breed within the ears, surviving by eating tissue, wax, skin oils and debris from the ear and ear lining. They usually stay in the ears, but may migrate to the fur around the ears and onto the face. The females lay their eggs in the lining of the ears, approximately five eggs each day.
Ear mite eggs hatch after approximately four days of incubation, appearing as larvae. These larvae then feed on the same material as the adults for several days before molting into the first stage of nymphs. There are two nymph stages of the ear mite. One is the protonymph, which soon turns into a deutonymph.
The deutonymph has an undetermined sex. Whether it will be a male or female is determined following it’s mating with the male adult ear mite. Once mating has happened, the nymph will become a male, which then continues on to mate with other deutonymphs, or a female that will lay eggs as a result of the mating. This entire life cycle takes three weeks. The average lifespan of a mite is up to two months.
An ear mite infestation can look like coffee grounds within the ears. It is a combination of ear waxes and material, blood, mite feces, and the mites themselves. They can easily be spread from animal to animal, and can be a huge problem in shelters and kennels. They are troublesome in multi-pet homes, and for treatment to be successful, every pet in the home should be treated simultaneously.
A suspected case of these pests should be confirmed by a veterinarian. Once a positive diagnosis has been made, treatment of topical, oral or injected medication can be administered. All treatments must be done as prescribed by the vet, and may not be successful if not done as required, Failing to stop the life cycle will allow the mites to continue living and breeding in the ears. Animals that have scratched furiously may have areas of open skin and scratches that may require attention as well to avoid infections.
Having all pets in the home checked for mites is advisable, and if present, all should be treated in the same time period. If this is not done, the mites will spread from untreated animals and the life cycle of the mite will being again in another host.