Tropical Rat Mite

Typically found in areas where rodents live, such as walls, attics, and basements. They can enter living spaces when their rodent hosts die or move away.

Obligate blood-feeders. They primarily feed on rats (Rattus species) but will bite humans and other mammals if their primary hosts are unavailable.

They are highly mobile and crawl away from rodent nests in search of a new blood meal. They do not live on the human body but visit briefly to feed, usually at night.

Risks include painful, itchy dermatitis and skin rashes from bites. While they are not major vectors of human disease in urban environments, they can potentially transmit murine typhus and rickettsialpox. They provide no ecosystem benefits to humans.