![\"Jonathan's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1_WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-27-at-1-2.jpg\")
Jonathan’s home is infested with bird mites(Image: Edinburgh Live)<\/p>\nJonathan Landau-Litewski says the avian parasites have been crawling from a nest outside the window of his council flat on Royston Mains Road and into his home.Jonathan’s home is infested with bird mites(Image: Edinburgh Live)<\/p>\n
An Edinburgh<\/a> man has told of his horror after his bed was overrun with bird mites that laid eggs under his skin.<\/p>\n Jonathan Landau-Litewski says the avian parasites<\/a> have been crawling from a nest outside the window of his council flat on Royston Mains Road and into his home.<\/p>\n The horrified 37-year-old says the mites have infested his bed, forcing him to “boil” his sheets. Following a visit to the GP<\/a>, he was told they have also now infested his own body.<\/p>\n Jonathan told Edinburgh Live<\/a>: “My arms started to get really sore. I got a huge rash. The mites have burrowed into my skin and laid eggs. I’m on this cream called permethrin which is for scabies and lice, it’s disgusting.”<\/p>\n Jonathan shared images of his arm which appeared to be enflamed by a rash. He reported discomfort and lack of sleep.<\/p>\n When bird mites cannot feed on birds<\/a>, they search for new hosts – which can lead them into homes and other buildings, according to the University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n The British Pest Control Association says the creatures can multiply into the thousands, leaving victims with a parasitic infection<\/a> with symptoms like a “biting, itching, and crawling sensation”.<\/p>\n It can also cause lack of sleep and can even “propagate a whole host of secondary mental health issues”, says the BPCA.<\/p>\n Their website adds: “If you have dealt with a parasite infestation for any length of time, you\u2019ll soon come to realise that the mental anguish is often more difficult than the solid torment. Once a home is heavily infested<\/a>, they can be very difficult to eradicate fully.”<\/p>\n Jonathan has been self-isolating to prevent the mites spreading to his flatmate.<\/p>\n He continued: “I can’t socialise with anyone. I have to use the cream for 24 hours and wash it off. It’s a three-week treatment and I have to stay in my house for three weeks because the mites are contagious.<\/p>\n “I can’t believe in this day and age in my own house and bed where I’m supposed to be safe I’m being attacked by these vile little things.”<\/p>\n![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1_WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-27-at-1-1.jpg\")
Jonathan has an infection from the mites(Image: Edinburgh Live)<\/p>\n![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1_WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-27-at-1.jpg\")
Jonathan says the mites have infested his room(Image: Edinburgh Live)<\/p>\n