How Long Can Scabies Survive in Your Mattress? Full Extermination Guide

For those who don’t know, scabies is a skin condition due to mites known as human mites (Sarcoptes scabiei). The most common symptoms of these conditions are rashes that look like pimples.

Typically, this condition can spread through skin-to-skin contact as well. Moreover, it can spread if you come in contact with contaminated furniture and mattresses.

As these mites are not visible to the human eye, you can’t find them on your mattress or furniture. We have developed this guide to help you, so read on until the end.

Scabies Lifespan in Mattresses and Other Inanimate Objects

These mites can live in your mattresses and other inanimate objects for up to two to three days. The lifespan of these mites becomes much longer when they lie on a human. Therefore, inanimate objects can live for up to 72 hours.

This is because inanimate objects don’t move around and spread them. Humans and pets tend to spread them much faster, and their lifespan increases with the spread.

How long can humans have scabies?

If you have scabies for the first time, it can take around four to eight weeks to develop any symptoms once exposed. But if this is not your first rodeo with scabies, these mites can appear in 24 to 72 hours.

You need to see your doctor as soon as possible as soon as you have noticed these bites. You will feel better sooner if you get treated earlier. It will avoid the spread from occurring. Still, the itching and rashes can last up to 3 weeks even if you have had a treatment.

But if your itching continues beyond four weeks, you might need to go for the second round of treatment. In some severe cases, you might have to go for weekly treatments.

The type of scabies can cause different symptoms. However, typical or common scabies only involve fewer mites, which is much easier to treat.

But crusted scabies, also known as Norwegian scabies, is much more severe. There was a case in 2014 where a man had this for more than 10 years, even with continuous treatment.

How to Get Rid of Scabies in a Mattress

Getting rid of scabies from different surfaces requires machine washing. Your machine should be on its hot cycle with the drying setting on. This is an excellent solution for the problem when dealing with scabies on clothing, towels, and bedding.

But you will have to go down a different route for mattresses and similar heavier items that you can’t put in a washing machine.

We have listed them down for your convenience.

Vacuuming

The best way to clean your furniture or mattress is to use a vacuum cleaner. Make sure you clean the seams and sides of your mattress with the cleaner.

After vacuuming, throw away the bag in the garbage to make sure that these mites don’t begin to infest other parts of your home.

Steam cleaning

Another way of doing it is to use the steam cleaner (check 5 top rated steam cleaners for mattress). It will kill all those mites. But to clean your mattress, you must use a high temperature of around 140 F or 60 C.

Permethrin spray

This spray features a liquid solution that will help disinfect surfaces you can’t wash. Permethrin is a type of insecticide that is highly effective in killing mites like scabies.

But follow the instructions if you have decided to use this spray. And in most cases, you will have to leave your room for about half an hour. Moreover, you will have to avoid using your mattress for about 12 hours.

Plastic covering

You can cover your mattress with a plastic cover. It can be handy because your skin won’t be in contact with the mattress surface. Without any animated surface to get in contact with, these mites will die within a couple of days.

Types of Scabies

There are three different types of these scabies mites. Let’s have a brief look at each of them one by one.

Common scabies

These are the most commonly found scabies, and they can cause redness, rash, and an itchy feeling on your hands, fingers, and wrist. But this rash doesn’t get to your face or your scalp.

Nodular scabies

They are slightly different from common scabies as they tend to show small bumps around your armpit, genital areas, and breasts. These mites infect deeper into your skin tissues than common scabies.

Norwegian Scabies

These are the most severe of the three and are called crusted scabies. These are the ones that are not treated promptly and worsen over time.

People who suffer from this scabies tend to develop a gray-colored thin crust of skin that houses the thousands of eggs of these mites. These mites occur in people who have a weak immune system.

People with AIDS or HIV, those who undergo chemotherapy, and those who consume certain medications. With a weak immune system, these cabbies tend to grow much faster.

Scabies Prevention Tips for Mattresses

While treating a scabies infestation is crucial, prevention is equally important to keep these mites from returning. Here are some tips to help prevent future scabies outbreaks in your mattress:

• Wash all bedding, including sheets, pillowcases, and mattress covers weekly in hot water. High heat helps kill scabies and their eggs.
• Vacuum mattresses frequently, especially around seams and tufts where mites can hide. Dispose of vacuum bags immediately.
• Cover mattresses and pillows with encasements to create a barrier against mites. Zippered covers that fully enclose are best.
• Limit direct skin contact with mattresses when possible. Avoid sleeping directly on a mattress with uncovered skin.
• Treat rooms thoroughly with products containing permethrin to kill scabies. Follow all label instructions carefully.
• Dry clean any non-washable bedding like comforters to kill mites through heat and chemical processing.
• Limit visitors sitting or sleeping on beds if you have had a recent scabies infestation.

Following these proactive tips can help keep your mattress scabies-free and reduce risk of reinfestation.

How Does Scabies Occur?

The females of these mites infest your skin by burrowing into it and carrying it in a tunnel to lay their eggs. Males die after breeding, and females wait until 10 days to hatch the eggs while roaming your skin and finding new places to breed onto your skin or another person.

The condition looks scary but can be eradicated with proper and timely treatment. These treatments range from various prescribed medications to natural aids. But scabies is highly contagious, so the entire group is prescribed to take some medicine.

How to Spot Scabies?

The symptoms will take around four to six weeks if these mites have infected your skin. It will develop much faster on your skin if you have had it before. But first-timers might not even feel any difference until they are diagnosed.

However, you will feel that you have something to teach all the time and might develop rashes, pimples, and burrows. Itching grows at night. These burrows manifest in slightly discolored lines as well as bumps.

Scabies Treatments

You have to be sure that a proper dermatologist has diagnosed you before you start thinking about any treatments. These kites are microscopic; your doctor will look further at those burrows or rashes to see whether you are infected and what level of infection it is.

There are two methods of treating scabies. You can use natural ointments and can go for medication. It can be in the form of oral medicine, cream, or a lotion. Following is the list of typical medicine that is used to treat these mites,

• Twenty-five percent of a lotion contains benzyl benzoate.
• 10 percent of an ointment that contains sulfur.
• 10 percent of a cream that contains crotamiton.
• 1 percent of a lotion that contains lindane.
• 5 percent of a cream that contains permethrin.
• Ivermectin in case of severe scabies for oral consumption.
• Steroid creams, Benadryl, and other antibiotics for itching and swelling.

Any external medicine should be applied at night because that’s the time when itching is at its worst. And wash the medicine away in the morning. You will have to use it continuously for a week and then go back to your doctor to discuss the matter.

Conclusion

Depending on how severe it is, scabies can be a condition you might have to take seriously because they can cause a lot of itching and disturbance at night. You must immediately contact your doctor for treatment. The treatment can be long, so you need to start it immediately.