Mattresses in the home are the biggest source of mites because they are the best environment for providing warmth, moisture and a source of food. An average used mattress contains 100,000 to 1 million mites, and 10% of the weight of a pillow that is two years old is dead mites and mite droppings.

A favorite food for mites is scraps of skin (whether human or animal). Every week, people shed 0.2 ounces of dead skin, and about 80 percent of this is real peeling skin that can be seen in the sun, so bedroom carpets and interior decoration allow mites to thrive.