# Olive oil for mites. It actually works!



## Miss Maggie May

After bringing home a new baby (Who passed away ) my trio came down with a total mite infestation. It was ridiculous! Little red dots crawling all over my poor girls.

There is only one vet anywhere near me that will even look at a rat, and he has a reputation for killing, injuring, and charging you a million dollars to do it, so I can't take my girls to him. So, as I do, I hopped on the internet to figure out a home treatment before trying to figure out how to get my girls to a vet over 2 hours away.

After reading for an hour or so, I decided to bathe them first. I grabbed the bottle of Dawn dish soap and popped my girlies into the bathtub. They didn't care for it much, but most of the mites left on them were dead. I let them dry, then I grabbed a bottle of olive oil and a medicine dropper and coated them in oil. This they hated worse than the bath, but they got over it, and after a few days they had groomed it all away, revealing totally mite-less bodies. A week later I coated them again (to kill any new hatchers) and so far, not a mite to be found.

Of course I had to bleach their blankets, hammocks, cage, water bottles, wheel, litter boxes, food bowls, etc. and throw away some less washable items. (And bleach my sheets and vacuum my carpets and, and, and....) but you have to do that stuff anyway.

So not only did I not have to put poison onto my sweet ratties, I didn't have to pay someone hundreds of dollars to do it! 

So if your ratties are having an external parasite problem, try a dawn bath and olive oil. It's totally harmless and worth a shot! It worked wonders for my girls.

(For those of you wondering, olive oil and dawn work by smothering the mites. It doesn't poison or repel them, so you have to watch for a few weeks and make sure they are gone, but if you have the patience, it works really well.)


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## cagedbirdsinging

Those were actually lice, and yes, oil works!

I skip the Dawn and just rub a tablespoon or two of olive oil right into the coat. No rinsing.


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## LeStan82

Yep, it suffocates them. Good stuff...lol


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## portkeytonowhere

I soaked my hair in olive oil when I was younger and had lice. I might have to try that in the future


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## shelbygrace97

I'm struggling with this and I'll definitely try it. So then it's alright for them to groom off/consume the olive oil that is put on them? I've got rather big boys so I'm assuming maybe one and a half or two table spoons. I'll try and wash their fur out, everything in the cage, and of course VACUUM. My boys have mites I'm certain, not lice.

Also how could I wash the fleece in bleach? Wouldn't it stain? It would be good just to give them relief, but I think I might order some revolution to put on them as well. The stuff for kittens I'm assuming.


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## cagedbirdsinging

Yes, it is perfectly fine to groom off. No rinsing required, and you really don't want to wash it off anyway just so that you can get the full effect. You can start with one tablespoon and add another if necessary. You don't want them to be dripping with the stuff, but you want to make sure that there are no areas of dry fur or skin, except the ears and nose/mouth.


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## flamegurl

Do you think this could be mites? I am giving her olive oil treatment now (its extra olive oil since that's all i have). I am waiting to see if there is any difference since she has had these marks for over a week now. I originially thought it was bite marks from the younger one. Never had mites, or lice. Kinda weird that this suddenly happens.


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## cagedbirdsinging

If those are the only scratches, I'd lean towards no.

If there are scratches on the back, neck, and shoulders, then yes. That's how it usually presents.

However, olive oil baths are fabulous for hairless skin just as it is! Excellent moisturizer and soother.


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## Squeakfluff

I just rubbed some olive oil on my boys because I think they have mites. Good thing I decided to read this topic because I wouldn't have recognized the symptoms! No wonder my poor boys have been itchy


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## Rat Daddy

First, moving red spots aren't rat mites. Mites are too small to see with the naked eye, which makes it hard to know when they are gone. 

There is actually a long list of mite treatments that work to one degree or another... Olive oil, ceder bedding, dolomite (flea) powder, ivermectin and of course revolution.

Mostly the issue is that most of us free range our rats, so the mites get everywhere. And hepa cleaning the house is a major chore and if you missed a few, they will come back. Ceder bedding will help protect your rats, but it isn't good for your rats either.

The two big advantages to revolution; is first... it's not toxic to rats, even when overdosed (up to a point) and second it makes your rats toxic to mites. As your rats free range the house, they are hoovering up all of the mites and poisoning them for a month while the medication is effective.... Your rats actually clean the cage and your house for you. If your rats don't free range, it isn't as much of an issue, but our rats get behind things and into places we can't get at. I just watched Spot carrying a paper towel into a junk closet we haven't seen the back of in years. It would otherwise be impossible to clean to make sure there were no mites.

I might add that there are a lot of over the counter products that don't work and are likely to make your rats sick too... like most of the things that come in spray bottles.

Best luck.


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## Ksf

cagedbirdsinging said:


> Those were actually lice, and yes, oil works!
> 
> I skip the Dawn and just rub a tablespoon or two of olive oil right into the coat. No rinsing.





LeStan82 said:


> Yep, it suffocates them. Good stuff...lol


Does it have to be olive oil?...we dont have it rn, but have cooking oil...


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## Ksf

Cant get olive oil for another week...rent n electric took almost all I had...dont get paid til next week again...


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## Morbius

Ksf said:


> Does it have to be olive oil?...we dont have it rn, but have cooking oil...


 The problem with mixed cooking oils (As someone that owns cast iron cookware) is I believe it can go foul when exposed to air for long periods. I dunno if it would last that long on a rat, I'm inclined to think it wouldn't be an issue. This was the first I've heard of olive oil though, I've always used coconut oil for my boy that has skin issues.

Note though: I've only had my oil go rancid once and it was canola oil I'd coated a skillet in to proof it. I was young and had no animal fat, which was what I normally used. The skillet sat for a week, got white spots and smelled super funky. I know rats aren't skillets but that's all I have to base my assumptions on XD


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## Carlylamb

Rat Daddy said:


> First, moving red spots aren't rat mites. Mites are too small to see with the naked eye, which makes it hard to know when they are gone.
> 
> There is actually a long list of mite treatments that work to one degree or another... Olive oil, ceder bedding, dolomite (flea) powder, ivermectin and of course revolution.
> 
> Mostly the issue is that most of us free range our rats, so the mites get everywhere. And hepa cleaning the house is a major chore and if you missed a few, they will come back. Ceder bedding will help protect your rats, but it isn't good for your rats either.
> 
> The two big advantages to revolution; is first... it's not toxic to rats, even when overdosed (up to a point) and second it makes your rats toxic to mites. As your rats free range the house, they are hoovering up all of the mites and poisoning them for a month while the medication is effective.... Your rats actually clean the cage and your house for you. If your rats don't free range, it isn't as much of an issue, but our rats get behind things and into places we can't get at. I just watched Spot carrying a paper towel into a junk closet we haven't seen the back of in years. It would otherwise be impossible to clean to make sure there were no mites.
> 
> I might add that there are a lot of over the counter products that don't work and are likely to make your rats sick too... like most of the things that come in spray bottles.
> 
> Best luck.


Where do you get revolution?


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## TwilxghtRat

Hi! Here is some *information* about Revolution and what type to get for rats, you will need to get cat or kitten for rat usage!


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## Carlylamb

TwilxghtRat said:


> Hi! Here is some *information* about Revolution and what type to get for rats, you will need to get cat or kitten for rat usage!


Awesome thank you! It doesn’t quite say where to buy it. Do you know if I could purchase at a store or if it had to be online?


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## CorbinDallasMyMan

Carlylamb said:


> Awesome thank you! It doesn’t quite say where to buy it. Do you know if I could purchase at a store or if it had to be online?


You can get Revolution through your vet but it's also available in Canada from sites like CanadaVet.


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## a1phanine

Ksf said:


> Cant get olive oil for another week...rent n electric took almost all I had...dont get paid til next week again...


Seriously? Olive oil is like £2. Get extra virgin.
Send me your paypal i'll send you it.

So you have nothing for vets either? risky..


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## TwilxghtRat

Carlylamb said:


> Awesome thank you! It doesn’t quite say where to buy it. Do you know if I could purchase at a store or if it had to be online?


You can get it at many places, you can *search it in a browser* to see options!


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## rat lover 101

cagedbirdsinging said:


> Yes, it is perfectly fine to groom off. No rinsing required, and you really don't want to wash it off anyway just so that you can get the full effect. You can start with one tablespoon and add another if necessary. You don't want them to be dripping with the stuff, but you want to make sure that there are no areas of dry fur or skin, except the ears and nose/mouth.


you said ears nose and mouth deos that mean if they have ear mites it wouldnt work or do you just have to be carefull not to get it inside there ear


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## RatCrazyGirl

Morbius said:


> The problem with mixed cooking oils (As someone that owns cast iron cookware) is I believe it can go foul when exposed to air for long periods. I dunno if it would last that long on a rat, I'm inclined to think it wouldn't be an issue. This was the first I've heard of olive oil though, I've always used coconut oil for my boy that has skin issues.
> 
> Note though: I've only had my oil go rancid once and it was canola oil I'd coated a skillet in to proof it. I was young and had no animal fat, which was what I normally used. The skillet sat for a week, got white spots and smelled super funky. I know rats aren't skillets but that's all I have to base my assumptions on XD





Carlylamb said:


> Where do you get revolution?





TwilxghtRat said:


> Hi! Here is some *information* about Revolution and what type to get for rats, you will need to get cat or kitten for rat usage!





Carlylamb said:


> Awesome thank you! It doesn’t quite say where to buy it. Do you know if I could purchase at a store or if it had to be online?





CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> You can get Revolution through your vet but it's also available in Canada from sites like CanadaVet.





a1phanine said:


> Seriously? Olive oil is like £2. Get extra virgin.
> Send me your paypal i'll send you it.
> 
> So you have nothing for vets either? risky..





TwilxghtRat said:


> You can get it at many places, you can *search it in a browser* to see options!





rat lover 101 said:


> you said ears nose and mouth deos that mean if they have ear mites it wouldnt work or do you just have to be carefull not to get it inside there ear


If anyone here knows, does this help with dandruff?


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