The usefulness of a method for quickly detecting mites in house dust with an adhesive lint roller was evaluated. The mean numbers of mites obtained were 29.5 mites/m
2 from tatami, 216.0 mites/m
2 from carpets, 249.2 mites/m
2 from bedding, and 110.0 mites/m
2 from closets. The correlation of the numbers of mites between the roller and conventional isolating method (vacuum cleaner with saturated saline) was significant (
p<0.001) with a correlation coefficient of
r=0.89. Repeated sampling from the same area seemed to reduced the nuber of mites that had not been caught. This novel detecting method was also useful for investigating the seasonal prevalence of the mite fauna. The lint roller was recognized to be useful for quick inspection of the mite population in an area.
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