Sorry we were not generous with our comments. These little bugs were found in the master bathroom of our home. We had a case of mildew growing on the ceiling due to little circulation. We sprayed the ceiling with Tilex to kill the mold/mildew. It worked, but the next morning we started to feel bugs crawling on our faces. After investigation you could see small black dots moving around on the ceiling and walls of the bathroom. When using a tape roller you can even get them off my face. There are birds living in the attic and I am thinking the Tilex fumes disturbed them and maybe sent bird mites down to us? We just want to know what they are so we can plan our attack. Thanks.

Avian Nest Mites.

I relay this note from Dr. Heather Proctor, who has looked at your image:

That's an amusing Tilex story! The mite has the general appearance of an avian nest mite, probably Ornithonyssus sylviarum (northern fowl mite). The homeowners' hypothesis about the fumes disturbing the birds (or even just disturbing the mites) is a good one. They'll have to get up in the attic to get rid of the nests if they want to be free of mites. Or they can just wait until the mites die of starvation, as they can't live off of human blood. That won't stop them from biting you, though!

Dr. Heather Proctor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9

:-)