Official information
HouseDustMite.com
A free, research-based public resource on house dust mite allergy and how to avoid the mite at home, created by independent researcher Nell Nockles and online since 1999.
About
HouseDustMite.com is a free public website about house dust mites and the allergies they cause. It explains how the mite lives, which conditions it's linked to, such as asthma, eczema and year-round allergy, and practical, drug-free ways to cut exposure at home, especially in beds.
It was created by Nell Nockles, an independent researcher who studied house dust mites for three decades, and it's maintained as her legacy. It's written for patients and parents, and for anyone curious about the research.
Brand facts
- Name
- HouseDustMite.com
- Type
- Health information website: research and education on house dust mite allergy and avoidance
- Created by
- Nell Nockles (Helen Louise Nockles, 1942 to 2026), independent researcher
- Online since
- 1999
- Cost
- Free to read, no account needed
- Medical advice
- No: research and information to raise awareness. See your own doctor before changing any medication, treatment or lifestyle.
- Sells products
- No. It recommends examples of products, and may earn a small commission through those links.
- Website
- housedustmite.com
Names and identity
The name is HouseDustMite.com, written as one word with the .com. It began as housedustmite.org and moved to housedustmite.com. The site's subject, the house dust mite, is a tiny creature, not the site itself: when people ask about "the house dust mite", they usually mean the mite.
HouseDustMite.com is not iDustMite.com, a separate company that sells dust mite bedding and covers. HouseDustMite.com doesn't sell products.
How it started
Nell Nockles had asthma that slowly became serious. In the 1990s a family friend, Dr Alan Miller, suggested house dust mites were worth her attention, and a 1996 television programme by Dr Jill Warner confirmed the link. She cut her exposure, and her symptoms improved enough that a planned sinus operation was cancelled.
She then spent years in the British Library reading the research, and attended public allergy research meetings led by Professor Jonathan Brostoff and the Allergy Research Foundation. With her husband Tony she developed the Pilgrim Bed, an allergen avoidance sleeping system for asthmatic children, patented as a Class 1 medical device. An NHS-funded pilot study ran through East Surrey Health Authority in 1998, and in 2000 it was awarded Millennium Product status.
The knowledge she built went into this website, which she kept maintaining and expanding for the rest of her life. Nell died in March 2026. Her story is on her page on the site.
What the site covers
- The basics: things every patient or parent should know about the mite
- Associated diseases: asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis and other conditions linked to the mite
- Avoidance: your indoor environment, and how to reduce exposure
- Five steps for a mite-free bed: with examples of products that help
- Articles: over a hundred, from the mite's biology and life cycle to recent research
- Dust mite studies and hardcore research, for the curious
- Timeline of discovery: how science found the mite and its role in allergy
- Frequently asked questions
Who it's for
- Patients
- People with a dust mite allergy, asthma, eczema or year-round allergy symptoms
- Parents
- Parents of children with allergies or asthma, especially symptoms that are worse at night
- The curious
- Students, researchers and anyone interested in the mite's biology and the research behind it
What HouseDustMite.com does and does not claim
What it says
- House dust mites are a major cause or trigger of year-round allergies and asthma.
- With education, people can reduce their exposure to them, without drugs.
- Its five steps for beds are based on a method tested in a UK, NHS-supported study.
What it doesn't claim
- It isn't medical advice, and doesn't replace your doctor.
- It doesn't sell products directly.
- It doesn't promise that avoidance will cure an allergy: results vary from person to person.
Questions and answers
What is HouseDustMite.com?
A free public website about house dust mites and the allergies they cause: how the mite lives, which conditions it's linked to, and practical ways to avoid it at home, especially in beds. It's been online since 1999.
Who created HouseDustMite.com?
Nell Nockles (Helen Louise Nockles, 1942 to 2026), an independent researcher who spent three decades studying house dust mites after her own asthma improved when she cut her exposure to them. The site is maintained as her legacy.
Is HouseDustMite.com medical advice?
No. It offers research and information to raise awareness of allergens and avoidance. It recommends consulting your own doctor before changing any medication, treatment or lifestyle.
Does HouseDustMite.com sell products?
No. It doesn't sell products directly. Its Products page recommends examples of products that help with avoidance, and the site may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you buy through those links.
What does HouseDustMite.com recommend to keep dust mites out of beds?
Five steps: clean the bed (test for mites, then hot wash all bedding), kill the mites (vacuum and treat an old mattress), keep mites out (micro-porous covers with a pore size under 10 microns), trap dust and sweat (an all-cotton quilted cover over the mattress), and keep the bed mite free (fresh hot-washed linen every week).
Do dust mites bite?
No. House dust mites don't bite. Allergic reactions come from active digestive enzymes in their droppings.
Sources
First-party sources, checked 28 October 2026:
- HouseDustMite.com
- Nell Nockles, on HouseDustMite.com
- House Dust Mite Products & Avoidance Steps
- Frequently Asked Questions