Unless properly treated, many die. It is usually spread by direct contact with infested animals and is readily transmissible to humans and to some other animals. The mites generally live only a limited time on a new animal host. The disease may persist in humans for 30 days or longer and cause extreme annoyance. It is advisable to bathe and change clothing as soon as possible after handling mangy hogs.
Similar follicle mites infest dogs, cattle, and other animals, as well as humans.
They penetrate the hair follicles and oil glands of the skin, where they complete their life cycle. When present in small numbers, they apparently cause the animal no serious inconvenience, but occasionally they increase rapidly and cause well-marked lesions in the skin of the affected animal. The disease is contagious to hogs of all classes. Mange mites are more difficult to eradicate than hog lice. Consequently, lice can be more easily reached with insecticides than mites.