It seems that I may have a rat mite infestation. After getting bitten for a few days, my boyfriend and I noticed a bunch of tiny grayish bugs crawling along the wall in our apartment. They are round and appear to have six legs and two antennae. When looked at really close they seem to be white and brown or black. The area where they are crawling over is the underside of an outdoor electrical box. We looked in the box and found some kind of rodent dropping.

The bugs are easy to kill and we have been able to largely control them by simply over any cracks or holes in the wall. That said there are still mites in the apartment and I am still getting bitten. I have two cats, which doesn't help. I know the bites are coming from these tiny bugs though because I have caught them biting me!

I want to make sure that they are rat mites though... I have an exterminator coming later today but I have read that it is really hard to identify these kinds of mites. We have caught a bunch and have them in a jar but I don't know where to take them. I live in Oakland, CA. 

My other question is: if they are rat mites, can I or my cats be a host?