Grain mites

[elizaann2]

Hello Chamily!

Unfortunately I have been traveling pretty much this entire month of July and am just getting back home and settled into my life/routine. When cleaning my bug bins last night I found a horrible hoard of grain mites all over my superworm and mealworm bin (for my hamster don't worry). I've thrown everything out but they are all over the room my bugs were in. Does anyone have any tips/tricks for me to get rid of them?

Is there anything I can do to prevent grain mites in the future? Should I freeze all bran flakes/substrates for my bugs for a week before using it?

Thank you!

 

[nightanole]

As the resident expert on creating grain mite colonies...

They require 3 things:
Grains. Not carbs, not bran, not seeds, just grain. Hint hint, no oatmeal, just bran.
Moisture.
Mites. They normally hitch a ride on something else.


But all hope is not lost, at least for the supers. To get rid of them, just get rid of the grains, and keep the media and food very dry. Present moist food on a "non edible tray" and replace it daily.

It should only take two weeks to clean up the mess. They live very short flicker lives, so once the adults die in a few days to a week, the eggs(and the eggs that hatch) will die off in a few days to a week. Since the hatchers will not have much of a food/water supply, they wont lay eggs. So at that point the cycle is broken.


You dont have to clean house and bleach bomb etc, or wash each worm. You just have to break the flicker life cycle. Just one generation...

 

[elizaann2]

Oh man that is a huge relief for me. I wish I would have asked first before I took any action last night. I threw away my whole super and mealworm colony and just bought replacement ones this morning. Oh well...live and learn I guess.

Thank you so much for the help! Its nice to know that they are relatively easy to get rid of. I was freaking out last night as you can imagine.....the hubby wasn't too thrilled either

 

[nightanole]

Oh man that is a huge relief for me. I wish I would have asked first before I took any action last night. I threw away my whole super and mealworm colony and just bought replacement ones this morning. Oh well...live and learn I guess.

Thank you so much for the help! Its nice to know that they are relatively easy to get rid of. I was freaking out last night as you can imagine.....the hubby wasn't too thrilled either

Oh some times its out of a monster movie. You will get a bloom over a few days and you will see this living sand on everthing in the room. The sand wil move and rise up even a half inch and then go back down. It makes people want to just throw a roach bomb into the room and run. But like i said they only live for a few days.

 

[Beman]

 

[elizaann2]

Oh some times its out of a monster movie. You will get a bloom over a few days and you will see this living sand on everthing in the room. The sand wil move and rise up even a half inch and then go back down. It makes people want to just throw a roach bomb into the room and run. But like i said they only live for a few days.

Oh ya I have a LOT, its nasty, all my bins feel grainy cuz they are all over them. I'm glad they only live a few days. Hopefully I can stop the cycle within a week so I don't have further issues.

If I freeze my bran flakes before I use them moving forward would that help?

 

[elizaann2]

I know right? I'd laugh but....its not funny cuz its happening to me

 

[Beman]

I know right? I'd laugh but....its not funny cuz its happening to me

I totally get it. I will laugh for you

 

[nightanole]

Oh ya I have a LOT, its nasty, all my bins feel grainy cuz they are all over them. I'm glad they only live a few days. Hopefully I can stop the cycle within a week so I don't have further issues.

If I freeze my bran flakes before I use them moving forward would that help?

Bran doesnt cause mites. Mites cant eat bran. You use bran so you dont get mites. The bran is the outside of the grain.

 

[elizaann2]

Bran doesnt cause mites. Mites cant eat bran. You use bran so you dont get mites. The bran is the outside of the grain.

oh weird because I mainly found them in and around my bins with bran flakes. . Maybe my infestation is just really bad?

 

[nightanole]

oh weird because I mainly found them in and around my bins with bran flakes. . Maybe my infestation is just really bad?

I find layers on my tv set, i dont think they are eating it. They lay eggs in a moist spot, and they only eat grains, and maybe seeds because those are grains too? But they will not eat the hull.

 

[elizaann2]

I find layers on my tv set, i dont think they are eating it. They lay eggs in a moist spot, and they only eat grains, and maybe seeds because those are grains too? But they will not eat the hull.

Ok that makes sense