Mites? Small tiny white specs on insect tanks

[jadeaudio]

Today I noticed on my insect feeder tanks there are small white speckles all over the black trim and screen tops. I thought it was weird and then I notice they move. I have a tank of Dubias, a tank of crickets and a cricker cage of superworms that I use oats as bedding. Now what are these little specs of moving things and is it something I need to worry about. I cleaned them off as much as possible and I dumped all the oats and used new different brand oats. I am guessing they came from the oats because I changed brands this time because they were out of the kind I usually buy. The only way I can totally clean them up is to throw away all my feeders and disinfect everything. Will they just spread more and more? Are they harmful? Any help would be appreciated so I know what I am dealing with.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

They are grain mites. They are nasty, create small clusters of gooey mess in your bins, and reproduce exponentially. They reproduce if the grain gets moist. I don't know if the mite sprays work on them or not. They are not harmful to your animals, but you need to get rid of them anyway. I used to get them, too, until I changed gutload formula and cricket supplier. Twice I didn't realize until their numbers exploded in a feeder bin. To get rid of them what I did was remove the feeder bugs to a clean fresh bin, and keep all the moist stuff away from the dry stuff. I realize the feeder bugs will carry their dry food into their moist food area, so sometimes it can't be helped. For this reason I also stopped using the water crystals as their water source. Because the mites would breed in them.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

Until (and maybe forever) you have erradicated the mites, set the insect feeder container into a shallow secondary pan with a 1/2" of soapy water. The grain mites that crawl out of the insect feeder container will drown in the soapy water. Their populations can spread by the millions all over a room if you don't stop them .

 

[jadeaudio]

Damn..... Yeah I would have never noticed until I saw them on the black trim of the tanks. They breed by moisture. So it's hard to say exactly where they are from. Will they die from cold temps? Its cold here in Michigan now. I can simply throw the tanks in the garage to kill them if the cold will kill them. They are so small though that I cannot tell if they are anywhere else in the room. How else can I get rid of them or how can I even see them? I seriously cannot see them unless they are on a dark surface. Can they harm me or my dog? Sorry for all the questions. I just want to know as much as I possibly can do understand and get rid of them.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

I'd just use-up the feeders in that container, toss the bedding, clean the containers, and start-up again .

I'm not aware of any health issues regarding the mites but thay can sure make a mess in a kitchen if they make there way into food there.

 

[whitespyder]

ewww yes that happened to me once when i put sliced carrots in a closed container of mealworms with very little ventilation. i forgot about the worms for a few days and before i knew it, those little mites were crawling all over my desk and got into my drawers...it was very gross. im assuming they love moisture so keep the substrate dry and have plenty of ventilation.

 

[jojackson]

Scratch scratch scratch! I feel for you, been there, done that! Mite sprays for reptile use do work, good for the surroundings, but Id adsvise dumping the lot and starting again.
Clean the bins with very hot water, get them thouroughly dry before you start again.
Carrots on the surface for moisture is enough, ventilation is crucial.
Good luck, I feel itchy just remembering my own infestation.