Please Read! Totally flabbergasted!!

I really have no idea where this thread should go, so if a mod thinks there's a better location, by all means, toss this somewhere else...

I don't even know where to start... I bought this hog feed for my ASFs in May/June and started using it immediately. All of my feeder supplies, as well as all the ASFs are kept in my unfinished basement. Sometime in June, I noticed somewhat of a fine dust all over the 5gallon bucket lid that I emptied the hog feed bag into. I didn't pay any attention to it at all because I thought it was simply dust from the hog feed pellets after scooping a load into the ASF tubs.

I keep a jug of water down there (on top of the 5gallon bucket full of hog feed) so that I don't have to constantly have to run up and down the stairs when filling the ASF's water.

I've noticed the dust over everything around the hog feed bucket area and used a towel a few days ago to wipe all the dust off.

Well.... all the dust was back today so I looked closely at it.... And they're like microscopic bugs!!!!!!!!!! They are like the size of a pin head and barely move a quarter of an inch every minute. They seem to congregate in big groups which form the dust look.

They look like light tan little specks! I've always thought this was just dust before!

Does anyone have a clue what this is??? It must have come from inside the hog feed bag right??? The bucket that I emptied the feed into had a lid from the time that I put it all in there, but it isn't air tight... so these bugs could be from an external factor... But it just seems highly unlikely because our basement is very clean.

What is this crap!?

Yikes!
I have noticed A LOT of dust since switching over to hog feed.
I immediately went to check it. Now I see absolutely ZERO movement, I believe mine is just (tan) dust.
I wonder if it could be some sort in insect/parasite that was either in the feed, your basement or (hope not) your ASFs that is now being seen because of being covered in the feed dust?
I don't know, but the hog feed is very dusty...

They could be mites......not snake mites though. Probably some kind of dust mite. They are common even in clean houses.
My guess is that a population of mites that would have gone unnoticed has exploded. Nice humidity, a great food source and boom....mite city. The "dust" is most likely a collection of living mites, dead mites, and exoskeletons....if they shed (I'm not sure about this but I guess they do).

Try keeping your feed in airtight containers with a good seal. There are some made for big dogs that I keep my turtle food in.
You could keep the feed in a chest freezer until you are ready to use it.
Or keep less on hand.....but that defeats the purpose of buying in bulk, right?

As far as killing the mites for good.....I don't think it will happen if it is in fact the buggers that I am thinking of. They are pretty common. You could keep them in check with insecticides but who wants to live in insecticide city?

Anyone that makes their own fruitfly cultures knows that they have to battle "the other kind of mite" from time to time. One day the cultures look clean and a few days later....oh no.

They seem relatively harmless. I haven't noticed any change in my ASFs since June. The ASFs actually started breeding better once I moved them to the basement in June.

Joe, I think you nailed this problem on the head. The basement is at a good 70% level of humidity. It's dark and they have all this food at their disposal. As far as the "mite" problem... What do you think I could do?


If I moved the hog feed into an air tight bucket, I'm sure a large portion of the mite colony would be moved with it... And I can't really fumigate my basement with pesticide...

Thoughts???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mitch21

I really have no idea where this thread should go, so if a mod thinks there's a better location, by all means, toss this somewhere else...

I don't even know where to start... I bought this hog feed for my ASFs in May/June and started using it immediately. All of my feeder supplies, as well as all the ASFs are kept in my unfinished basement. Sometime in June, I noticed somewhat of a fine dust all over the 5gallon bucket lid that I emptied the hog feed bag into. I didn't pay any attention to it at all because I thought it was simply dust from the hog feed pellets after scooping a load into the ASF tubs.

I keep a jug of water down there (on top of the 5gallon bucket full of hog feed) so that I don't have to constantly have to run up and down the stairs when filling the ASF's water.

I've noticed the dust over everything around the hog feed bucket area and used a towel a few days ago to wipe all the dust off.

Well.... all the dust was back today so I looked closely at it.... And they're like microscopic bugs!!!!!!!!!! They are like the size of a pin head and barely move a quarter of an inch every minute. They seem to congregate in big groups which form the dust look.

They look like light tan little specks! I've always thought this was just dust before!

Does anyone have a clue what this is??? It must have come from inside the hog feed bag right??? The bucket that I emptied the feed into had a lid from the time that I put it all in there, but it isn't air tight... so these bugs could be from an external factor... But it just seems highly unlikely because our basement is very clean.

What is this crap!?

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i have them also. they look like some type of mite. they are not reptile mites nor are they actually on my rats or mice. also i put one on my arm and left it there for awhile and they dont seem to bite me. they pretty much just like the hog food and harlan lab blocks

Hmm the only thing I can think of to help, at least a little, is to get an air filter to get some of the mites out of the air. Just the thought of breathing those things into my lungs is blah xP

Just had the same problem with my mealworms. Looks like a Grain mite population explosion. It's really gross because they're just everywhere.

Here's the thread, that link provided by Josh is a pretty good read particularly the section on grain mites.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=99796

About all you can do I guess is put the bag in a sub zero freezer for a few weeks or so, though I wonder if heating it up in an oven would work the same way? Maybe 160 degrees for half an hour or so? Probably just best to throw it out and buy some new stuff.

Yuck, does sound like grain mites.

You can purchase an auto fly-sprayer from TSC. It will spray permethrin (sp) every 15 minutes. Should kill every darn bug down there. Make sure you have a fan moving air though.


I have a picture somewhere... They are the little pearly bumps on the super worm. Yuck!

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...lady/bugs1.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...lady/bugs3.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mitch21

As far as the "mite" problem... What do you think I could do?


If I moved the hog feed into an air tight bucket, I'm sure a large portion of the mite colony would be moved with it... And I can't really fumigate my basement with pesticide...

Thoughts???

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Start over with new food. If you are going to use an insecticide do so before bringing the new food in.

As far as the food you have now, use it or lose it....it's up to you. If you want to use it, I would freeze it first. The mites won this time just take steps to keep them at bay next time.

And you are right they are relatively harmless...with the exception of allergies. I'm not sure if it is their feces, or shed skin, etc. but some people can be pretty allergic to them.

Oh yeah....forgot to mention insecticidal shelf liner. Do a search for it.

Once you get things clean, you could keep your airtight bucket on a shelf lined with this paper. It is not the end all but could be part of the solution.

I keep my cultures on it to help prevent mite infestation.

thanks mark it does sound like that is what they probally are and seeing that we are all pretty much in the humid area of the country im sure thats got alot to do with it

I know how you feel. Im having a problem here with gnats from in my water monitors enclosure from the high humidity level

You could always try PAMing them... :stab:

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

You could always try PAMing them... :stab:

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you cant use pam on rodent food or on rodents, but i do have it sprayed all over my room just in case and i had to really search my food from these little buggers

Thanks for all the responses everyone! They've definitely been helpful in calming me down from my initial freakout!


I would really like to salvage the food if possible. It's a 40lb bag of which there's about 30lbs left! So in order to make my mite genocide as efficient as possible, what should I do?

I was thinking:

1. Remove all rats from tubs (I'm not really sure on how to cleanse the rats because I'd imagine there's mites attached to them...)
2. Rinse and lightly bleach all tubs.
3. Set up tubs in a separate area of the basement so the mites can't easily relocate to the new area.
4. Oven bake the 30lbs of food at about 180 degrees??
5. Seal all the freshly baked hog feed in air tight containers and keep them in my room on the second story where air isn't humid...
6. Feed rats small portions in the new area of the basement.

What are everyone's thoughts??? Do you think this would work? Or would this be pissing in the wind?

If I eliminate the food source, would the mites in the current area eventually die off?

You should try using one of those heavy duty Vaccums and sucking those things into a whirlwind of hell:rage:

Sounds like it could be the same type of bugs that can develop in brown rice. I have seen them pop up in a completely sealed container in my pantry. It freaked me out the first time too.

From the reading I did about them you can freeze them to death and then supposedly it's completely safe for human consumption. I tossed the rice and bought new.

So either way if I bake the food at a high temperature or a throw the bag out and buy something new... What's to keep another colony from arising or from one or two pregnant leftover mites from forming a whole new colony??

I'm currently oven cooking the hog feed at 220 for 25 minsk, so we'll see if thus makes a difference. I also bought an air tight container for the baked feed. Hopefully all this will make a difference.

Well I ended up cooking it at about 240 for 45 minutes and there were many dead mites... However, there were TONS of alive mites as well...

:confused::confused::confused:

Lots of grain bugs "mites" are already in these types of foods. Anything from hogg food, bird food, and monkey biscuits.. To many of the grains you buy for yourself. Cereal, corn meal or corn bread mix, rice, oatmeal, you name it..

The problem is usually not caught before it leaves the processing and packaging plant because they are just eggs at that point.. Then sometime during shipment or shelf storage, if conditions are right, they can hatch and BOOM, a bug explosion..

Ive actually opened brand new, unexpired boxes of cereal or cornmeal to find bugs crawling around in it..

Baking it can help but these little buggers are very resilient. Either you will burn the food or never kill all of them with baking. Freezing is another option but its also not guaranteed. They can go dormant if frozen and even adults may die, but there will still be eggs that will most likely hatch when it warms up again..

Its really a lose lose situation. ALl you can do is everything you previously listed. Try to relocate the rats for a day to fumigate the basement and then just use all the control methods other people have listed here. Unfortunately you might never completely get rid of them if you dont get rid of the food. If you got rid of the food you run the risk of it happening again with your next food purchase.

Get ahold of the company too ask for a refund or discount on the food you purchased due to infestation..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Draigess

Ive actually opened brand new, unexpired boxes of cereal or cornmeal to find bugs crawling around in it..
.

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what has been read can not be unread!

i'm a cereal junkie, i HAVE to forget this X.x;

i have had issues of moth eggs in guinea pig food before though..so it does happen. omg, open the food container BOOM moths EVERYWHERE. ..it was so bad.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

what has been read can not be unread!

i'm a cereal junkie, i HAVE to forget this X.x;

i have had issues of moth eggs in guinea pig food before though..so it does happen. omg, open the food container BOOM moths EVERYWHERE. ..it was so bad.

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LOL oh geeze i hope i didnt ruin your day by posting that! Its sad and scary but true.. Just dont turn into a fanatic now who inspects their cereal everytime they eat it :rofl: Sorry :O