Mites things?

[Trinityblood]

I know, & in summer, I avoid running my oven too. Glad you don't leave with oven on- You definitely want to keep an eye on the stove/oven when it's on, whether food or baking substrate.

I didn't get any bugs in my Repti-Bark, but I just know others have posted about it, & not just this product specifically, but any similar ones that are "appealing" to the little buggers. It's not all the time, but it can happen. The bags have small air holes & then sometimes bugs find a "home".

I live and learn. Thanks for the advice! I'm convinced they came in the reptibark since I just did a deep clean and used a full bag of it for the first time. And it's causing incredibly humidity which bugs love. I'll be baking this substrate prior to use if I get it again.

[Trinityblood]

I decided to purge. I really don't have the time to bake all the substrate and luckily tomorrow is trash day so I can put it all out on the curb. And I'm not sure if I can get all the mites and not cross contaminate while shifting so much substrate around. Plush some are probably still around despite a lot of vacuuming when it flys onto the floor. I don't want this to be an ongoing battle. Trying to get rid of any kind of infestation can be a PETA. I threw it all out and I'm going to bake the grapevines that I have to salvage them.

I'm not finding anything on the internet to ensure they're gone. Would spraying the viv down and the fake plants with vinegar get rid of them? Should I do paper towels for a month or something to ensure they're gone?

[Bogertophis]

Remember they're harmless, & nothing whatsoever like dealing with snake mites. No, don't spray with vinegar. If you want to do paper towels, that's up to you. BTW, used Reptibark is great as landscaping mulch too- & those bugs are harmless there too.

Depending on where you live & how hot it is, you might have been able to just put the bag of substrate out in the hot sun for a while, like on top of a hot metal trash can. Like gnats, wood mites are nothing serious, just annoying.

[Trinityblood]

Remember they're harmless, & nothing whatsoever like dealing with snake mites. No, don't spray with vinegar. If you want to do paper towels, that's up to you. BTW, used Reptibark is great as landscaping mulch too- & those bugs are harmless there too.

I'm sure I'm overreacting. I've just had bad experiences with house infestations and really don't like bugs, so my first instinct is kill it with fire and everything else before it spreads. I pray I never get snake mites. I've been paranoid about them to the point of dumping my clothes in the washer and immediately taking a shower after I go to a reptile shop. I did dump some of the bark in the landscaping. They can live out there all they want!