To explain more about the life cycle of the black mite...as my vet explained it to me.
These are present on wild animals from birds to squirrels and then some. At some point the mites eggs fall off waiting for another host to stick to. They get onto the trees and that is how they wind up in the bedding. I have had friends get them on their hamsters and gerbils which were pets for their kids. I have tried baled pine from 3 different companies so far and they all seem to get it in cycles. I have found that these things live on anything with blood. And my vet confirmed they are not species specific. The ones on the rats and mice were the same species I treated everything for about 6 months ago. We used NIX on the snakes and sevin and ivomec on the rodents. Everything was cool until this new outbreak. I was hoping to avoid all the chemicals but I guess it is the best way to go all in all.
Thanks