Thankfully I've never needed to use Provent-a-mite spray, but read the directions closely. I'm not sure about wooden hides or branches, typically mites can hide in
them & survive; I think most ppl battling mites discard such things, but you might be able to salvage them by doing more than one thing to them to destroy mites.
(ie. bake them @ 200* for 30-45 minutes, and then fog them & make sure they're completely dry before using; don't fog them first & then bake, as you'll be in-
haling the fumes & they might even be flammable, who knows? Don't take a chance, if you keep them bake first, then spray & enclose them in a plastic bag for a
while to make sure no mites can re-infest your snake...mites can be awful to fully get rid of.)

Paper towels (white) are fine as a substrate...you want to be able to see any mites if they survive. You can also use clean cardboard boxes with doorways cut to
fit your snake as temporary hides...you're correct in that your snake still needs to feel safe & secure, & he needs hides to do that. Many other things can be used
as hides too...upside down plastic plant saucers, for example...again, cut a doorway...or plastic food containers. Choose something that isn't much taller than your
snake & has only one modest size doorway...plastic has the advantage that mites have nowhere to hide & they can be easily cleaned.