All my rats are in wooden racks like many of the people use on this board. How should I go about treating the rack itself? I have thought about taking a torch & going over the whole thing once I see a decrease in mites to kill off any remaining eggs & other life stages.

I have delt with snake mites before so I have some experience when it comes to mites. I keep a can or two of pam (equate lice spray actually) around all the time.

I diluted the permethrin 10%, a tablespoon to a gallon. I have cleaned all the cages & sprayed them with it. I also sprayed cotton balls with it & let them dry, threw a few in each cage.
I already have installed one of those automatic sprayers as well.

Far as how it happend, I am not sure. I haven't brought in a new rats for months & I get my bedding & diet directly from harlan teklad. My thought is through wild mice since I have been battling them lately. Though it just dawned on me if the mites are host pacific could they be the carrier?
Thanks for the help, -Brad