Yep, surrounding area is important to consider...but so is cage decor. I used PAM and it really is great stuff. But found that a new bunch of mites still cropped up. I was ready to be mad with PAM until I saw where they were coming from: the driftwood climbing structure in her tank that I stupidly hadn't treated since I thought the wood would hold the PAM wet and hurt my girl. I tossed the wood, treated her tank again, and haven't seen a single mite anywhere since.