concerns about mites found in both of my mealworm habits

[hbart]

Found what looks like fine sawdust is actually heave infestation of mites in with my mealworms. Anyway to save my worms? If I feed worms and oatmeal to chickens will they and my coop become infested with these mites? How can I prevent this from happening again? I use regular oatmeal, flax meal (for human consumption), and feed only carrots and apples.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hmmm... Never saw mites in the colony before. If they are regular mealworms, switch to wheat bran for substrate instead of oatmeal. There are thousands of species of mites, so the ones that are eating whatever is in your colony are probably not the kind that like birds. I'm by no means a mite expert though.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

When I first got my chickens I noticed millions of mites in my compost bin and was really concerned about them. Gallo del Cielo is correct about the different types of mites... they all live and eat different things and I'd be surprised if the ones in your mealworm bin would affect your chickens.