Grain mites

[Lynn Manes]

Truthfully, I just don't like Purina products for any animals, so I try to avoid it unless it's my only source. Not to say the mites more likely occur in Purina brand, bc that we all know isn't the case. I have to say the longer I'm on this group, the more I'm definitely learning about raising birds. Not like chicken people haven't enough to deal with, but now mites added in to the equation to infest everything and everybody. My goodness. I will have to start being aware of these little critters now, too. I hope you get your mite problem under control soon, & I appreciate you shared this with us. For we newbies to bird raising, we can't help much to solve your issues, but you have taught us much-needed things to be aware of. Thank you.

 

[aart]

Truthfully, I just don't like Purina products for any animals, so I try to avoid it unless it's my only source. Not to say the mites more likely occur in Purina brand, bc that we all know isn't the case. I have to say the longer I'm on this group, the more I'm definitely learning about raising birds. Not like chicken people haven't enough to deal with, but now mites added in to the equation to infest everything and everybody. My goodness. I will have to start being aware of these little critters now, too. I hope you get your mite problem under control soon, & I appreciate you shared this with us. For we newbies to bird raising, we can't help much to solve your issues, but you have taught us much-needed things to be aware of. Thank you.

This thread is not about brand hating/blaming but about grain mites.

I have no idea if this particular mite problem started with Purina or it's just the store and came from another brand that I don't buy.

I have used Purina products for my dogs for 20 years, and chickens for 18 months, with no problems whatsoever. I will continue to buy Purina dog food from that store but have switched to another brand of chicken crumble from my local mill.

 

[aart]

Just thought I'd post an update as someone asked about this incidence.
Still am not buying any poultry feed from TSC, but have seen the grain mites in my bins again.
Not sure if they are from the mill I use now or left overs from the TSC infestation,
but they are easily eradicated with DE......
......indeed grain mites are probably the number one reason that DE is an ingredient in many feeds.
They are really quite physically fragile insects and cause no harm directly to the chickens.

 

[Jujubara]

Aart, I enjoyed the picture from your microscope! Twice we had an infestation from feed we purchased from TSC. I no longer buy any feed from there. I have gone back repeatedly and they are still infested all over, inside the store. A rep from Nutrena has been to the store and told them how to clean and store the feed, but they're still there. Nasty little buggers. I sprinkled roach powder that had boric acid in it all over my porch to kill 'em.

 

[aart]

Aart, I enjoyed the picture from your microscope! Twice we had an infestation from feed we purchased from TSC. I no longer buy any feed from there. I have gone back repeatedly and they are still infested all over, inside the store. A rep from Nutrena has been to the store and told them how to clean and store the feed, but they're still there. Nasty little buggers. I sprinkled roach powder that had boric acid in it all over my porch to kill 'em.

Thanks....it was fun to do.

So what feed did you buy and when?

 

[Jujubara]

It was the Nutrena Nature Wise starter/grower. Once was in the middle of July. Second was about a month later. The company was great and sent me quite a few coupons for free bags of any feed. But I believe it was on the bag and not in the food.  

 

[orumpoultry]

I know this is an old thread, but those little mites are a nightmare. Purina products seem to be the first ones to bloom at my store ( I work at a local TSC ). Every few months or so they pop up HEAVILY. Starting with Omalene and moving to the chicken feeds.

They don't do much damage to anything other than the bag. Easy to kill, but, reinfestation will occur in certain conditions.

I've never noticed them on any other feed products.

Just my two cents.

 

[aart]

It was the Nutrena Nature Wise starter/grower. Once was in the middle of July. Second was about a month later. The company was great and sent me quite a few coupons for free bags of any feed. But I believe it was on the bag and not in the food.

Thanks @Jujubara ....I thought they might just be on the bag and not inside, they are impossible to see on the light colored feed or white bag lining....
...so I thoroughly wiped down the unopened bag with mild bleach water and set it on a black dog crate tray, within an hour or two bag and tray were swarming again.

Purina told me they are very common, exist everywhere, and will only proliferate during hot, humid conditions.
Didn't buy that at first, but now do after observation(much watching of dust to see if it moves, haha!).
But I passed on giving them my address and getting coupons. I'm much happier with the Prince brand 20% crumble as it has animal proteins.

I know this is an old thread, but those little mites are a nightmare. Purina products seem to be the first ones to bloom at my store ( I work at a local TSC ). Every few months or so they pop up HEAVILY. Starting with Omalene and moving to the chicken feeds.

They don't do much damage to anything other than the bag. Easy to kill, but, reinfestation will occur in certain conditions.

I've never noticed them on any other feed products.

Just my two cents.

@orumpoultry Thanks for chiming in. no problem with being late to the game, folks looking for info in the future can learn.
So how does the store handle or 'treat' a bloom when it happens?

 

[orumpoultry]

All infested bags are pulled from the floor and isolated. We then bleach, spray, sweep, and wipe every location the bags came from. Purina is right. They're very common little bugs.

 

[aart]

All infested bags are pulled from the floor and isolated. We then bleach, spray, sweep, and wipe every location the bags came from. Purina is right. They're very common little bugs.

I was surprised, at first, when tsc wanted me to bring the infested bags back into the store.
Thought he didn't believe me....later figured he knew well about it.

Now that I know more about them....they don't freak me out so much.
I just keep the bag isolated in metal cans and sprinkle DE in the feed, on outside of bag, inside the can, on lid of can, and on the floor around the can.