Help! Grain mites!

[Jennifer5419]

So I recently discovered grain mites on my chicken’s feed bag. They look like whitish dust but when you look closely you can see them moving. I’m assuming that I need to toss my open bag of feed, but what about the unopened feed? Is it likely that the mites have made their way inside the unopened bag as well, or is it possible to somehow clean the outside of the unopened bag and still use it? I’ve never dealt with grain mites before so I’d love some suggestions! Thank you!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So I recently discovered grain mites on my chicken’s feed bag. They look like whitish dust but when you look closely you can see them moving. I’m assuming that I need to toss my open bag of feed, but what about the unopened feed? Is it likely that the mites have made their way inside the unopened bag as well, or is it possible to somehow clean the outside of the unopened bag and still use it? I’ve never dealt with grain mites before so I’d love some suggestions! Thank you!

So, bad news. At certain levels of temp and humidty, grain mites do really well (somewhere around 75 F+, 85% humidity+). That means for those of us in the Southeast, they are a perennial problem for most of the year. That and mildew/molds.

Once they are in one bag, chances are quite good they are in the surrounding bags.

Grain mites do pose an allergen risk (apparently very dangerous to parakeets, and some reptiles, less typically dangerous to chickens) - but plenty of people feed it anyways. They don't produce any toxins/poisons, but they don't help the feed quality any.

If your bags are small enough, and you have the space, freezing WILL kill the grain mites, but you will have to freeze the bag completely thru (which, depending on size and freezer capacity, could take several days to a week). and then when it defrosts, all the humidity in the air will want to form on it, encouraging molds and mildews... The other option is to put your feed bag in a thick black plastic bag first thing in the AM and expose it to full sun all day - you want it to get VERY hot in there, like tenting a house, and stay there for an extended period.

 

[Jennifer5419]

So, bad news. At certain levels of temp and humidty, grain mites do really well (somewhere around 75 F+, 85% humidity+). That means for those of us in the Southeast, they are a perennial problem for most of the year. That and mildew/molds.

Once they are in one bag, chances are quite good they are in the surrounding bags.

Grain mites do pose an allergen risk (apparently very dangerous to parakeets, and some reptiles, less typically dangerous to chickens) - but plenty of people feed it anyways. They don't produce any toxins/poisons, but they don't help the feed quality any.

If your bags are small enough, and you have the space, freezing WILL kill the grain mites, but you will have to freeze the bag completely thru (which, depending on size and freezer capacity, could take several days to a week). and then when it defrosts, all the humidity in the air will want to form on it, encouraging molds and mildews... The other option is to put your feed bag in a thick black plastic bag first thing in the AM and expose it to full sun all day - you want it to get VERY hot in there, like tenting a house, and stay there for an extended period.

Thank you! I don’t have the space to freeze it, but I will try putting the unopened feed bag in the sun in a black trash bag. Would you just immediately toss the open bag, or is that potentially salvageable too?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you! I don’t have the space to freeze it, but I will try putting the unopened feed bag in the sun in a black trash bag. Would you just immediately toss the open bag, or is that potentially salvageable too?

I free range my birds, and have a much greater risk tolerance than most - I'd black bag all of it, set it in my punishing FL summer sun.