What type of bug lives in fresh, clean straw?

[ChikeeMomma]

I keep the straw that I use for chicken bedding in my garage. I notice these tiny almost sand colored bugs in it. If I go out to the coop and grab couple of eggs, I'll set them on the clean straw in the garage until I wash them at night. Sometimes I'll catch these little bugs running all over the eggs. The eggs definitely do not come out of the nestbox with these little bugs on them. It's only when the eggs have been on the clean straw that I find these critters on them.

I do check my chickens for lice/mites at night and have never found anything -- never found them on eggs fresh out of the coop, either. I am hoping that these are not transferable to chickens since they are in the clean bedding. I have been getting the straw from the same farmer for years. Any ideas?

 

[leonphelps]

buy some food grade DE and be done with the problem.

 

[annep]

No idea, but it drives me nuts when I put some in, and they scratch it all out! Hopefully, youll find out...I just put more in yesterday, but forgot about the DE...need to do that today..