Iāve mentioned grain mites in passing but I havenāt gotten into the details, so hereās the lowdown on a problematic critter.
Grain mites are very small and insanely prolific insects that get into grain, feed, flour, etc. They can destroy a store room of livestock food and hitch a ride into your kitchen. These were the bane of my existence for the past year at the feed store.
Grain mites turn the feed and can make animals sick. The first sign of an infestation is an off or sour smell in the feed room, rather than the normal pleasant sweet grainy smell. To confirm mite activity look at the stitching on the ends of bags. At the holes where the thread goes through you will see mounds of fluffy tan dust. A little bit of dust is normal (feed is dusty) but mites will appear in fluffed up piles and if you examine these closely youāll see them moving. The first image shows the bag stitching with piles emerging. The second photo shows a pile of mites thatās fallen onto a bag on a shelf below the bags they were initially infested. The third photo shows the mites themselves, they are easiest to see on the dark part of the label. They are very small specks, barely visible to the naked eye, apparent by their movement.
Grain mites are a royal pain in the ass. They are so small that they can be flung like dust and spread far and wide so sweeping them isnāt advised. They require a moisture source in their food and go after sweet feeds containing wet molasses or anything that gets damp. Their populations explode in hot and humid conditions and they literally move in waves from one location to the next.
The easiest way to deal with mites is to not let them into your storage. Inspect all bags and feed both when you buy them as well as routinely. Pull anything at the first sign of trouble and clean the area well. Vacuuming works best but be sure not to leave a vacuum full of mites in the same place youāre cleaning.There is not a single chemical you can spray that is safe to put in contact with feed and still effective at killing mites, making them difficult to eradicate from the environment, but knowing their living requirements will help slow them down. Cold and dry are key. Switching to feeds made with a powdered molasses also makes a big difference. I will share with you a method I pioneered that I havenāt heard of anyone else using and the exterminator I was working with called ābrilliantā.
Get out the Diatomaceous earth and start dusting it everywhere! DE, a fine powder cheaply available from farm and garden centers is the fossilized remains of diatoms or marine phytoplankton. Any critter with an exoskeleton will be killed by DE, it damages it and causes them to dehydrate. Itās not dangerous to kids, people, or animals unless you breath it in (like any fine powder) and of course you wouldāt want it to get blown in your eyes (again, like sand or any fine powder). It can really dry your hands. DE is about as innocuous as they come. I like to add it to chicken dustbaths to combat feather mites and in a mote around the base of my house to keep carpenter ants out. Itās is safe to eat and can be mixed right into feed!
To deal specifically with grain mites I rub it into all the wood shelves/surfaces that contaminated feed was stored on and nearby, into the outsides of bags to keep infestations out or to keep infestations already present from migrating to others, dust it under shelves and hard to reach places where mites can hide and make motes/barriers between affected and clean areas. I use a broom and gloved hands to spread it around. You can buy DE in bulk 50lb. bags and apply it with a cup or similar vessel, shake it carefully so you donāt get a face full of dust and wear a pair of work gloves because it will really dry out your hands. You can also wear a face mask and googles for extra protection. The powder is very fine and soft and will adhere easilly to surfaces. It can be swept or vacuumed later, just give it time for mites to come in contact with it. Unlike pesticides, DE application means your organic feed is still organic and poses no risks to animals. It is also safe to consume. If used outside it wonāt be effective when wet, but will start working again once it dries out. It poses no risks to soil but it can hurt beneficial insects like bees (anything with an exoskeleton) so apply it in strategic areas, at the source of problems and not far and wide. It can also be sprinkled in carpets and across thresholds of homes and swept or vacuumed later and makes a great addition to animal/livestock bedding to stop the spread of parasites.
May 17, 2017.
