Uh well, I think there are mites in with my mealies, I'm freakin out just because I finnaly got my mealies on track again, I ran out a while back and they had just started hatching out the instar mealies when I found mites on my potatoes.

what should I do?, I've quit feeding the mealies to my lizards for safety.
I'm willing to start over but I'd rather not from scratch.
Could the mites be harmful to my lizards/me?

Please help

Hello,
I experienced something similar a long while back. I ordered a large quantity of mealworms online, and it came with some little critters.

When I opened the container and dumped all of the mealies into their housing container, I noticed that the substrate was "alive". It was literally moving.
After closer inspection, I realized that the potatoes were covered with small insects that were very much like mites.

I did some research, as I didn't understand how "mites" could eat and survive off of mealworms and potatoes. I found out that they were not the same type of mites that we encounter with our reptiles. These were a garden pest.

Long story short, I don't recall what they were called. I do remember that I ended up tossing all of my mealies and I started my culture over again. Paranoia that these "mites" could infest my reptiles was too much for me.

OK I don't know anything about mealies or lizards, but I have had VERY recent and horrid experience with reptile mites!
My STRONG advice: When in doubt, throw it out!!!! The whole lot!
Rich might be right that they are a different kind of bug, but believe me, you can't be TOO cautious when it comes to reptile mites... so I'd do what he did, start over! Get rid of or "nuke" (with Reptile Relief or permethrin) anything that was touched by the critters... get them as quickly as possible as far away from your lizards as possible !

Do I sound paranoid?

Good luck!!

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Andrea

Is there any safe treatment I could use on my lizards in case I noticed these mites a little late ?

I think I'm going to nuke the mealies , some loss, but there aren't many big enough to feed right now.

What would you suggest I do if they're in my room ? I think they actually entered from there into the breeding tub. you said they were a garden variety this sounds reasonable enough, but my mom probably wouldn't appreciate millions of mini mites crawling around the house.

Any help getting rid of these would be greatly appreciated. And just how do you go about dumping about a 11/2lb tub of oatmeal and worms? burn bin?, several plastic bags?

Like Rich said, tey are most likely a garden pest. Different species of mites are very specific to different food sources. I doubt they'd pose a threat to your herps, but if you're still worried or just annoyed by their presence, I don't think there's much you can do short of starting over from scratch.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

well, I got myself some new mealies, and I got an all new container, I'm starting from scratch, this way I don't even have to worry about bleaching out the old box.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

Good luck! Mites are a pain in the butt, no matter what they're after!

__________________
+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield