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AyePlus
Stony Danza



Registered: 12/18/14
Posts: 3,393
Loc: Fairfield, Connecticut
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Mite infestation! 1
#26356481 - 12/02/19 12:15 AM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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 Its not.. Trust me its not cool at all.
Been having some issues for about 2-3 months now. Jars that were g2g’d recovered fine, colonized all the way and looked great, but few days later a small spot of trich would appear on what looked to be a grain that had dried out, or dropped from the lid
Heres an example:


At first I blamed my sterile tek, then I started to blame my lids, I thought that my grain was drying out, and spores were managing to swirl their way up into the jar. In some of the jars the “drying out” look began and trich didnt form. In any case it seemed to only happen at the top, and if it was from my g2g it would be in the whole jar.

At this point I’m starting to think its something else but I couldnt find anything when I threw a couple grains under a microscope, so I figured it must be my spore load and dry grain prep. so I could deep clean, boil the grain a little longer and everything would go back to normal, Bought some silicone seal and leak proof lids, discarded Most of the sketchier looking jars and continue on as normal.
WelL fast forward to today, I finally got around to dumping the discarded jars and what did I see

And I’m thinking to myself Theres no way its just drying out, it looks like something is eating it. Wait a minute WTF


The little tiny white dots are moving!!! So I used a little water to wash them into a small jar and pipette’d a drop onto a slide, lo and behold!

These little fuckers are eating my grain spawn/myc and bringing contaminates in with them when they sneak into my jars.

They’re very likely Tyrophagus putrescentiae. Originated from my worm compost, full of rotting grain
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrophagus_putrescentiae
Another possibility is: Acarus siro, originating from my bags of grain, or possibly from food in my kitchen that contains flour or grain
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour_mite
(Thanks go to Tedsdead for helping me research mites)
Luckily I was right about it being my lids, even If I was wrong about the vector, and I have a bunch of jars that were wrapped or have silicone seals, so I’m not completely fucked, only a little, and mostly I’m just glad to finally have an answer and its actionable...
Tomorrow I’m dusting my entire house with Diatomaceous Earth, sweeping it into all the cracks and crevices and bombing my mush room with a pyrethrin bug bomb. After that I’m putting tanglefoot (spreadable sticky goop they’ll get trapped in and die) on the legs of my shelving units to catch any still undetected in jars and I know for sure they’re in some totes I just spawned And then I will be using silicone seals in all my plastic jar lids from now on or wrapping them, at least for a month or until i get this infestation under control. After this run of totes I will be cleaning bombing and dusting again. I’ll also be keeping RH in my house at 50 and temps in my room at 67 with the rest of my house at 60, because apparently they’re inhibited at lower temps.
Wish me luck...
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TedsDead



Registered: 01/03/17
Posts: 4,998
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: AyePlus]
#26356501 - 12/02/19 12:32 AM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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best of luck friend. fuck those fuckers! im sorry you had to bear the news but thanks for bringing this risk to our attention.
mite-roscope will be my next purchase or maybe micro... cant remember
-------------------- weed gets you through times of no money better than money gets you through times of no weed... -the fabulous furry freak bros If you can buy it, you can burn it!
https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/25947396#25947396
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curious.psychonaut
Stranger



Registered: 10/17/19
Posts: 282
Last seen: 4 years, 28 days
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: TedsDead]
#26356515 - 12/02/19 12:53 AM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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Cool mites; good luck killing them! Wonder if they get psychedelic effects when they eat shroom myc?
-------------------- My LAGM2020 grow log
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eLeSDenes
Mycelium Expander




Registered: 05/25/11
Posts: 955
Last seen: 2 years, 7 days
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2019: mite is the new trich
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alaskappalachian
Entitiologist


Registered: 10/22/19
Posts: 1,688
Loc: The 49th Dimension
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Quote:
curious.psychonaut said:

Cool mites; good luck killing them! Wonder if they get psychedelic effects when they eat shroom myc?
The last quality we need in mites is self-awareness...
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meaculpaUIO



Registered: 08/26/19
Posts: 956
Last seen: 4 years, 2 months
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Cool thread.
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TeaforTwo
Flight Attendant




Registered: 09/22/19
Posts: 1,005
Loc: Psychonaut City, Mile Hi!
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: AyePlus]
#26356897 - 12/02/19 09:20 AM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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Thanks for sharing this AyePlus! that tyrophagus one is new to me, likes mold and mush ugh... spider mites, definitely the bane to all indoor cult, thank fully we never got mite infestation indoors and a quick catch of aphids on a basil plant acted on quick kept them suckers from infesting the cannabis and other veggies when we had our aquaponics indoors. got a spider mite infestation on one of our flowers out front this past year, product called liquid ladybug cleared them up as well the indoor aphid outbreak.
take a look at pest management they are doing for aquaponics and hydroponics, esp cannabis cult. alot of organic controls are found to be effective, like DE (mechanical, cuts em up and dry em out) and pyrethrin (nerve agent, be mindful) and oils such as neem, rosemary, mint and citrus oils, even soapy water (sticks and suffocates). the trick is what to use that wont have negative impact on mush
another thing to consider is DE your grain storage container and space. iirc bodhisatta found adding a spoonful or two direct to grains stored and mixing it in helped and had no impact on later using said grain as usual.
-------------------- See a mush cult pic you love? add it here: January 2020 PoM nominations thread! (up vote your faves to ensure they are included in final vote!). Community selected winner receives a 6mo Supporter account upgrade and/or other prizes from our awesome admin team! Looking for something? Try Psilosopherr's Tek Compendium and pixelpopper's essentialzzz ForTheWin! Be well, friend. Stay Strong and Beautiful, Always, and in All Ways~ Look Forward, Seek Truth, Find Real, Go Further~
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AyePlus
Stony Danza



Registered: 12/18/14
Posts: 3,393
Loc: Fairfield, Connecticut
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: TeaforTwo] 1
#26356950 - 12/02/19 10:09 AM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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From my background In horticulture I have a pretty good comprehension of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and from my background in cannabis specifically I am well familiar with dealing with mites. as long as I can isolate everything, keep clean and knock the population back I should not have any major problems in the future.
To be completely honest this very likely stems from a general lack of cleanliness in my growing area and my house. I was rarely in town for the last couple months and when I did come to town I did not clean anything. Totes full of Spent sub, grain in the cracks coir dust everywhere, sink full of dishes... it was pretty much the perfect environment for them.
Good point on the DE in grain, hadnt thought of that, just put them in a barrel outside for now, definitely shoving DE under the baseboards and in every threshold of every door.
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spiritlands



Registered: 06/21/10
Posts: 1,616
Loc:
Last seen: 2 months, 14 days
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: AyePlus]
#26357464 - 12/02/19 04:00 PM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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I had the same thing happen but it wasn't eating my grain, they were in my Martha and on the top of the water in my 400 gal fish tank. I had to shut down to get rid of them bc I could never get them out of the fishtank. Mine came by way of gnats. I had some gnats around the Martha and found a couple inside it. No real damage to the harvest but they brought mite eggs on their bodies and they hatched in the Martha. My whole closet was full of moving dust. Cool you got a good pic of them, shitty they are eating your hard work. I would be more concerned with how they got past your filters to begin with. They're tiny but not compared to what we usually battle. As long as they're not near where you fruit you should be able to get rid of them easy just don't feed them, maybe switch to tyvek for a while.
  I keep snakes and from time to time I have to deal with snake mites. There is a product called proventamite that kills adult mites but not eggs. Lasts 6 weeks. There also nix lice spray which does kill mite eggs and it's$8 instead of $30. I use the combo to prevent mites from hatching and also to kill adults that are trying to travel over surfaces. They both contain pyrethrins and it is very potent poison. You may be able to treat your fc for them without poisoning your grow but you gotta get rid of anything they're eating and then treat the area you store your jars and around your fc. Also snake mites die at temps over 100 so a trick is to use a hair dryer to kill eggs on equipment or other things that are hard to clean. Best if luck to you. I didn't know about mites back then but I do now. I know you don't have snake mites but these chemicals work in them all. Hope that helps. Good luck.
Edited by spiritlands (12/02/19 04:20 PM)
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AyePlus
Stony Danza



Registered: 12/18/14
Posts: 3,393
Loc: Fairfield, Connecticut
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So far it has only happened with the white plastic one piece lids. Pretty sure they went past the filters and walked their way right up the thread. Could have definitely been brought in by gnats, and I also bought a bunch of the yellow sticky traps for them.
Strategies currently being enacted: -All afflicted jars have been dumped and rinsed, cleaned with hot bleach water before coming inside -Swept + mopped floors with bleach Diatomaceous earth for cracks and crevices around baseboards, thresholds etc Carpets and couch will be dusted with DE and vacuumed.(probably not necessary but why not) Yellow sticky traps and mini bug-zapper light for gnats Sticky bands around shelves (tanglefoot) Visual inspection and spray incubation/all jars and outsides of totes with pyrethrin. All new grain jars will come from uncontaminated source and lids will all have seals Extra isopropyl usage during g2gs Fruit fly traps in the kitchen. Dusting of DE around perimeter of worm bin
When the current run is over I’ll bug bomb it and do another deep clean but for now gonna let it ride and vacuum a bunch, cant justify dumping all my tubs/spawn out of pure paranoia. At least I know what I’m up against.
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,392
Loc: where?
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: AyePlus]
#26357587 - 12/02/19 05:24 PM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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Gross ....
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filthyknees
no coincidence


Registered: 03/08/13
Posts: 6,283
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: mushboy]
#26357652 - 12/02/19 06:05 PM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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I had a terrible mite infestation weeks ago. four bug bombs over three days didn't take care of it in my case - only a small fraction of them where killed,
I ended sweeping, diluted bleach mopping and diluted heavy bleach spray on all walls and shelves, that did the trick absolutely.
good luck
-------------------- But if you're in a hurry, and really got to go If you're in a hurry, might have to find out slow That it's one thing to try and another to fly You get there quicker just a step at a time It's one thing to bark, another to bite The show ain't over till you pack up at night
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trubblesome
Stranger


Registered: 11/09/19
Posts: 406
Last seen: 11 months, 4 days
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yeah, don't waste your time with bug bombs, you just get pyrethrin on top of all your shit and the bugs go hide underneath it or in the walls or wherever they can. Do your IPM and if you do chemicals do residual barrier treatments that they have to cross to look for a food source. As someone who goes through pest problems two or three times a year for work, accepting it and tossing things that are painful to toss is easier to do right from the get go rather than trying to get by and having to toss it all later anyway.
I should add - you're right to not let paranoia take over, that can be dangerous with pests.
--------------------
Edited by trubblesome (12/02/19 09:33 PM)
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filthyknees
no coincidence


Registered: 03/08/13
Posts: 6,283
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How's it going
-------------------- But if you're in a hurry, and really got to go If you're in a hurry, might have to find out slow That it's one thing to try and another to fly You get there quicker just a step at a time It's one thing to bark, another to bite The show ain't over till you pack up at night
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AyePlus
Stony Danza



Registered: 12/18/14
Posts: 3,393
Loc: Fairfield, Connecticut
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Too early to tell for sure, I had already spawned a bunch of totes that may or may not have had mites before realizing I had them. They’re mostly knotting up right now, doesnt seem to be any mite action but fuckers are so small idk
I got the place clean AF and I think I caught it before expanding too many jars that were infested, atm I’m feeling pretty good about it but we’ll see, as a side effect of the DE treatment I havent seen an ant In days, which is epic
I’ve been tossing any jars that look off in any way or dry at the top, and spawning every jar that looks good but doesnt have a silicone seal,
I g2g’d a couple of the possibly infested ones before figuring out what was going on, one set went yeasty and yellow and green right away, but 2/3 of them colonized fine and I’m spawning them today, I’m kinda curious how badly they affect things, and whether its possible that more people have them and don’t know it. Maybe they’re more common than we think. Also I dont want to waste the grain and I already have possibly infested totes so theres not alot to lose.
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spiritlands



Registered: 06/21/10
Posts: 1,616
Loc:
Last seen: 2 months, 14 days
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: AyePlus]
#26365900 - 12/06/19 09:18 PM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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Your case is interesting bc they were in jars but when it hit my Martha I most def went from NOT having them to HAVING them moving in waves on everything including the entire inside/outside of the Martha. If they make it to fruiting they will be blatantly obvious. It sucks so bad. I would never think to look for them in the jar it's crazy you found them in time.
I know for bed bugs co2 kills them and you can fog a couch or mattress by wrapping it in plastic and putting dry ice in it overnight. Might be an interesting way to kill them in the tubs you spawned and maybe it would shock it with the fresh air when it dissipates. Maybe not idk if it's ever been tried. This is a cool thread btw
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AyePlus
Stony Danza



Registered: 12/18/14
Posts: 3,393
Loc: Fairfield, Connecticut
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Fuckers are definitely still around..

Yeild in this tote was garbage, 75% BE at best, tossing it into the compost bin today
On the flip side, this tote was made from grain that was minimally infested but definitely had what looked like mite damage,


The saga continues
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natedawgnow
Rocky mountain hood rat



Registered: 02/09/15
Posts: 8,939
Loc: ation
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: AyePlus]
#26381108 - 12/14/19 10:51 AM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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Honestly dude I feel for you. Mites are a serious bitch anf very hard to get rid of. They chew right through any type of filter material and are damn near invincible. I had a mite issue about 3 years ago. Seriously wasn't able to grow a tub to save my life for a solid year almost.
Those trails in the condensation are tell tale signs of the bastards. If I were you I'd toss everything you have, put all of your equipment in the center of your room and set off a few pyrethrin bombs then clean everything with bleach once you can enter the room. Then start from scratch with spores
Sounds extreme but seriously burning your place to tbe ground is the only other way to get rid of them.
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AyePlus
Stony Danza



Registered: 12/18/14
Posts: 3,393
Loc: Fairfield, Connecticut
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I sprayed pyrethrin on everything and have been bleaching surfaces regularly, caught them relatively early I think. Havent seen any signs in my agar or newer runs of grain. Already did the deep clean of my whole house and the room but definitely finishing this run and doing another cleaning. I kinda have alot going on rn so dumping is not an option. And start over from spores? Now you're just being dramatic. I’m still pulling decent yields in totes on the same shelf, look at my potd..
Luckily i have an interim space to move a few clean jars over to and expand.
I don’t think they were chewing through my filters as much as just crawling up the threads of the plastic one piece lids.
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spiritlands



Registered: 06/21/10
Posts: 1,616
Loc:
Last seen: 2 months, 14 days
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Re: Mite infestation! [Re: AyePlus]
#26381336 - 12/14/19 01:27 PM (4 years, 2 months ago) |
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Pyrethrin only kills adults so expect to wait out a full lifecycle before you see them gone. Nix aerosol lice spray is only $8 but it has something in it that kills eggs. So I use both types. As long as you stop giving them food they will go away. Good luck, I'm cheering for you
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