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Post by DawnandDusk on Mar 6, 2022 19:57:25 GMT -8
Has anyone found a source for black soldier fly larvae or calciworms that doesn't have mites?
I need to make my own food mix for our gerbils because of food allergies in our family. I haven't found a safe commercial food. The black soldier fly larvae or calciworms are really important for the calcium balance in the mix. However, I think they were the source of our mite infestation (tropical red mites or red fowl mites) and I don't want to risk this again. I'm hoping that the trip to the vet for mite treatments for our two gerbils and our rabbit, two trips to the doctor for my daughter and me who are getting bites and had mites living in our hair, two treatments from an exterminator, new bedding and new gerbil food, and extensive cleaning of anything pet and pet food and pet bedding related will eliminate the mite problem. But I do not want this problem again. The vet said these mites can be really hard to get rid of. All the other foods I have for the gerbil mix are foods for us humans and a dried herb mix I feed the rabbit (and the rabbit didn't have mites). The new, non-human grade, thing I added to the gerbil food mix when this mite problem started was the black soldier fly larvae.
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Post by Markpd on Mar 13, 2022 5:57:18 GMT -8
Nightmare on the infestation! Afraid I can't help you, but maybe bumping your thread might prompt some replies. Re the calci worms you bought, how about just buying from a different producer? (And read any online reviews).
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Post by LilyandDaisy on Mar 13, 2022 16:43:01 GMT -8
I'm not sure about mite-free sources but you could try freezing them for a couple of weeks before opening the bag. That should kill any mites but I'm not sure about the eggs. I suppose you could even freeze them for two weeks, leave them at room temperature (but in a sealed bag) for a couple of weeks for any eggs to hatch, then freeze them again, though it's a lot of hassle.
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