by Poepstring » Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:19 pm
You don't have to chuck your sand.
There is plenty products in the pet shops safe to use & specific to reptile enclosures / housings etc to disinfect & use as anti -mite spays
A little bit of bleach diluted in water works well to a washing aid for wiping the cage down.
Do it thoroughly, those little bastards get into every tiny little seam, crack or even in the light fittings if the infestation is severe.
It just takes two little $%^& or one pregnant female for them to take over the enclosure again.
As for the sand, I'd wash it in a stronger bleach solution, rinse it well with some fresh water, (use a coarse cloth to contain the sand while washing over a bucket as it works as a fine net)
Once dried & not smelling like a bleach factory, place in a steel pan and in an oven for a few minutes at 120-150deg (use a spoon to stir the sand in order to spread the heat in between). Just to ensure no living organism is still living in your sand.. for peace of mind, I do the "heat treatment" even with freshly bought sand. Sometimes those bought "sterilized" substrate packets were stored in dodgy corners of the pet shop.
I believe you can use the MW, but never tried it.
Mites can be brought into your tank by any ornament you place into the tank that has not been disinfected.
Wood & even older newspapers kept in storage for use later in the snake cages helped for a mite explosion in my experience.
I nuke all wooden objects with boiling kettle water before I disinfect with diluted bleach.
Also keep in mind that prey items, regardless of the "quality supplier" you purchase from when feeding live prey (opposed to frozen & thawed) can at some point give off mites.
Good Luck