Zen Peddler Posted June 10, 2014 After receiving a few plates from people and putting them straight into my collection stupidly I've noticed a couple of little white pin pirick sized critters walking around on my plates - not in them because I always tape mine - but on the outside. sone hardcore bleach cleaning the cure? I have no idea what they are eating as they can't get in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shortly Posted June 10, 2014 Check EVERY plate, slant, bag & jar. They will be there somewhere!!! Insidious little bastards, Phenothrin your room. I use a flea bomb top of a can & flood the room. Some surface spray around door jams & windows for any trying to enter or exit. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 10, 2014 Yeah I did. All are clean inside. I have an idea where they came from - well it could only be two people really. Its like an std! Lol. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) Double post Edited June 11, 2014 by Zen Peddler Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lindsay Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) you only got to mention fleas or nits and I start scratching. you had me checking everything with light and magnifying glass. wow I feel better now. Edited June 11, 2014 by lindsay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 11, 2014 I think it was the king stroph plate I got. I've isolated it and it and my Agaricus marzipan cultures are the only ones with the 'problem'. Bleach kills them it seems. Fucking annoying really. I nearly always quaratine except this one time... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 12, 2014 Actually the plate they are coming out of now I've isolated them all from each other is a wild clone. They must have hatched in there and escaped but bleach kills them good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watertrade Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) When I had a big collection of fungi cultures I would spot them first making little tracks in the condensation in the plates. I think the best bet it to sector away from them . They probably wouldn't dig h2o2 either (?) Edit. Or iodine. Edited June 12, 2014 by watertrade Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 13, 2014 Yeah that is how I worked it out (tracks in the condensation. They must have actually been growing in the mushroom I cloned. Little fuckers. I've hit them hard but lost a damn good clone. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 14, 2014 Farq, looking through my plates today and ive found more mites. They can (quite easily) get in the folds of sticky tape as I watched one do today. Im now going to have to go through and systematically (sit and watch) each of my plates every day for the next week or so anote isolate each one from each other to try and reduce the spread (assuming all arent infected). Advice for all!!! Dont put Wild clone plates in with your other plates!!! h202 is no protection obviously. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 14, 2014 Farq, looking through my plates today and ive found more mites. They can (quite easily) get in the folds of sticky tape as I watched one do today. Im now going to have to go through and systematically (sit and watch) each of my plates every day for the next week or so anote isolate each one from each other to try and reduce the spread (assuming all arent infected). Advice for all!!! Dont put Wild clone plates in with your other plates!!! h202 is no protection obviously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darklight Posted June 14, 2014 Damn. Those things are evil little bastards and very very difficult to eradicate. Good luck. You need to take a very stringent approach- do you have off-site culture backups you are sure are clean? If so, ditch all your cultures and clean your grow room thoroughly, leave it vacant two weeks then receive your backups Your mites may also be known as paper mites. Remove any paper and cardboard in your working area You need to isolate each growing or incubation space- anything which mites could crawl up to gain access needs to be blocked with that yellow double-sided sticky tape. This includes legs of shelves standing on the floor and any electrical leads. Bag and heat seal your culture batches into larger bags to isolate. And yes, I'd consider a chemical bomb of your workspace as Shortly said I have seen a hideous example of paper mites be wiped out thus from a really heavy point source infestation at an academic lab. Was touch and go there for a while tho And I've wiped them out here once about a decade ago, I didn't need a chem bomb. But I did have to be really diligent for a month with yellow tape and access Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shortly Posted June 14, 2014 I got a dose of the horrid little beasties from some imported mushies (from Coles), some time back. Still haven't gotten back into the hobby after that last incident. Beware the little buggers safely tucked away under the plastic wrap of commercial mushrooms waiting to escape & accost your entire collection And its not just mushrooms, the little bastards will wander around the threads of tissue culture jars & contaminate benches full of plants in aseptic culture one after another 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 14, 2014 Yes thankfully I finally summoned up the courage to check my backup fridge (after a shower) and I have most backed up ok. I'm basically going to have to throw 60 plates and start again. All from one wild clone plate that I had dipped in h202. Bummer but at least I backed up!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted June 15, 2014 Interesting shorty - everyone who has had this problem have also said it was an agaricus - they must like them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darklight Posted June 15, 2014 That's excellent Zen, congratulations on your backups! Backups are shit boring until you need them. Then they're gold and you justify all that tedium You're not starting again- you're fixing a problem! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
