# Does the microwave kill mites?



## susb8383 (Feb 24, 2007)

I'm giving up on the freezing method. It just doesn't seem to work for me. I have a stand-alone freezer that I keep my rat bedding in until I use it (Kaytee Clean and Cozy). This is the second time my rats have gotten mites. I noticed when I reach a hand into the bag, straight out of the freezer, it just isn't that cold. My theory is that since the bedding is compressed, it's hard for the cold to reach to the center. Also paper doesn't really transfer the cold very much to begin with. So now I have a big bag that I've barely used. Does anyone know if microwaving will kill mites? If it does, I could zap a little at a time instead of throwing the whole bag away. Thanks.


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## Brittykb (Aug 23, 2017)

I dont know about microwaving it but what if you just got freezer bags and put smaller amounts in so can all get cold enough


susb8383 said:


> I'm giving up on the freezing method. It just doesn't seem to work for me. I have a stand-alone freezer that I keep my rat bedding in until I use it (Kaytee Clean and Cozy). This is the second time my rats have gotten mites. I noticed when I reach a hand into the bag, straight out of the freezer, it just isn't that cold. My theory is that since the bedding is compressed, it's hard for the cold to reach to the center. Also paper doesn't really transfer the cold very much to begin with. So now I have a big bag that I've barely used. Does anyone know if microwaving will kill mites? If it does, I could zap a little at a time instead of throwing the whole bag away. Thanks.


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## shibezone (Feb 5, 2018)

What I'd try to do is seperate what you're going to use about 2 days ahead of time, aerate it, fluff it up then seal it in its own bag and freeze it again. I think the big block is just too dense to really freeze thoroughly and by creating more air and surface it should hopefully freeze better. Make sure there's no cross contamination possibility from anything else, including yourself. Sometimes we can pick up mites just by going to the pet store and accidentally bring them home, this happened to my room mate's snake once! I'm not sure if microwaving will kill them but you could try baking your bedding in the oven. Just lay it out on a large cookie sheet, maybe around 30 minutes at 250 degrees F. Do a small test batch first, you may want to lightly spritz it to wet it if you're worried about fire but considering you can dry wooden toys in the oven you ought to be fine.


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