# Grain Mites



## Marleybug (Jul 12, 2009)

I don't know a whole lot about horses or horse foods so forgive me if these are stupid questions. Are grain mites in ALL horse food? And are they bad? Can they hurt a horse if they eat them? I work at a pet food store and we have had some Strategy horse feed come in covered in grain mites. I looked into it and apparently Purina is having lots of grain mite problems. One of the managers at the store said that they were harmless and that they were in all horse foods. I have trouble believing that they are completely harmless and that its okay for horses to eat them. If this is a dumb question I'm sorry, but i could not find any answers in Googling this.


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## Deej (May 5, 2009)

I'm not sure what grain mites are, but sometimes I find little black beetles in mine. I don't like to feed it out and I have also wondered if it bothers the horses. I woulden't think that they should be in there. Anybody have any ideas?


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## Marleybug (Jul 12, 2009)

They are small white bugs. They look like dust in the food. It's hard to tell that they aren't dust unless you look very close and notice they are moving. They are about the size of a period.


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## nldiaz66 (Jul 27, 2008)

Marleybug:I know what you are talking about because I have found them in human food, like rice.But I dont know anything else about them, I have never seen them in any of my grain.


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## Nutty Saddler (May 26, 2009)

I have never had grain mites in my horses feed - If I did I would return it to the supplier and not feed it. Apart from anything else the mites will eat the grain and most of the goodness in it so why would I pay for that. I would also find another feedstore if I went there and found sacks of feed with mites all over them as I would not want to contaminate my own smallholding .


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