Aussie Finch Forum

Does anyone zap their bran in a microwave to kill the mite eggs...etc...as a mate has problems with his mealworm cultures

If so for how long??

A few minutes on high should do it. I freeze mine for about a day, that also works.

If necessary I do it in an icecream container for about 3 minutes full power as Tintola says. Whole house smells afterwards though!!

I microwave my media. Just keep an eye on it though. The first batch I did was for 2-3 minutes on high and I almost burnt down the kitchen. The bran started making charcoal and was smoking by the time my hubby removed it from the mic. I do it now for 1min at a time, stir around then for another minute. Not had mites in months and mine got infested on a regular basis.