“I have found these super small, almost invisible worms”, states this reader in Poland about the horde of tiny white organisms pictured below. “I am really worried. Please look at the picture. Is it dangerous? I could not find them in any of the food in my kitchen. They seem to be attached to this coffee machine.” She also includes a video (linked below) that shows the creatures swarming the coffee machine. Based on the location they were found, as well as their ovate shapes and white coloration, we have concluded that these are likely grain mites.

Grain mites are pests that can invade one’s kitchen. They feed on various processed/ground-up foods, such as flour, wheat, grains, and mold. This may even include coffee, especially if it is instant coffee in the machine, since it is ground up. The mother mite can lay up to 800 eggs at a time, so their populations can grow at a very fast pace. As such, once they are in one’s home, infestations are prone to happen. Because they multiply so often, they also move to other food sources very fast, meaning the infestation can spread quickly. As such, when one notices in infestation in one’s home, it is best to act immediately.

To control and eliminate the infestation, we recommend our reader isolate the coffee machine in another room, to keep the mites from spreading in her kitchen, and that she wipe off all the ones she sees on the machine. Normally we would recommend moving the creatures outside, but seeing how small they are, we doubt that would work. Likewise, she should inspect her kitchen for more of the mites. If she finds them on any food products, she should throw them out immediately, and not in a garbage can inside her home, but one outside her home. If thrown away inside, the infestation would just continue inside the trash can and then move back out into the home. Likewise, she may want to freeze any of her ground-up and processed foods for at least 48 hours to kill any potential eggs that were laid there. If she finds more mites after doing all this, she will have to repeat these steps until they are eventually eliminated. If that still does not work, then it might be worth contacting a professional.

In conclusion, we think that the “almost invisible” worms our reader found on her coffee machine are grain mites. We hope this article helps her combat the infestation, and we wish her the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Small, Translucent Worm-like Creatures Swarming Coffee Machine are Grain Mites

Description

"I have found these super small, almost invisible worms", states this reader in Poland about the horde of tiny white organisms pictured below. "I am really worried. Please look at the picture. Is it dangerous? I could not find them in any of the food in my kitchen. They seem to be attached to this coffee machine." She also includes a video (linked below) that shows the creatures swarming the coffee machine. Based on the location they were found, as well as their ovate shapes and white coloration, we have concluded that these are likely grain mites.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton