Bugs in the litter box??

kkh

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Been using Swheat Scoop and never ever had this problem before but it happened today...well actually, it started since I opened the brand new 15lb box of swheat scoop a couple of days ago. Everytime I scooped out litter, I noticed that there's couple of gnats like bugs which I first thought was ants(we've ants everywhere). Today, I saw it everywhere in the litter box so I started literally scooping them out. No matter how many I scooped, it just came out one after another...really disgusting, ended up discarded entire litter out and poured new from the box, hoping that would solve the problem.

Well...it didn't. I discovered that the bugs were ALREADY IN THE BOX.

Although I only used tiny percent of it, I had to throw away the entire box, after examining and seeing the bugs were actually coming out NOT ONLY FROM THE OPENING OF THE BOX but also from the bottom between the tiny glued parts!
I was really disgusted. No wonder Ku Ku didn't go into litter box often, she knew there was bugs in it...

It's almost 1AM, I just finished off cleaning the litter box(disinfected, of course), then refilled with feline pine I got from walmart. Yes, I had to drive to walmart to get whatever they had - luckily they had feline pine on-sale


I usually purchase swheat scoop from Target(or wholefood) and never ever had any problem with bugs. This concerns me whether I'd be keep using the product, OR purchasing it from the same store. I like swheat scoop & its concept but getting bugs from it...no thanks.

I picked the samples & am going to send it to the company along with the barcode I cut off from the bottom of the box.

It's waaaay over my bed time and I'm soooo exhausted.
I'll try posting the photo tomorrow...
 

strange_wings

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Any sort of grain product, or dry food product, can have problems with this. It's probably not the manufacturers fault - they usually make and move stuff out of their warehouses as fast as they safely can (otherwise they run out of room) and regularly Vapona the warehouses. But at the store end it can sit in their warehouses a little longer. Your stuff probably goes through even more handling from plant warehouse to store giving pest more time and chances to get in.

Make sure you tell the store itself.


In any sort of grain/dry product one way to kill pests is to freeze it. If you had a large deep freezer you could put the litter in there for a week or two and that would take care of them.
Everyone who uses a grain based type litter should be on the look out for grain mites, weevils, and meal moths as they're the most common - inspect every box and bag and store appropriately.
 

icklemiss21

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We had bugs when we used SwheatScoop too, its just an issue of using a natural litter, I haven't had the issue using bags of WBCL but I think its because its sealed better as a bag (the boxes have handles which allows them in)

I would let SwheatScoop and the Store where you bought it know, so they can try to pinpoint the source of where they are getting in
 

blueyedgirl5946

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Bugs or no bugs, I can't imagine cleaning out the litter box every two days. When my cats were inside, I scooped everytime they pooped in the box. I realize some folks work and can't do that, but most folks could do it once a day.
 

icklemiss21

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Even working, we scoop 2-3 times a day, before we go to work, when we get home and before bed as needed - if I am working from home and one of them uses it, I scoop if I smell it but generally don't check them during the day

When we go away, my neighbour cares for the cats, but generally doesnt scoop unless we are away longer and I specifically ask her to, the boxes seem so dirty even after we have a night away (usually 2 full days) I cant imagine leaving them that long on a regular basis
 

kkh

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2 pix of the bugs. First one is closer to the actual size, the second one is enlarged. Not the best quality but you can clearly tell that they are definitely NOT ants. Also, by comparing them with grains of swheat scoop right next to it, you could see how tiny they are. What could they be? Weevils?

Yeah, I was thinking about bringing this sample to Target as well but the only problem is, out of 3 boxes of 15lb swheat scoop I purchased, this is the only box that had bugs in it, also the last box that I had. They may say, "well, you've stored it longer at your home, that's when these bugs got in" or something like that...


 

kkh

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

Even working, we scoop 2-3 times a day, before we go to work, when we get home and before bed as needed - if I am working from home and one of them uses it, I scoop if I smell it but generally don't check them during the day

When we go away, my neighbour cares for the cats, but generally doesnt scoop unless we are away longer and I specifically ask her to, the boxes seem so dirty even after we have a night away (usually 2 full days) I cant imagine leaving them that long on a regular basis
Same here... I have to scoop at least 2 times a day: first thing in the morning, and before going to bed. Ku Ku usually wakes me up when she pooed anyways(regardless of how late/early it is, even in the middle of the night!).
 

taryn

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I have let ours go as long as 2 days(with 2 cats) because I was sick and Paul won't clean the boxes and get mad if I even ask him to. I also never do a full litter change unless the litter gets nasty and it really doesn't doing it at least once a day and having to go 2 before.

I will say even the outside cats box doesn't have bugs but I think you got weevils. Luckily it's still a little too cold for many creepy crawlies but even in the dead of summer the outside boxes didn't have bugs.

Taryn
 

icklemiss21

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Three of our cats were his before I met him so he has no choice but do litterboxes (actually while I do scoop, its rare I do the litterbox changes etc - he usually takes care of litter and I do feeding)

Nasty looking bugs, I would squeal and run away! I would still tell them just in case it was a warehouse issue - do you still have the packaging on the last box to see if they were different lot numbers, one may have been at the store a lot longer as well as in your home a lot longer
 

strange_wings

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Looks like some sort of four beetle. Hm, apparently the adult beetles can live for up to three years?! Pretty amazing for a tiny little beetle.
Life cycle at it's shortest is ~ 7 weeks. It could have sat in the store warehouse and on the shelf that long.


Originally Posted by Taryn

I have let ours go as long as 2 days(with 2 cats) because I was sick and Paul won't clean the boxes and get mad if I even ask him to.
My DH wusses out on it too - says it smells.
If it's been more than two days, he will do it.
I've had to let mine go a day or two before - there isn't a thing I can do about it when hospitalized or when my back is really acting up. When the latter happens I cannot even roll over in bed, bend, and usually can barely walk.
If anyone wants to look down on me for that... just remember that your health is not guaranteed to last. Some day you could be in the same place or worse.


Of course I also have 5 litter boxes and the cats always have one completely clean box because they don't use the 5th one.

Due to raising mealworms for my reptiles, I do have a problem with mealmoths (not the same thing). They've never gotten into my litter boxes.
I think just stirring up the boxes, and especially cat urine, will keep a lot of grain pest from infesting used litter.
 

kkh

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

Nasty looking bugs, I would squeal and run away! I would still tell them just in case it was a warehouse issue - do you still have the packaging on the last box to see if they were different lot numbers, one may have been at the store a lot longer as well as in your home a lot longer
Yup, I cut off the proof of purchase seal with a bar code & # on it from the package. So, I'm sure it helps on tracking how the box got bugs in. Out of 3(maybe 4?) boxes I purchased at the same time from the store, this is the only box with bugs in it. I will send both the sample & the code to the manufacturer
 

kkh

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Looks like some sort of four beetle. Hm, apparently the adult beetles can live for up to three years?! Pretty amazing for a tiny little beetle.
Life cycle at it's shortest is ~ 7 weeks. It could have sat in the store warehouse and on the shelf that long.
Ewwww...three years?!?

And the shortest is 7 weeks??
Really sickening me...
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by KKH

Ewwww...three years?!?

And the shortest is 7 weeks??
Really sickening me...
Actually, as far as pests go, they're not that bad. They only like broken down type stuff (flour, meal, etc) and don't carry anything. They're tiny unoffensive looking beetles.
I've gained some tolerance to smaller beetles, though, raising what is technically a grain pest.


As for how they got in when the other boxes were fine. All it would take is someone dropping the box heavy enough to break the seal on the glue.
 

kkh

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Actually, as far as pests go, they're not that bad. They only like broken down type stuff (flour, meal, etc) and don't carry anything. They're tiny unoffensive looking beetles.
I've gained some tolerance to smaller beetles, though, raising what is technically a grain pest.


As for how they got in when the other boxes were fine. All it would take is someone dropping the box heavy enough to break the seal on the glue.
Actually, I remember I've seen very similar bugs one time. A group of them stuck on inside of brand new pasta box! At this time, I checked all other boxes(I purchased several boxes at the same time) and all got the bugs!! I got really grossed out and throw them all out...so...yeah... you're probably right. The bugs maybe a grain pest.

Hmmm...I don't think I've dropped any of the boxes, or even remember if the particular box had the seal broken either but then again, it could get in from anywhere...
 

kkh

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Hi ..........

Thank you for writing! It is true that sometimes bugs will get into our product. However, the bugs get in from the outside of the packaging – very much like they get into your flour or cornmeal. I have attached a copy of our manufacturing process so that you can get a better understanding of what we do here and be assured that our product is "bug-free" at this end.

I have found some great ideas for keeping your house bug free, including putting the litter in the freezer until you are ready to use it. This will freeze off bugs and larvae that may be in the product. I have also taken to putting a bay leaf by my cats' food dishes because I had gotten some infested food last summer and the little buggers kept coming back. Since putting down the bay leaves I haven't seen them! This website has some great ideas too: http://www.consciouschoice.com/1999/...herbs1208.html. Nothing like using Mother Nature to keep the bugs away! J

I know that when you think about even the possibility of getting bugs, you might be a little leery. But the truth is you will find bugs in your Swheat Scoop about as often as you would find them in your flour, pasta or cornmeal. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to help!

Sales Coordinator
Pet Care Systems
www.swheatscoop.com
 

strange_wings

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Sounds like a fairly human response, and honest. Though at least a coupon offered would have been nice - Swheat Scoop isn't cheap.

Btw, I think it could have been handled roughly anytime in transit to the store or while at the store. 7 weeks ago, at least.
 

kkh

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Sounds like a fairly human response, and honest. Though at least a coupon offered would have been nice - Swheat Scoop isn't cheap.

Btw, I think it could have been handled roughly anytime in transit to the store or while at the store. 7 weeks ago, at least.
I'll be sending them the sample, along with the copy of the response...and starting from there. Ya, I won't mind coupon...but I still feel a bit afraid of opening up the box & seeing something...ugh...

Yeah...I really hope that's the case. Unfortunately I don't have a gigantic freezer(living in a tiny studio apartment). I'll give the bay leaf a try and see how it works.
 

strange_wings

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I hope you can get somewhere with them. I wouldn't worry about bugs. I've open up boxes with pasta in them that had meal moths, cornmeal with weevils, chicken feed (that I use as litter) with grain mites, and so on. I still use those products and all of those were one time incidents.

Now if you opened up something and it had roaches in it, you have full right to pitch a fit and never buy that brand or from that store again.
Those are something that come from dirty environments, where as your grain pests typically don't - they're just something that can get into grain.


On a related note - some of those pests, like meal moths are really really good at getting into things. They do like dry pet food and occasionally people will find them in it. They have a short life cycle (being moths) and the larvae can chew through thin plastic (including ziplock bags). If you get those in a bag, it's probably not the food manufacturers fault.
 

kkh

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

I hope you can get somewhere with them. I wouldn't worry about bugs. I've open up boxes with pasta in them that had meal moths, cornmeal with weevils, chicken feed (that I use as litter) with grain mites, and so on. I still use those products and all of those were one time incidents.

Now if you opened up something and it had roaches in it, you have full right to pitch a fit and never buy that brand or from that store again.
Those are something that come from dirty environments, where as your grain pests typically don't - they're just something that can get into grain.


On a related note - some of those pests, like meal moths are really really good at getting into things. They do like dry pet food and occasionally people will find them in it. They have a short life cycle (being moths) and the larvae can chew through thin plastic (including ziplock bags). If you get those in a bag, it's probably not the food manufacturers fault.
I hope both the manufacturer & the store(Target) would take really good precautions. I'm still in disbelief as Target is usually maintaining products they sell at stores in good conditions unlike other corporate giant retail stores. Regardless, that may well be their warehouse, during transportations...could be anywhere other than store.


One question is, though...are products with bugs in it safe to use for my cat? I am extremely concerning letting Ku Ku use litters with bugs in it whether they are dead or alive. She may ingest or inhale those bugs...
 

shanynne

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I don't know about the bugs, but I do recommend not using bleach to clean out the litter box. Bleach is a very harsh chemical and even if you rinse it out well, it will still leave a "smell" behind. It also really changes the ph of the litter box and the cats may be reluctant to use it for a while. Just stick with the hot soapy water. It is more than sufficient.
 
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