Hi The first time I was told to look at a sticky board I was unable to make head and tail out of it. However I pretended I saw them, not to feel stupid in the presense of the " experienced " multitude of beekeepers. Is really immaterial how much other debris is on the board, ONCE you are able to SEE / indentify the mite dead or alive [ And they are rather quick if not stuck] you WILL see them. Depending on you vision factor you might use a magnifying glass to separate the grain from the chaff.Of course, should you have no mite infestation , you will not spot any or have a hard time finding the odd one among the other junk. catfish