Help, white mites???

Jungle Jen · 11-12-03, 01:22 AM

I just found white mites in, on, and around a few of our scorpion and tarantula enclosures. What are they and how do I get rid of them? They look smaller than snake mites and there are lots.

For now I have moved the inverts to a different room as they were on top of the snake shelves. No mites seen near the snakes, and I have treated the snakes areas just in case.

asphyxia · 11-12-03, 10:18 AM

I believe they are wood mites, remove any wood and bake at 200-300 for 1 hr, add salt to taste.

You may also want to spray the cage down with nix mixed with water, then rinse out.

Please note I am not fimilar with "T's or scorps. as i only have i T.

Brian

BoidKeeper · 11-12-03, 10:25 AM

Quote:

You may also want to spray the cage down with nix mixed with water, then rinse out

Can't do that Brian, nix is an insectacide and will kill the scorpion and T as well.
I would say set you critters up in some sterile rubbermaid cages for a while and treat the cages they were in with Bleach. Make sure you rise the cages well and allow 48 hours for the bleach to be totaly gone before putting you critters back in.
Good luck,
Trevor

asphyxia · 11-12-03, 11:45 AM

Thanks Trev, I assumed the critters would be taken out first.
But better safe than sorry

Cheers
Brian

BoidKeeper · 11-12-03, 01:00 PM

Never assum Brian, you know that does. I know a guy who used vapona to treat his room by hainging it from the ceiling and then wonderded why his T's and scorpions died. Even if it was rinsed out it would still leave traces of its self behind which may affect the scorpion and T. That's why bleach is so effective for us to use. It kills everything it touches and then completely desolves leaving no trace of it's self behind. Another reason why it's used to "shock" wells for peoples homes.
Cheers,
Trevor

Jungle Jen · 11-12-03, 01:47 PM

Thank you both for your advice. We took the inverts out of their cages, washed with HOT soapy water, and gave them shredded newspaper until I can pick up a new batch of soil which I will bake first. I love my inverts, but I'm a bit phobic of parasites.

Thanks again, JJ and the Zoo

Kyle Barker · 11-13-03, 02:32 AM

Havnt tried this, but i have been told many times that adding sow/pill bugs will get rid of them (not as fast as a cage change..). Again not while the animal is in there, but liquid dish soap (i se sunlight cause it cheap) mixed with water and sprayed over the dirt will suffocate them. It works wonders for plant bugs.

dlucka · 11-13-03, 10:28 AM

It sound like like insect mite, you did the right thing, take a look of any
warm spot around the enclosure, lamp fixture, neon...

Vanan · 11-14-03, 11:49 AM

Jen, look up Westgro in Delta, BC. They sell mites which would feed on parasitic mites. Can't remember what the species is but look em up. Cos it may be substrate mites but it could also be parasitic mite which sometimes occur on T's. The only sure fire way I would recommend is taking the time to brush off the mites which are on the arachnids with a soft paintbrush, clean the enclosure as mentioned above and release some of these predatory mites into the soil of your arachnids. Good luck!

Dark_Angel_25 · 11-14-03, 11:58 AM

Re the NIX, you CAN use it, BUT you have to take your pets out first. you mix 59ml (shampoo form) with 4 L of distilled water, shakes well, put some in a spray bottle store the rest, and spray the cage, around it everything in it, and let it dry/sit for at least 1 hour. then wipe down the surface let air out for 1 hour minimum, and rebulid the tank, then you can put them back in, repeat after 5-7 days and don't put substrate back in until after 2 weeks after second treatment. I just treated my boa for mites like this, and it worked like a dream. NIX ills the bugs and the eggs. but yes DO NOT USE ON YOUR ANIMALS. BTW I did this last week, so it was a recent do.

Vanan · 11-14-03, 12:30 PM

Quote:

then wipe down the surface let air out for 1 hour minimum, and rebulid the tank, then you can put them back in,

Permethrin can last for up to 2 weeks on surfaces.

drako · 11-14-03, 12:58 PM

i had the sasme prob with a bag of wood chips i got from the pet store u did the right thing all i did was wash it out then let it soake for an hour and i havent had a problem since but i never shoped at that store angain!

Siretsap · 11-14-03, 01:20 PM

This reminds me a while ago, we had a colony of mealworms we would keep in oat.
I gues there was too much humidity and there were these tiny microscopic white bugs (could be mites) that started to get everywhere, all across the room.
I also saw them a few months later on some bark that got humidity in it... Any idea if those were the same things? I would of tought mites, but then again, they didn't seem to live on the lizards...
Don't have any of them anymore but was freaking me out at the time and I washed everything with some palmolive dish soap.

**Andy_G** · 11-14-03, 01:31 PM

Talkan powder is the easiest solution in this case.

reptile boi · 11-18-03, 10:11 PM

Sirestap,
I have the same problem right now! The friggen mites are all over my bedroom floor and all over my mealworm breeding colonies, but for some odd reason they arent on my T's or geckos! What should i do to get rid of the ones on the floor?

Thanks,
Ben