Mites

B

Bamboo

Fifth Instar
Not sure if this is a health issue thread or not so I apologize in advance.

In the warmer months, I'll feed my roaches some dog food.... Last year I feed them a cheaper / none organic brand and one or two containers contracted mites maybe grain mites or ?

are the mites a threat or just a nuisance? how do you get rid off them?

 
A mite infestation can get very bad very fast. They produce an awful smell and can cover your roaches with their eggs. Clean the enclosures as best you can. Stop feeding them grain based food for a while and try to keep the enclosures drier. I'd also recommend some kind of cleaner insect if you're using a grain diet. I have lesser mealworms in nearly all my roach colonies and have zero mite problems. If you want some of those I can ship them to you just for the shipping cost alone.

 
Those predatory mites can severly stress certain types of roaches/beetles/etc. It is better to heat treat the substrate and clean the containers an then introduce a springtail species and maybe some isopods to prevent the mites from reaching dangerous numbers. Hope this helps!

 
I have a mite issue right now too. I have been keeping things dry, feeding more sparingly, and when I give moist food, I remove it the next morning (usually with mites on it) and throw the food (and mites!) away.

I have springtails in one enclosure, so I have been transplanting them into the other enclosures.

I don't have time to do a total substrate change at this point.

The mite numbers are not growing, but I also don't think they are going to go away with the current treatment.

 
I have experienced a good variety of mites lol.

Grain mites are the most common one to get in your colony; their number can be controlled by drier environment, less extra food and spring tails.

In a few cases I've got white mites attached on roaches; they are not fatal but annoying. Don't know if they're different species since I cannot tell the difference.

Hisser mites are usually considered as harmless; I don't like them though.

Occasionally I got few shinning black ball-shaped mites with hard shells, looks like miniature beetles. I actually like them.

But red mites... they are the evilest. They actually feed on cockroaches and kill them. I've got a German colony killed by red mites; they could be Pimeliaphilus eunliffei or similar mites which known for infesting cockroach and other insects. I have no idea about Acari identification though.

 
Forcep said:
I have experienced a good variety of mites lol.

Grain mites are the most common one to get in your colony; their number can be controlled by drier environment, less extra food and spring tails.

In a few cases I've got white mites attached on roaches; they are not fatal but annoying. Don't know if they're different species since I cannot tell the difference.

Hisser mites are usually considered as harmless; I don't like them though.

Occasionally I got few shinning black ball-shaped mites with hard shells, looks like miniature beetles. I actually like them.

But red mites... they are the evilest. They actually feed on cockroaches and kill them. I've got a German colony killed by red mites; they could be Pimeliaphilus eunliffei or similar mites which known for infesting cockroach and other insects. I have no idea about Acari identification though.
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Wow! I have never heard of anyone getting RED mites while keeping roaches in captivity. Glad I have not experienced that.

 
Hisserdude,

What source did you get this info from:

"Those predatory mites can severly stress certain types of roaches/beetles/etc."

I've used them with grubs, flower beetles and hissing roaches, with no problems.

 
In orin mcmonigle's book "Pillbugs and other isopods. Cultivating vivarium clean-up crews and feeders for dart frogs, arachnids, and insects". Yeah, he says they work for rhino beetles, but they severely affect springtail and pillbug roach cultures, for example.

 
Hisserdude said:
In orin mcmonigle's book "Pillbugs and other isopods. Cultivating vivarium clean-up crews and feeders for dart frogs, arachnids, and insects". Yeah, he says they work for rhino beetles, but they severely affect springtail and pillbug roach cultures, for example.
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I find that hard to believe... I literally dumped a large amount of predatory mites that were leftover from treating roach colonies into my Porcelia scaber colony, and the population of newborn isopods and springtails EXPLODED after that... ?

 
I've never never tried them myself, I just read in that book that they can be harmful to certain inverts.

 
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