Anyone Know Where to Get Predatory Mites?

S

scaledverts

First Instar
Hello,

I have had intermittent problems with phorid flies in my roach colonies (which then spread to my reptile enclosures too!). I have tried the drying and cleaning method but with the reptiles there too it is really hard to completely remove them. Does anyone know where I can get some predatory mites (Hypoaspis miles or Hypoaspis spp), I have read of these being used successfully to clear problem insects from roach and tarantula tanks?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Kyle

 
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Hi,

I haven't heard about predatory mites eating Humpback Flies before. Do you have a source for that?

Predatory mites seem to be very radical feeders when the conditions are right. If you use springtails in your tanks the mites can spread to other tanks and viciously feed on them, too. I don't know if they can feed on bigger pray like roach nymphs.

I carried in Humpback Fies from other breeders in the past and I managed to get rid of them by removing dead insects whenever I found them in my tanks. I checked them every couple of days to make sure my tanks were clean. That seems to be the only thing working for me. I also don't own tanks with several hundred feeder roaches like other breeders do, intentionally because I get allergic reactions to some species, especially Blaptica and Blaberus species. What I observed so far: if you have a lot of roaches, Humpback Fies are there to stay.

 
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I read it in another forum (Arachnoboards I believe). Hypoaspis spp is apparently very generalist and will consume fly larvae (as they are slow enough for the mites to catch). I can't really verify this as it was a post on another forum but as I said simply cleaning is not working. It normally would suffice but with reptiles, that always have something enticing for the flies to eat in their tank, it is nearly impossible to get rid of them. I have a hard time accepting that if I have roaches I have to accept these annoying pests. I don't want to get rid of my roaches but if I can't get these under enough control that they are not in every single one of my reptile cages I think I may have to =(.

Oh also, I don't have any isopods or springtails in my tanks as I don't have substrate in them.

 
I have both reptiles and roaches and a variety of other cages. Phorid flies don't show up in the reptile tanks, but fungus gnats do. I'm working on the following page to help clarify some of the pests we see in our tanks:

http://bugsincybersp...Cage_Pests.html

Thanks for the reminder for the term humpback flies! I'm working on this new page and appreciate suggestions.

I do suspect that you will see your phorid flies disappear if you clean the decaying and dead roaches out the roach tanks regularly. Fungus gnats, on the other hand, love reptile tanks with substrate in them. Micro-screen over all the ventilation holes will prevent new phorid flies from getting into clean roach tanks.

 
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I read all you pages today on the site Peter! That is a wonderful thing for you to do! Very nice, and thank you!

 
Thanks Cindy and thanks to Nanchantress for donating a photo of mites on hissers. I hope to update that later.

By the way, a hidden dead roach in a reptile cage can attract phorid flies and they will hang around in various places throughout the home while they wait like vultures for the next carcass.

 
Yeah, I know for sure that these are phorid flies in my reptile cages. They jump on any wet organic material pretty quickly. I'm talking mainly snakes, they pretty much stay out of my beardie tanks (they have cage liners sprayed with provent-a-mite). As I said, I did the complete cage cleaning, drying out, and cage maintenance for a few weeks and they came back from the few that found refuge/food in my reptile tanks. It also doesn't help that I have mouse breeding cages too as another food source. They seem to be particularly fond of my hisser tank.

 
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