How to prevent mites , where do they come from?
- Thread starter Qwerty
- Start date
I've heard people say that the eggs are airborn, others say that they can come in on cat/dog food. And any hissers you get will almost certainly have some eggs on them. Mites are inevitable and unavoidable, everyone has them. It's all about keeping their numbers down, lots of them don't like dry conditions, and you are supposed to keep hissers fairly dry, so you should not have too much of a problem.
They are tiny, but you can see them. Usually they are not too noticeable unless there is a population explosion.
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
Hey everyone. My Gyna Capucina colony has an explosion of little reddish white mites. Will just drying our their enclosure kill off at least the abundance of mites? They creep me out ha ha. Not the roaches lol but mites do. I feel like they're crawling all over me when I look into their cage. eek. Is there any beneficial clean up crews that go well with Pink Roaches and would eat the mites?
The only thing that would actually eat the mites would be some Psuedoscorpions, and they can be hard to find. Isopods and springtails make great cleanup crews and can outcompete the mites, which is what you want. You should also make sure you are not overfeeding yours roaches, make sure they eat all their food by the time you give them fresh food. Adding some more ventilation can help in some cases too.
Ranitomeya
Second Instar
Mites usually come with infested grain-based foods, substrate containing mites, or from hitchhiking mites on either the animals you've purchased or from ones that have entered your enclosures from outside.
Infested grain-based foods are usually the primary source of outbreaks.
Infested grain-based foods are usually the primary source of outbreaks.
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
Yeah thank you everyone. I believe they came in on some Hardwood Oak Mulch I use for my Pink Roach Colony only. Its the only enclosure difference with all my colonies and it's the only one with mites. I use bug barrier to on the Pinks home thank god.The mites I can see don't walk over it just as the Pinks don't. I hope they don't stress my Pinks out though. I can see them crawling all over my poor roaches. There just everywhere in the enclosure. I removed the food as well and just feed the roaches what they can eat within 2 minutes. I ordered two Springtail colonies and 2 Isopod colonies to share through all my Roach Colonies and My Peacock Gecko Vivarium. Thank you for the tips. I love this forum!
Roach collector
Seventh Instar
Does anyone have an idea for an active species. I don't want anything that's really huge.
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
What do consider huge? Because most Roaches range in the 1.5 inch to 3 inch range. My UCR Death Heads are what I consider huge since they are bigger then my Halloween Hissers. Then there is the Gyna species which are very active and smaller with the females getting slightly larger then the males at 1.25 inches and males at 1 inch. However Gyna Roach families are the hardest to maintain and breed. And are the costliest of all roach species. Bringing in as much as $10 per roach. My profile pic is that of my Gyna Capucina species. The holy grail Pink Roach.
If the infestation is that bad you are better off cleaning out the cage and replacing the substrate, if the mites are that plentiful the springtails won't stand a chance. They need a chance to gain a foothold in the cage.
Gyna capucina and G.bisannulata are very difficult to keep, but the other Gyna are pretty easy and low maintenance. Lots of roaches are more expensive, and many of the roaches on Roachcrossing are $10 each. If you want costly, try $100+ dollars for a single Macropanesthia rhinoceros!
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
I'm moving the Pinks to a new cage only using coco fiber. See how well they fair there. With the Springtails and Isopods there. Tossing the the old home right outside in the dumpster.
Good, hopefully the cleanup crews will put the mites to an end. Don't they like a well aerated substrate? I would think you'd want to mix in additional materials. Of course I wouldn't put anything from outside into the substrate without sterilizing it first, seems the mites in your area are quite prolific. Hope all goes well!
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
I bought the Hardwood Mulch from Home Depot. They like the substrate to have a moist under-layer with an aerated top. I'm going to the pet store to buy aspen bedding to add aeration. I feed them roach chow and tropical fish flake and they love all that. So the hardwood isn't necessary. Just though I'd try it. Live n learn.
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
My Pinks are perfect since they are locking up. Just have to rid the mites. Not the greatest pic but didn't want to disturb them.
Well try sterilizing it, soak the mulch and cook it for a while, any mites or other pests inside will be destroyed. By the way, that's a really cool pic of them mating, glad they are doing well! This is a very pretty species, one I hope to own one day!
Sfairbairniii
First Instar
Thanks Roach Addict I appreciate all the help. I keep my colonies in a temp controlled room to with a humidifier lol! I have limited space in there so can only fit 5-6 species. I use coco fiber in all my enclosures and cork bark for climbing. I've never had a problem with mold. So the cleaner crews will have a field day to in breeding I'm sure.
No problem!
Now that's dedication! The only heat I give them is a under cage heat cable, and that's only used for the 2-3 species I have that need it! I use plain old coconut fiber for most of my cages as well, except for a few species that appreciate a more rich substrate. Your clean up crews should do well under those conditions, if you want the isopods to bred you'll need to add dead leaves though.
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