How many Nematodes is too many Nematodes

Ayudrs

Ayudrs

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One of my larvae's soil is currently filled with these little guys. They don't look like they are bothering the larvae, but I heard they do eat the soils nutrients, and that soil should be changed if it becomes to infected with pests, but just how many is too much?

Thank you,

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I would say that many could kill even rhino and flower beetle grubs. Stags usually a few is bad.

 
Okay, so this is what I'm thinking about doing.

I want to heat treat the flake soil but keep using it since it's not all that old

I'm thinking I'll carefully dig out the larvae to keep his cave as intact as I can, but him aside and microwave his subrate to kill the nematodes, and return the larvae after the soil has cooled down.

Yeah?

 
Nematodes don't directly kill beetle larvae but they can quickly decompose the flake soil. Some stags like Prosopocoilus and Dorcus species prefer only lightly decomposed substrate so they will stop feeding if there are too many worms. I believe rhino beetles and Lucanus stags are fine. The grubs usually move to the surface if their substrate is not good anymore.

 
ypli said:
Nematodes don't directly kill beetle larvae but they can quickly decompose the flake soil. Some stags like Prosopocoilus and Dorcus species prefer only lightly decomposed substrate so they will stop feeding if there are too many worms. I believe rhino beetles and Lucanus stags are fine. The grubs usually move to the surface if their substrate is not good anymore.
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The larvae is an Odontolabis siva parryi, I really can't tell if he have been feeding though. But I have noticed the walls of his cave look dark and wet. I'll replace his subrate when I receive more, but it probably won't arrive till after Jan 8th. I'll keep an eye on his condition till then.

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You have to replace it. The nematodes can cause black spot disease and can be found in the frass of the larva. So, replace the entire flake and don't heat treat because the flake will be useless afterward. 

 
hello123 said:
You have to replace it. The nematodes can cause black spot disease and can be found in the frass of the larva. So, replace the entire flake and don't heat treat because the flake will be useless afterward. 
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Okay thank you, I'll make sure to replace all the flake soil as soon as I can!

 
Freezing the flake soil in -20C for 3 days can kill the worms. This doesn’t kill the eggs, but should keep the flake soil safe to use for 2~3 months until the worms eventually grow back.

 
ypli said:
Freezing the flake soil in -20C for 3 days can kill the worms. This doesn’t kill the eggs, but should keep the flake soil safe to use for 2~3 months until the worms eventually grow back.
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Hmmm, I'll try that. Thanks for the advice.

 
Ayudrs said:
Hmmm, I'll try that. Thanks for the advice.
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You could cook them and exterminate them all, cool the substrate and reuse, but I think the damage is mostly caused by ruined substrate and it's too late to fix with that many.

 
Dynastes said:
You could cook them and exterminate them all, cool the substrate and reuse, but I think the damage is mostly caused by ruined substrate and it's too late to fix with that many.
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Like cook it in the oven? Or microwave? I was thinking I need to save some of his old soil, but find a quick way to exterminate the nematodes from it so they don't spread to his new soil. Don't want to stress him out with new soil to much.

 
Ayudrs said:
Like cook it in the oven? Or microwave? I was thinking I need to save some of his old soil, but find a quick way to exterminate the nematodes from it so they don't spread to his new soil. Don't want to stress him out with new soil to much.
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It's more about the duration than the temperature, microwaves cook notoriously unevenly.

 
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