So many mites....

Hisserdude

Hisserdude

Dynastes
So I had these mites that were reddish brown and shiny and fast, and they were in all my cages. Recently I have been replacing the substrate in my cages and putting springtails in them. This has been working, and almost all the mites are gone. But NOW I found 2 new types of mite breeding in my springtail enclosures. One type is small, brown and looks hairy, and seems to breed well even with a ton of springtails in the same cage, and the other is a predatory mite. So basically the predatory mites are gonna kill all my springtails in all my cages, and they will leave my cages vulnerable to mite infestations. I am just about ready to throw in the towel and just give up trying to stop mite infestations. I need some help here, any ideas or tips would be appreciated.

 
All that I have to say is: heat treatment. It works every time for me. In the beginning of my expedition into beetle owning, I had so many mites and fungus gnats in my larvae containers. I heat treat my substrate for egg laying/larvae every time because I hate dealing with pests; they're a nuisance to this hobby. I would suggest thoroughly emptying out and cleaning your existing containers that house adults with a small, de minimis amount of bleach. After this, rinse and dry. Keep them in a sphagnum moss or coconut husk substrate. For larvae, make sure to empty the contents in the containers and rinse them outside with a hose. Heck, even throw them in the dishwasher after you're done. Put your heat treated substrate in after you are finished, let it cool, and gently put the larvae back in after it cools down. They may get a slight shock from the new substrate but so far, all of my larvae seem totally fine. I suggest using Ziplock brand containers when performing these tasks. They are microwave safe and make this process quick and easy. I have only been in this hobby for almost 6 months and this Is how I've learned to keep my pets guarded and tidy.

 
Yeah, I've been doing all that, but these things keep coming back, and so far springtails have been the only way to keep them away. But now the predatory mites could severely lower the springtail populations that I have been working on for months.

 
If kept near the floor, some mites can crawl in easily because they're tracked inside through dirt. The higher up you go, the less possibility that they can access your containers. Also, keep them away from plants that may be on the shelves. The mites can migrate from the plant soil into the tanks. Thats how I do it!
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Ah, ok, thanks for the info! I will be sure to avoid putting them on the floor. Hopefully the predatory mites won't migrate to the other cages, I bet you they would not try to spread if I purposely introduced them to get rid of grain mites, LOL!

 
Watch out for potted plants too. Once I brought in some mites with a potted plant that I placed on the same shelves with some beetles and roaches.

Mites are a pain to get rid of, but it can be done. Just takes time, effort and attention to detail.

 
Yeah, I had almost gotten rid of my original mites, but now I got 2 more species to get rid of, at least they are only in my springtail cages for now.

 
Hisserdude,

When I used to work with Cetonids I used to have major problems with mites. I fixed the issue by using a little bit of biocontrol. I went out and picked through logs and ran berlese funnels on leaf litter until I found a few Pseudoscorpions. I placed the Pseudoscorpions in the cultures and that kept the mites at a levels where they no longer took over the culture. The pseudoscorpions bred in the cultures and I started seeding Dynastids, Domino Roach and even Giant Millipede cultures with the pseudoscorpions to control springtails, mites, and other small, unwanted arthropods. I enen started finding adult pseudoscorpions under the elytra of the the beetles munching on the mites!
I highly recommend this control.

 
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