SOIL MITES HELP!!
- Thread starter tikiman
- Start date
koreascarabs
L2
my tank is overrun with soil mites too!
i found them in HUGE masses congregating on top of the tank lid! i quickly spray raided them(after taking off the lid of course) then i washed them down the shower. but there is still mites in the soil help!
I'm not sure. I bought it at a beetle shop. The substrate is not as fine. I did see an insect husk while mixing it though.
Kaidin
L2
I came across this staff today, and am wondering : since it is reportedly not a chemical substance, then perhaps it may be used to keep these nasty red mites under control ? however I am worried - wouldn't this staff "desiccate" the skin of larva ? I guess for adult beetles shouldn't be a problem with their hard bodies.
by the way I especially like this part :
so, if anyone has tried with successful results - please share your experience !
by the way I especially like this part :
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Im quite sure this will kill your larvae. Since this is a powdery substance. And it kills those big dog mites. Im quite sure this will be harmful.I came across this staff today, and am wondering : since it is reportedly not a chemical substance, then perhaps it may be used to keep these nasty red mites under control ? however I am worried - wouldn't this staff "desiccate" the skin of larva ? I guess for adult beetles shouldn't be a problem with their hard bodies.
so, if anyone has tried with successful results - please share your experience !
by the way I especially like this part :
If you are seeing many mites, it will not hurt to change your substrate. Perhaps you just bought a "bad" bag of substrate. Next time you could try freezing the new bag of substrate or cook it in the oven (this will stink) or microwave for a short while.
I usually just change my substrate if mites becomes a huge problem. Sometimes I wash the larvae or adults with distilled water if I see mites on them. I will even use tweezers to pick them off.
If you have a photo of the mites, this might be helpful in identifying their source.
I usually just change my substrate if mites becomes a huge problem. Sometimes I wash the larvae or adults with distilled water if I see mites on them. I will even use tweezers to pick them off.
If you have a photo of the mites, this might be helpful in identifying their source.
Kaidin
L2
is it possible to make photos of mites (unless there is some good profi camera with sufficient macro lens) ?
to me they seem very tiny, almost microscopic. I guess my camera is too simple for making good enough close up of them
(only may be if I do some VERY high resolution image and sort of crop them out - sort of macro-zoom trick through high pixels?
perhaps I'll try tomorrow in a daylight)
I don't know about OP, but myself have seen so far 2 kinds of mites:
1) one kind is red color, these are a bit bigger size and I found them blocking the mouth of one of my C. atlas males (perhaps due to it eating fruit jelly all the time).
simply brushing them away didn't work well: they are persistent bastards, keep running away from the brush and then coming back. finally I just used water to wash them off.
after that I haven't seen them, well, at least not in the same area (around mouth).
2) another kind I saw is white color and look like almost half size of those red ones.
these were in the substrate (feed) of my larva, as well as few of them were on larva too.
are these dangerous for larvae ?
I have also noticed some tiny white worms, hardly 1-2mm long. I was told these might be some Nematodes ?
seems like it is quite a tricky business - keep away all these pests and parasites, phew !
In the past I have taken photos of small things by holding a magnifying glass over the specimen (between the camera and specimen). This actually works pretty well.
Orin is better qualified to answer mite questions, but I'm guessing the small larvae you are seeing will soon become adult fungus gnats. They are more transparent than white and look very much like nematodes.
I wonder if a little alcohol dabbed directly onto the mites would kill them. This might be effective if applied to the mites on the beetles themselves, in conjunction with a substrate change. Orin did tell me once about the dangerous egg-eating mites that sometimes live on adult beetles (and later leave the adults to feed on the eggs).
Orin is better qualified to answer mite questions, but I'm guessing the small larvae you are seeing will soon become adult fungus gnats. They are more transparent than white and look very much like nematodes.
I wonder if a little alcohol dabbed directly onto the mites would kill them. This might be effective if applied to the mites on the beetles themselves, in conjunction with a substrate change. Orin did tell me once about the dangerous egg-eating mites that sometimes live on adult beetles (and later leave the adults to feed on the eggs).
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May be its the larva of the Fungus Gnats.
Hold yor Soil dryer for a while so the mites and Fungus Gnats are under control.
The problem is, Dynastidae and Lucanidae needs more damper Soil, than the (african) Cetonidae.
Greetings,
Mashku.
