Where do mites come from?

I know that wild caught t's can have mites, so i dont need to know about them. I have heard time and time again that if you leave cricket or any other prey animal in the cage, especially in a humid environment, you will get mite. As far as these mites go, where do they come from. Do they hitch a ride on a prey animal, or are eggs airborne and they just thrive in those habitats. Is it possible to have the most mite-friendly condition yet have no mites?

Snipes said:

I know that wild caught t's can have mites, so i dont need to know about them. I have heard time and time again that if you leave cricket or any other prey animal in the cage, especially in a humid environment, you will get mite. As far as these mites go, where do they come from. Do they hitch a ride on a prey animal, or are eggs airborne and they just thrive in those habitats. Is it possible to have the most mite-friendly condition yet have no mites?

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I was thinking the same some days ago... where the mites come from? do they teleport from the outside or what? good question.

Same here, it seems like they appear out of thin air. :?




-Mattyb

Mites...

You know, I have thought of that a hundred times. Where do these come from? They must come in the substrate as eggs and hatch out when conditions are ripe. They sure as heck don't leap off of me! LOL

well, i was just thinking that if we could find a way to cut their eggs off or wherever they come from in the first place, we could not have to worry about mites anymore (Heavenly chorus singing)

Mite eggs are almost microscopic they can be in soil,wood,substrate etc.Some can lay dormant for great periods of time until conditions are right to hatch.I took some mite eggs put them in a petri dish sealed it 1 year later i opened it added them to moist soil,they hatched.I took jungle mix already somewhat humid out of the bag added a few bolus for food which had no mites as i microwaved them before they went in misted,i had mites so the eggs had to be in the substrate.The eggs i used in the dish came from common dust mites that are everywhere what you see floating in a ray of sunlight entering your home is dust,dead skin,other floating particles include dead dust mites and their waste products.It took 2 weeks for eggs to hatch 20 days until the mites were readily visible to the naked eye.

wow. k, so more ?s. I get peat moss that is very moist and rather warm, but no mites in it so far. Does that mean that it is mite egg-free, or will they just not show up without some sort of food. Also, i have heard some stuff against microwaving substrate, but for mite eggs do you recommend it?

Bro,everybody has got this way or that,that they do things.Problem is most folks put forth thier method as the surefire end all only right way,truth is whatever works for you go for it.All i know is i've found them in peat,potting soil,jungle mix,those are the only ones i checked.I microwave my substrate,not saying its the only way to go but it works from what ive seen so far.
I know theres super keepers who frown on it,i've had no probs and have found nothing to show it as a negative.I still get mites from time to time but its a whole lot less frequent like maybe once a year.I've always removed bolus and kept the tanks fairly dry using a large water dish instead of misting.

Main thing keep it drier remove leftover food waste.From time to time youre going to get them,anyone who says they never get them or has never had them is magical,or hasnt kept T's very long,mites are everywhere.Microwaving the substrate pretty much solved my situation but use what you think is right for yours.Just remember any miteicide that kills mites will also probably kill the T,if it says its safe for invertebrates its not going to kill the mites.

Snipes said:

well, i was just thinking that if we could find a way to cut their eggs off or wherever they come from in the first place, we could not have to worry about mites anymore (Heavenly chorus singing)

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What about some pillbugs? they seem to eat a lot of things to survive, for example at my garden they eat everything "dead" at ground, bananas, all kind of fruits, dead insects, etc and have read they can eat some eggs and larvae from other insects.