Mites in the roach bin...
- Thread starter Nitibus
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Any time mites become an issue one has to dry out the enclosure. If you can leave the lid off for a week or two and remove water sources. A quick misting can be done, but maybe just once a week. This will dry out the enclosure and kill the mites.
What kind of Blattodea is it?
I had the same problem with my Blaptica dubia colony.
Remove all the substrate and change to new egg cartons if that is what you are using. That fixed my problem
What kind of Blattodea is it?
I had the same problem with my Blaptica dubia colony.
Remove all the substrate and change to new egg cartons if that is what you are using. That fixed my problem
That exactly what I have.... I should also increase the ventilation so this doesn't happen again.
Are the mites a threat to my colony ?
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i once had an *explosion* of mites in one of my roach bins, was most unpleasant as i ended up giving a bunch of new passengers to my Ts, they're most a pest than anything
drying out and the enclosure for a couple weeks and changing the egg cartons will certainly help
predatory mites like H miles i've heard a worth a shot as well if you can get them
i found that when trying to dry out the box, that large numbers did die off, but a large amount just clung to the roaches as they generate a bit of moisture in their excretory products.
I ended up reducing my numbers drastically, changing out everything and cleaning the enclosure, and keeping it on the dry side while the colony re-established itself, that seemd to work fine
drying out and the enclosure for a couple weeks and changing the egg cartons will certainly help
predatory mites like H miles i've heard a worth a shot as well if you can get them
i found that when trying to dry out the box, that large numbers did die off, but a large amount just clung to the roaches as they generate a bit of moisture in their excretory products.
I ended up reducing my numbers drastically, changing out everything and cleaning the enclosure, and keeping it on the dry side while the colony re-established itself, that seemd to work fine
No the mites is not a problem as long there isnt an explosion of them. If you dont use any substrates they will probably never come back.
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Bringing a dead thread alive.... I now have a mite explosion in my dubia garbage can and a few mites in my lateralis can.
Should I put cross ventilation in the plastic garbage can?
My plans is to empty the frass (which I think is the main problem), change the egg crates and add more ventilation.
Is that enough?
Joe
Should I put cross ventilation in the plastic garbage can?
My plans is to empty the frass (which I think is the main problem), change the egg crates and add more ventilation.
Is that enough?
Joe
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Joe its also depend on humidity levels, its so humid here, you can swim in the air
I would add small fan to move the air is well
cross vents and change egg crates definitely will help
I would dry everything out first then rehouse then dry some more
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Nice timing on the thread revival, since I got a question also.
I just noticed that there are some white dots moving on my roach colony walls..I havent noticed this before, since it was a different colour before.. I dont see any on the egg carton( although I could be missing them cause of the same colouring), and i dont see any of them on roaches...Even those(mites i presume) on the walls of the roach bin are scarse, and I notice them only if I stare for few minutes.
Now, should I rehouse everything, or just dry it out/increase ventilation? I used to dry out before for 4-5 days max...but I wonder what period of drying out can B.dubia and B. lateralis take without any harm being caused to them?
I just noticed that there are some white dots moving on my roach colony walls..I havent noticed this before, since it was a different colour before.. I dont see any on the egg carton( although I could be missing them cause of the same colouring), and i dont see any of them on roaches...Even those(mites i presume) on the walls of the roach bin are scarse, and I notice them only if I stare for few minutes.
Now, should I rehouse everything, or just dry it out/increase ventilation? I used to dry out before for 4-5 days max...but I wonder what period of drying out can B.dubia and B. lateralis take without any harm being caused to them?
Sam_Peanuts
Arachnobaron
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In my dubia colony, the only water source is a bowl of water crystals. I have no substrate and mostly only give them dry food(and carrot bits when I have some).
I had absolutely no problems in the 9 months I had them and they are thriving(I had to separate the males from the females to try to keep their number down a little).
So they can do fine with very little humidity(the dubias at least, I have no idea about the lateralis)
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Roach bins are both cleaned, dry, new egg cartons and added two more screens for ventilation.
I have heat pads on the sides of the bottom of both bins. My last thing I need to do I am going to get a little computer fan for one vent for each bin to keep air moving.
I'm also going to feed them and then remove the food after a half day.
I'm hoping that will be enough to keep the mites at bay!
I have heat pads on the sides of the bottom of both bins. My last thing I need to do I am going to get a little computer fan for one vent for each bin to keep air moving.
I'm also going to feed them and then remove the food after a half day.
I'm hoping that will be enough to keep the mites at bay!