mites in two enclosures

forfun

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
22
So i have some mites in two sling enclosures. I saw the mites on a dead prey/bogus in one of the enclosure so its not springtails. They are not ALOT but they are some.. Should i do a cleaning or not? I hear mixed answers about this
 

boina

Lady of the mites
Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
So i have some mites in two sling enclosures. I saw the mites on a dead prey/bogus in one of the enclosure so its not springtails. They are not ALOT but they are some.. Should i do a cleaning or not? I hear mixed answers about this
:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:.

Sorry. I've read this question so often. Mite phobia seems to be more far spread than Arachnophobia in some circles.

Mites on a bolus are scavenger mites. They do the same job as springtails. I fail to understand where that myth comes from that springtails are good and mites are bad. And btw, just because it's on a bolus doesn't mean it's mites. Springtails will also enjoy a juicy bolus.
 

forfun

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
22
:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:.

Sorry. I've read this question so often. Mite phobia seems to be more far spread than Arachnophobia in some circles.

Mites on a bolus are scavenger mites. They do the same job as springtails. I fail to understand where that myth comes from that springtails are good and mites are bad. And btw, just because it's on a bolus doesn't mean it's mites. Springtails will also enjoy a juicy bolus.
Yeah i guess its just paranoia i have and i see some people give strong reaction answers to mites like "Clean the whole enclosure with soup now so it wont hurt ur tarantula" etc.

I guess i just relax about and try to remove dead prey more often:) Thanks for ur answer
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,833
If they are long and thin like mini rice grains and move fairly quickly then they are springtails (a dead giveaway is that they jump when disturbed), if they look like little blobs with legs then they are mites.

If they're clustered on a bolus then they're scavenger/grain mites and aren't much more than a minor nuisance (and that's only when there is a mahoosive population explosion), they do the same job as springtails (they just eat decaying matter and reproduce, rinse and repeat).

If you're overly worried about either for some bizarre reason then remove all boluses and uneaten prey and dry out the offending enclosures until they die off/leave (they thrive in moist environments but have almost no drought tolerance at all), just make sure that your slings don't dehydrate in the meantime.

"Clean the whole enclosure with soup"
Well, that's a first. What soup works best? Chicken? Minestrone? Nettle? :troll:*

*I know you meant soap, I couldn't help myself.
 

Mila

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 7, 2017
Messages
169
scavenger mites are totally harmless even when they turn phoretic. phoresy is just when the mites attach to an animal purely for transport. they do absolutely no harm whatsoever it just kinda looks ugly to have a T with mites on it. you can prevent phoresy from occuring by moving any dead food thats left over to one specific area that way the mights will "learn" to stay in that one area
 
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