Victory is at hand!!! All mites die!!!

[nocturnalpulsem]

In the war against the invading scum (i.e. mites) I shall soon be victorious!!!

To aviod changing the substrate (which stresses all parties involved...) I began trying different strategies, and found what works...

1. Mite traps- will get some, but not all

2. Q-tips dipped in vasoline- will allow you to remove the ones that you can see. Good for groups feeding on something.

3. Heat lamp- remove scorps and blast some heat at them for a half hour at a time. Good for helping to dry out peat, and for giving them a sunburn they'll never forget

4. Safety lighter- when I get really p***ed I used a safety lighter to torch the little buggers. This worked, but it prolly wasn't the best of ideas...

5. Starve them out- I got some pill bugs/ rolly-pollies/ what-ever-you-wanna-call-them to eat the leftovers and leave the mites with nothing to eat. THIS REALLY WORKS!!! The scorps have no desire to eat them, and they work as a little clean-up crew. I highly recommend them. Go to a forrest preserve or a home that doesn't use pesticides and harvest a few dozen.

I've used all of these and the mites are dead/dying. I think I'm still going to trade my A. seemanni towards some Desery Hairies, but I may just keep the emps. I can fight off mites in one tank without too much of a problem, but I don't think I could stomach doing more than that.

Maybe if this is helpful someone might make this a sticky? Just trying to do my share



He who hath vanquished his foes,
N.

 

[XOskeletonRED]

If your scorp gives birth, remove the mother and young prior to their coming off their mother's back and keep the pill bugs away from them. As long as they are on the mother's back, she will keep them safe (they are above the surface and will be left alone by the pill bugs), but when they come off her back, they become very vulnerable and pill bugs (or rolly pollies as they are often called) will eat molting baby scorps. This is part of their clean-up job, in a nutshell. They may also attempt to "clean up" a molting adult scorp, but I have yet to see the occurance because none of my adults have molted since I started keeping small #s of pill bugs with them.


adios,
edw.

 

[nocturnalpulsem]

Originally posted by XOskeletonRED
If your scorp gives birth...

Not a problem. My female isn't mature, yet.

N.

 

[Poecilotheria]

To get rid of mites, I cleaned out a centipede cage, and am currentl houseing it on a damp towel! Not a paper towel but an actual towel. Hey, it works, i'd like to see those little mothers try to maneuver through somewhat bushy material! Ha! I'm done gloating now, I just really dislike mites.
Steve

 

[chuck]

im having good results with the mite traps. i removed one today and had quite a few caught in the vasaline. tonight im going to check the rim of the water dish to see if any are left