# Mites on tarantulas



## catfishrod69 (Mar 9, 2013)

I was just wondering if anyone out there knew a way to get rid of mites on a tarantula, other than predatory mites. And also what kind of mites they possibly are. Are they hitchhiking, or are they parasitic? I have a H. incei female who recently came with a few mites on her. I didnt think a whole lot of it, and today i was feeding her up to pair her with a male tomorrow, and noticed she had even more of them on her. Wanted to see if i should bother trying to do anything about them, or if they will come off with her next molt. I figure if they come off with her next molt, wouldnt they just get right back on her? And i wonder if what recently happened to my female C. marshalli, has anything to do with this. Do you think the mites could possibly cause her to rupture during a molt? Any thoughts? Thanks. 

If anyone wants to zoom the pic in a bit, feel free. I couldnt get it to.


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## cmcghee358 (Mar 9, 2013)

If memory serves me right, keeping them really dry kills them. They dessicate(pretty sure thats the wrong word) much faster than tarantulas because they lack the waxy coating to hold their bodily fluids in.

But your substrate appears quite dry so I'm not sure why they are multiplying. Is there a "wet corner" of the enclosure? If so I'd let it all dry out.


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## roaddog (Mar 9, 2013)

Get a culture of Hypoaspis miles predatory mites.  If you search on here I think there are listings on where to find them.  I will look for the link when I get back.


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 9, 2013)

I keep most of my tarantulas bone dry. However even in some enclosures that have been dry for a long time, a bolus left over night will quickly have mites on it. These dont look like the ordinary grain mites, they are alot larger, and very fat. I had them infest a few of my slings so badly, that i had to rehouse the slings. These mites seem to not be bothered at all with it being dry. 





cmcghee358 said:


> If memory serves me right, keeping them really dry kills them. They dessicate(pretty sure thats the wrong word) much faster than tarantulas because they lack the waxy coating to hold their bodily fluids in.
> 
> But your substrate appears quite dry so I'm not sure why they are multiplying. Is there a "wet corner" of the enclosure? If so I'd let it all dry out.




---------- Post added 03-09-2013 at 08:30 PM ----------

Yeah ive been meaning to do that bro. But unfortunately dont have the money to spare on them right now. And i know they are somewhat expensive, with a high shipping cost. 





roaddog said:


> Get a culture of Hypoaspis miles predatory mites.  If you search on here I think there are listings on where to find them.  I will look for the link when I get back.




---------- Post added 03-09-2013 at 08:48 PM ----------

Ok i was looking at ordering H. miles, they are being renamed  Stratiolaelaps scimitus.

However i found this place to order Phytoseiulus persimilis.  http://greenmethods.com/site/product/phytoseiulus-persimilis-predatory-mites-in-corn-grit/

And this place had a little more info on the Phytoseiulus persimilis.   http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/persimilis.html


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## Hobo (Mar 9, 2013)

Not an H. incei, but I have had (and probably still do have) tarantulas with mites on them, and I just let 'em be. They have never proven to be a problem, and I can only guess they're just hitching rides until they find something to eat. They seem to be able to "jump ship" very easily as well, so don't hope they'll be gone after a molt. I would guess a lot of people actually have mites, but they may hide in areas you would not normally be able to see (like on the side of the chelicerae on my photos).
Personally I'd just leave it (I've found dry conditions doesn't affect the ones sticking onto the tarantula either), but then again I live close to someone with a ton of incei I could just buy

Here I actually watched as some mites crawled from her molt to her new exo. Though I do not see them on her anymore, I can only assume she is still carrying some hidden somewhere.






These are photos of my newly molted mature male GBB. I'm guessing they came from his molt as well. He not only survived the female (who laid a successful sac) but also lived for quite some time afterwards. I could see the mites sometimes on his body.












And my P. ornata had a face full of mites, that seemed to disappear after a molt (I'm guessing they simply moved on to more discrete areas of her body when they moved from the molt, like the others).






Aside from the MM GBB, they are all still alive and seemingly healthy.

The pred mites will definitely work though, at least against the ones in the sub and enclosure. Unlike these guys, they don't seem to have a way to survive really dry conditions. Also, I've no idea if they will actually go onto a tarantula to eat the ones sticking to it.


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## catfishrod69 (Mar 9, 2013)

Thanks Hobo! I usually dont really get worried about mites much, but these seem to be a different kind of mite, atleast by size and look. If you could somehow blow up the pic of my incei, you will see they are actually pretty large. I wonder if they are actually feeding from her. See the main reason im worried, is because of the rescent loss of my C. marshalli female. See this thread. I really believe the marshalli had a mite attached in the spot she ruptured from, however i cant really be certain. But when she came in, i remember seeing one attached in the same spot. Thats the main reason im worried, because i dont want to risk my incei going through the same thing. I mean i know its as easy as ordering some predatory mites, but thought this might help myself and others a little. 

Besides having atleast 3 different kinds of mites, im also battling phlorid flies. So i think the predatory mites would really help out. Glad to hear none of your tarantulas had any problems with molts man. 

I think im gonna go ahead and order the predatory mites in the link, as ive been meaning to for a while now. Id like to start keeping pedes again, and mites was one of the reasons i quit keeping them. I know these are not H. miles, but they seem like a really good species of mite to use, atleast to give a chance. Thanks.


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## gottarantulas (Mar 9, 2013)

Not too long ago, one of my P.lugardi had mites. Since it was a new addition, I assumed that she already had mites at the time of purchase (from a LPS) and I just didn't notice or realize it at the time. I cleaned her enclosure, dumped the old substrate and cork bark out and started anew, I then placed the T in  a deli cup that was fairly snug. I used a 10 inch Q-Tips dabbed with Vaseline and took my time and gently picked off each mite one at a time. I kept the T in a temporary enclosure for a week (with nothing in it except for a dish of water) to observe if there any mites left on her or would reappear. The next day I picked off two more and after that...none. It's been at least 6 months and not a mite in sight.


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## catfishrod69 (Jun 11, 2013)

Man that does not at all sound like fun. Especially with a Pterinochilus. I went ahead and ordered those predatory mites, and hopefully they will do the trick. If i could pinch grab my female and pluck them all off, i would. But im not a big fan on pinch grabbing. Glad you were able to work through it though.





brickster said:


> Not too long ago, one of my P.lugardi had mites. Since it was a new addition, I assumed that she already had mites at the time of purchase (from a LPS) and I just didn't notice or realize it at the time. I cleaned her enclosure, dumped the old substrate and cork bark out and started anew, I then placed the T in  a deli cup that was fairly snug. I used a 10 inch Q-Tips dabbed with Vaseline and took my time and gently picked off each mite one at a time. I kept the T in a temporary enclosure for a week (with nothing in it except for a dish of water) to observe if there any mites left on her or would reappear. The next day I picked off two more and after that...none. It's been at least 6 months and not a mite in sight.


Well the mites on her has gotten worse. They never seem to venture out of her enclosure. But i see them crawling around in her webbing also. The mites that i ordered were useless and did nothing. These have got to be some kind of parasitic mite. But she shows no signs of them bothering her. I recently paired her too. Her enclosure has sat on top of other enclosures, with no spreading of the mites. 





---------- Post added 06-11-2013 at 06:54 PM ----------

I got some pics of a mite under the microscope. But unfortunately photobucket doesnt upload that type of file. So ill have to download a file converter before i can add those pics.


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## Lizardman905 (Jun 11, 2013)

catfishrod69 said:


> Well the mites on her has gotten worse. They never seem to venture out of her enclosure. But i see them crawling around in her webbing also. The mites that i ordered were useless and did nothing. These have got to be some kind of parasitic mite. But she shows no signs of them bothering her. I recently paired her too. Her enclosure has sat on top of other enclosures, with no spreading of the mites.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If I were you I'd try to get them off ASAP! If they are parasitic she might not lay eggs or she might eat the sac.


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## Hobo (Jun 11, 2013)

It's strange that they choose to pile up on top like that; if they were parasitic mites I'd assume they'd hang around the softer joints or maybe near her mouth for scraps.

Personally I'd be more worried about them getting to the eggs as she lays them and messing up the sac.

Which pred mites did you use?


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## Curious jay (Jun 11, 2013)

Wow they've increased dramatically, hope nothing bad comes of it, good luck bud.


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## catfishrod69 (Jun 11, 2013)

Thanks everyone. Yeah i need to do something quickly, just not sure what yet. The mites i ordered are these <edit> Unforunately after ordering them i realized that they fed on mites that bothered plants. But i figured, they would be hungry and would feed on the other mites. But they just dissapeared. I figure i probably could try brickster's method as he mentioned above. But i would probably pinch grab her and hold her while getting the mites off. Bad thing is, pinch grabbing a fast H. incei. I did pinch grab a adult female N. tripepii, which was pretty hard to do, so if it comes to that, ill try it. What i dont understand is why they are not spreading. I mean im glad they arent, but its akward. Maybe i could pinch grab her and use my squirt bottle to blast them off.


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## Curious jay (Jun 11, 2013)

What are mites tolerance to being submerged underwater like? Maybe if you submerged her for a short period they may detach themselves? Dunno, I'm shooting in the dark here as I've never had this happen to any of my Ts.


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## James501 (Jun 12, 2013)

I'd go for brickster's method and use Vaseline and a Q tip to pick them off. There's a few videos on YouTube of people using that meathod to get rid of mites...

Good luck! 

---------- Post added 06-12-2013 at 10:49 AM ----------

[YOUTUBE]zU2kj_fN1yw[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]MF_CNOTpSEc[/YOUTUBE]

Hope these help... :coffee:

Reactions: Like 2


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## Deathmetal (Jun 12, 2013)

I saw in a video once someone had tweezers with a rubber band around the end. They used this to 'trap' the tarantula underneath. Is that a better idea than grabbing it with your hands?


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## Storm76 (Jun 12, 2013)

That's serious business with that amount of mites on your incei there in comparison to "some" like Hobo, or me experienced on a T. My versis both got rid of their mites when I instantly removed their molts as slings and are doing fine. I've never seen an outbreak like what you experience there either - I'd do like roadie said and certainly go for the predatory mites in your case...


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## catfishrod69 (Jun 12, 2013)

Thanks everyone! Well i think the best method will be to grab her by hand. Once you have a tarantula pinch grabbed, they calm down and turn into a statue. So its alot easier to work with them. If anyone remembers me pinch grabbing my N. tripepii female in my pairing thread, now that was nervewrecking. She was 7.5", vicious, and fast. But once i got her in my hand she wouldnt move. Anyways, the predatory mites will have to wait for now. They cost too much for me to get just yet. I might be able to get some off the top of her using the squirt bottle. Will see what happens. I should have some time to give it a go this weekend. 

I really wish i knew what was going through these mites heads. I mean they dont seem to be feeding off her. But what blows my mind most is they dont spread out of her enclosure at all.


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## 3skulls (Jun 12, 2013)

I hate to see this. 
Good luck and be safe if you go in to grab her. 

One thing I hope I never have to deal with. 

Keep us updated.


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## catfishrod69 (Jun 12, 2013)

Thanks alot bro! Ill for sure be safe. Worst that can happen is she nibbles on me . I figure how i will do it is in the bathtub. Ill get all the mites off her, then put her in a temp enclosure. Then completely clean her enclosure and have it ready. Then ill keep her quarantined until i make sure there are no mites left. Pretty much just what brickster said to do. 

These mites are totally different from the other ones i have. I have some grain mites, then some large white mites that seem to be a little more bothersome and harder to get rid of. Then these one on the incei are white when juvies, and turn goldish colored as adults. This weekend ill try and get a image convertor downloaded and convert those microscope pics of the mite, and add them on.


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## 3skulls (Jun 25, 2013)

Any update?


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## BobGrill (Jun 25, 2013)

Argh! I hate these guys! I've never had any on Ts, but I've had emperor scorpions with mites on them. It doesn't seem to bother them though. With the emps, I could just give them a little bath in a plastic container with a bit of water, and they'd wash right off. Not sure how you'd do that with a T though. It's not really an option with very skittish/defensive ones.


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## catfishrod69 (Jun 25, 2013)

No updates yet. She is still looking very well. I havent gotten to getting the mites off yet. Ive been having some problems with a few things, and have fell behind on the hobby. Gonna try and get caught back up though. 

I have also put centipedes into homeade strainers to rinse off the mites. Unfortunately i dont even think that would work with these mites, they seem to be clingy.


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## 3skulls (Jun 26, 2013)

Cool, just checking in. 

I had an outbreak of gnats :/


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## catfishrod69 (Jun 26, 2013)

Yeah phlorid flies are not fun at all. Watch those larvae, they can and will eat slings.

Here is a pic of one of the mites under microscope. I had to freeze it to get it to hold still.


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## DomGom TheFather (Apr 30, 2020)

That might be the grossest thing i've ever seen. Good luck.


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## The Grym Reaper (Apr 30, 2020)

DomGom TheFather said:


> That might be the grossest thing i've ever seen. Good luck.


7 year old thread and the OP hasn't logged in for 2 years

Reactions: Agree 1


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## DomGom TheFather (May 1, 2020)

The Grym Reaper said:


> 7 year old thread and the OP hasn't logged in for 2 years


Woops. Still gross


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