Ants, and mites, and nematodes...?

[kristal_kaos]

I hear about ants invading tanks with tarantulas in them and that mites come around, but how often is this? Is this common? I have 7 Ts and dont need an ant problem...I also have 2 young kids under 4 yrs. old.

 

[Tunedbeat]

For the past few yrs, i've never had ants invade my T tanks. Though, i've had a few mites, i'd just change the substrate or let it dry out. I guess you can have ant problems, if they invade your house and you leave dead prey in your tanks. All they're after is food.

 

[bonesmama]

Since you live in Michigan, you only have to worry about ants in the warm months. Mites are another story- it depends on the amount of moisture and waste in the enclosure.To tell the truth, I'm not sure about mites during the winter.I've only had a mite problem once, and that was in the summer. They can be passed from crickets, though- so I'm guessing they would be a problem year round. The main thing is keeping the enclosures clean so there is nothing for them to be attracted to.

 

[treeweta]

jees, yes, ants. thats something ive never even thought about. Depending upon location on the planet they could be an issue. Ive had several ant shocks in the past is various places. Although i never had T's in NZ (i lived there for a while) each morning the kitchen would have ant 'lines' whe even the smallest scap of food had been found. A few years ago in france i had caught and pinned some local insects (something i only do now when i find dead ones), the caravan i was in was invaded by ants which stripped about 20 orthoptera down to their exoskeletons. Another time in the Uk i had a cage containing some live UK grasshoppers and ants got in there and ate them all!! so yes, i cannot see T's being immumne to any attack.

 

[galeogirl]

I've never had problems with ants or nematodes, but I've had to deal with mites off of WC ts and the best thing to do for that is keep everything very clean while they die off and to isolate the t from your collection until there are no mites. I've actively removed mites from heavily infested ts with a damp paintbrush; this can be a very exciting way to spend an hour if the t in question is a C. brachycephalus.