Man...those enclosures must be made out of some pretty stern stuff to survive the microwave repeatedly.To really get rid of them, if I can, I put the whole enclosure in my microwave after removing my arthropets for about 10 minutes, five minutes with the lid off, then 5 with the lid on to really steam kill those demons. Then I put the enclosure in the freezer for about 2 hours to thermally shock any remaining living organisms in the enclosure. Then I put the enclosure back in the microwave for another 3 minutes to heat everything back to ambient temperatures.
Man...those enclosures must be made out of some pretty stern stuff to survive the microwave repeatedly.
Thanks,
Arthroverts
Ah, I see. Are all your enclosures acrylic? Seems like that might get expensive over time.They're acrylic
True. I think for many people it's just peace of mind to not see nematodes through the plastic/acrylic/glass.The chances of them actually being a nematode that can harm your inverts are almost null. They are likely feeding on bacteria, fungi, or substrate itself. They’re more unsightly than a threat to your pets.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/health/biology/?cid=nrcs142p2_053866
Cheers
Definitely, I’ve battled them myself on multiple occasion. I’ve only ever lost two inverts to nematodes and both instances were wild caught import Avicularia spp.True. I think for many people it's just peace of mind to not see nematodes through the plastic/acrylic/glass.
With other invertebrate groups however (such as millipedes and isopods) nematodes can be a serious problem as they rapidly eat the foods provided for whatever specimens are intentionally being kept, leading to starvation amongst younger specimens.
Thanks,
Arthroverts