Dubia and Mites

[Dillon]

So I was cleaning/feeding my dubia today.

I lift the cardboard up and there's a couple bodies that are covered in mites..

I'm fearing its spread throughout the colony.

I had moved the colony into a temporary housing unit because their old enclosure needed cleaning. This temporary unit didn't have the best ventilation and they were in there about a 5 days (too long) and I believe the infestation started there.

I have confirmed visually that they are mites..Not sure what kind but for sure they're mites.

I'm wondering how people go about getting rid of 1000+ roaches that are under attack?

I feel bad but I don't think it's right to continue on with this colony after seeing this...

How do I get rid of these roaches now? Is there a somewhat efficient way to get rid of them all?

I plan on starting over and never, ever, letting them stay in an unventilated area for any period of time. I'm really bothered by this, my colony was thriving.

Someone please share a method of mass extermination...Thanks.

 

[jmiller]

Sorry to hear about your colony.

You can always burn it. This will kill everything and you can dispose of the ashes.

But first you might want to try getting some predatory mites to eat the mites you have. H. miles is the one most people use.

You can do a search on the boards for more info on these.

 

[Dillon]

I was under the impression that H. Miles needed a higher humidity to survive?

I wouldn't want them to die off before they did their job....

Maybe i could put a few dubia in a humidity controlled environment and try to clean a few and start over?

You have experience with these H. Miles, JMiller? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.(And anyone else)

Just worried about them dying off from lack of humidity before they have a chance to be effective.

It's just so awful, I'm all stressed out about this.

Thanks again for your reply.

 

[jmiller]

Dillon,
Sorry but I do not have first hand experience with them. I have read about them just in case I ever need to use them myself. But fortunately I have not had the need as of yet (knock on wood).

I am sure others on here will be able to provide first hand knowledge.

If they need the elevated humidity you could just put your lid back on and use something for moisture to get the humidity up for them to work. Just a thought.

Good Luck.

 

[gvfarns]

I used H miles in my roach colony. They come in a bigger container than you really want. Kind of a pain. They eat the mites really fast. Like within a few days, I'd say. I think they die off after that, though, so you may need them again later. I haven't had the kind of flare up that I used to since then, but have seen mites there since then. Probably a little mite sized ecosystem going on.

My enclosure does have a (moist) substrate, so I can't comment on whether they will dehydrate without it.

Next time I have the mite problem I think I'll just rehouse the roaches. And then do it again. In my experience mites happen when things are humid. I had two roach enclosures next to each other in the same conditions except one had a red light (25 watts) to dry and keep it warm. That one didn't have the horrible mite problems the other did. I think the light dried things out a little.

My mites always hang real close to the water and the food. My theory is that if we keep the food far from the water, it discourages them.

 

[Dillon]

Thank you for your thoughts, I value them a lot.

I might try these H. Miles..

 

[Matt K]

Mites are ever present in everything everywhere. There is a strong chance that the mites you found are not attacking your colony, but may be a burst of grain mites feeding on dead material (roaches) in this case. They could also be the commonly encountered cellulose mite that is totally harmless but very attracted to dead/decaying material (particularly mulch/wood/cardboard/etc. though they are not above eating a dead roach).

Hypoaspis miles will live alot longer than you may think if your roaches have the humidity they should be getting in the first place....

The mites that are a problem for roaches are not very mobile, and stick tightly to the roaches in small packs or groups- and appear to not move to the human eye (unless you use a magnifying glass and then you can detect very slow movement).

 

[Dillon]

Ok, Thanks Matt.

The Dubia's have a very large, constant, water supply. This keeps the humidity around ~50-60% in their bin with fluctuations higher and lower.

They all molt fine so I do believe they are " getting correct/proper humidity."

Hopefully thats sustainable for some H. Miles, just in case there are some harmful mites.

They may be the harmless ones(mites) that you mentioned, because I can see them move with the naked eye.

 

[skips]

MattK is right. if you keep even a relatively humid enclosure you're bound to find mites. I had them a while ago exactly like you described and just kept humidity down for a bit. I havnt had a problem. That's was about 4 months ago. Don't immediately think you even have a problem just because you have mites. They may just be hanging out.

I'm glad to actually get a first hand account of H. miles working. They're always suggested but no one seems to ever have actually used them.

 

[reverendsterlin]

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=136229 my post is the 5th one down

 

[Memento]

I've used H. miles in the past, and they're fabulous. They came in a shaker-type dispenser, with directions and lifespan info. You do get a lot more than you normally need, but they're cheap (up here, anyway), so it wasn't a big deal for me.

A few shakes and a couple of days was usually all it took for my pest mite problems to disappear. I've noticed the predatory mites here and there for up to a month after they did their job, even in relatively dry enclosures.

 

[Dillon]

reverend - thanks for that link.

Upon a lot of investigating, from the few hundred live roaches that I grabbed, they all appear to be mite free.

The dead ones though, do have a mite problem.

I'm wondering if I keep removing them(dead roaches), that will suffice over time for the majority of them(mites)?

If they are still here, in a little more time, or if I see them on the live roaches, I plan on trying these H. Miles.

I'm not going to get rid of the colony just yet.

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts, and I thank you all.

 

[Galapoheros]

The mites that are a problem for roaches are not very mobile, and stick tightly to the roaches in small packs or groups- and appear to not move to the human eye (unless you use a magnifying glass and then you can detect very slow movement).

I'm pretty sure these ARE grain mites you're referring to. From what I understand and have read, these are grain mites in the hypopus stage, I've dealt with them for years. They group together and tend to attach to soft-bodied parts of inverts when food sources dry up. I could be wrong, I've been wrong before but I'd like to see info on "cellulose mites". I still can't find info on those but I can pull up info on hypopus stage grain mites that fit that description. Dillon it would be much more clear if you could get a photo of the mites you're talking about, even if it's not so good, of the mites.

 

[Dillon]

I only have a digital camera at the moment and the macro setting won't focus in close enough for a good pic.

But hope this helps.

With flashlight on them to hopefully light them up.

 

[Galapoheros]

IMO, it looks like grain mites from here around the base of the legs. I know there are 1000's of mite sp... but the most common prob mites in the hobby are these grain mites. What people are calling grain mites and what people are calling "carrion" mites are the same thing imo. They eat grains, decaying veg matter AND dead bug parts. They slowly walk around, fat, dull whitish, on food, then when the food dries up, their body transforms and they hitch a ride on your bugs, grouping under legs, in-between segments, things like that. They really stick with microscopic suckers and are hard to get off. I have dubias and hissers, no grain mites that I see in there. But I have introduced grain mites and they never have taken hold in my roach containers. I have other free roaming mites in there that I've seen eat those things on the sub, I've watched them with a mag glass. I'll send you some of my substrate if you want to experiment with it.

 

[Dillon]

I appreciate you offering to send the substrate heros, but I think I will still, after experimenting, be forced to use a predatory mite, enh?

Is H. Miles looking like a must?

Thanks man.

 

[Matt K]

Those REALLY look like grain mites, so H.miles is a helpful but definately not necessary addition. If you keep the colony clean of dead/debris/extra food then yoiu will not have any problems. Grain mites are harmless unless you take poor care of the roaches, in which case the mites will flourish and overrun the colony. The real problem with mites in roach colonies is similar to a cat having fleas- parasite overfeeding on the host- and that the smaller mites will block the airways of the roach which is how a mite kills its host anyway-suffocation by mass propogation.

 

[Dillon]

I'm not as worried about the roaches as I am about the animals that are eating the roaches.

I've got a large amount of animals dependent on this colony and would hate to expose them to something.

That's my main concern.

I've been only feeding off roaches that seem free and clear of them thus far, but my fear is that one will tag along and infest one of my critters.

I'm still uneasy about these dang things. I guess I'm over-worrying now, but I like to be safe instead of sorry.

I will wait a little longer and see if I can notice their numbers diminishing, I guess.

Thanks Matt.