Dwarf White Woodlice Infestation

[AuroraLights]

I seems like some of the substrate I purchased must have had a few dwarf white tropical woodlice in it, and now there are quite a large number living in my millipede vivarium. I've tried to pick out as many as possible but there are mancae hiding in the soil and even the adults are small and good at hiding so I won't be able to get rid of them all manually. At the moment there are only adult Spirostreptids in the tank so nobody will be moulting and the isopods aren't a risk, but as soon as this lockdown is over I was planning to get some males millipedes and start trying breed them. Obviously I don't want the isopods munching on any babies so I was planning on freezing/baking/soaking everything before I get the males. However when I mentioned this on a Facebook group people said that unlike other isopods, dwarf whites aren't a problem to millipedes. I'm not sure if this is true and usually I'd err on the side of caution, but treating all the substrate isn't without risk either as it will kill all the beneficial bacteria, fungi and springtails living in it. So basically I'm very conflicted. Do I sacrifice the soil ecosystem to remove the isopods, or would that do more harm then good?
Any and all opinions or experience would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[Patherophis]

What size of enclosure / amount of substrate are we talking about ? If You have enough time, I would put millipedes into temporary enclosure and simply let it dry, it is simpliest but very effective method of elimination of unwated inverts, and quite sensitive to microbial community. Another option would be freezing, but it is much more unnecesary work. Never bake anything.
I am not sure if T. tomentosa attack healthy millipedes or their young, but I have witnessed them mounching on wounded ones. Another problem is that isopods are strongly competing with millipedes for food sources. I heard people saying that they have no problems with them, but personally I am glad that I got rid of them.

 

[Arthroverts]

Trichorhina tomentosa (Dwarf Whites) in my opinion are a very protein-hungry species, ravenously digging into the freshly-molted and dying crickets I occasionally give them. That should speak for itself...
It is possible they could coexist with the millipedes for a time, but with babies and frequently molting specimens you are going to have a higher mortality rate than usual.

A workaround to eradicate them might be to place the millipedes in a temporary enclosure (make sure no isopods hitchhike in with them) with fresh substrate. Then, take the old substrate, and spread it out on pans (think cookie sheets and such) outside in the sun if that is possible. You want to to dry the substrate out completely (<---very important that it is as close to bone dry as possible, they can survive on the smallest amounts of moisture) and thus kill all the isopods, but not destroy everything beneficial.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[AuroraLights]

What size of enclosure / amount of substrate are we talking about ? If You have enough time, I would put millipedes into temporary enclosure and simply let it dry, it is simpliest but very effective method of elimination of unwated inverts, and quite sensitive to microbial community. Another option would be freezing, but it is much more unnecesary work. Never bake anything.

It is a large tank with I think nearly 50 litres (about 13 US gallons) of substrate in it. That and the fact that it's been pretty humid here recently means that I think it would take months to dry out as it is, but I will try Arthroverts' idea about spreading some in the sun and probably freeze the rest of it.

Trichorhina tomentosa (Dwarf Whites) in my opinion are a very protein-hungry species, ravenously digging into the freshly-molted and dying crickets I occasionally give them. That should speak for itself...

Okay, I will definitively get rid of them then, thank you! And I will try your idea about sun drying some of it if we have a few days of sunshine. One thing I'm worried about though is the woodlice and springtails I have not being native, won't they jump out while the soil is drying and possibly become invasive? I suppose tropical species probably wouldn't survive our winters but I'm not 100% sure.

Either way I will be sure to get rid of the invaders somehow, and I will avoid baking as much as possible. I have exams in the next month (obviously they are online now but still going ahead) and I am kind of stressed out over them, especially as this is such a new thing, so I'm not sure I can do such a big project right now. However, I could set up the quarantine tank tomorrow and move them over right away. Luckily I have one, and some spare substrate that I do not think has woodlice, but I will certainly be checking. The quarantine tank is a bit small and doesn't hold moisture or keep its temperature quite as well, but it's better than getting eaten alive! I think that is probably what I will do, it's getting warmer and more humid anyway so I'm sure they will be fine. And as soon as my exams are over I will have more than enough time to do a thorough tank cleanse, whatever that will require.
Thank you both so much for your help!