If one enclosure has mites, is it safe to assume the others do as well? Please help...

Turiell

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I was looking at my A.genic's enclosure tonight and found mites in the soil. They were white and looked like little tiny spiders. I also saw what I guessed were small gnats flying around in there as well. I went into instant panic mode and removed him from the enclosure and put him in a new one with new substrate.

Now I'm studying my other enclosures and looking for mites there. I haven't seen any so far but I haven't looked at all the enclosures. I keep all my Ts together in one spot so should I just start over and change out everyone's enclosures? Please forgive me for having a noob panic attacked but I've had a rough few days and I'm not sure what would be best. Please, can anyone advise me on this?
 

EulersK

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@boina :rolleyes:

In short, do nothing. Mites are harmless, and in fact usually beneficial. She'll give you more info shortly.
 

cold blood

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Just dry everything out and do a good spot cleaning...mites are an irritant, nothing more...don't panic
 

Turiell

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Okay, thank you both for your help, I appreciate it. I know ya'll deal with this constantly and it can get annoying but thank you for your quick responses! It's helped calm my nerves :embarrassed:
 

Arachnomaniac19

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Gnats usually happen, for me at least, in enclosures that have low ventilation. That might be something to look into.
 

Turiell

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@Arachnomaniac19 Yeah that's a good point. I thought I had enough holes in my enclosures but maybe I don't. Do you think it would be better to switch everyone to kritter keepers? They seem to have a lot of ventilation. What do you think?
 

boina

Lady of the mites
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Oh thank you @EulersK , someone mentions mites and you think of me... I don't know if I should feel flattered or offended ;).

Anyway, mites are completely harmless. They are a normal and even helpful part of every soil. They are scavengers that eat tarantula poop and leftover boli, like springtails do. For some reason (TKG...) they got a really bad rep that they don't deserve at all. Why is it that everyone likes springtails and hate mites?? In moist enclosures it's practically impossible to get rid of them, because mite eggs spread through the air and they come from any kind of soil there is - like your backyard. And there's no need to get rid of them either. If they bother you for some unexplainable reason put some springtails in there, they'll outcompete the mites. Mites can, however, under favorable circumstances for them, multiply like crazy. In that case you should probably rethink your husbandry and start taking out boli :troll:. Also, mites - like springtails - need moisture, so if you dry out your enclosure out they'll go away.

The parasitic mites do exist but are actually rather hard to by and practically only found on WC Ts.

Fungus gnats (Sciaridae) are absolutely harmless, too. The adults don't eat and only live for a few days. The larva live in the soil (any soil) and eat - you guessed it - rotting matter.
 

WoofSpider

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Aug 31, 2016
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Oh thank you @EulersK , someone mentions mites and you think of me... I don't know if I should feel flattered or offended ;).

Anyway, mites are completely harmless. They are a normal and even helpful part of every soil. They are scavengers that eat tarantula poop and leftover boli, like springtails do. For some reason (TKG...) they got a really bad rep that they don't deserve at all. Why is it that everyone likes springtails and hate mites?? In moist enclosures it's practically impossible to get rid of them, because mite eggs spread through the air and they come from any kind of soil there is - like your backyard. And there's no need to get rid of them either. If they bother you for some unexplainable reason put some springtails in there, they'll outcompete the mites. Mites can, however, under favorable circumstances for them, multiply like crazy. In that case you should probably rethink your husbandry and start taking out boli :troll:. Also, mites - like springtails - need moisture, so if you dry out your enclosure out they'll go away.

The parasitic mites do exist but are actually rather hard to by and practically only found on WC Ts.

Fungus gnats (Sciaridae) are absolutely harmless, too. The adults don't eat and only live for a few days. The larva live in the soil (any soil) and eat - you guessed it - rotting matter.
Not to hijack, but I was just about to make my own mites thread and this makes me feel a lot better. I noticed the little white bugs in the picture below in my freshly molted G. pulchripes sling's enclosure and had already separated her from the others and was about to rehouse. Good to know that it wont be necessary.

20170429_113451[1].jpg
 

darkness975

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Fungus gnats (Sciaridae) are absolutely harmless, too. The adults don't eat and only live for a few days. The larva live in the soil (any soil) and eat - you guessed it - rotting matter.
Fungus gnats are an annoyance, but Phorid flies are a real threat. It is always good to know which of these two actually are flying around the house.
 

EulersK

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Fungus gnats are an annoyance, but Phorid flies are a real threat. It is always good to know which of these two actually are flying around the house.
Fungus gnats - will fly away when disturbed, extremely small, wings 2x larger than their body, larvae almost invisible to the naked eye

Phorid flies - will scurry away when disturbed (hence the common name "scuttle flies"), about 2mm in length and fat bodied (easily 2-3x the size of a fungus gnat), wings about the same size as their body (they look like tiny typical houseflies), and larvae are very easy to see with the naked eye (usually 3-5mm in length)
 

darkness975

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Fungus gnats - will fly away when disturbed, extremely small, wings 2x larger than their body, larvae almost invisible to the naked eye

Phorid flies - will scurry away when disturbed (hence the common name "scuttle flies"), about 2mm in length and fat bodied (easily 2-3x the size of a fungus gnat), wings about the same size as their body (they look like tiny typical houseflies), and larvae are very easy to see with the naked eye (usually 3-5mm in length)
Not everyone knows the difference so this is a good point of reference.
 

14pokies

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Oh thank you @EulersK , someone mentions mites and you think of me... I don't know if I should feel flattered or offended ;).

Anyway, mites are completely harmless. They are a normal and even helpful part of every soil. They are scavengers that eat tarantula poop and leftover boli, like springtails do. For some reason (TKG...) they got a really bad rep that they don't deserve at all. Why is it that everyone likes springtails and hate mites?? In moist enclosures it's practically impossible to get rid of them, because mite eggs spread through the air and they come from any kind of soil there is - like your backyard. And there's no need to get rid of them either. If they bother you for some unexplainable reason put some springtails in there, they'll outcompete the mites. Mites can, however, under favorable circumstances for them, multiply like crazy. In that case you should probably rethink your husbandry and start taking out boli :troll:. Also, mites - like springtails - need moisture, so if you dry out your enclosure out they'll go away.

The parasitic mites do exist but are actually rather hard to by and practically only found on WC Ts.

Fungus gnats (Sciaridae) are absolutely harmless, too. The adults don't eat and only live for a few days. The larva live in the soil (any soil) and eat - you guessed it - rotting matter.
I have a question.. I agree that scavenger mites in small numbers are a non issue.. But what if you are breeding Ts? What are the odds that they would get into an eggsac while a female is laying down her eggs. Would they be able to survive inside a sac and maybe even feed on the eggs?
 

boina

Lady of the mites
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I have a question.. I agree that scavenger mites in small numbers are a non issue.. But what if you are breeding Ts? What are the odds that they would get into an eggsac while a female is laying down her eggs. Would they be able to survive inside a sac and maybe even feed on the eggs?
I really don't know. I'very been thinking back and forth about it but I can't come up with a logical reason why mites wouldn't be able to survive inside the sac and feed on the eggs. So this may really be a situation where mites can be dangerous. Or they might not...
 
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