Isopods and mint

[Mojo288]

2 quick questions for those who will be kind enough to enlighten me,

Has anyone had experience growing mint in an enclosure? I ask because it grows very easily, smells nice and can be used when trimmed down, i'm not sure if its safe for Ts but i did find out that peppermint oil is used as an insect deterrent .

Clean up crews, anyone have any suggestions for cleaners besides springtails and white dwarf isopods?

Thank you for your input

 

[Draketeeth]

i'm not sure if its safe for Ts but i did find out that peppermint oil is used as an insect deterrent .

And that's the very reason why I would not use it in a cage. Don't think it's worth the trouble of trying it.

Are you needing a clean-up crew for any particular species?

 

[Mojo288]

just exploring my options, i like the dwarf isopods but they are hard to find sometimes, while the springtails are very drought sensitive and i like to let some of my enclosures dry out before dampening again. I don't want to end up with a possibly predatory isopod due to my ignorance

 

[Chickenfeeder100]

Bugsincyberspace has dwarf isopods sometimes but the shipping isn't worth unless you buy like a vinagaroon or something.

 

[Mojo288]

what other isopods would work well?

So no one has tried mint huh...

 

[BC1579]

I wouldn't go eating any mint out of a NW enclosure.

 

[Mojo288]

I wouldn't go eating any mint out of a NW enclosure.

lol good point

 

[Ellenantula]

I've planted mint twice in a herb garden. First time -- it took over everything.
Second time, I planted it inside a buried tube of metal... it still took over everything else in herb garden.
It's definitely hardy.

So basically, I appreciate your attempt to find other uses for mint. But I can't picture it in a T enclosure. Frankly, Ts are enough to care for on their own, much less to deal with a live plant too. Good luck.

 

[ediblepain]

Mint has an oil on the leaves, that can be fairly irratating if it gets in the wrong spot.

 

[Mojo288]

Mint has an oil on the leaves, that can be fairly irratating if it gets in the wrong spot.

You mean if the plant is cut or on any contact? And is this all mints or just peppermint?

 

[ediblepain]

You mean if the plant is cut or on any contact? And is this all mints or just peppermint?

It's on the leaves, mainly. The amount of oil is vastly different depending on the cultivator of mint as well as the health of the plant. I don't know which cultivators of mint have the least amount of oils. I wish I could be more helpful.

 

[boina]

You mean if the plant is cut or on any contact? And is this all mints or just peppermint?

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) has generally the largest amount of menthol oil and the plant gets quite tall, too. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) has less oils, but also gets quite tall (about 4'). Mentha arvensis is wild mint and only gets to about 2' and has significantly less oils. Those are different species, btw., not cultivars. There are, however, quite a few different cultivars of Mentha x piperita. Mint would only work with Theraphosa or similar, though, because it needs plenty of water. I wouldn't think a spider would be affected too much by the oils - they are mild insect repellents, but spiders aren't insects. My mint plants outside (or what's left of them after the snails found them) have a good population of orb weavers going on them.

 

[ediblepain]

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) has generally the largest amount of menthol oil and the plant gets quite tall, too. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) has less oils, but also gets quite tall (about 4'). Mentha arvensis is wild mint and only gets to about 2' and has significantly less oils. Those are different species, btw., not cultivars. There are, however, quite a few different cultivars of Mentha x piperita. Mint would only work with Theraphosa or similar, though, because it needs plenty of water. I wouldn't think a spider would be affected too much by the oils - they are mild insect repellents, but spiders aren't insects. My mint plants outside (or what's left of them after the snails found them) have a good population of orb weavers going on them.

Thank you so much for the correction! I was under the impression that all mint was the same speices. Today I learned something new.

 

[Trenor]

Yeah, Mom used to keep Mentha suaveolens (apple mint) along with spearmint and peppermint. She spent a lot of time in her herb garden removing mint that got out of its place. We used to turn spearmint lose on the back fields when they were not in use for ground cover. It grows like crazy and holds the soil really well.

If you keep live plants like this in an enclosure (I wouldn't bother myself) make sure you go big with ventilation.

 

[Ellenantula]

Yeah, Mom used to keep Mentha suaveolens (apple mint) along with spearmint and peppermint. She spent a lot of time in her herb garden removing mint that got out of its place. We used to turn spearmint lose on the back fields when they were not in use for ground cover. It grows like crazy and holds the soil really well.

If you keep live plants like this in an enclosure (I wouldn't bother myself) make sure you go big with ventilation.

Your Mom has my full understanding and sympathy! Mint is just too darned hardy! And it doesn't like to share space equally. lol

 

[Trenor]

Your Mom has my full understanding and sympathy! Mint is just too darned hardy! And it doesn't like to share space equally. lol

I like mint in tea and some drinks. When I was in college a friend tried some and wanted to grow his own. When I went back home, I brought him some extra Mom had. A week later he called saying it was dying and wanted me to come take a look at it. They had a pot, liquid fertilizer, and the whole deal. The problem was that they had it on the shade side of the apartment in a window planter. They had a small patio and a bit of backyard before the edge of the woods. I didn't even dig the ground up just sat the clump of dirt right side up with the plants in a decent sunny spot and left it. A year later the woods behind their apartment was covered in mint. They cut mint for tea till we graduated and moved away. I bet it's still there.