madagascar hissing cockroach mites

[Christianb96]

checked on my colony tonight and saw several mites on one of them. i know that there is a beneficial mite that helps keep them clean but i just want to make sure i dont have a problem before it gets out of hand.

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

Nope, those look like the mites on my G. oblongata colony. I have never seen them bother the roaches, so it's probably fine If you wanted, you may be able to literally brush them off each roach if they get too out of hand, but if you have a big colony it's nearly impossible to get rid of them. Lots of varying opinions about whether or not to keep them.

 

[Christianb96]

Nope, those look like the mites on my G. oblongata colony. I have never seen them bother the roaches, so it's probably fine If you wanted, you may be able to literally brush them off each roach if they get too out of hand, but if you have a big colony it's nearly impossible to get rid of them. Lots of varying opinions about whether or not to keep them.

im not worried about the roaches, i know the mites are beneficial to them, i just dont want them to end up with my scorpions lol

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

Ohhhh, not sure if they spread like that. Believe they can only live on the roaches, but even if they spread to the scorps I don't believe they are parasitic. Just use the roaches to travel to their food/hide.

 

[Christianb96]

oh ok thank you! btw how much bigger do the oblongata get kver the usual hisser. ive been looking in to starting a colony

 

[ChickenTaco]

Yup most mites, and lice are generally species specific for invertebrates at least (and most likely different bug families ) and won't even consider another option unless there's an infestation. It's why you can have chickens and goats and things all living in a barn together but only one type of animal may get lice or mites (because they prey on specific animals) so they shouldn't be any issue to your other insects under normal circumstances