Mite issue (is H2O2 as good as bleach)

[bre5890]

Just returned home after a year of being out of state for school. My parents amazingly took care of my curly hair, however I noticed there were some cricket heads and legs/ carcass pieces that were never taken out after observing his tank for a few hours I noticed he definitely has mites. Not a terrible gigantic colony however they are definitely evident and collecting around his water dish. I have never had this issue with him and he’s about 3 years old so I was reading about treatments and bleach is what I’ve come across the most. I have cleaned my fish tank filters with hydrogen peroxide to get rid of parasites in the past and am wondering if I can do that instead of bleach and have the same effect with killing the mites. Not a big science person but I know bleach is more harsh and doesn’t break down as fast as H2O2, was just hoping for an expert to possibly give their two sense worth

 

[Spoodfood]

Mites are generally not harmful. All you need to do is remove the uneaten prey and rinse out the water dish. If it’s an adult, let the enclosure dry out and rinse the water dish a few times and they’ll be gone.

Mites are not anything to worry about.you might be interested in giving this a read.

All you need to know about mites

Mites are one of the big topics that turn up over and over again. I can't count how often I've posted about them and tried to put a rational view on some rather phobic reactions. So, here is a consolidated post with everything about mites that I (and others) can link back to: Mites are harmless...

arachnoboards.com

 

[bre5890]

Mites are generally not harmful. All you need to do is remove the uneaten prey and rinse out the water dish. If it’s an adult, let the enclosure dry out and rinse the water dish a few times and they’ll be gone.

Mites are not anything to worry about.you might be interested in giving this a read.

All you need to know about mites

Mites are one of the big topics that turn up over and over again. I can't count how often I've posted about them and tried to put a rational view on some rather phobic reactions. So, here is a consolidated post with everything about mites that I (and others) can link back to: Mites are harmless...

arachnoboards.com

Thanks a million!!!

 

[The Snark]

Simplified. Chlorine bleach, not good. H2O2 better. They both destroy through the violent release of oxygen.
Complexified. Chlorine bleach is not wet. Many species of mites can walk on droplets without getting wet. It is also only a marginal sterilizing agent due to it's molecular nature. 10% chlorine is as strong as it gets. More chlorine presence decreases it's effectiveness as a biocide. Simply put, big clunky nearly inert molecules.
H2O2 has a similar problem but is more reactive. Down side is it looses oxygen fast so is not latent. - does not remain on sight and continues to do the job. Open air containing various gasses and particles causes it to decompose as well as light, thus the reason it is stored in UV resistant containers.

Chlorine leaves toxic salt residues. H2O2 simply decomposes into H2O and O. No residue. Thus H2O2 is safer for use around animals. If you want to make H2O2 more effective add a small amount of laundry detergent or shampoo. 1 part to 10 parts H2O2. USE IMMEDIATELY!! This makes it much wetter, able to wet the exoskeleton of mites and do nasty things to the connective tissues. The surfactant properties of the detergents cause the H2O2 to rapidly decompose in open air.

 

[The Snark]

PS Mites are not all harmless nuisances. Besides some being predatory, mites are arachnids and most have glands that produce venom or chemicals that aid in breaking down materials for digestion. As example, the dust mite exudes a digestive chemical that can cause respiratory distress in humans. The harmless grain mite produces a chemical that turns your grains into moosh.
Mite venoms such as pyemotes, sarcoptes and demodex are an irritant neurotoxin that causes the intense itching when you get bitten.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

White vinegar also makes a good cleaning solution that's safe to use around animals. Just rinse well afterwards. At the zoo I used to work at we used it to clean enclosures/ water dishes of sensitive animals like invertebrates and birds.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Collecting around the waterdish makes me think springtails, are you sure it's mites?

 

[The Snark]

White vinegar also makes a good cleaning solution

And heating the stuff up drastically increases it's cleaning (corrosive) properties. Got a kettle loaded up with mineral deposits? Pour in the vinegar and take it to boiling. Clean to bare metal in a couple of minutes.

 

[Smotzer]

Collecting around the waterdish makes me think springtails, are you sure it's mites?

This is what I was thinking as well

@bre5890 can you post pictures?

 

[Spoodfood]

Collecting around the waterdish makes me think springtails, are you sure it's mites?

If you have springtails in any enclosures or have any cultures this is highly likely. I have springtails in my tropical scorpions and I find them in moisture dependent tarantula enclosures all the time.