Mites - possible eradication

[The Snark]

The problem. Mite infestation on your animals. The mites are hardier and more resistant to chemicals than any animal you keep.

However, most predatorial mites are extremely photophobic. They hate light. They ignore light while they are feeding but they don't feed continuously. Take a nibble then move. In bright light instead of going for another bite they will seek out somewhere that is dark.

So flooding the area with light can be used to drive them off of your kept animals. It wouldn't be fast, most likely taking 24 to 48 hours or more.

One possible method. Make an enclose with a fine mesh bottom with lights shining from all directions above. Below the mesh where your animals cannot touch it place a loosely woven cloth saturated with a contact pesticide. Pesticides that require the animal touch them along the lines of permethrins, cephate (Orthene), Carbaryl (Sevin), Fipronil, Pyrethrins or Pyrethroids.

The mites can easily go through any mesh regardless how fine and hide from the light in the cloth.
You could probably get away without using pesticides by having access to remove the cloth from below. Best method is slide the cloth out and immediately drop it in boiling water which will kill them. Replace with another piece of cloth and repeat, swapping out cloths every 12 to 24 hours. But beware, without the pesticide we are talking microscopic race ready critters that will very quickly disperse into your environment. Most people have seen how fast fleas can move on a cat or dog. Mites are just as quick.

Be very careful with the selection of pesticides. Many have aerosol or aromatic kill capability. Pure permethrin is contact only and easy to come by, sold everywhere as treatment for scabies. Generally, pesticides approved for use on humans such as scabicides are safe contact only poisons.


And a possible alternative. If you can find the stuff, chenopodium ambrosioides. That is a plant extract with a very low toxicity but is deadly on mites. Grab your favorite toothpick dipped in it in one hand and your infested animal in the other, touching the toothpick to each mite. You could also try a very light oil such as sewing machine oil. Mites drown in oil very quickly.

 

[Arthroverts]

I feel most mite problems to be found in enthusiast enclosures can be handled with commonly-available predatory mites (Stratiolaelaps scimitus, formerly Hypoaspis miles). With millipedes, isopods, roaches, etc. they work far better than any sort of manual removal for the reasons you have already pointed out.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[The Snark]

@Arthroverts Most definitely trying multiple methods is mandatory. You also point out my erroneous wording in this thread title.Eradication. Complete eradication just doesn't happen as a rule with natural control methods. The use of multiple methods should always be pursued.
This modern world has duped people into thinking that one method used will be a done deal. For example antibiotics. kills all organisms or pesticide X will eliminate all ants. These control measures nearly all use the same methodology of creating a hostile environment where other natural controls can take over. Use as many methods as possible and assume only a population reduction is taking place. Nature works in the long term and we need to emulate this.

 

[Arthroverts]

Oh of course. Without attempts at multiple methods problems never get solved, as your brainstorming on the subject (at all related to your recent encounter with bird mites?) goes to show.

However, in the context of an enclosure, from almost all that I've seen, the use of biological control via predatory mites can be successful to the point of almost total annihilation (as measured by the pests not returning after the removal or death of the predatory mites), by way of eating mites, springtails, fungus gnat larvae, etc. at such a rate as to render reproduction by these smaller creatures impossible. Even if not, they eat enough pest mites as to keep their numbers low enough that they aren't marked by the enthusiast.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[The Snark]

I'm going to add my local entomologist's method here.
In terrariums that he has spent a great deal of time arranging and furnishing. Remove and usually destroy the kept animals. Then pour in a pint of liquid nitrogen for every couple of cubic feet of containment area. - VERY SLOWLY! You can crack the glass. Cover and let stand for 48 hours. Your containment is now 99.?% sterile.

 

[The Snark]

I discovered what may be a safe mite killer, and a hobby for practicing to be the ultimate of meticulous. Povidone idodine as in Betadine

I dipped a sharp toothpick into the iodine solution and touched it to active mites. They stopped moving. Died. Two mites identified and tested on, Scabies sarcoptes and Pyemotes herfsi, both predatory-parasitic. I asked my entomologist buddy what the hey. He was flummoxed. The solution just isn't that toxic. The best guess we came up with is the low molecular weight of the iodine as it is released occludes their respiratory and or digestive tracts. Entomologist: "Maybe terminal diarrhea?"

So if your critters have mites, how about you give this a try and maybe post your findings?


BTW, most of the predatory mites encountered munching on your critters are various makes and models of the Pyemotes name brand, AKA itch mites. These monsters all have tattoos on their arms, Born To Kill. The females are essentially born pregnant and produce another batch of around 200 preggo females in as little as three weeks. This equates to infested trees raining several billion mites beginning in midsummer. They fall out of the trees and infest leaf litter and get spread by the wind. Their diet is a little not fussy. Any animal - opportunity predators. On humans they are small enough to crawl into the pores in the skin. Once the female feeds the eggs they carry start to develop. As a bonus, they have venom glands and pack a powerful neurotoxin.
They over-winter in leaves and detritus. Their preferred diet is exoskeletal animals, especially beetles.