Mites??

[JBoyer]

It appears as my rosies have gotten some mites
in their houses. T's don't have an on them and I
am wondering what steps I should take to get rid of them? I
have never had a mite problem before so I haven't had to deal with it. I took all of the saran wrap off of the houses so they can dry out some. They weren't wet to begin with though. Any suggestions?
Jennifer
:?

 

[Code Monkey]

The standard canned response:

• First, make sure they are mites before going too nuts. Mites only crawl, and slowly at that. If they hop or otherwise move very quickly you do not have mites, you have collembola insects (springtails). Collemboid insects are common in moist terrariums and 100% harmless.
• If you do have mites, evaluate the severity: are they actually on your Ts, or just in the container (probably on some prey remains)? Most mites are nothing more than scavengers and present little, if any, threat. Getting rid of them makes us feel better but probably isn't actually doing anything positive for your Ts. Mites on your T however are potentially serious and you should take quick action.
• First, dry that tank out and stop keeping it moist. Unless you've got Xenesthis, Pamphobeteus, Megaphobema, and Theraphosa, they do NOT need a moist, humid environment no matter what the caresheets and the dozen other people who will come out of the woodwork will say. There are too many longterm keepers out there keeping species dry with a water bowl without problems to be inviting problems like mites with a moist container.
• If the tank is particularly moist, you're impatient, or it appears that it may be a parasitory mite, remove the T, clean the container and replace the substrate (remember: dry), then put the T back.
• If the problem is particularly severe, you are keeping a species for which moisture is a genuine benefit, or keeping small slings, get some Hypoaspis mites to kill the other mites for you.

In the future:

• Keep them dry, I cannot emphasize enough the pointlessness of keeping most species moist.
• Keep them clean - without excess food remains, mites will not be attracted there in the first place, nor will they be able to increase their population if they do come in on prey.

 

[noboyscout]

Sound advise, last year I did keep most of my T's on the dryer side. This year I tried a new substrate that retains moisture more and I couldn't keep the the pests away. I am now in the process of letting my whole collection dry out some what... and the pest situation seems to be under control.

 

[JBoyer]

Thanks for info CM, I am sure that they are mites because the are very slow and do not jump. I am meticulous about howse keeping and cleaning up after dinner. That is why I was so shocked to see them. I don't see any on the spiders so that is a good thing, and I will let the tanks dry out completely.
Thanks,
Jennifer