Mites

[schlinkey]

NononNOnonNONOnONOOOO! An ugly culture of mites were discovered in my G. ROSEAS's tank today! of all the tanks! how the "#¤%#&? i though these nasties needed high humidity? (my rosea's in premolt so i have misted) will it fix itself if i dry the tank out? (have a fan on top of the tank now..*DIE BASTARDMITES*) or do i have to change it all? (thing is, she's been webbing and fixing a hide for ages... and now it's looking nice and neat.. would HATE to make her stressed by putting her on new peat..)

oh well.. any tips?

 

[Wade]

Are you actually seeing mites on the spider or are are you just finding them on prey remains, etc? The most common mites in T cages are scavengers and not parsites. The scavengers only become a problem when they multiply to large numbers and annoy the spider, some have been known to cluster around the mouth and booklungs. Most of the time, they come in on feeder crickets. Letting the tank dry out should help. G. rosea should have no problem molting in a totally dry cage.

Wade

 

[ArachnoJoost]

Hey,
As I have learned from the nice people here during my first encounter with mites:
I guess you have the little tiny white mites (I did). If so: Are they on the spider itself (chelicerae, booklungs)? I have mites on my versicolor sling, but it molted good. Cleaned out the container afterwards, but now they have returned with a vengeance, they are on one of my smithi's too now... .
The mites do not eat the spider, but scraps of food (when I heard this I was very releaved...). I've heard suggestions that you can dry the cage out, and that's what I am gonna do now (since my versicolor was in premolt when I discovered, I couldn't keep it dry). I'll let you know how it goes if you do the same...
greetz,
Joost

okay, now Wade has me beat

 

[schlinkey]

hehe love postin questions on this forum.. quick and sound advice! Yup small white demons.. and they can't be feeding on remains of any kind.. we're talking anorectic roseas here she hasn't eaten for quite a while (in premolt, been working like hell on a retreat, and trying to turn over on her back ) Should i turn on the heatfunction on the fan or just have it on cool? (shelob's in my spare petpal for the moment)

fyi: no mites on her yet, but they're crawling in throngs near the waterdish!

 

[sabre]

more mite questions

i was just wondering what is the difference between white mites and red mites? i've only seen the red ones in my tanks (mainly with the pedes). and where do they come from to get into the tanks in the first place?

 

[Wade]

Shlinkey and Joost-

If you're seeing large numbers of mites, it may be good to do somthing more drastic than just drying. Do the tarantulas seem to be perpetually standing on the tips of their toes? This is a sign that the mites are stressing the tarantulas. Some other things you might try include:

Adding isopods (pillbugs, sowbugs, roly polies, woodlice, etc.) helps as they outcompete the mites for organic material. However, they will not do well in dry cages.

If the cage is microwave safe, you could temporarily remove the spider and heat the entire cage and substrate for several minutes. Allow it to totally cool before returning the spider, of course!

Predatory mites are my favorite mite control method. This species of mite, Hypoaspis miles, feeds on other mites (as well as fungus gnat eggs). It is sold as a bio control agent for greenhouse use, specifically for fungus gnats. When I need them, I get them from www.biconet.com, but since you guys are in Europe you may have to look elsewhere. They come packed in vermiculite, and a teaspoon or two of mite-laden vermiculite in each cage usually gets the job done.

Sabre-

I assume you're seeing mites on millipedes and not centipedes. Most of the mites you see on millipedes are symbionts, or at least comensuals, meaning that they are bennificial or at least harmless. They are most likley passed on generation to generation in millipedes. The other white scavengers usually come from feeder insects, especially crickets.

Wade

 

[schlinkey]

there! my "uberbigwhitefanwithaneffectiveheatingsystem" made the enclosure bonedry in matter of minutes! will they all persih and be tormented in mitehell now?

 

[schlinkey]

combined bump and new question about mites:

When the tank has been bonedry for a while, and all the mites are expected to be gone, will they come back in full numbers if i start increasing the humidity in the tank again? where da hell do these suckers come from?? *despair*

 

[ArachnoJoost]

Hey,

In my case the mites probably came with some crickets, don't think you can do a lot about that.
Another thought I've heard (from Wade in the thread update: mites on versicolor sling): If you make your tank bone dry while the mites are already there, they will go to the most moist place there is, being the waterdish or your spider. Wade did state it as a thought, not a fact, but to me it sounds very logical. So maybe you should take caution with the dry cage, since the mites are not on the spider itself yet.
Now for a wild thought of myself: Maybe the mites were on the spider before, but you didn't notice them. Since your spider hasn't eaten for a long time maybe they tried to migrate to a place where they could find food.

greetz,
Joost

-8 legged creatures that small are just no fun!-

 

[schlinkey]

Originally posted by ArachnoJoost
. So maybe you should take caution with the dry cage, since the mites are not on the spider itself yet.

Take caution? what do you mean? (and yes, the mites are all gathering in/on the waterdish now) what shall i do?? remove the dish? will my rosea survive in a bonedry cage without dish for a while? i mean, the mites can't survive on the waterdish and spiders' humidity alone can they? mebbe chaning it all will be the best afterall *sighs*

 

[Code Monkey]

Not every little crawly thing is a mite...

One of the things that occurs to me is that a lot of "mites" that people come here freaking out about probably aren't even mites at all, but rather some species of spring tail. There are literally 1000s of species of Collembola and to the (untrained) naked eye many are going to be indistinguishable.

Since they also can feed on prey remains, are attracted to moisture, multiply quickly, and can be seen as small critters swarming over the cage and sometimes even the larger invert, I just wonder how many people work themselves up over a perfectly harmless scavenger?

Do this check, approach the little things with a paint brush or something. Did it hop away? You've got some sort of collembola insect and eradicating it isn't going to accomplish anything. A springtail colony in your cage is just like maintaining isopods - it's a harmless insect which will actually compete with any actual mites.

 

[schlinkey]

OMG! these ARE springtails! i thought springtails were called mites (and were harmful) too!

*laughs*

I bow before your wisdom and advice Code Monkey!

Cheers!

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by schlinkey
OMG! these ARE springtails! i thought springtails were called mites (and were harmful) too!

*laughs*

I bow before your wisdom and advice Code Monkey!

Cheers!

No need to bow, your thanks is enough

Just FYI, mites are another arachnid, belonging to the super-order Acarina (it also includes ticks) whereas springtails are an insect. Not the same beasties at all.

 

[schlinkey]

Ooh thanks! Actually I knew what a mite is (midd on Norwegian) I just kinda thought you called springtails mites too- like we call our theraphosidae's tarantulas (as in all small crawlies found in the tank are harmful and called mites-whatever their "actual" name and sp). So glad I got that sorted out