frabjousday
Member
Hi, Cham Fam!
I read a number of threads on here and wanted to summarize better upkeep of my feeders (namely, the superworms) because I am *fingers crossed* on the other side of an awful mite (most likely: grain mites) infestation when I got back home this past week after a few days away. I erroneously called these mites "springtails" (FYI: my original post here) - thank you to @MissSkittles for pointing out this error.
The issue was: There were THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS (little white bugs, nearly microscopic in size) crawling all over the black, rolling rack where I keep my cham's enclosure. Oddly enough, I have not found any inside his enclosure (again, fingers crossed). These mites were all over the containers, around the lid of the water reservoir, etc. etc. But they were "isolated" to this area.
My solution, thus far (I have only seen 1 a day now on the rack since Friday):
Moving forward, I may implement the following tips from various threads I've read here (so, thank you, all!)
I read a number of threads on here and wanted to summarize better upkeep of my feeders (namely, the superworms) because I am *fingers crossed* on the other side of an awful mite (most likely: grain mites) infestation when I got back home this past week after a few days away. I erroneously called these mites "springtails" (FYI: my original post here) - thank you to @MissSkittles for pointing out this error.
The issue was: There were THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS (little white bugs, nearly microscopic in size) crawling all over the black, rolling rack where I keep my cham's enclosure. Oddly enough, I have not found any inside his enclosure (again, fingers crossed). These mites were all over the containers, around the lid of the water reservoir, etc. etc. But they were "isolated" to this area.
My solution, thus far (I have only seen 1 a day now on the rack since Friday):
- Tossed out nearly everything on the rack (exceptions: the actual enclosure, the bucket/water reservoir, a couple items where I didn't see them like open plastic containers)
- Started by wiping down using vinegar, but moved to isopropyl alcohol as a wipe and I have been spraying with alcohol and wiping with wet towels every day since I found this issue (since Wednesday of this week)
- I have bought new feeders, new feeder containers, and have kept newly bought superworms and wax worms in a small "skincare" fridge separate from the rolling rack and have put the new dubia's in a new container (I washed the new supplies with hot, soapy water and let dry completely, also)
Moving forward, I may implement the following tips from various threads I've read here (so, thank you, all!)
- Keep feeders separate from the rack in a darker, cooler area (obviously, the enclosure area tends to be warmer/more humid)
- Use bran or EcoEarth as substrate for the superworms
- Wipe down feeder containers I receive upon opening
- Clean out containers more regularly, especially keeping an eye on moisture - I kept all containers in a large Hefty bin with a lid that I drilled holes into and cut out a massive portion of it with a steel mesh screen. I guess this "double" container style might have contributed to the moisture.
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s were that infested my superworms. They were almost microscopic and had to have come in with infested bran as I was well into breeding my own supers. I took my entire bran supply and baked it in a cool oven and then froze it. I saved as many baby supers as I could and put them in the ‘sanitized’ bran in a clean container. Breeding beetles got fresh bran and container too. What bran and baby supers were left were sacrificed to the backyard ant gods. Of course everything was washed in hot soapy water and the room was given a good cleaning. Only needed to do this once. Bran is now stored in the freezer, but I don’t breed supers anymore.
