Mites and Worms Question

[ReptiGeek]

Hello everyone,
Yesterday i discovered a MASSIVE outbreak of mites coming from my supers and meal worms. So much so, that they were climbing up my enclosures. The odd thing is that Friday was superworm day and there were no signs of mites. I wiped down everything and pitched over 500 superworms and thousands of mealworms, but I am still finding the mites everywhere in that general area and it's startin to really gross me out. Should I be worried for my chameleons? Will the mites harm them in any way? And how the heck do I get rid of these tiny bugs? I've wiped down everything, vacuumed, gutted out my room to clean furniture, and they still come back! Any help is appreciated.

 

[DirtyDubbz]

They make a mite spray never had that problem but I figure that's the way I believe

 

[ReptiGeek]

Is this mite spray non-toxic to chameleons? Where can I get it?

 

[deerharvester]

You can get anti mite paper to set your feeders on, or by the spray. I buy the spray and staple rosin paper onto the shelves my feeders are on and spray the paper. I keep some of my feeders in the garage.

 

[deerharvester]

If I were you I'd get rid of whatever has the mites and wipe everything down thoroughly. I know with my fruit flies they will devastate all my cultures. I'm not sure what kind of mites a super worms would have but I Know there is different kinds.

 

[DirtyDubbz]

Agree to wipe it down again and yea I do believe zoo med makes a mite spray that is nontoxic to them and off eBay or Lll reptiles our sponsor

 

[fluxlizard]

The mites are from too much moist food in your worm bins. The mites are gross but should not be the sort that attacks your lizards. They will happily move into other invert tubs though- so if you have crickets or roaches, move them out of there now. I had these dust mites once in superworms and once in hissing roaches. The superworms I threw out. The hissers I saved them by dusting each hisser heavily in calcium powder and that dried out the mites and killed them. I suppose that dusted on the area might work or dichotomous (spelling? I don't know how?) earth should also kill them if dusted onto surfaces.

For bearded dragons, I once had a mite outbreak and cleaned out the cages and sprayed with bed lice spray available at any walmart for use on human beds. 1 application, then allowed to dry before replacing the lizards. It stays effective for weeks- long enough to destroy the mite infestation. Safe enough for sleeping humans long term in bed.

I used the product because snake breeders online at the time were saying it had the same active ingredient as the mite spray manufactured specifically for snakes. It is supposed to be very safe- can be sprayed on and left there. I wouldn't spray it on anything your chameleon might come in direct contact with though because unlike snakes that drink out of a bowl- they drink off all surfaces.

Probably they are in the carpeting or wood cracks or whatever. You might consider spraying the shelving around where your worm cultures were and the floor and walls around that area. light quick application is enough.

I've never used the product around chams and don't believe there would be a problem, but use at your own risk. Also google might be helpful before you run out and buy some- I used it many years ago and it was safe for me, but don't know if opinion has changed since that time...

The product was very effective- totally cleaned up the problem and it never returned.

Come to think of it- if your local pet shop carries a mite spray for herps or birds, might be the first choice...