mites!

[millionsofchameleons]

how do u rid mites from a roach colony? i have natural chemistry reptile spray, mite killer but im afraid it may not be safe to feed the roaches if they are still alive after spraying them with it. any ideas besides scraping the roaches?

 

[HORUS]

mites suck... I'd exterminate, disinfect and start over.

Jeff

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Brandon,

With patience you may be able to rid the colony of the mites. You have to separate as many of the roaches from everything that they are presently in contact with and put them back in the thoroughly cleaned container again. If you see any signs of mites again, start over the isolation process. While you are dealing with the mite problem, suspend the roach container in or above a pan of soapy water so that any escaping mites will drown during their migration. The whole process may take days or weeks to finally be free of them. Remember that (dubia) roaches don't need any substrate so if you are using it, just switch to fresh egg crate. All that I use for my dubia roach colony is a cheap 10 gallon fish tank with a heat strip stuck on the bottom. I use a router speed controller (or a typical cheapie light dimmer) to adjust the bottom temperature to about 90F. I use a few egg crates laying across the bottom so that they can either be on the bottom or on the crate. I've got a dish of gutload and a cotton pad soaked with water sitting in a little lid along with misc. veggies and fruits scattered about. I've been keeping the same colony for years. The only time that they got mites was when my superworm container's bedding exploded with them and spread to the roaches overnight. No more problems anymore though .

Here's an example of one of the cheapie router speed controllers that I use for adjustable temps. It is fused, has bypass switch, heavy duty power cord and a built-in socket to plug-in the heat pad. They used to pop-up on sale for about $10 but not lately: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43060 If you get one, experiment by using a light bulb to see the controller knob sensitivity. Use a digital thermometer or infrared temp gun to check the temps on the bottom of the tank.

 

[millionsofchameleons]

thank you for all the info Dave, i will give it a shot, if its one thing i have, its patience. thank you also horus, i may go your way if unsucccessful.