Mites in superworms box - are they harmful for chams

[bluemooon]

Box where I hold superworms is full of mites. They are everywhere, inside, outside on the box. Should I throw it away. Is this harmful for my cham? What to do with them?

 

[bigben2057]

I dont think they are harmful to the cam but they might infest your house so i would get rid of the box.

 

[d3s5]

Same thing happened to me when I was trying to breed them. I tried to deal with the mites for a bit, but they just exploded exponentially and I finally got rid of everything.

 

[bluemooon]

Yes, thank you, I thought that too. Does anyone know how to sterilize the house?

 

[bluemooon]

Same thing happened to me when I was trying to breed them. I tried to deal with the mites for a bit, but they just exploded exponentially and I finally got rid of everything.

The same situtation.It's breeding box.

 

[gerhartrx]

Box where I hold superworms is full of mites. They are everywhere, inside, outside on the box. Should I throw it away. Is this harmful for my cham? What to do with them?

I dont think they are good. I know when my buddy gets mites in his snake cage its not good. He has to go through many weeks of cleaning them out because they make his snake sick.

 

[skyedog]

I just went throught this in my room a few weeks ago. I was using a few types of bran and oatmeal as the substrate. I didn't even realize I had a mite infestation until it was too late, and there were billions of them all ofer the corner of the room.
If it's what I'm thinking its a grain mite. They love humidity. Did your substrate get damp at all?
To get them out of the room I just kept cleaning and scrubbing. Theyre actually harmless, but it's a major pain to eradicate them. I took everything out of the room and washed and disinfected what I could without causing harm to anything. One of the things I used that actually became a huge help were sticky traps. I got them at Walmart and there were I think 4 to a box. one side is all sticky, and the other has a sticky strip to attach to the floor and/or wall. Fortunately I have hardwood floors and it made it easer. I created a perimeter all the way around the affected area, and although its nearly impossible to stop them from spreading, I caught an enormous amount on the strips. Eventually the mites either died off or were killed because I dont have any more at all. I also ended up throwing out the entire superworm setup.
As a side note, I now keep the supers in a slightly smaller container and that now sits on an upside down flowerpot in a longer and wider rubbermaid container that has an inch or two of water. That keeps any mites that appear from spreading.
Hope it helps. Good luck.

 

[gerhartrx]

My friend used to use rubbing alcohol, dove liquid soap and water 1:1:2 to clean everything and kill them off. He didn't spray the snake though. That mixture also works to get rid of spider mites and gnats that are found on other types of plants

 

[ponders]

I use mite paper under my box and it will kill the mites as they try to leave. I also use it under the crickets to keep ants away. I got mine at Carolina supply co, but some Fruit Fly sellers carry it too.