| Archive for scabies.myfreeforum.org Southern California Arachnid, Bug, Invertebrate, Entomological Society |
| Celeste |
Roach *mites*?!?!Hey, allI went to clean out one of my roach colonies because it looked like there was some whitish fungus in there or something, and it turned out to be itty-bitty little white bugs, like mites or something. One of the roaches was covered with them, and not looking too good... Does anyone know what these are, if they are harmful, and if so how to get rid of them? I washed off the roaches, cleaned out their enclosures, and put in all new substrate. But I'm sure I could not possibly have gotten all of them off of the roaches themselves. I'm going to try to keep the enclosures dryer than I had been keeping them, as well, and see if that helps. I found a little info here: http://www.bugchick.com/faq.html#8 and here: http://www.hissingcockroach.com/t4.htm Looks like keeping the cages dry is one important element. The second source also talks about using pillbugs to control them? -- Celeste |
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| cacoseraph |
well, my understanding is that pill bugs would eat the food that the mites also eat and like, out compete them
for hissers, sometimes they come with large mobile helper mites that seem to either eat our outcompete the little grain mites you are having problems with |
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| elportoed |
Re: Roach *mites*?!?!
Celeste, Did you get rid of them by keeping your cages dry? I have some of those in my roach colony as well. I have no substrate, and I keep everything pretty dry, no left over food, just the cat food and cereal. Someone suggested that could be the cause too. Please let me know how you got rid of them. Washing out the roaches isn't an option for me, since these guys are lateralis, they are too fast, and small in size. |
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| Celeste |
Francisco says they are Grain Mites, and probably came from the Monkey Chow I have been feeding my roaches (which they loved and seemed to thrive on). The grain mites have decimated my roach colonies. (All except the Tiger Hissers, which I have on bark and keep kind of dry anyway). I have taken extreme measures, which includes quarantining all the infected colonies in my back bathroom; putting them on paper towels; giving them those Fluker's cricket gelatin blobs instead of water; and feeding them fish food flakes instead of monkey chow (per Francisco's recommendation). I have also put a thin band of olive oil around the top of each enclosure to (hopefully) prevent the mites from migrating. The mites seem to be diminishing, but I don't know how long it will take to get rid of them completely. :-/ Meanwhile, I have lost all my Giant Cave Roaches, a lot of the Dwarf Cave Roaches, all of my E. distanti, a lot of the dubias, and a few of the Zebra roaches and Giant Panchloras... I was on the verge of just euthanizing the entire lot (and am still considering it if I can't get rid of the mites).
I think I'm going to take back what I said about recommending Monkey Chow as roach food... Or if you *must* feed Monkey Chow, you might try sterilizing it first (although, once the mites are established, sterilizing the Monkey Chow won't help -- all that does is prevent the introduction of new mites, it doesn't help if they're already established). Francisco said these mites only eat grain, so if you completely eliminate the grain for a while they might go away. (They cover the roaches trying to suck out moisture). So eliminate any foods containing grain (such as cereal). Try giving your roaches nothing but fish food flakes for a few weeks. Good luck! I really *HATE* these mites!!! This has been a *nightmare*! -- Celeste |
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| elportoed |
Thanks for the information, Celeste.
I pmed the guy who sold me the lateralis. He mentioned that the caused may be the catfood and cereal which confirmed what you said. From what I understand (a little late, hopefully not too late), no uneaten food should be left in the container. Left over fresh fruit and veggies = mold, dry food = mites. He mentioned that he only fed enough so they can finish in a few hours. So underfeed may be the answer here. I'll try this method and see what happens. |
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| Best Roach |
I wish I had never seen this thread...
Now I am freaking out. |
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| BugMom |
I'm so sorry to hear about your roach colonies Celeste. I have to admit I'm kinda freaking out too. I haven't seen any mites on my roaches, but I think I'm gonna make a few changes just in case. Thanks for letting us know. | ||