First off, let me appologize because I know this is going to be long but be sure to read the entire post if you want to know what has been really effective for me for over ten years now.

There are several good references out there that touch on mites and how to get rid of them. Probably one of the best references I have found available to date is the new Ball Pythons book from the Barkers. There is a chapter on mites and how to treat for eradication of this nasty little pest. They offer several methods that have been tried and tested over the years as well as some new methods. These may not all work in your particular situation and quite possibly a combination of two methods could be required. Personally, I use method 5 below and have for over 10 years now.

As far as my own personal experience goes, I have had mites on two separate occasions. This first instance came from live feeder rodents and the second come from one of several possible sources that I was buying animals from at the time. At this point I don’t know exactly who it was because I received several animals from several places all on the same day. Either way it doesn't matter any more because both times I was able to completely remove them from my collections. Keep in mind that removal takes time and persistence on your part. Today I have what I feel is a very good regimen that I follow whenever I acquire a new animal regardless of where I purchase them from or how well I know the person I am getting the snake from. See method 5 after you have read thru the rest of these methods.

A quick run down of some methods include:
1) No Pest Strips – Place several ½ inch by 1 inch pieces of these around all of your cages. If you are going to be placing them directly inside of the cages, make sure they are enclosed in a small deli container with small holes poked in it for air to transfer thru. Be sure that your snakes absolutely can not come in contact with these as they can kill young animals as I unfortunately learned several years ago. I had the misfortune of a small portion of pest strip that was placed directly on top of a cage without any barrier between it and the animal except for the screen on the top of the cage. Needless to say, when the snake was exploring, it accidentally flicked it’s tongue onto the strip and I one dead little Green Tree Python on my hands. This was my mistake and it has never happened again since then. I still use pest strips as a preventative today but I am more cautious about how I use them. For cages that require bedding, I place a small piece of pest strip right into the bag with the bedding about a week before I actually plan on using the bedding. This cleans the bedding up before I have to use it. I also place a small piece into a closed sweater box with the newspaper I am planning on using in the cages that take paper. Be sure to replace the pest strips regularly (usually about every 2 to 3 weeks) to keep the effectiveness levels at their max potential when you are trying to eradicate a pest you already have.
2) Soaking – When your snake soaks in the water, any mites that are completely submerged are supposed to drown in the water. However, the mites that are under the scales have tons of tiny air pockets to breath from and can last under water about as long as your snake is able to stand being in the soak bath. The Barkers have suggested quite a twist to this method. They suggest using one half to one whole teaspoon of dish washing detergent in the soaking bath for the snake. The theory behind this is that there is less surface tension in water with soap in it. This allows the water to get under the scales easier which helps to get the water down to where the mites are actually hiding. One additional major benefit I found with this is that it really cleans your snakes up nicely for picture taking J. Add the soap after you have run the water to keep the production of bubbles to a minimum.
3) Ivermectin Injections – This method actually kills off the mites as they bite the snake and drink their fluids. Unfortunately, this method can have harmful effects to wild caught snakes and there is some evidence out there that suggests that this can cause long term effects at the injection sight. Personally, I think this is best used as a spray for cleaning your cage and furnishings with. You can allow it so soak in for a bit and then rinse it off before returning your snake to his home. I have heard that there are newer injection methods out there that are just as effective without any harmful effects.
4) Sprays – There are many new sprays today that are supposed to work wonders. I have not had the opportunity to actually use these yet and I hope that I will never have to. With the method I prefer to use, I will probably never use any of these new sprays. Just be sure to use caution when using any type of spray by trying to avoid allowing the snake to inhale the spray mist as this can have serious consequences on many types of wild caught snakes if they have any type of lung worms.
5) Other methods – there are more methods out there than I am willing to take time to type at this point although my personal favorite is RID - Lice Shampoo. I kind of stumbled on/came up with this 10 years ago when I had my worse case of mites and have used it ever since. RID can be purchased at most local drug stores. This method is effective and can be used on everything from cages to furnishings and even around your home. I even spray it directly on a cloth to wipe down cages and even wipe it on the top rim of any open top tanks to provide a barrier that the mites won’t cross. I have tried and tested this on everything from Amazon and Madagascar Tree Boas to Green Tree Pythons (from one month old and up) as well as Kings, Corns and Ratsnakes without incident. I have not tried this on any types of venomous species. Although there are many HOTS out there that I find completely intriguing, I have never had any ambitions to own any of them. I now also use the RID method on any new animals that I purchase to be sure they are cleaned up before they ever have a chance to spread anything to my collection. I use 50 drops of RID per 16 ounces of luke warm water in a spray bottle. After several trials on live mites, this was the dose I determined actually stopped most of the mites in their tracks without being too heavy to be harmful to the animals. If you decide to use this method on your animals, be certain to follow my directions exactly and only work on one animal at a time if you have multiple animals.

Directions:
a. Gently grasp your snake in one hand just behind the head.
b. With your free hand, spray the animal against the lay of the scales (from tail to head and do this both along their back and along their belly). Try to avoid spraying directly on the head.
c. After your animal is completely sprayed down, using your free hand, gently grasp your animal in the palm of your hand forming a ring around them with your fingers. This is slightly more difficult with larger python species due to their overall size and the size of their scales and will take a little more effort. Allow the snake to move through your hand several times. As they do this, the mites under the scales are either forced out from underneath due to the slight pressure from your hand and fingers or they are simply trying to get out of the liquid and they pop right out. Either way, you will be able to see them on your hand where they can be rinsed off in the sink. Alternately, you can use some sort of white cloth to make the mites that are actually coming off more visible. If you have really sensitive hands, you may actually be able to feel where the female mites that remain are hiding under the scales.
d. After no more than 5 minutes, rinse the snake off under running water that is approximately the same temperature as the snakes normal enclosure temperature. First rinse the snake from head to tail to rinse off and excess soap. Then rinse the snake in the opposite direction (tail to head) to flush mites out from under the scales. I usually do this in the bath tub purely for the sake of room to maneuver, especially when I am working with larger specimens.
e. Once you have given your snake a good rinse, place them on a clean dry towel, cover them slightly and dry them off. This step doesn’t really do any more than dry them off.
f. Now place your snake into a clean dry escape proof container.
g. Using the same solution and sprayer, spray down the entire enclosure. Allow the solution to set on the surface for five minutes and wipe clean with a clean damp cloth followed by a dry cloth to remove any residue that has been left behind.
h. Spray everything around your enclosure (except into electrical outlets of course) including the floor and even your clothing if you think it is necessary. Follow the spraying on the floor with a good vacuuming if you are on carpeting. Throw out the Vacuum bag immediately after you are done to make sure you are getting everything out of the house.
i. Inspect everything very closely over the next few days to be sure you got all the mites. Repeat this procedure if necessary after about two days.

I hope this helps.

Chris

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