I tried the pest strips years ago on a 16ft. Burmese that had mites. I used the strong ones which I bought from the farm supply store. The ones intended for keeping pests out of barns. The strips seemed to help but they never eliminated the mites. The vapors don't seem to spread evenly enough to get them all.

I recently acquired a ball python that had several mites on it when it arrived. I immediately sprayed it down with 'Reptile relief' by Natural Chemistry and then pre-treated it's new cage with Rid brand lice spray (Permethrin) which was $5 at Walmart. That was over a month ago and I have not seen a single mite since then.
They can be really, really hard to get rid of once they take hold because new ones move in from outside the cage after you clean out the ones that are inside. If it's practical at all I would treat the snakes as mentioned above, and move them to a different part of the house. Then spray down the entire area where they are kept now with Permetherin. That's not always possible (depending on the size of your collection) but if you can get them away from the source of reinfestation you might have a chance at getting rid of them permanently.

Good luck,
John

[ Hide Replies ]

• Pest strip questions...Mite problem. - SouthernSerpent, Sat Jun 12 13:25:02 2010
• RE: Pest strip questions...Mite problem. - John_Yezbak, Sat Jun 12 16:13:49 2010
• RE: Pest strip questions...Mite problem. - PHLdyPayne, Sat Jun 12 19:42:22 2010
• RE: Pest strip questions...Mite problem. - SouthernSerpent, Sat Jun 12 21:26:03 2010
• RE: Pest strip questions...Mite problem. - xXVanXx, Sun Jun 13 01:24:13 2010
• RE: Pest strip questions...Mite problem. - PHLdyPayne, Sun Jun 13 12:43:13 2010