Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have tried everything to get rid of these little things, yet, they are still here. I have heard of some pest strips or something that is safe to put directly in the cages, but i dont know which ones or where to get them. anyone have any tricks? thanks in advance guys!

I perosnally wouldn't use any type of pest strips. They can have neurological effects on your snakes if they are not used in strict accordance with the manufacturers directions. I recommend provent-a-mite. Treat the cage as directed on the can. Remove all substrate and use white paper (paper towels) or newspaper. Treat any furnishings within the cage and and rinse and bleach the water bowl thoroughly. You will probaby need to treat the entire room to completely eradicate the mites. Soaking the snakes in warm water will remove the mites that are on the snake. Be aware of the fact that while the snake is soaking it is common for the mites to migrate to the head, especially around the eyes and nostrils. I have heard good things about a product called reptile relief though I personally have never used it, but it is supposed to be safe to use directly on the animals. I also suggest reading up on the problem. The Barkers have written a very good article that is posted on their website, VPI.com, entitled "The War on Mites." Hope this helps a little, Todd

I just looked at the Barkers website and the article is not on there anymore. You might be able to find it somewhere by searching but it is no longer on their site. Sorry about that. Todd

No Pest Strips for over 20 years and HAVE NEVER had 1 (one) single adverse effect from them. I think some people put them into the tank/cage with the herp and then have neg effects. Proper usage of No Pest Strips= the BEST solution for keeping mites away killing them NOW!!!!!
-----
Greg Holland
GM HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

Ditto on the Strips effectiveness
The Walmart off brand of Nix as well as NIX is proven effective
Nothing good to say about PAM,never will have either.....
Well maybe two words BLACK-FLAG !!

TnK

>>No Pest Strips for over 20 years and HAVE NEVER had 1 (one) single adverse effect from them. I think some people put them into the tank/cage with the herp and then have neg effects. Proper usage of No Pest Strips= the BEST solution for keeping mites away killing them NOW!!!!!
>>-----
>>Greg Holland
>>GM HERPS
>>www.imageevent.com/gmherps
>>gmherps@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for the lovely emails folks .....
Black flag is a Nascar term and nothing to do with "Black Knight"

TnK

>>Ditto on the Strips effectiveness
>>The Walmart off brand of Nix as well as NIX is proven effective
>>Nothing good to say about PAM,never will have either.....
>>Well maybe two words BLACK-FLAG !!
>>
>>TnK

I have heard provent - a - mite is good, also read somewhere on this forum you can use a similar product sold in wallmart - NIX or something like that. Apparentlly it has the same ingreidients as provent-a-mite but only $6 per can. I am in the UK and unfortunatley we can not get provent a mite here. however I used a product called frontline- done the job with no adverse effects. Good luck

I had a problem once with mites, but got them taken care of using the Nix bedding spray that was mentioned earlier. It can be purchased at CVS or Walgreens and has the same chemicals as Prevent-a-Mite. It is used for treating beds, furniture, etc for lice. It worked great. *BUT*!!! Like mentioned in another post, the enclosure needs to be completely dry and aired out before returning the snake. The fumes can be toxic. What I did (and it worked great) was to take the white paper towels (I suggest using these because you are able to see mites on them) and spray them outside. Then put them in the cage. The repti-relief will be fine on the snake (I used it as well) but I do agree that taking the water out of the enclosure for a couple of days is safer for the snake to ensure that it doesn't ingest any of the chemicals from them coming in contact with the water. Repeat this over a couple of weeks and monitor the paper towels and snake until you no longer see mites... This should take care of your problem!

Clint

A couple of threads on the subject that may help.

redtailconnect.net/showthread.php?tid=45

redtailconnect.net/showthread.php?tid=36

[url]http://redtailconnect.net/showthread.php?tid=49-/url]

Hope one of those options helps you.
-----

First, I would like to say, I feel for ya! It sucks big time, but you can win.

I had them bad until I took the snake out and soaked him wile I cleaned the cage with diluted bleach solution inside and out. After it dried I wiped it down with clean water. After it dried I sprayed down the inside with reptile relief and wiped the snake with the same stuff in a dry container. After the cage dries completely, put a clean beach towel down and your snake in and NOTHING else. I found if you put the water in right away, the snake would take a bath and rinse the Rep Relief off. He’ll be just fine for a day or two. Clean the whole room and spray with Rep Relief around cages. Treat ALL cages.

In one week repeat. I have a spare towel ready (Ross $3, and it soaks up urine and stuff better than news print). I did this for three weeks and repeated it every 30 days for two months. I do it now every 4 to 5 weeks. It’s not hard. Be anal!

It’s important that you do NOT put snakes into a wet cage! The fumes can kill.

Good luck!

Oops, I meant every 4 to 5 months, not weeks.

redtailconnect.net/showthread.php?tid=49

Sorry ... that was that last link
-----

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

Thank you guys for all your advice! This is my second mite problem in about 3 years. First one being from feeders, and this one came from a friends boa im taking care of since he is in iraq. I have tried to use the reptile relef spray and it didnt seem to do much. so I switched to mite off by zoo med and with that and flea bombing the room (without the snakes in it of course) I was able to kill off all the mites the first time. This time, for some reason the mite off spray didnt seem to work at all. The bomb worked, but it doesnt do much if the snakes are still covered in them. But anyway... I will keep trying with the advice you guys have given me. Thanks for everything!

~Lara

Provent a mite is Permethrin. I believe it is about 0.25% strength( don't have any to look at). This ingrediant is in every thing from lawn chemicals to horse and cattle fly spray. Check local farm supply stores and plant nurseries for different products. Some even come in easier to spray bottles than Provent a mite and are much cheaper. Just don't use too strong a mix and follows directions on package. Spray bedding and around cages to prevent movement of mites and wash the snake. Give it a place to soak. MITES CAN'T SWIM! Water is deadly to mites and snakes know this, thats why they get in their water bowl when infested. And one more thing, bedding spray at walmart has Permethrin and the equate brand is cheap.
Good Luck

Granted Permethrin is Permethrin but the inert ingredients is where the concern should be.
Attention to Disclaimer Warnings such as HAZARDOUS TO HUMANS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS are not found on many/most Farm and Ranch products.
These Warnings are Not found on,
NIX
RID
Equate Brand Lice bedding spray
Why ?
Because attention to "INERT INGREDIENTS"(and the composition of) prevent residual contamination to the consuming public when used as directed.(Not the case with Farm and Ranch products)

If your planning to sell Boa's, do advise your customers of your past chemical abuse and the potential of neurological issues in the animals your selling them.

TnK

>>Provent a mite is Permethrin. I believe it is about 0.25% strength( don't have any to look at). This ingrediant is in every thing from lawn chemicals to horse and cattle fly spray. Check local farm supply stores and plant nurseries for different products. Some even come in easier to spray bottles than Provent a mite and are much cheaper. Just don't use too strong a mix and follows directions on package. Spray bedding and around cages to prevent movement of mites and wash the snake. Give it a place to soak. MITES CAN'T SWIM! Water is deadly to mites and snakes know this, thats why they get in their water bowl when infested. And one more thing, bedding spray at walmart has Permethrin and the equate brand is cheap.
>>Good Luck

I put 2 No Pest Strips in the snake room NOT in the cages and change them every 3 months and NO Mites. I also spray "Lice spray" new bedding down in a big tub and stir it up and then put it in the cage. Thats just my way not that its better but if it not broke don't fix it!
Phil

the way it should be done Phil!!!!

Instead of spraying down the bedding with Lice spray I just place a NPS in the tub I keep my aspen/pine and it seems to handle the bugs 100% effectivly.
-----
Greg Holland
GM HERPS
www.imageevent.com/gmherps
gmherps@sbcglobal.net

http://lllreptile.com/info/library/care-and-husbandry-articles/-/dealing-with-snake-mites/

I followed the methods outlined in this caresheet and had great success, killed and got rid of all the mites and did not kill any of my snakes, which is wonderful thing!!

Let me just say that Reptile Relief is fantastic. It kills mites on contact! I tested it out on some mites on white paper towel and they were toast upon contact. I used it on baby boas only a few months old and they were perfectly fine after the treatment. But you will need different products to treat the enclosures.

A word of caution on Provent a Mite and other permetherin based sprays. Use very sparingly. I over did it with Provent a Mite the first time I tried using it on my own and I actually killed 3 baby brazilian rainbows, my holdbacks no less. The second time, I found and followed the above referenced care sheet and had no problems at all. Very important to use the peretherin vary sparingly and let the enclosures totally air out, I would suggest 48 hours if possible. And remove all water bowls before spraying. Pemetherin leaves a residual coating and you do not want it getting reactivated by the water and your snake drinking it.

I accidentally killed the 3 baby brb's by spraying so much Provent a Mite in thier shoe boxes that after it dried and aired out and I put moist paper towel in as a substrate and the water reactivated the fumes. When I checked on them the next morning they were doing back flips in there enclosures and twitching uncontrollably, seemed like neurological damage to me. It was very sad, but it did teach me how not to use permetherin.

Hope my experience helps you and other here..

Alex