Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok. We have used a multitude of products available for cleaning mites out of enclosures and to treat our snakes. It's a neverending battle for some reason. I was wondering if anyone has or had used the pest strips available at home depot and lowes with any success? By using, I mean cut them up into smaller strips and put the strips into salt shakers, then placing the salt shaker into the enclosure, then replacing every third or fourth month thereafter. Any thoughts, hints, or suggestions would be very appreciated. Thanks.
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1.0 red phase western hognose
1.0 100% het albino columbian
1.0 pastel columbian
0.1 hypo columbian
0.1 guyana
1.2 jcp
1.0 irian jaya
1.2 normal balls
1.0 spider ball
0.1 pastel ball
1.0 granite al burm
0.1 granite het al burm
0.1 albino burm
1.0 sunfire retic
0.2 tiger retics
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise
1.0 potbelly pig (Oscar)
1.0 pug (Frank)
1.1 pit bull terriers (Marlboro & Coco)
1.1 house cat (Kitty)& (Alice;pos gravid)
0.1 wife who puts up with me
2.0 rabbits (Paco & Zorro)

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

Also keep in mind it can still take up to 3 months or more to completely get rid of mites. When I had a mite problem I used Provent a Mite, sprayed down the cage, let it dry then put the snake back in and water. I repeated this again in 4 week, including a complete cage cleaning before each treatment. After three treatments, I have no problems with mites ever since.

One thing I do with all new additions to my collection, no matter who I get them from, I spray their cage a few hours to a day ahead of time, before I bring the animal home. It goes into this cage in an isolated area of my apartment (as quarantine...not very effective in a one bedroom apartment, but I do my best). Thus, if any stray mites are on the animal, the treatment kills it before they have a chance to drop off the animal and lay eggs somewhere.

With the lice treatment method...though cheaper, make sure you don't use it too strong...as it can be toxic if too strong. The concentration of permethrin should be .5%
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PHLdyPayne

Ok. We just got back from the local Wal-Mart. We got two cans of the Rid spray. It's .5% on the label. Tomorrow we will clean and treat all cages, and spray the rooms that the snakes are being kept in in the process. We forgot to scratch our heads violently at the check out counter while purchasing the spray. LOL!! I work a 7 on 7 off rotation, so if I treat every other week that would work, right? I hope this does the trick for us. We had been doing good until this week. I think that when I took some of them outside for some pictures it may have exposed them to infestation. Just a note...We have always quarentined new additions, and have done pretty good with that. I like the tip on prespraying though. Sounds much easier. Thanks for the help. I think we can get all this settled in plenty of time for our breeding trials starting this fall and going on through spring time. Less stress. Good luck to everyone out there with their hobby and or their business.
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1.0 red phase western hognose
1.0 100% het albino columbian
1.0 pastel columbian
0.1 hypo columbian
0.1 guyana
1.2 jcp
1.0 irian jaya
1.2 normal balls
1.0 spider ball
0.1 pastel ball
1.0 granite al burm
0.1 granite het al burm
0.1 albino burm
1.0 sunfire retic
0.2 tiger retics
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise
1.0 potbelly pig (Oscar)
1.0 pug (Frank)
1.1 pit bull terriers (Marlboro & Coco)
1.1 house cat (Kitty)& (Alice;pos gravid)
0.1 wife who puts up with me
2.0 rabbits (Paco & Zorro)

I don't think You picked up any mites like this outside your Home. Ive seen snakes at some shows, like baby Balls in the hundreds in small glass tanks, just covered in Mites. The owner didn't even know untill I pointed it out. There easier to spead around then one would think. That Lice spay should work it has the right stuff in it(Permethrin)

Van
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Forever Trust in what we are,and nothing else Matters

I think you should only spray once a month, instead of every two weeks. As the lice spray is the same concentration of Provent of Mite, which recommends only monthly sprays, I think its best to use the same method.
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PHLdyPayne