any of you guys using any type of wood mulch,bedabeast,cocanut husk, ever run into little white wood mites,and if so what do you do about it ,...i dont think they bother the herp ,but i could be wrong.
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white wood mites?qestion
feedermouse
Feb 06, 2004 09:56 PM
Replies (2)
Terry Cox
Feb 08, 2004 07:32 PM
>>any of you guys using any type of wood mulch,bedabeast,cocanut husk, ever run into little white wood mites,and if so what do you do about it ,...i dont think they bother the herp ,but i could be wrong.
I ran into a weird little insect last summer that either came in some new aspen bedding or some sphagnum moss. I had to look at them under a microscope, but they were definately an insect not a mite, six legs..not eight. I thought they might be a fly larva, or something like that. Don't know for sure.
I treated a couple cages that had the most of them and they disappeared (Provent a Mite). I think most have disappeared with brumation and they don't seem to harm the snakes in any way. Any other news on this stuff? Do you have a picture of your mites, or have you counted legs?
TC
jfmoore
Feb 08, 2004 08:54 PM
Yes, I get these grain mites anytime I use granular wood substrates. They are tiny and difficult to see. If you use plastic containers with lids, you can hold the lid up to the light and see them crawling on the underside. They often lay their eggs on the lid, or the “ceiling” in a rack system. Or look in the water bowls. What may look like scum on the surface may be a hundred of these critters. They can explode to huge numbers, especially under humid conditions, but are not parasitic on the snakes.
I’ve just started using Sani-chips again after a couple of years of not using any wood products and the grain mites are back. I got some Provent-a-mite, but have been lazy about re-treating to kill succeeding generations, so I haven’t gotten rid of them yet totally.
-Joan
