Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I read some articles about these predatory mites for reptile collections and this seems to be the best and safest solution for reptile owners! Every article or reptile owner who have used these as a way to get rid of snake mites have said this is the best treatment they have ever used. One of these predator mites eat anywhere from 5-20 snake mites a day.This includes the eggs,larva and adults! These are usually sold for gardens to get rid of springtails and other garden pests but they are harmless to reptiles.

If anyone on the boards has ever used these to control snake mites I would like to hear about it. I would much rather use a safe chemical free solution if I ever run into snake mites in my collection. I have had an unspecified wood lice and spring tails in my reptile cage and these predator mites would eat them to! Here is a webpage that offers these mites for sale!

http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/hypoaspis.html

The results you will get with Hypoaspis mites is variable and often is not successful. We did extensive studies with Hypoaspis mites in the mid 90's and found that although they will eat Ophionyssus natricis, they were most often not able to completely eradicate the problem. There were several reasons why. These mites are primarily used to control insects and arthropods on plants. They need a minimum amount of humidity to survive. We found that often, the humidity levels were not adequate in reptile cages which resulted in the Hypoaspis mites dying quickly. Type of substrate is another factor as some types helped maintain humidity better and provided better cover. The major problem we found is that Ophionyssus natricis will leave the cage to seek a proper location to molt/lay eggs (they can walk up to 11" per minute). The temperature at that location will determine how fast they will complete a life cycle/hatch before foraging for a host again. They can remain in such locations outside the cage for many months at cooler temperatures. The Hypoaspis mites will quickly die once they exhaust the food supply in the cage and even faster if their environment is not suitable, so will not be present when the snake mites return weeks to months later. They can't handle the dry conditions outside the cage or in many reptile cages as Ophionyssus natricis can. They will usually only survive for a couple of weeks. This is the primary reason why Ophionyssus natricis can spontaneously appear at a time after one thinks the problem is gone. There are other people who have found the same results and have posted them in the past. If one has a mild infestation, they might be able to eradicate the problem, but most often, they can't. One is also dealing with primary pest resurgence, which in the long run, will always favor Ophionyssus natricis over Hypoaspis mites.
More importantly, with the potential diseases and infections mites can carry, eradicating the problem after an infestation has occurred could be too late, possibly with devastating results. It is far better to create a program to prevent mites from becoming a problem in the first place. Proper quarantine procedures and products can avoid the problem altogether. In addition to getting mites from an infested reptile, they can also be transported by other means, including infested feeder rodents, infested dry goods purchased from a store that has a mite infestation (mites can infest everything around the cages holding the infested reptiles, especially bedding) and even on your own person if you came in contact with them at an infested location (trade shows can be good for this). Preventing the problem in the first place will insure the health of your animals and save you time and anguish in the long run.

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products

Thanks a lot! I have never had a mite problem and hope I never do! I try to take proper care of my reptiles by washing my hands before handling each one and inspecting them before purchase/or placing into my collection. I just wanted to know the safest way incase my reptiles ever do come in contact with mites. I don't goto reptile shows so that eliminates one problem! I also know that Ophionyssus natricis is not native to the US but they are mostly spread through contact with a reptile that is infested with them. I do know there are some little red mites(chiggers are one)in the US that will infest a snake.

I heard Zoomed's mite off can be sprayed on the snake,on the decor and his enclosure and it will kill the mites,larve and the eggs. Do you have any first hand knowledge of this product?

Mite off is nothing more than "soapy" water with some fancy language saying it is actually soapy water. The problem with this and other similar products is that you must be able to get enough of it on the mite to work. It is obvious that all mites are not visible or accessible when the cage and occupants are sprayed, so any mites that are missed will not be affected. Many of the mites will not even be in the cage, rather they have left the cage and are harboring somewhere in the room to molt and or lay eggs. Once these products dry they are no longer effective, so they offer no residual benefit at all. Mites that enter the cage or come out of hiding will walk right across the dried product without any problems. So will Mite Off kill mites, yes, but only if you get enough of the product directly on the mite. To get every mite will be very difficult and most often you will continue to get outbreaks over time which are the mites that got away. Every time the mites come back and are allowed to feed on the reptile, the risk of introducing a disease or infection is increased. I have serious reservations that this or similar products will effectively destroy mite eggs, very few chemicals can actually kill a viable egg. Also the eggs are layed off the animal, often outside the cage so the product will have no effect even if it could destroy them. Mite Off and similar products can kill most of the mites that are on the animal and can be beneficial for a quick control, but are not effective long term and have difficulty in eliminating the problem completely. These products have no preventative ability and can only help control the problem after the animals have been infested. Quite frankly, soaking your animal in water with a small amount of dish washing liquid will be as if not more effective than this product.

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products

Based upon this and other mite threads, it would seem the movement of mites out of and back into the snake cages is a major hurdle to overcome when trying to irradicate them. Has anyone tried a thin ring of vaseline around the entire outside perimeter of the snake cage to prevent the mites from going somewhere else to breed and then re-infesting the cage? Works for me around tree trunks for keeping ants from farming aphids....

This is one of the primary functions of Provent-a-mite. In addition to eliminating an active infestation, it is the only approved product that can be used preventatively around any openings or surfaces on the outside of a cage. It is easier to apply, is more effective, not nearly as messy and will last longer.

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products