Need Help. Mites everywhere in my room. Identification Need

C

carpl

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
4
Hello to everyone

I have mite problem in my cricket and roach culture. Also in my tarantula terrarium even in my tarantulas room walls, corners etc. :eek: They are in everywhere:cry:

They are very fast, brown color and size about 0.5 mm. And they reproduce very fast. Does anyone help to find scientific name of this species. I am worried about they are predator or harmless mite.

Microscopy photo is in attachment.
mite_1.jpg

mite_2.jpg

Thanks for your helps
 
iamthegame06

iamthegame06

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
102
cant really tell..if they're fast and they are jumping around they might be springtails, they are harmless to people and your tarantulas..however if they are in fact mites then you must get rid of them ASAP..i had a mite infestation last year, this is how i got rid of them:
-transferred all my tarantulas into delicups with substrate, DO NOT reuse the substrate from their tanks! (put them in a different room)
-thoroughly cleaned all the enclosures and the racks..i used dish washing liquid and a bit of bleach..i let it dry out (dont wipe it dry) and i did this process about 3 times..some didnt seem like it was infected but i cleaned them up anyway just to be on the safe side.
-my decors, water dish etc. i soaked in hot water with dish washing liquid and a bit of bleach.. like the enclosures, i let it dry out and did the process 3 times
-i threw away all the cork barks and everything else that wasnt plastic (including rocks)

that was pretty much it! the whole thing took about 3 days, i would wash the tanks, decors every night then let it dry out overnight..im not saying this is the only method or the best way to get rid of mites but it worked for me! haven't seen a single mite since then..hope this helped! :D
 
Last edited:
The Snark

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,048
Last edited:
viper69

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,939
The Snark said:
Appears to be Ornithonyssus bacoti. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithonyssus_bacoti. The penultimate pain in the arse industrial grade 'rat' mite. Well known to hitch hike on insects and mammals. Range from sub arctic to sub antarctic. I lived in an apartment building that was infested with them. Ultimately every room in the place got repeatedly bathed in liquid nitrogen. What you described is a typical outbreak.
http://www.homeaccentideas.com/rid-dust-mites-affordable/ratmite4g/
Click to expand...
Bathed in liquid nitrogen? Are you sure? Sounds suspect if you ask me.
 
The Snark

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,048
viper69 said:
Bathed in liquid nitrogen? Are you sure? Sounds suspect if you ask me.
Click to expand...
Company came in. Two trucks. Team of about 6 people. Big vacuum mounted on one truck. They methodically went over every inch of the place, 18 or 20 apartments I think. Then two people in partial proximity suits dosed every inch of all apartments, furniture, floor, walls and ceiling etc. Got done at one end they went back and started over. Infestation: rat mites, cockroaches, chiggers, dust mites, fleas and bed bugs. I asked one of them about nitrogen. Very expensive compared to poisons but many advantages. Penetrates better, can be forced into mattresses, cushions, carpets and so on, no toxic residue, kills all stages of insect development including eggs. I had to admit, they gave quality service and the place was CLEAN when they got done.

At the risk of sounding like a sale pitch, what was done to that place was impressive. It was a slumlord job, college students, transients, illegal aliens, absentee landlord and ultra neglected. It was sold and the new owners renovated. Several apartments were stripped bare. Some sheetrock removed, carpets and cupboards, remaining tenants belongings got danced around and smooched with the nitrogen. The work crews coordinated with the exterminators. sometimes as many as 30 people working there. In about 3 weeks the place was overhauled. The 4th week the outside painting was finished. $150 a month flea bag apartments into $500+ a month ultra spiffy.
They had this one angle nozzle thing for the nitrogen which was impressive. It was designed to do the angle of wall to floor. They held it against the angle and let it rip. The fog came creeping out several feet from where they were injecting on both sides of the wall. Every crack in the place got injected like that. Impressive. No survivors.
 
Last edited:
viper69

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,939
The Snark said:
Company came in. Two trucks. Team of about 6 people. Big vacuum mounted on one truck. They methodically went over every inch of the place, 18 or 20 apartments I think. Then two people in partial proximity suits dosed every inch of all apartments, furniture, floor, walls and ceiling etc. Got done at one end they went back and started over. Infestation: rat mites, cockroaches, chiggers, dust mites, fleas and bed bugs. I asked one of them about nitrogen. Very expensive compared to poisons but many advantages. Penetrates better, can be forced into mattresses, cushions, carpets and so on, no toxic residue, kills all stages of insect development including eggs. I had to admit, they gave quality service and the place was CLEAN when they got done.

At the risk of sounding like a sale pitch, what was done to that place was impressive. It was a slumlord job, college students, transients, illegal aliens, absentee landlord and ultra neglected. It was sold and the new owners renovated. Several apartments were stripped bare. Some sheetrock removed, carpets and cupboards, remaining tenants belongings got danced around and smooched with the nitrogen. The work crews coordinated with the exterminators. sometimes as many as 30 people working there. In about 3 weeks the place was overhauled. The 4th week the outside painting was finished. $150 a month flea bag apartments into $500+ a month ultra spiffy.
They had this one angle nozzle thing for the nitrogen which was impressive. It was designed to do the angle of wall to floor. They held it against the angle and let it rip. The fog came creeping out several feet from where they were injecting on both sides of the wall. Every crack in the place got injected like that. Impressive. No survivors.
Click to expand...
Are you sure it wasn't CO2 and your flaky brain is misremembering? I know nitrogen has been used for such pest control though.
 
The Snark

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,048
viper69 said:
Are you sure it wasn't CO2 and your flaky brain is misremembering? I know nitrogen has been used for such pest control though.
Click to expand...
Nitrogen. Black container. Readily available where liquid oxygen is manufactured as a by product. Widely used in food processing for preservative and pest control. Used as a fumigant it kills by hypoxia as well as cryogenic effects.
Let's test the old memory with trivia. White Liquid O2, grey CO2, Maroon acetylene, black N, yellow chlorine, green compressed O2, NO blue, H red, He brown. ??? (Fire fighter hazmat response training)
Hmm. They wouldn't use CO2 as it would have a greatly reduced hypoxia effect.
 
Last edited:
C

carpl

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
4
The Snark said:
Appears to be Ornithonyssus bacoti. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithonyssus_bacoti. The penultimate pain in the arse industrial grade 'rat' mite. Well known to hitch hike on insects and mammals. Range from sub arctic to sub antarctic. I lived in an apartment building that was infested with them. Ultimately every room in the place got repeatedly bathed in liquid nitrogen. What you described is a typical outbreak.
http://www.homeaccentideas.com/rid-dust-mites-affordable/ratmite4g/
Click to expand...
:eek::eek::eek:

Thank you very much for your kind reply. I don't have any mammals in my house except me and my wife. I am a bit confused about it

They just live in my insect and arachnoboard room not in other rooms:eek:
 
Ilovepredators

Ilovepredators

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
82
The tropical rat mites are horrible.

They came in on my African soft fur rats i was attempting to breed were in my house by the millions before i noticed them. they prey on everything. They fed off me and my wife my cats my rats of course, my snakes, and even killed off my cricket colony. What i read on how to get rid of them is to vacume them up, and freeze the vacume bag.
 
The Snark

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,048
Where they came from is pretty academic at this stage of the game. In a perfect storm scenario it would only take one preggo mite and a few months to get to where you are now. The major problem with that particular nuisance is their adaptability. Unlike most mites they can switch to a wide variety of organic material food sources and lie dormant until blood becomes available for reproduction. I am unsure if they can reproduce without blood.
Your big problem is the eggs. Either a latent insecticide repeatedly sprayed everywhere until they all hatch, which could be 2 or 3 months, the cryogenic route, or as ilovepredators mentioned, or diligent vacuuming once or even twice a day and burning or freezing the bags.
Taking all things into account, it becomes obvious why they chose the cryo route in an apartment building where reinfestation is almost inevitable unless the place is repeatedly bathed in very nasty poisons.

Correction. They don't lay eggs. Almost all the mites you see are pregnant females. Extremely hardy and adaptable, able to become dormant go for long periods of time without feeding. They don't need blood to reproduce. Male mites, very short lived sperm sacks, hatch first and position themselves around the ovipositor, As the females hatch they are grabbed and inseminated.

PS "They just live in my insect and arachnoboard room not in other rooms" Don't be so sure. Lay out the sticky traps and do a census.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top