need some advice to get rid of mites on desert scorpions

Koh_ · Oct 31, 2009

Hi Guys
i actually made a thread about same thing before.
but i didn't get much answers about it.
i tried to search here and found my friend 'quiz' also had the same problem as mine.
here is the link .

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=80692&highlight=desert+mites

one of my female a.australis i've been keeping for about 2 yrs has same problem as well as another australis i just got from my friend here in Canada.
well he didn't tell me that his scorpions have mites problem. Maybe he never tried to look them really close..
anyway, i hate seeing those little suckers and i really would like to help the scorpions. Mine is not as bad as Quiz's though.

i also tried to brush them up but those guys love clinging to my australis.
i don't wanna disturb my scorpions because i feel sorry.

.

i hope it's not the best way to kill them all.
any advice please ?!

p.s please don't mention about humidity. i keep all my desert scorpions with low humidity. the mites never die!!!!!!!

rasputin · Oct 31, 2009

Step one) Pull the scorps and take a small, soft bristled art brush and lightly brus them off. Then rehouse your scorps individually with no substrate (quarantine). Keep them in isolation until you don't see any more mites, offering them food once a week and pulling any scraps immediately. Offer them water in the form of water crystals (since water crystals dry out and are therefore not as conducive to the thriving of mites).

Step two) take all your sand and bake it in the oven at something like 450f for 15-30mins (it's called "dry heat" sterilization, not as great as a steam clave but it's very effective).

Step three) soak and then thoroughly clean enclosure(s) with hot water (do not use any soaps or cleaners as they can leave a harmfull residue).

Step four) once enclosure(s) is/are dry and substrate is cooled, replace substrate to your liking. Reintroduce scorps when you no longer find mites on them (mites like to hide in the substrate and if they are given no place to hide they die - hence the quarantine).

Srep five) stay on top of food particles and cleaning. Always get your feeder insects from a reliable source so you know they are mite free.

Hope this helps. I've never had a mite problem but I sterilize all my substrates and don't let leftovers sit around - I'm a bit ocd about it. I've written about it in the past, not sure if I did here but I know I did on VL and maybe SF.

Koh_ · Oct 31, 2009

rasputin said:
Step one) Pull the scorps and take a small, soft bristled art brush and lightly brus them off. Then rehouse your scorps individually with no substrate (quarantine). Keep them in isolation until you don't see any more mites, offering them food once a week and pulling any scraps immediately. Offer them water in the form of water crystals (since water crystals dry out and are therefore not as conducive to the thriving of mites).

Step two) take all your sand and bake it in the oven at something like 450f for 15-30mins (it's called "dry heat" sterilization, not as great as a steam clave but it's very effective).

Step three) soak and then thoroughly clean enclosure(s) with hot water (do not use any soaps or cleaners as they can leave a harmfull residue).

Step four) once enclosure(s) is/are dry and substrate is cooled, replace substrate to your liking. Reintroduce scorps when you no longer find mites on them (mites like to hide in the substrate and if they are given no place to hide they die - hence the quarantine).

Srep five) stay on top of food particles and cleaning. Always get your feeder insects from a reliable source so you know they are mite free.

Hope this helps. I've never had a mite problem but I sterilize all my substrates and don't let leftovers sit around - I'm a bit ocd about it. I've written about it in the past, not sure if I did here but I know I did on VL and maybe SF.

Thanks for the good suggestions!
well, but actually i've already tried pretty much exactly same way as you just talked about.
as i said, the mites are REALLY hardy...

but i appreciate it! thanks.
i really do hope there is a way to kill them perfectly. like kill them all because it seems like they spread pretty fast too.

rasputin · Oct 31, 2009

Koh_ said:
well, but actually i've already tried pretty much exactly same way as you just talked about.

You baked your substrates, soaked your enclosures in hot water, and quarantined your scorps until all the mites were gone?

Koh_ · Oct 31, 2009

rasputin said:
You baked your substrates, soaked your enclosures in hot water, and quarantined your scorps until all the mites were gone?

yes i did all. that was the first ways i tried. .seriously they are still staying.
im not kidding..you should have some experiences with these guys. those are really annoying. very stressful.

as i said, mine is not as bad as the other guy's situation since i've brushed them up so hard. but they are still staying and trying to spread more.

rasputin · Nov 1, 2009

Okay, so you've given the an rh of 0% with no substrate for an extended period of time - that is interesting. Did you try the q-tip and vasoline swab (I'm not to hip on this but Lucian has recommended it before)? My next step is to say quarantine again, toss all the old substrate and bake fresh substrate and buy some predatory mites from the following company: http://www.koppert.com/products/products-pests-diseases/products/detail/entomite-m-1/

They have a Canada contact: http://www.koppert.com/distribution-koppert-products/canada/

Koh_ · Nov 1, 2009

thanks alot for making an effort for me.

first, i guess i need to try vaseline. (i've also heard about using honey but i felt like it would be kinda bad idea..)
i may not buy some predatory mites as i hate all kinds of mites. it's just a personal issue but i had REALLY BAD DREAM about mites & small worms like maggots when i was young. To be honest, im scared of them.
anyway, Thanks alot again!

Galapoheros · Nov 1, 2009

They "sound like" a grain mite we have a common prob with in the hobby, imo, prob acarus siro. Vas won't work on them. They can't be brushed off in the hypopus stage, they develop suckers in this stage and connect to your inverts. They will eat decaying veg and arthro parts. With really bad cases, I will drop the invert in rain water and temporarily drown them. Then I take a scraper, like a dental tool, and scrape as many of them off as I can. If you keep the old rotting bug parts out of the desert cages, they will eventually die off. But, the hypopus stage grain mites can survive in dry conditions for months. Here are a couple of links.
http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th7g.htm
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/flour-and-grain-mites

rasputin · Nov 1, 2009

Galapoheros said:
With really bad cases, I will drop the invert in rain water and temporarily drown them. Then I take a scraper, like a dental tool, and scrape as many of them off as I can. If you keep the old rotting bug parts out of the desert cages, they will eventually die off.

That's a good one, scorps have that amazing ability to survive for long periods of time immersed in water. The one prob is how would you go about scraping off mites on an A. australis?

Galapoheros · Nov 1, 2009

I've put several species of scorps and pedes under water for at leas 40 minutes. They appear dead, their body being shut down. It is like messing around with a dead scorpion when you take them out. And a good thing is that if they are knocked out really well, they are slow to come back, you can see slow movements. Then you know to be extra careful. I dropped a scorpion in and forgot I did for at least 2 hours. It was fine later though. It's a little stressful looking though, best not to watch. There is some risk but I'm confident doing it now, no losses. I only do it when something really looks bad to me. I went to one of those military surplus stores and found a box full of dental stuff I guess the soldiers use out in the field. I bought a tool that looks like a small metal bar with metal tooth picks at each end, I use that.

rasputin · Nov 1, 2009

I think 2hrs is the longest I've heard documented of a scorp surviving immersion.

Galapoheros · Nov 1, 2009

I'm tempted to do an experiment, for science of course. I'm sure it depends on the species. I'm loaded with C. vittatus, considered a pest around here, find them in the house and the yard often. I know the idea has a bad ring to a lot of people but we could get some solid info from it, no more, "maybe this", or "maybe that".

rasputin · Nov 1, 2009

Galapoheros said:
I'm tempted to do an experiment, for science of course. I'm sure it depends on the species. I'm loaded with C. vittatus, considered a pest around here, find them in the house and the yard often. I know the idea has a bad ring to a lot of people but we could get some solid info from it, no more, "maybe this", or "maybe that".

And the experiment is?

Vittis are quite the renewable species, they breed like roaches - just not as fast with the parturition.

Redneck · Nov 1, 2009

With my exp. I left my P. imperator in water for 45 minutes and he kept thrashing around.. Finally he quit.. I took him out and took a q-tip and got most of the mites off and placed him in a small KK with nothing but a dry paper towel for 3-4 days and ALL the mites died off.. I put new substrate in his enclosure and BAM have not had mites since..

Selket · Nov 1, 2009

would it be bad though for a desert scorp to be put in water for 20 minutes or so? I would think that would make them way more susceptible to a micodial infection?

Koh_ · Nov 1, 2009

rednecklivin said:
With my exp. I left my P. imperator in water for 45 minutes and he kept thrashing around.. Finally he quit.. I took him out and took a q-tip and got most of the mites off and placed him in a small KK with nothing but a dry paper towel for 3-4 days and ALL the mites died off.. I put new substrate in his enclosure and BAM have not had mites since..

HI Rednecklivin. thanks for the comment.
that's good news ur emp made it.
but well, we shouldn't talk about emp this time .emps are andros are totally different .

BTW, i tried to brush them up really hard last night. like fighting with those mites. i found out they made a crowd under the pectines .it was the hardest job to clean them up from there.
While i was doing that, i felt really bad because i had to keep holding her metasoma and she was going crazy.you guys know how andros are normally.lol but it was worth to do it.

ill give them a couple days or a wekk and try to do the same thing again .
Ill post some pics later.
Thanks all!

rasputin · Nov 1, 2009

Selket said:
would it be bad though for a desert scorp to be put in water for 20 minutes or so? I would think that would make them way more susceptible to a micodial infection?

Nope. Think of the torrential flooding that soaks many deserts yearly with no serious effect.

Redneck · Nov 1, 2009

Selket said:
would it be bad though for a desert scorp to be put in water for 20 minutes or so? I would think that would make them way more susceptible to a micodial infection?

I wouldnt think so if you dried him/her off before you place back in the enclosure... I might be mistake but I think the micodial infection mainly happens if the humidity is to high with to moist of substrate.. I dont believe that submerging the scorpion long enough to knock it out and clean it will hurt it none.. That is just my opinion though.. I would take that risk to get rid of mites..

rasputin · Nov 1, 2009

rednecklivin said:
I might be mistake but I think the micodial infection mainly happens if the humidity is to high with to moist of substrate.

True, humidity is the leading cause of mycosis.

Redneck · Nov 1, 2009

Koh_ said:
HI Rednecklivin. thanks for the comment.
that's good news ur emp made it.
but well, we shouldn't talk about emp this time .emps are andros are totally different .

BTW, i tried to brush them up really hard last night. like fighting with those mites. i found out they made a crowd under the pectines .it was the hardest job to clean them up from there.
While i was doing that, i felt really bad because i had to keep holding her metasoma and she was going crazy.you guys know how andros are normally.lol but it was worth to do it.

ill give them a couple days or a wekk and try to do the same thing again .
Ill post some pics later.
Thanks all!

You are right about the emps and the andros being totally different but they are both arachnids carrying the same mites.. :razz: If you place it in a small KK with a dry paper towel the mites will die off.. Just dont offer it food or water or any kind of moisture for the time it is in the KK.. Give it 4 days to a week....

need some advice to get rid of mites on desert scorpions

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