White mites in cricket bins !!!! Oh my !

[arielgasca420]

dont freak out yet, these mites may not be as bad as you may think. these white mites are decomposers, they do not care about blood. I had these in my worm bin and I didnt mind them until they started to overpopulate.
black and red mites are the kind you need to freak out about.
Use a melon rind or something watery. they will swarm around it and then you toss it away. no matter how much you clean, disinfect, and sterlize your area they still find their way back.

[flybyferns]

Thanks , very much for your reply ! I think !!
That's what I am afraid of .
When there is one - lord knows, how many are really in there!!!!!!!!!!!

[arielgasca420]

they do breed rapidly. Within a week I had hundreds in my worm bin. if you keep putting slices of fruit and then just tossing it outside that should keep the numbers down.
think of them as free labor. they are working to break down all the dead stuff and debris in your cricket box. To keep them out just make sure that you clean the cricket bin regularly. I clean mine at least once a week. no mites yet.

[GrifTheGreat]

Yep these are decomposers. Problem with them is that they multiply by the thousands. Even will cling to the crickets and get a free ride to your frogs enclosures and begin to multiply in there. Can be quite a nuisance.

[flybyferns]

Yep these are decomposers. Problem with them is that they multiply by the thousands. Even will cling to the crickets and get a free ride to your frogs enclosures and begin to multiply in there. Can be quite a nuisance.

Hi Grif,
Tell me about it. I'm NOT a happy camper !
I have been purchasing my crickets from a new pet store??????
One I like very much !

You know how I am w/ this stuff!
Remember , I do not use substrate !
If I have to empty my tanks , carry them out to the driveway and spray them down w/ with the hose , I WILL !
sigh !

[GrifTheGreat]

Hi Grif,
Tell me about it. I'm NOT a happy camper !
I have been purchasing my crickets from a new pet store??????
One I like very much !

You know how I am w/ this stuff!
Remember , I do not use substrate !
If I have to empty my tanks , carry them out to the driveway and spray them down w/ with the hose , I WILL !
sigh !

Yeah. Mites can be hard to get rid of. I've gotten them with my crickets before. Not fun.

[flybyferns]

Sigh!
Well this has turned out to be am absolutely tremendous amount of work.
I have cleaned the enclosures thoroughly 2 days in a row .
I don't see any. Ha! BUT I BET THEY ARE THERE!!!!
By the way, the mites die on contact when sprayed w/ my 250 mg of Metronidazole: 18 oz of distilled water concoction.
(0f which I use to clean the interior glass, bowls etc 2X a month anyway)

I removed the crickets bins form the area they were, for now.

We will see. It only takes a couple..................to make more of the mini beasts !

Lynn