mites in dubia colony :(

[habeeb]

has anyone ever had this problem yet?? i just found out yesterday i had some!! saw them tiny tiny very small white dots moving around the tub i have them in and realized there were like hundreds of them!! cleaned everything but some must of been on the roaches too bc they are still some left roaming around

[JeffreH]

Sounds like grain mites to me. Madagascar Hissing roaches (G. portentosa) often have an associated mite species with them but from your description it sounds like grain mites.

Cleaning everything and keeping the substrate free of food product generally the best bet to keep them at bay. They generally aren't harmful to the colony as a whole (although high concentrations can elicit stress) nor will they attack your reptiles... but they certainly don't look nice. Roach colonies are just particularly ideal locations for these mites to set up residence when they've hitched a ride on food.

Isopods and springtails will compete for similar resources and can keep them from populating. Similarly, at noted, keeping the enclosure particularly clean is useful. Perhaps offer a bit less food inbetween feedings, and offer all food product in some kind of dish so that it cannot be spread across the frass and other debris of the floor. I've heard these guys can be somewhat of pain to deal with.

[habeeb]

thanks for the advice!! i got a bit lazy and hadnt cleaned out the bin for a bit and had a good amount of frass on the floor...and when i feed dry cat food i would just throw it all over the floor...only when feeding fruits and veggies i put them in a tray....but ill try to keep it more clean and clean it more often to see if that will slowly help eleminate them thanks!!