maylawrence42 Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 HELP! We have a MAJOR mite problem in my daughter's viviarium. Taking the desired bugs out and cleaning is not an option at this point. We are talking about a 55 gallon tank with Hissers, darklings, Super worm beetles, dermestid beetles, earthworms, millipedes, and 2 types of isopods. The mites have always been there, but only in smallish numbers, so we just let them be in the "ecosystem" we had made. Then they just spiked. Covering the glass, the sticks, the food, and other bugs. I ended up ordering lady bugs to eat them, and it seemed to work almost overnight. That was about a month ago. A few days ago the lady bugs just died off, and already everyone and everything is covered in tiny little mites again. I can't really I.d. the species, because they just look like khaki colored dots to me. I suspect that they are grain mites. 100% sure they aren't spring tails, as they don't spring and we are pretty familiar with a variety of spring tails. This tank is the result of more than 2 years of attention and study on my daughter's part. It started in a plastic shoebox and had grown from there. She's 12, so it means a lot for her to be so serious about it for so long. How do we save this? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhjjr Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Not being able to start fresh I'd order some predatory mites (I believe Hisserdude sells them) and severely limit how much food goes in there. Edit: I'd honestly probably not put in predatory mites myself. It could be an option though I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhjjr Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 I'd also wipe the glass clean of them 2 or 3 times a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhjjr Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 You have earthworms in there? How moist is it kept? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maylawrence42 Posted April 11, 2022 Author Share Posted April 11, 2022 Since the tank is 4 feet long we keep one side very moist, put not soggy. Wet enough to grow wheatgrass. The other side is kept dry so that the residents can hang out wherever they are most comfortable. I wonder if the mites can be fed to the aquarium when they're wiped off... Waste not want not after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhjjr Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 On 4/10/2022 at 11:28 PM, maylawrence42 said: I wonder if the mites can be fed to the aquarium when they're wiped off... Waste not want not after all. Yeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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