Please help with some answers

[ayiaskepi]

I have suddenly found hundreds of tiny tiny tiny little bugs (almost invisible to naked eye) in one of my dubia colony's tote. Anyone have any idea what they are? All that is in there (other than the dubies) are water crystals, dry roach food, some veggies, lots of egg crates, and two pieces of cardboard. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[foolsgold]

They sound like mites.

 

[ayiaskepi]

Oh no. What do I do?

 

[foolsgold]

IDK what you would do about mites in a roach colony but I know when you get mites in your mealworm bin you have to toss them all out.... I would wait for one of the roach breeder/sellers to chime in with some advice.

 

[paladinesdragon]

I know this is probably going to sound strange, but you should take all your roaches and give them a bath. Then sanitize the tub they are in. You will have to do this again in 2 weeks as the mites will come back. Also, keep the moisture down in the bin and don't use any substrate. Use just dry food for awhile and only water crystals for humidity, no vegetables or fruit for 2 weeks. As far as nutrition, you can also buy some roach chow which will work even better than the dry dog or cat food. Twobeardieguy has some of the best chow you can get! The point is to cut down on the moisture content in the enclosure and the mites will die off because they need the moisture to survive. Hope this helps.

 

[ayiaskepi]

Thank you for the reply. I am not sure how possible it is to give over 1,000 roaches a bath. I have cut humidity and have been using only dry chow. I have also been told that it is impossible completely be mite free due to the conditions in a dubie bin. Is that true?

 

[paladinesdragon]

I see your point because they need the humidity to help them molt. I know my friends were able to get rid of them all. They did however lose some roaches to incomplete molts. If I get any more information I will let you know.