Mite control

I just have a question pertaining to mite control. I have in the past used a product called Provent-a-mite with fairly good success. I have been hearing a lot of talk about Black Knight. Has anyone tried both of these that has a definate opinion as to which works better. It seems that all I ever hear is the opinion of the sellers.

Thanks,
George Gunther

14 + months ago. My collection ran into a mite problem.
A "perfect" animal brought it in.

I used black knight.
I used is sparingly.
I used it to spray the infected animals once.
I sprayed around the cages too.
No more mites.

Now I have a very expensive can of Bug spray.
That is all I use it for.
Actually that is a lie. I also spray ALL incoming animals....even the "perfect" ones.

One can should last you a long long long time.

Hi Richie,

I was wondering if you had tried the other product I mentioned. I have had similar luck with it. I am just trying to see which would be the best investment of my $20......... Lol. I know it is not much but with over 60 snakes and my habbit of periodic spraying it does cost me some money.

Thanks again.
George

George.... I SWEAR BY Provent-A-Mite!!.... you spray it ONCE and the Mites are DEAD!.... Heck, it kills a cricket in 10 seconds!!.... I don't like Black Night because there are some ingredients I don't particularly care for in there (aerosol, I think)??.... I just don't remember, but, it was something....
Ritchie, you might want to read the label on that can.... you MIGHT change your mind??

....Neil

I am just trying to see which would be the best investment of my $20......... Lol

BK comes in 12oz cans while the other comes in 6oz cans, so when you compare the price tag you have to consider the volume.

Chemicals uggh
I use Diatomaceous Earth, all incoming animals are bathed in it and any animal that might be suspect is bathed in it
I have not had a mite in I don't know how long.
Any spray has an over spray and I raise many theraphosids and things sensitive to chemicals
Cheap??? yup I spent 2 bucks a few years ago and still have my Earth, I lost my darn mites though, man I miss them

I have used both PAM and Black Knight. I have never had any problems with any of my snakes (and we have over 100 snakes) when I have used PAM. A few months ago, I was dumb enough to be talked into using BK by a big named breeder. I spent 30 minutes talking to this person, getting specific directions, making sure it was safe for my animals, etc. I was assured that BK is the best, way better than PAM and that I would have absolutely no problems with my snakes. While I was told to spray the cage with the snake still inside the cage (removing waterbowl if I wished), I removed my prized labyrinth burmese Angel form her cage. We then lightly fogged her cage. After 15-20 minutes, we put Angel back into her cage. She immediately started having a reaction to BK. This continued and we took her to the vet. The vapors (even though she wasn't in when we fogged the cage) went straight to her lung and set up an RI. After two series of antibiotics, we thought we had pulled her through. We didn't. She died of liver damage which is caused by an ingredient in BK.

If you're judging product by size of can, please read the can of BK (if you have it). 76% of the ingredients in BK is propellants and solvents, actually, it's R22 and 142B (both are freons), an illegal product that has been banned since 1994, I believe. Therefore, you have about 3 ounces of worthful ingredients with BK and 6 oz with PAM.

What you choose is up to you. Ask yourself this, though: is it worth risking the life of my snake? It wasn't to us. I wish someone had told me this before I used BK on Angel.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I guess it is still widely varied but I will probablly stick with what I have been using.
I have had great success with PAM. Thanks again

I have spoken at length with Bob Pound, the inventor of Proventamite, on numerous occasions and have been using the product for the past four years. If used as directed, I have found no product that works better and is safer on virtually all species of snakes. Every cage in my collection is treated once or twice a year and i have not seen a mite for 4 years

No Pest Strips. Yes I know all the evil hype about them. Give your BK and proventamite stuff a few more years and you may find out they cause you to have three heads. Using the No Pest SDtrips has never been a problem for me, but has been a big problem for mites. My snakes never seem to mind. In fact they have continued to breed and live apparent healthy lives after being treated with this stuff. I do it carefully taking the precautions recommended by the manufacturer and by old time herpers who used to use this stuff. It is also cheap.

I have to point out that I once forgot a colony of crickets and placed this stuff almost right over the tank the crickets were in. Werll all the mites in the snake room were gone, the carpenter ants that were devoring part of the wood around my basement windows disappeared, but the crickets lived happily ever after, and even bred. Go figure.

Thankfully I have had very few problems with mites over the years, so I use this stuff sparingly - but I must admit if those damned carpenter ants return - well, I will be getting this stuff out again next spring!

Best regards,
Glenn Bartley