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What is the best way to get rid of mites

M

MattP

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Hi,

I was wondering what some of you use to get rid of mites. I work at a reptile place and my boss uses hearts 2 in 1 flea and tick powder....... I would rather use something that's made for snakes.

Thanks,
Matt
 
the best WAS black knight but it is no longer availible. i have heard good things about reptile relief but i have never used it. provent a mite is another one but yoiu need to be very careful, i have heard some horror stories. we have used it before but with less results than black knight.

reptile relief

some good stuff from snakegetters site

scroll down until you get to parasityes but she does have ALLOT of of other good info there too, other than mites. If you have any specific questions you can go to the venomouse section here at fauna and ask one directly to tantith ( the venomous sponsor and owner of snakegetters)
 
reptile relief

i have used it before, it works good for killing on contact, but not for long term, they just come back.. Now i am using just one of the no pest strips from wal-mart. $3.77 and i have not seen a mite in a year. I just hang it in the room and do not put in the cages, i am not saying this is the only way but this is working for me.. Good luck!!! Mike
 
Remove your snake, any other living things and set off a bug bomb in the house. Easier said than done. Worked for wasps/hornets in my parents house when I was a kid.
Don't know if the poison lingers though.
 
I would bite the bullet and take it/them to the vet. I accidently killed 3 or 4 of my snakes one time by using something that was too strong. (I don't remember what it was)
 
I use a product called Provent-a-mite. They advertize in Reptiles Magazine. It is a spray that you use for the cage. While the cage is being sprayed, I soak the snake in warm mwater, to kill the mites on the snake. then you terat again in about a week to kill any that were missed in the first treatment. Hope this helps you. You can also try to prtvent mites by using the spray monthly as a maintainence.
 
mite treatment

i have used pyrethrum derivatives and they work well...plant care places have some pesticides with pyrethroids (name for synthetic pyrethrum derivatives) but most contain piperonyl butoxide (active ingredient in Raid) which is nasty sh*t and shouldn't be used..at agricultural places like farmers co-ops there is something called CIL Ambush, and it contains only resmethrin, or permethrin, both are synthetic pyrethroids (can't remember which one it is)
easy on the snakes health and fairly good residual action..spray the snake and whole cage thoroughly with 5-10ml/liter strength..branches and porous stuff soak under water with a bit of bleach in it for at least 3 or 4 days if you can't throw out the item...and repeat before a week is done to get new ones hatched from eggs..the females drop off the snake and climb up into corners to wait for their egg-laying and can be seen in bunches...as per Roger Klingenberg's advice I've also tried ivermectin paste blended up in water and used as spray and it is excellent also...never had a death from either of these...just DON'T use no-pest strips (the yellow plastic crap) they contain chlorophosphate poisons that are very hard on a snake and can kill...

I had a bad episode from a pair of mangrove snakes (Boiga) on breeding loan from a zoo here..I was assured they were free of mites, and foolishly put them right in the reptile room, where they spread it to everybody...and caused lots of grief for months...mistake I'll never make again!
 
I use Heartz 2 in 1 for cats. It has worked great for my Red Tail boa and also 2 of my rosy boas. I haven't seen a single mite in about a little over a year. Makes me happy, real happy.
 
jenn_jeffery said:
http://eastern-exotics.com/mites

I have NOT tried this product, as I have no snakes now, but from what I've heard and read, it's supposed to be great....
Click to expand...

I'd be interested in knowing if this works. I'm just glad it's not something where afterwards you have to introduce aphids to kill the 'antimite' mites, and then you have to introduce ladybugs to kill the aphids, and then you have to introdu-......n/m..

We use a product that we can't mention. It is a permethrin spray much like (read: "IDENTICAL TO") Provent-a-Mite. All I can say is that Provent, I believe, isn't an original product and if you just look around your local horse and tack shop you'll find a product there that is the same. Just read the labels. I'm not sure how the patent things work but I don't want to say too much just in case. Just look for the same label, the same can size, the same cap, and the same instructions (slightly modified from the reptile instructions sent with Provent). Oh, and it's about $15 cheaper. Around $5 here.

We've had success with the 'Provent-a-Mite' spray before though if there is something easier and more effective out there I'd like to hear your experiences with it.
 
Nix

HERE is a link on treatment of mites with NIX. Seems to be the safest, most complete(kills all stages of infestation) cheapest chemical method of mite treatment.
 
Thanks for the link and document, Joe. I'll be sure to try this remedy next time we come across anything that needs it.
 
I have actually used the Nix treatment before (I couldn't remember what it was called when I posted earlier!) and really liked how it worked. I didn't have to worry about 'overspraying' or putting an animal back into the cage too early...
 
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