AAH! mites in my mealworm culture!!

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BugLover

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Nooo! I found mites in my Darkling Beetle drawer! and I just got my 2nd generation of beetles!

Do I really have to start the whole thing over? They are only in the beetle container, not in the mealworm or pupae container. Are they really harmful to my culture? Do I really have to start over? Can I just start over my beetle container, and leave the larvae and pupae? Help!

 
You'd better do something quick or you'll soon be overrun. Big pain in the butt when that happens!

 
I just had the same problem with my darkling beetles for the 2nd time in a period of one year. I followed Orin's Darkling Beetle book protocol for mite infestation and it worked each time. Infestation came from contaminated food. The problem was solved. The second time I just saved the adults and destroyed the substrate containing 100's of larvae. I just did not have the time to pick up each single larva from the substrate. Good luck.

 
Yuck! If you transfer the larvae or adults to new substrate, is there a possibility of the mites being attached? I know that has happened to me with fruit fly cultures, but I've never noticed any infestations in my mealworm cultures. I remember Orin had a suggestion for that but I'd have to look it up.

My substrate for my mealworm cultures is chick starter food. I microwave all of the substrate for both the mealworm and fruit fly cultures before I use it. I also use the shelf paper for the ff cultures and haven't noticed an infestation for over a year. To be safe, I keep my mealworm cultures in a separate area in the house. I do occasionally have issues with moths laying eggs in the substrate though and keep the moth traps around for that.

 
it is hard keeping them out of mealies, I hate mites, not as much as ticks, but yea, disgusting. I always end up throwing them out, wheres Orins fix?

 
Ok so should I just save my adult and pupae and destroy the substrate and larva? Or should I destroy the whole culture and start over? :(

 
Ok so I just saved most of my mealworms and all of my beetles. Threw the remaining substrate and the rest of the mealworms in the freezer. How long should they be in the freezer before they die? Also, I filled their tubs with hot water to (hopefully) kill any remaining mites and then rinsed it out, dried it, and put fresh substrate in. I don't have a microwave, so I can't really Mite-proof it :\ Any other advice to make sure I don't get mites again?

 
BugLover said:
Ok so I just saved most of my mealworms and all of my beetles. Threw the remaining substrate and the rest of the mealworms in the freezer. How long should they be in the freezer before they die? Also, I filled their tubs with hot water to (hopefully) kill any remaining mites and then rinsed it out, dried it, and put fresh substrate in. I don't have a microwave, so I can't really Mite-proof it :\ Any other advice to make sure I don't get mites again?
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Keep them away from your ff cultures. Is it possible to set your drawer on some mite shelf paper?

 
hibiscusmile said:
next time throw the meal worms out the birds will eat them.
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I did throw them out :) they are in the compost in my yard. But they are dead, so I don't know if the birds would eat them now.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
oh, yea I ment before throwing in freezer. course unless it is really hot outside and then u can freeze them and tell the birds u have worm cones and then cover your head so they don't run u over!

 
hibiscusmile said:
oh, yea I ment before throwing in freezer. course unless it is really hot outside and then u can freeze them and tell the birds u have worm cones and then cover your head so they don't run u over!
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:lol: "Free worm-cones! Come and get 'em!" :D

 

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