Another Mite Thread

Well I've grown tired of seeing the little fast moving white mites in my tropical scorpion and T enclosures.  I've tried putting Fungus Gnat predatory mites (Hypoaspis miles) in their enclosures.  I ordered them from Everygreen Growers Supply.  These predatory mites are little brown guys so you can tell them apart from the little white annoying ones.

I dumped a good sized spoonful (depending on the enclosure size) in each tropical enclosure two weeks in a row. (Everygreen said the predatory mites would live about two weeks in their shipping container.)  It definitely helped, I see fewer white mites.  However I still see some.

I'm thinking about a two pronged bio attack.  Maybe stacking the predatory mites with isopods?  Has anyone tried this approach?  The isopods would compete with the little white mites for food and hopefully reduce their food source.

If this sounds like a good idea what species of isopods should I use?  Thanks!

Isopods will work great, but the fast moving white mites are usually ok to be in there. They actually take care of the slow-to-not moving mites that appear on the joints of some scorpions and are the really bad ones, from what I understand.

Kevin is right white moving ones are annoying but not harmful just keep the enclosure clean and sure throw in some ispods to avoid the bad mites.

Are you sure the fast moving ones are not springtails.....If so there's no need to remove them as all they are doing is eating moss and fungus (probably beneficial in a humid setup). As Kevil said, it's mites actually living on your scorpion that's a problem although unfortunately, springtails don't do anything to alleviate such an infestation as they are usually vegetarian.
If you wanted to get rid of them anyway you could simply clean the enclosures out and replace with fresh dry substrate (it's of course the damp and warm substrate that brings them in, remove that and they find somewhere else to live)....use water bowls for a 3 or 4 weeks to give any remaining springtails time to move out before dampen your substrate again. You may have brought them in with any soil, wood or any other kind of detritus from outside ... alternatively, if you have pot plants standing on a warm ledge that are constantly wet, that'd be a good source to.
Isopods work great at keeping enclosures clean enough to stop body mites coming in after uneaten prey items or scraps and taking eggs that a few mites may have laid in the surface of the substrate but they don't help much if the scorp is already infested.....So lets hope your problem is just springtails eh

Thanks guys. The mites I have a the small, white, fast moving type. I don't see any on my scorps. I'll use yall's suggestion and get some isopods. Any particular species?

Sounds like springtails then..
For isopods you want to be looking for sow bugs, pill bugs or wood lice....you might know them as roly poly's. If you use them though make sure at least that an area of the substrate is always damp......they wont last long if it dries out..

Thanks Den.  How many pill bugs would you suggest putting in a medium sized critter keeper-type enclosure that is moist keeping a tropical species?  Also, do the pill bugs reproduce in the enclosures?

Also, has anyone purchased isopods online (In the U.S.)? Any suggested vendors? Thanks!

Truth is mate, i've never seen a critter keeper so i wouldn't know one size from another but if you said a 20 x 30 cm groundplan enclosure then i'd say 15 or 20 iso's...Some people may say more, some less, i don't know....i never count them, i just lift a few logs and catch whatever is about. I wouldn't want to many of them running around stressing the scorps....Trial and error Rob, you'll have to mess about and find out what works for you, your scorps and your enclosures.......and yes, if you have a mesic setup with not to high temps they will reproduce...