My first experience with hell.... er... I mean Mites

Well yesterday I had a melt down because I found one of my ball pythons soaking in her water dish. I saw her doing this for a few days but yesterday I noticed what I feared. The small little devil bugs known as mites. Once I saw one I began to notice more. Well I had a venting post because I know they came from my only option in town for love feeders, which is a little dirty pet shop downtown Timmins. It smells ranks as all hell and most species aren't kept properly. Now I am switching all three ball python to F/T or they won't be able to eat. They all stopped eatin last week an I think that is because they have this infestation.

Anyway I texted my breaded and read all day about ways to rid myself of these minions. I live in Canada and couldn't find PAM to save my life. My breeder told me about using diluted NIX (one of the methods I read about). Well I have to say I couldn't be happier. The little lifeless bodies are everywhere and I will continue the treatment as recommended. I know some are against this but I figure if reputable breaders are doing it, it has to work and they would not endanger their livelihood. The more I looked into this the better I felt about the situation and now seeing these results so fast gives me hope.

I just have to worry about these love feeders switching for me.ay the battle of wills begin!

Thanks to those whom responded to my thread yesterday. It was also a huge help.

You might try screw worm spray. It is basically the same thing. It can be ordered off of amazon.com or tractor supply store. Hope this helps

That's great news. Hopefully this will get them under control without too much more trouble.

Nix is the shiznit. Works like a charm. Good luck wrangling those little buggers.

Well seeing the corpses now I think it will go well. I am more worried about getting them to switch to F/T. I have no option so I won't be able to give in and give them live. This part may be stressful.

On the upside I think I love paper towel for substrate! I don't think I will go back to Aspen. We'll see.

Paper towels make my life much easier that's for sure.

Allow me to drop some knowledge on you. I have personally dealt with mites in the past and have had great degrees of success in eliminating them. I recently got a really bad infestation from an animal that I failed to properly QT and so I am comfortable with sharing with everyone what I know.

Disclaimer: This information was researched via multiple sources on the internet, none of these ideas are necessarily original however it is difficult to find it all from once source.

Prevent-A-Mite = RID = Lice Spray (Seriously they even Smell the same!). They are literally the exact same thing. The dead give away is the "0.50% Permethrin" on the label. This can be purchased basically anywhere (It's easiest to find it at Chain Pharmacies like RITE-AID, CVS, or Wallgreens). It's also a lot cheaper than PAM. If you've already purchased and are using PAM then more power to you.

http://i.imgur.com/5fWK2fo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8DtH7CQ.jpg

NIX Solution: The NIX solution works basically the same way as PAM (both use Permethrin in different concentrations) but the big difference here is you can directly apply this to the animal which is good if you're paranoid about the little buggers not dying simply from being drowned in a warm soaking or from indirect contact with PAM.

The Battle Plan:

Phase 1: PREPARE THE ARMORY

1. There is no Homeopathic crap here, we're going to use good ole' fashion pest genocide chemicals.
2. Our first line of defense requires the NIX Solution, and here's how you make it:
   
   • Buy 1 (or 2) 59ml Bottle of NIX Lice Treatment. If you buy the family pack it will be 2 59ml bottles.
   • Buy 1 (or 2) Gallon(s) (4 Litres) of Distilled Water
   • Buy 1-2 Spray Bottles (or use one that you've never used before)
   • Mix 1 59ml bottle of NIX with 1 Gallon of Distilled water. (I found it easier if I took a clean tupperware container and poured some of the water into it and all of the NIX and then THOROUGHLY mixed it this way it disperses in the water much better, then you can add the pre-mixture to the rest of the water)
   • After mixing the water and NIX pour the NIX Solution into your water bottle.
3. Our next line of Defense is simply the Lice Spray (PAM/RID) we will use both of these for very specific tasks.

http://i.imgur.com/C3mu26X.jpg

Phase 2: Relief & Cleaning!

1. Remove all of the snakes from their tubs and put them in temporary holder tubs with warm water. I let them soak in there while you go onto the next step.
2. While your snakes are getting some much needed relief in the form of DROWNING THEIR ENEMIES you will then thoroughly clean their enclosures.
3. Cleaning & Treating The Racks
   
   • Unplug the Rack
   • Remove ALL of the Tubs
   • The way I clean the racks is to liberally spray every surface, nook, cranny, and crevice of the rack with the NIX solution. DO NOT SPRAY THE TUBS WITH THE NIX SOLUTION! YOU WILL LEARN WHY SOON!
   • Once you've sprayed everything take paper towels and clean off all of the excess moisture
   • After wiping everything down spray the rack again in the same places but with very light sprits and also spray the surrounding carpet and under/behind/beside the rack. The goal here is only to leave enough NIX Solution behind so that there will be a small residue that will kill any of the freedom haters that may still be alive.
4. Treating The Tubs
   
   • At this point I'm assuming your snake's tubs are clean and preferably on paper or paper towels and not on Aspen, Cypress or anything that isn't paper. If they are not then you should thoroughly clean the tubs using your normal methods and use a Paper Substrate (Unprinted Newspaper, News Paper, packing paper, paper towels, whatever just not Aspen, Dino Snow, Cypress, or anything else that isn't 1 sheet of something).
   • If they tubs are reasonably clean (or have been cleaned) then spray the SUBSTRATE with the PAM/RID/Lice Spray and allow it to dry and then place it back into the rack

Phase 3: Directly Treating the Snakes
Now that you've thoroughly cleaned their environments and treated the tubs with PAM/RID/Lice Spray it's time you take our snake friends out of their small baths and treat them directly.

1. Remove the snake from the tub it was soaking in and drain the tub of it's water. If there are dead mites on the side them rinse them off.
2. Now put the snake back in the same tub it was soaking in and spray it with the NIX Solution. Don't go hog wild and drench it in it just enough to lightly cover it. I like to genetly massage the snake after spraying it to get the solution inbetween its scales to get the little demons that live there.
3. Leave the snake alone in the tub while you treat the other snakes the same way. Once you have treated the last one go back to the first one and move to the next step.
4. At this point the snake should have been chilling out with a light helping of the NIX Solution. Now return it to its newly cleaned tub. DO NOT PUT ITS WATER DISH BACK WITH IT.
5. After 24 hours return your snake's rightful water dish.

Phase 4: You've won the battle but not the war!
By now you've thoroughly treated your snakes and their environments. However persistence is key here. To win this war you need to repeat this every 5-7 days for at least 3 weeks, I recommend at least a month personally. With an average size collection (20-30 snakes) you will still have plenty of the NIX Solution as well as PAM/RID/Lice Spray.


Phase 5: Sometimes OCD is a good thing.
Phase 5 is all about preventatives. I would strongly recommend standard QT procedures for new arrivals (PAM/RID/Lice Spray treat the tubs) and also every few months do a NIX Solution treatment of the Rack, just as a precaution. It may seem like a hassle but trust me It's nothing compared to the alternative.

You're insane, why would you do this much work?
Because honestly the last time I depended on just PAM it didn't really get the job done. I read up a great deal on the NIX Solution and I was willing to give it a shot but the varying degrees of results bothered me but I wanted the ability to directly treat the snake beyond off the shelf solutions that are not just expensive but not always available. My method combines two well known disciplines of Mite removal and I believe covers all of the grounds you want to with not only killing the Mite Demons and their Hellspawn but also killing their Xenomorph Eggs and doing so on your animal and their environment giving you the best chance of genocidal success you're looking for for those eight legged b*stards.

http://i.imgur.com/q5Y5yHD.jpg


COMMON SENSE WARNING!!!
Listen we're working with unnatural chemicals here. Apply some common sense and do NOT increase the amount of NIX you mix with the gallon of water. The proportions stated are tried and true. Do NOT go crazy with the PAM/RID/Lice Spray, seriously you will only do harm to your snakes.

Thanks for sharing your experience Aaron P. I like your plan of attack. I couldn't find PAM but I will look for the other sprays. At least I can get NIX. The breaded I purchase from recommended spraying everything thoroughly two days in a row (including all the snakes) without water dish and on paper substrate. Then again in 6-7 days and then again in three weeks. I think I may spray weekly for 4 weeks. That method has been successful for him in the past and I trust him quite a bit. This method also seems to have many good reports on the forums as well but method changes slightly from person to person. I really appreciate everyone's feedback and sharing if knowledge and experience.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AaronP

Allow me to drop some knowledge on you. I have personally dealt with mites in the past and have had great degrees of success in eliminating them. I recently got a really bad infestation from an animal that I failed to properly QT and so I am comfortable with sharing with everyone what I know.

Disclaimer: This information was researched via multiple sources on the internet, none of these ideas are necessarily original however it is difficult to find it all from once source.

Prevent-A-Mite = RID = Lice Spray (Seriously they even Smell the same!). They are literally the exact same thing. The dead give away is the "0.50% Permethrin" on the label. This can be purchased basically anywhere (It's easiest to find it at Chain Pharmacies like RITE-AID, CVS, or Wallgreens). It's also a lot cheaper than PAM. If you've already purchased and are using PAM then more power to you.

http://i.imgur.com/5fWK2fo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8DtH7CQ.jpg

NIX Solution: The NIX solution works basically the same way as PAM (both use Permethrin in different concentrations) but the big difference here is you can directly apply this to the animal which is good if you're paranoid about the little buggers not dying simply from being drowned in a warm soaking or from indirect contact with PAM.

The Battle Plan:

Phase 1: PREPARE THE ARMORY

1. There is no Homeopathic crap here, we're going to use good ole' fashion pest genocide chemicals.
2. Our first line of defense requires the NIX Solution, and here's how you make it:
   
   • Buy 1 (or 2) 59ml Bottle of NIX Lice Treatment. If you buy the family pack it will be 2 59ml bottles.
   • Buy 1 (or 2) Gallon(s) (4 Litres) of Distilled Water
   • Buy 1-2 Spray Bottles (or use one that you've never used before)
   • Mix 1 59ml bottle of NIX with 1 Gallon of Distilled water. (I found it easier if I took a clean tupperware container and poured some of the water into it and all of the NIX and then THOROUGHLY mixed it this way it disperses in the water much better, then you can add the pre-mixture to the rest of the water)
   • After mixing the water and NIX pour the NIX Solution into your water bottle.
3. Our next line of Defense is simply the Lice Spray (PAM/RID) we will use both of these for very specific tasks.

http://i.imgur.com/C3mu26X.jpg

Phase 2: Relief & Cleaning!

1. Remove all of the snakes from their tubs and put them in temporary holder tubs with warm water. I let them soak in there while you go onto the next step.
2. While your snakes are getting some much needed relief in the form of DROWNING THEIR ENEMIES you will then thoroughly clean their enclosures.
3. Cleaning & Treating The Racks
   
   • Unplug the Rack
   • Remove ALL of the Tubs
   • The way I clean the racks is to liberally spray every surface, nook, cranny, and crevice of the rack with the NIX solution. DO NOT SPRAY THE TUBS WITH THE NIX SOLUTION! YOU WILL LEARN WHY SOON!
   • Once you've sprayed everything take paper towels and clean off all of the excess moisture
   • After wiping everything down spray the rack again in the same places but with very light sprits and also spray the surrounding carpet and under/behind/beside the rack. The goal here is only to leave enough NIX Solution behind so that there will be a small residue that will kill any of the freedom haters that may still be alive.
4. Treating The Tubs
   
   • At this point I'm assuming your snake's tubs are clean and preferably on paper or paper towels and not on Aspen, Cypress or anything that isn't paper. If they are not then you should thoroughly clean the tubs using your normal methods and use a Paper Substrate (Unprinted Newspaper, News Paper, packing paper, paper towels, whatever just not Aspen, Dino Snow, Cypress, or anything else that isn't 1 sheet of something).
   • If they tubs are reasonably clean (or have been cleaned) then spray the SUBSTRATE with the PAM/RID/Lice Spray and allow it to dry and then place it back into the rack

Phase 3: Directly Treating the Snakes
Now that you've thoroughly cleaned their environments and treated the tubs with PAM/RID/Lice Spray it's time you take our snake friends out of their small baths and treat them directly.

1. Remove the snake from the tub it was soaking in and drain the tub of it's water. If there are dead mites on the side them rinse them off.
2. Now put the snake back in the same tub it was soaking in and spray it with the NIX Solution. Don't go hog wild and drench it in it just enough to lightly cover it. I like to genetly massage the snake after spraying it to get the solution inbetween its scales to get the little demons that live there.
3. Leave the snake alone in the tub while you treat the other snakes the same way. Once you have treated the last one go back to the first one and move to the next step.
4. At this point the snake should have been chilling out with a light helping of the NIX Solution. Now return it to its newly cleaned tub. DO NOT PUT ITS WATER DISH BACK WITH IT.
5. After 24 hours return your snake's rightful water dish.

Phase 4: You've won the battle but not the war!
By now you've thoroughly treated your snakes and their environments. However persistence is key here. To win this war you need to repeat this every 5-7 days for at least 3 weeks, I recommend at least a month personally. With an average size collection (20-30 snakes) you will still have plenty of the NIX Solution as well as PAM/RID/Lice Spray.


Phase 5: Sometimes OCD is a good thing.
Phase 5 is all about preventatives. I would strongly recommend standard QT procedures for new arrivals (PAM/RID/Lice Spray treat the tubs) and also every few months do a NIX Solution treatment of the Rack, just as a precaution. It may seem like a hassle but trust me It's nothing compared to the alternative.

You're insane, why would you do this much work?
Because honestly the last time I depended on just PAM it didn't really get the job done. I read up a great deal on the NIX Solution and I was willing to give it a shot but the varying degrees of results bothered me but I wanted the ability to directly treat the snake beyond off the shelf solutions that are not just expensive but not always available. My method combines two well known disciplines of Mite removal and I believe covers all of the grounds you want to with not only killing the Mite Demons and their Hellspawn but also killing their Xenomorph Eggs and doing so on your animal and their environment giving you the best chance of genocidal success you're looking for for those eight legged b*stards.

http://i.imgur.com/q5Y5yHD.jpg


COMMON SENSE WARNING!!!
Listen we're working with unnatural chemicals here. Apply some common sense and do NOT increase the amount of NIX you mix with the gallon of water. The proportions stated are tried and true. Do NOT go crazy with the PAM/RID/Lice Spray, seriously you will only do harm to your snakes.

---

You didn't specify the ratio of nix to water.

Im assuming one bottle of Nix to one 4L of water?

/Canadian who's never had mites but would like to be prepared

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bobbafett

You didn't specify the ratio of nix to water.

Im assuming one bottle of Nix to one 4L of water?

/Canadian who's never had mites but would like to be prepared

---

• Mix 1 59ml bottle of NIX with 1 Gallon of Distilled water. (I found it easier if I took a clean tupperware container and poured some of the water into it and all of the NIX and then THOROUGHLY mixed it this way it disperses in the water much better, then you can add the pre-mixture to the rest of the water)

:) 4 Gallon = 4litres

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by whispersinmyhead

Thanks for sharing your experience Aaron P. I like your plan of attack. I couldn't find PAM but I will look for the other sprays. At least I can get NIX. The breaded I purchase from recommended spraying everything thoroughly two days in a row (including all the snakes) without water dish and on paper substrate. Then again in 6-7 days and then again in three weeks. I think I may spray weekly for 4 weeks. That method has been successful for him in the past and I trust him quite a bit. This method also seems to have many good reports on the forums as well but method changes slightly from person to person. I really appreciate everyone's feedback and sharing if knowledge and experience.

---

Like I said in my post you can pick up the Lice Spray from nearly any Pharmacy and it's the exact same thing even if you just compare the labels it's clear they're the same.