"Pest Strips"

I was reading the War against mites article, and there is just one thing im confused about. When they say pest strips.... do they mean the hanging fly trap/catcher things?

I think they mean the ones that are kinda like that, but are for mites and crud....

Either way, I would never use those inside any of my herp cages, muchless anywhere they would have access.

I was thinking of putting them on the inside of the rack - i wasnt too keen of the idea of putting them IN the cage either

I would be worried about the "fumes" they put off when in a somewhat enclosed area... may not be good.

Besides, with good husbandry..why would you want to fool with those?

i was "snakesitting", and apparently it had mites and I had no idea. It was stupid, I know. Now I have to get rid of them, and i thought I could trust the VPI methods

Nope, not the hanging fly things ... LOL

"No Pest" pest strips are a white plastic "cage" with an orange/yellow gelatin mass inside. Kind of like the "stick up" room de-odorizers.

They are an "old school" method of treating mites ... back in the day (pre-PAM) we used to crack open the white "cage" and break the mass into pieces and stick them inside cages and rack tubs ... the problem is that the vapors that they give off are VERY STRONG and if you don't know exactly how big of a piece you can get away with for a given size enclosure, you can cause neurological damage or even death ... babies are especially vulnerable.

The good news is that now that we have Provent -a- Mite, the days of the "No Pest" pest strips are long gone. :sweeet:

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

The good news is that now that we have Provent -a- Mite, the days of the "No Pest" pest strips are long gone. :sweeet:

-adam

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LOL, okay. Guess I have to go PAM hunting

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Originally Posted by adizziedoll

LOL, okay. Guess I have to go PAM hunting

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www.pro-products.com ... Give Bob a call ... one of the best guys in the business for customer service. ;)

-adam

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by adizziedoll

i was "snakesitting", and apparently it had mites and I had no idea. It was stupid, I know. Now I have to get rid of them, and i thought I could trust the VPI methods

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Ohhh, that sucks...what a way for someone to repay you for snake sitting...give your collection mites...how very very nice and thoughtful of them. I cant understand why they had no known thier snake had mites, unless they dont pay much attention to it.

Your problem with mites, is unfortunately, the one reason I do not herp sit for anyone anymore. Years ago when I had colubrids, I had the same thing happen to me.... and I too had not noticed till they dropped the snake off to me and had left in thier rush to get out of town.

Def. find yourself some PAM!

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Originally Posted by adizziedoll

and i thought I could trust the VPI methods

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You definitely can trust anything from Dave and Tracy! The thing that you have to keep in mind is that they have been keeping snakes for over 30 years ... the wealth of information that they share is the culmination of all of that experience ... some of it works just as well today as it did 30 years ago and some of it has been replaced with newer information and techniques ... As a hobby, things are continually evolving which is why it's important to always ask questions and inform yourself as much as possible!

-adam

YYeah, I didnt mean I "thought" i could as in I thought I could but I guess not- i guess i meant i KNOW that i can lol.


I guess this snake-sitting thing will be worth it this time b/c I found out he cant take his snake back at all. Its a big, FREE, breedable female. Good stuff! But I think I will def. avoid doing that again.

Sorry to hear about the mites...and good response from Adam! I know when Carmen had mites, I was researching around and read that on the VPI site as well and was confused. Makes sense now - thanks Adam!

But oh yeah, PAM is the shiznit...and for getting off any mites and eggs on the snakes themselves, do a soak in appropriate temp water plus a drop or two of soap. The soap breaks the water tension, breaking the air bubble that can form around the mite, forcing them to drown and die.

DIE MITES DIE!

*ahem*

I'd also suggest moving the snakes to a flat, white substrate...paper towels or something like that, so you can see the mites DEAD on the ground. =)

Won't be long 'till pet shops start using them...

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Originally Posted by Grim91Z

Won't be long 'till pet shops start using them...

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You're about a decade too late ... been there, done that. ;)

-adam

I've never seen them used, unless they stopped long ago.

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Originally Posted by Grim91Z

unless they stopped long ago.

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Winner winner chicken dinner!! :D :sweeet:

-adam

Yay! Where's my cookie?

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Winner winner chicken dinner!! :D :sweeet:

-adam

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I know a craphole reptile store in Florida that still uses them..Drops the whole thing in with the snake. Idiots...

You can also use Reptile Relief in conjunction with the PAM. I have used the PAM on the bedding, and bathed the snake in Reptile Relief, prior to putting the snake back in the enclosure. Two treatments of each product and one week later, no more mites.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

the problem is that the vapors that they give off are VERY STRONG and if you don't know exactly how big of a piece you can get away with for a given size enclosure, you can cause neurological damage or even death ... babies are especially vulnerable.

The good news is that now that we have Provent -a- Mite, the days of the "No Pest" pest strips are long gone. :sweeet:

-adam

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as pov is illegal in ny, perhaps strips are still a way to go for some people. do you know exactly how big of a piece you can get away with for given size enclosure? that information would be very helpful.

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Originally Posted by Ben Biscy

as pov is illegal in ny, perhaps strips are still a way to go for some people. do you know exactly how big of a piece you can get away with for given size enclosure? that information would be very helpful.

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What are you reffering to by POV in the above statement. Is PAM illeagal, permetherin illeagal, or aerosols illeageal? I only ask, because if it is PAM or aerosols, you can obtain liquid Permetherin, dilute it in water, and use it in a pump sprayer. I do know of some people that have done this, and say it is pretty good, but not as effective as PAM.

Hope that helps,

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Originally Posted by muddoc

What are you reffering to by POV in the above statement. Is PAM illeagal, permetherin illeagal, or aerosols illeageal? I only ask, because if it is PAM or aerosols, you can obtain liquid Permetherin, dilute it in water, and use it in a pump sprayer. I do know of some people that have done this, and say it is pretty good, but not as effective as PAM.

Hope that helps,

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i think it's the permethrin, and sorry, that was a typing slur (PAM, not pov).

there is another thread about it...

i'm specifically looking for information on the pest strips. i know they used to be used, but how large to cut the pieces i have no idea. i do know that too much can kill, so i'd like to hear from people who have used them for years (as mentioned by others in different posts and threads).

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Originally Posted by Ben Biscy

i think it's the permethrin, and sorry, that was a typing slur (PAM, not pov).

there is another thread about it...

i'm specifically looking for information on the pest strips. i know they used to be used, but how large to cut the pieces i have no idea. i do know that too much can kill, so i'd like to hear from people who have used them for years (as mentioned by others in different posts and threads).

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I have used the No Pest strips years ago. However, I never did break off pieces and place them in the enclosure. We just put the whole strip on a shelf in the snake room, and let it work like that. With that said, I never did use it in the treatment of mites, but did attempt to kill some rodent lice with it. It did not work. What it did do was kill every roack, cricket, spider and insect in the room for many months.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Before the advent of P.A.M there were a number of home remedies used against mites. I've used Vapona (no-pest-strip) before and Sevin dust. The no-pest-strip is a yellow plastic/gelatin like substance that's impregnated with the pesticide. In this state you can't get it anymore for home use, however you can find it in farm supply stores for use in your barn. What we would do would be to cut a 1 inch square off of the strip and put it inside a plastic film canister that had been drilled full of small holes and place the canister in your cage for a few days, the problem with this stuff is that it's so strong that you don't want to leave it in with your snakes longer then a couple of days, then in a week or so put it in for a couple of more days. It kills the mites that are in the cage but not the eggs. (I don't think anything kills mite eggs)

Another product I used was called sevin dust. This is a horticultural product designed to kill plant mites. You'd put a bunch of the dust into a sock and tie it up. Then pat the sock around your cage so that the dust came out and covered the surfaces, the mites would crawl through the dust, become desiccated and die. This was generally safer to use then the no-pest-strips but it was more labor intensive. You had to scrub everything down and re-apply every week.

Remember, these are POISONS. And YES they can be dangerous to use and you can kill your snakes if you over do it. Even with PAM.. (I've done it)

The problem with these home remedy's is that they don't last long and you have to keep re-applying them. The major advantage of PAM is that it lasts so dang long. I've had crickets die in a container that I had sprayed with PAM several months before. Like I said, nothing kills mite eggs. You have to wait for the eggs to hatch and then kill the baby mites. The problem with this is that the eggs can take weeks or even months to hatch. It's just a lot easier to apply PAM once rather then keep re-applying the other stuff every week for a couple of months.

Mark,
I am sure you have seen this before, but if not, it is a good read. This is a link to the Barker's write up on Mite History.
http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_...of_snake_mites

As stated in the reading, mite eggs usually hatch in 1 to 4 days. That is the reason PAM is so effective. It kills mites for up to 30 days. Therefore, you should be able to make it through one full life cycle before it wears off. However, just in case you didn't get everything killed, the can tells you to reapply 30 days after the original treatment.

Just some extra info,

thanks for the info guys! :)

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Originally Posted by muddoc

I have used the No Pest strips years ago. However, I never did break off pieces and place them in the enclosure. We just put the whole strip on a shelf in the snake room, and let it work like that. With that said, I never did use it in the treatment of mites, but did attempt to kill some rodent lice with it. It did not work. What it did do was kill every roack, cricket, spider and insect in the room for many months.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

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i have a roach issue,,actually my entire neighborhood does,but guess what room in my house they happen to love,,would stickin a couple of these in my room,,help with this issue??

just read more on the hotshot website,and since its a vapor,sliding on between tubs on my rack,,wouldnt be a good idea,so maybe breaking it into pieces 1/8th of it,and one piece on the lower level where the issue is more promiment?

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Originally Posted by RebelYell83

i have a roach issue,,actually my entire neighborhood does,but guess what room in my house they happen to love,,would stickin a couple of these in my room,,help with this issue??

just read more on the hotshot website,and since its a vapor,sliding on between tubs on my rack,,wouldnt be a good idea,so maybe breaking it into pieces 1/8th of it,and one piece on the lower level where the issue is more promiment?

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I guess you could try it. The strips opnly last about 4 months, and then they are worn out.

As for cockroach control, we now utilize Tokay Geckos. I have two of them that run loose in my Ball Python building. They are so good at roach control, I have to suppliment them with crtickets, or they would starve. I have seen 1 roach in my room in the last 15 months since I let the geckos go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Mark,
I am sure you have seen this before, but if not, it is a good read. This is a link to the Barker's write up on Mite History.
http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_...of_snake_mites

As stated in the reading, mite eggs usually hatch in 1 to 4 days. That is the reason PAM is so effective. It kills mites for up to 30 days. Therefore, you should be able to make it through one full life cycle before it wears off. However, just in case you didn't get everything killed, the can tells you to reapply 30 days after the original treatment.

Just some extra info,

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Yeah Tim, I've read that before and I gotta admit that it has always had me a bit confused. I've often wondered if maybe there isn't a typo in there somewhere maybe even in their original research material? I've often wondered if they didn't mean 1-4 WEEKS instead of 1-4 DAYS. I know I've read other material (which unfortunately I can no longer find) that stated that mite eggs can take up to 6 weeks to hatch depending on surrounding temperatures. If mite eggs typically only took 1-4 days to hatch, you wouldn't have so many people (myself included) who had to battle a re-infestation a month or two after their original problem. Of course with the advent of products like P.A.M it kind of makes the whole argument moot because one treatment lasts such a long time. Now you really CAN get rid of a mite infestation in one treatment whereas in the olden days (hehe, I sound like some kind of grandpa) You had to keep retreating every week for months in order to make sure you were mite free.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Yeah Tim, I've read that before and I gotta admit that it has always had me a bit confused. I've often wondered if maybe there isn't a typo in there somewhere maybe even in their original research material? I've often wondered if they didn't mean 1-4 WEEKS instead of 1-4 DAYS. I know I've read other material (which unfortunately I can no longer find) that stated that mite eggs can take up to 6 weeks to hatch depending on surrounding temperatures. If mite eggs typically only took 1-4 days to hatch, you wouldn't have so many people (myself included) who had to battle a re-infestation a month or two after their original problem. Of course with the advent of products like P.A.M it kind of makes the whole argument moot because one treatment lasts such a long time. Now you really CAN get rid of a mite infestation in one treatment whereas in the olden days (hehe, I sound like some kind of grandpa) You had to keep retreating every week for months in order to make sure you were mite free.

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Hey Bro,
Let me know if you ever find your other material, as I would love to read it.