Nitty Gritty Mite Questions
Alright, I'm dealing with mites for the first time and I've got some predators on the way, and provent a mite in case the bugs can't get the job done.
But, my snakes do get (supervised) time to free explore their (snake proofed) room I've got a bunch of questions about making sure I get the infestation totally under control that I'd love some input on. Obviously free roaming is canceled until this is under control.
I assume that because the snakes have been around the room I should treat it as infested as well as the enclosures. I'd *really* prefer not to spray the whole room with pesticides so I'm trying to figure out how to control and eradicate them without that.
1. Can mites get established in parts of the house that do not contain reptiles?
2. Is there a household cleaner that will kill mites that I can use to treat the floor and non-fabric furniture?
3. How long do I need to freeze something to kill mites and eggs? For things like linens (the reptile room is where my spare linens and clothes are kept) will putting them through the dryer kill them?
4. How long can mites and eggs survive? If I bag stuff up and toss it in the basement when is it safe to bring back in? This mainly seems important for fabrics that I can't launder.
5. How thorough do I need to be? Do I treat this like a bedbug situation and consider every nook and cranny a hot spot or is it more of an ant-type problem, take care of the source (snake enclosures) and it'll resolve itself?
6. For my mother who is convinced I am going to die of snake related causes...Apparently they do bite humans. Are they DaNGerOUs? Are you sure? Aren't there DISEASES they might carry?! Okay, hold on, but what if they turn out to be a vector for a muted form of covid....
Re: Nitty Gritty Mite Questions
See my post #2 at https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Mite-questions
This document details how long each stage of the mite can survive without a blood meal.
http://denardo.lab.asu.edu/publicati...snakemites.pdf
