No, the veg oil thing is not necessary as water drowns mites just as efficiently as oil does. Putting oil on a snake is just, well, not needed and will probably just stress them out.Originally Posted by Beauty the BP
The method you desribe above in no way does anything to erradicate a mite infestation. Vegetable oil does not kill mite eggs or larve. I don't know where you got this information from, but please do not spread this info around as it does not work. I realize that this method is an "old skool" mite remedy, but this hobby has come a long way, and with products like Provent-a-mite readily available, there's no reason to spread that kind of mis-information.