# Help Pls.- I think I have FF mites



## ZeeMan (Sep 19, 2008)

Hello everyone,

This morning I was going thru my hydei and melanogaster cultures.
I have about 16 going.
I noticed that in some of the cultures the adult flies and maggots were dead.
Then upon closer inspection, I noticed tons (I mean tons) of little tiny brown dots, smaller than a period. I also saw a quite larger translucent bugs.
Both the brown and translucent ones were on the outside and inside of the plastic tubs.

Are these the bad mites that kill cultures?
I tried to aviod the mite paper in fear that the FF's would absorb the insectide and then pass it on to my frogs. Does anyone else feel the same about the mite paper? Or has anyone has problems with the blue mite paper? I admit I can be a bit paranoid when it comes to chemicals and animals.

I guess I just need confirmation that these are the bad mites and not some harmless ones.
Sorry to sound frenetic, I am kinda freaking out cuz my kids have no flies for dinner.

Thanks,
Zee


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

i would say yes they are bad. every time Ive had a culture get them i scrap it and any near it. from what Ive seen they can bring a good culture to a screeching halt.


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## hexentanz (Sep 18, 2008)

From what I have observed yes the brown ones are bad, while the white ones are on the mild side. Mine tend to get the white mites all the time, but after too many failed attempts at fighting them I have given up. The darts will eat the mites as well so it is no biggie to me if they stay. I keep them under control by throwing out cultures once they near their end.

If you go the mite paper route you could always try raising the jars up if you are concerned about the chemicals leeching in to your cultures.


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

Those are definitely the 'bad' type of mite. As Maureen mentioned above, when I get the white mites in cultures they don't seem to have too much of an effect. But those brown ones can spell game over for all cultures in the general vicinity.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Even grain mites can affect production of the cultures. Mites are the reason I microwave and let my cultures cool before adding the baker's yeast and flies. As an additional precaution I keep all of my cultures that are 3 weeks or older in a seperate room. I also do not keep ff cultures near cultures of mealworms, flour beetles or drugstore beetles as these can also be sources of mite infestations. Since taking these precautions, I have not had a mite infestation in quite a while now. 

You can try to outculture the mites but this is a lot of effort and may not succeed, and you are probably better off aquiring some clean cultures and start over. Do not keep any new cultures in the same room as the infested cultures. 

Ed


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## ZeeMan (Sep 19, 2008)

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input.

I freaked out a bit before.
But as you guys had suggested, I am going to harvest whatever flies I can out of these current cultures and protect the newest uninfected cultures.
Having made extra cultures, hopefully some of the infected cultures will not completely crash.
I will have pinhead crickets overnighted in case of emergencies.

Thanks again, your input was much appreciated

Zee


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## afterdark (Jan 16, 2007)

ZeeMan said:


> I just wanted to thank everyone for their input.
> 
> I freaked out a bit before.
> But as you guys had suggested, I am going to harvest whatever flies I can out of these current cultures and protect the newest uninfected cultures.
> ...


FYI - bean weevils make a great, easy backup to FF's. They take about a month to get going but I've found they are very prolific and the frogs really go nuts for them.


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## ZeeMan (Sep 19, 2008)

Thanks Mike.

I have weevils but they are just starting off.
I got them in the Nov. 1 Long Island Reptile Show.
The adults all died off, hoping for the new wave to hatch soon.

I also have springtails, but being a newb, I haven't harvested those yet.
I don't know when the population is big enough for me to take them out to start feeding...I seeded the frog tanks but I have not seen any as of yet.


Thanks again,
Zee


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