6 replies to this topic

[lozow]

I live in Georgia and was told by a local ant keeper I wouldn’t have to worry about my Pheidole ants and getting infested with mites in their vivarium because they are a native species. I don't know how true this is and posted my question on ants canada forums and got no help so if you see this and can help in any way ill very much appreciate it.

[BugFinder]

I suspect native species also suffer from mites.

[ANTdrew]

There is zero truth to that statement. To prevent mites, boil all insects you feed the colony for three seconds. In a vivarium, try to have a healthy population of springtails to outcompete any trash mites. If issues arise, you can order predatory mites on Amazon that kill bad mites.

[lozow]

There is zero truth to that statement. To prevent mites, boil all insects you feed the colony for three seconds. In a vivarium, try to have a healthy population of springtails to outcompete any trash mites. If issues arise, you can order predatory mites on Amazon that kill bad mites.

[Chickalo]

Just because ant's are native doesn't mean they won't have mites.  As far as I know, mites live almost everywhere ants do, and if you live in Georgia I doubt you don't have mites.  Mites aren't that bad unless they get out of hand, it's somewhat easy to get rid of them when they first appear.  Usually in 2nd year colonies it's easier since they will usually get a growth spurt and it'll be harder for mites to breed.  I've heard lemon therapy works but I've never tried it.  Like what Antdrew said Springtails tend to outcompete trash mites (other soil creatures like isopods, millipedes, snails, etc, should, too).  Predatory mites work, unless, again your colony is growing quickly, but maybe you shouldn't risk it.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

The cave part of my terrarium is pretty much a vivarium so here's how I keep my ants safe in that scenario.

What I do is taking plants, mosses, rocks tree bark etc from an area where a healthy colony of my species lives.

I took a sample of workers from that colony to test my setup at home (especially because they are very humidity sensitive) and to check them for infestations of any kind.
Both of those tests were successful so I knew my ants would enjoy the tank and I could take things from that environment with minimal risk.

I don't clean anything besides rocks that I put in because I know that area already has a healthy balance of microfauna that those ants thrive in so for 1,5 years I've kept them with no issues and due to all the critters mentioned in posts above that came with the plants no clean up whatsoever because the decomposition cycle works fast without my intervention.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

I don't know if the vivarium is done already but one thing that's very important is a drainage layer with charcoal or activated carbon on top underneath your soil if you wanna have long term success.
Serpa designs on YouTube explains it perfectly.

What I also found is that shallow parts of soil allow the drainage to breathe better so you won't get any mold.
I had mold in the drainage once and improving soil distribution solved that issue quickly