With a huge number of people who keep reptiles also keeping their own dubia roach colony as a food source for their reptiles, we commonly see people asking questions about maintaining dubia roaches in optimal health.
Some people even keep dubia roaches as their primary pet now too with some questions being asked form this community too but this is much rarer than people farming dubia roaches for food for their reptiles.
Although dubia reached are pretty hardy and easy to care for, some people do have problems with dubia roach mites in their colony so we wanted to publish this article to help our readers who keep dubia roaches.
Now, there are a number of ways that you can quickly and easily treat dubia roach mites with various chemicals that won’t harm the dubia roach.
The issue is, with so many people farming dubia roaches as a food source for their reptiles, these chemical treatments are ruled out so we will be focusing on other methods for this article.
What Are Dubia Roach Mites?
Dubia roach mites are tiny little creatures that live off the dubia roach. They are barely visible to the naked eye and you will need a magnifying glass to see them properly.
These dubia roach mites will attach themselves to the dubia roach and drink its blood which can quickly lead to anemia and death of the dubia roach if left untreated.
While dubia roach mites don’t carry any diseases that can be passed on to your reptile, they are a big nuisance and can quickly ruin an entire dubia roach colony if left unchecked.
How Do I Know If My Dubia Roaches Have Mites?
The first signs of dubia roach mites are usually a loss of appetite in the dubia roaches and they will start to look a little lethargic.
As the mite infestation progresses, you will start to see dubia roaches with missing legs and wings as the mites will feast on these body parts. In severe infestations, dubia roaches can be completely covered in mites which will eventually lead to death.
If you suspect that your dubia roaches have mites, the best thing to do is to isolate the affected dubia roaches into their own container. This will help to prevent the spread of the mites to the rest of your dubia roach colony.
Is It Normal To Have Issues With Dubia Roach Mites?
It is not normal to have dubia roach mites in your colony but it is something that can happen from time to time.
A well maintained, self-sustaining dubia roach colony that replenishes the lost dubia roaches used for feeding your pets should be relatively easy to protect from dubia roach mites.
The problem is that dubia roach mites can be far more common in some locations than others and although it can be rare to have problems with dubia roach mites in colder climates, they can becoming problematic in warmer climates in some situations.
What Causes Dubia Roach Mites?
There are a number of reasons why dubia roach mites can end up in your colony including wild dubia roaches bringing them in, other insects bringing them in or even yourself bringing them in if you are not careful.
It is important to remember that dubia roach mites are tiny creatures that can easily attach themselves to clothing, shoes or anything else that comes into contact with them.
This means that if you don’t take the necessary precautions, it is very easy to bring dubia roach mites into your dubia roach colony without even realizing it.
How Do I Get Rid Of Dubia Roach Mites?
There are a number of methods that you can use to get rid of dubia roach mites but the most important thing is to act quickly.
The longer you leave it, the more dubia roaches will be affected and the harder it will be to get rid of the dubia roach mites and the more likely it is that the mites will cause your dubia roaches to perish.
One of the best methods for getting rid of dubia roach mites is to use a product called “Mite-B-Gone”. This is a natural product that uses essential oils to kill dubia roach mites and it is safe to use around dubia roaches.
The problem is that products like Mite-B-Gone as well as their chemical based alternatives usually prevent the dubia roach roach from being used as food as it is not safe to inject by your pet reptiles anymore.
Due to this, we usually recommend the slower, harder, manual mite removal produce and although it takes more effort, it makes sure that your dubia roaches are fine for your reptiles and other pets to eat if needed.
There are a number of different ways that you can go about this but this is our general process to manually remove dubia roach mites from your colony but adjust the method as required for your needs.
Clean The Bin
The first thing that you need to do is to clean the dubia roach bin. This means removing all of the dubia roaches, substrate, egg flats, water dishes and anything else from the bin.
Once everything has been removed, give the entire dubia roach bin a good clean with hot soapy water.
This will help to remove any dubia roach mites that are hiding in the bin as well as any eggs that might be present.
Once you have finished cleaning the dubia roach bin, make sure to dry it off completely before continuing.
Shake The Roaches
The next step is to take your dubia roaches and put them into a large container. Once they are in the container, give them a good shake so that any dubia roach mites that are on them fall off.
You might want to do this a few times to make sure that you get rid of as many dubia roach mites as possible. You may be surprised at just how many dubia roach mites actually fall off the roaches at this stage.
The dubia roaches can then be placed back into the dubia roach bin.
Reduce The Humidity
One of the reasons that dubia roach mites can be such a problem is because they thrive in humid conditions.
This means that one of the best ways to get rid of dubia roach mites is to reduce the humidity in the dubia roach bin.
You can do this by removing any water dishes from the dubia roach bin and making sure that the lid is not tightly fitting.
You might also want to consider using a dehumidifier in the room where the dubia roach bin is located.
Increase The Temperature
Another way to get rid of dubia roach mites is to increase the temperature in the dubia roach bin.
Dubia roach mites prefer cooler temperatures so by increasing the temperature, you will make the dubia roach bin less hospitable for them.
A good way to do this is to use a heat lamp or a basking bulb. Just make sure that the dubia roaches can move away from the heat source if they start to feel too warm.
Clean All Surfaces
Another good way to get rid of dubia roach mites is to clean all of the surfaces that the dubia roaches have been in contact with.
This includes any egg flats, water dishes, cages, substrates and anything else that the dubia roaches have been in contact with.
These surfaces should be cleaned with hot soapy water and then dried completely.
Any dubia roaches that have been in contact with these surfaces should also be shaken off before being placed back into the dubia roach bin.
Vacuum The Surrounding Area
Another good way to get rid of dubia roach mites is to vacuum the surrounding area.
This includes any carpet, furniture, floors and anything else that might be within close proximity to the dubia roach bin.
Any dubia roach mites that are present will be vacuumed up and removed from the area.
Freeze Roaches Prior To Use
Even after all of this, some people will still freeze their dubia roaches prior to feeding them to their reptiles to make sure that the mites are dead.
At this stage, provided you have gone over everything above, there is usually no need to freeze your dubia roach prior to use.
Some people will skip all of the stages above and just freeze their dubia roaches to quickly kill the mites on the prior to using them as food though. Depending on your situation, this can also work well and get you the results you need when strictly using the dubia roaches as food for reptiles.
