grain mites

[eyeviper]

Are Grain mites harmless to your fruit fly cultures? I have never heard of a separation of types and thought all mites are bad. I was informed about grain mites after receiving a culture from a vendor that had more mites than fruit flies and told they do nothing..

[Gamble]

Originally Posted by eyeviper

Are Grain mites harmless to your fruit fly cultures? I have never heard of a separation of types and thought all mites are bad. I was informed about grain mites after receiving a culture from a vendor that had more mites than fruit flies and told they do nothing..

I recently had this same experience and was told the same thing. And like u, i was always under the impression that a mite is mite. (Maybe we purchased from the same vendor? ... PM me n let me know)

[eyeviper]

No one else? Grain mites? bull or no bull? I have never had mite issues before so to be honest have never spent much time researching them, if any. Everyone says mites are unavoidable....not in my experience so far so a bit surprised I received such a culture.

[mockachild]

Hey I received cultures from a vendo who told me the same thing but the mites compete with the FF for the media and the mites always win. I had to buy new cutures 3 times already because my cultures crash quickly.....

[SNAKEMANVET]

I just recieved my cultures and they are infested with mites also.I am now getting ready to make new cultures.I was very upset getting flies with mites.I am thinking about sending them back,I haven't opened the cultures yet.

[goof901]

Are you guys using mite paper?

[Gamble]

Originally Posted by goof901

Are you guys using mite paper?

I use the mite spray that i got with my fly kit.
But besides the fact, mite paper or not, these were all NEW cultures ... so mite paper/spray is irrelevant at this point.

From talking with everyone thru PMs ... it looks like we have all ordered from the same vendor.

Doesnt the website say "guarenteed mite free"? So in that thinking; grain mite or not it shouldnt b happening ... and it seems like when we all complained we all got the "grain mites r ok" response.

Bc of the refusal to make it right, i will no longer b purchasing ff cultures from this vendor.

Ill find somewhere else to get them.

Whatever happened to "the customer is always right?"


And we cant even post the name of the vendor bc then a certain mod will give us an infraction for voicing it. So its a catch 22 ... such BS. I love this board, but the politics here piss me off sometimes.

Nick

[SNAKEMANVET]

Same here,can't keep them out when they arrive already infested.

[ZookeeperDoug]

I've gotten cultures with mites from a vendor as well, in fact 3 different vendors. All were just grain mites. I was able to get the cultures to the point where they are virtually mite free but following a few simple steps.

1.) ALWAYS use mite paper or spray.
2.) Do not let cultures touch.
3.) Make cultures from your newest producing culture.
4.) Dust flies before adding to a new culture.
5.) Throw cultures older than 30 days away or move away from other cultures.

Following these cultures helps me keep mites in check and all my cultures produce very well, that being said, I am considering though, trying some of the Tedion products to add to cultures to kill mites. I know a few mites are still around in my cultures because my face is a little itchy after interating with them and this drives me nuts.

[Pumilo]

Just like any mites, grain mites will compete with your flies and maggots for resources. The vendor in question does NOT state a mite free guarantee, but still, it's too bad they have chosen to turn their back to the problem.
Here is a cut and paste of some PM's I have exchanged with somebody, that may help with future problems.


The fruitfly cultures came from xxxxxxxx. I mean the culture is loaded full of them.They are only in the produceing culture,I haven't seen any in the starter culture.

Unfortunately, I hear that a lot when a place produces a lot of fly cultures. I would be willing to bet they will show up in the new, non-producing cultures too. They would have been treated the same way. You are better off looking for a culture to start with from a local you trust. Then culture all your own. Always control...keep the on mite paper. When you start new cultures, dust the flies you are using heavily and then just use the top flies. (feed your frogs with the lower ones) This helps knock some of the mites off of the flies.

Thanks Doug,what should I use to dust with.I don't know of anyone local who is produceing/selling flies.I will send them a email today about the culture,I am not mad just alittle upset to start off with mite infested flies.


Just a superfine powder. It's the dust you are looking for in this case, not the nutrition or vitamins it supplies. The finest dust I know of is Repashy Calcium Plus. When my repashy Calcium Plus gets old, I save it for just this purpose. Oh, another mite control method is this. Mix up your culture with everything EXCEPT the top sprinkle of yeast and the flies. Microwave it till really hot. I go about 6 minutes for 5 cultures. This kills any mite eggs.


edit: Looks like Doug beat me too it!