Whiteworm culture infested with mites and fruit flies...

BioHazard

BioHazard

Here and There
Mar 15, 2009
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PA
I am having an issue with my whiteworm culture. A month or so ago, it became infested with mites. I tried starving them out, but they seem to starve better than the worms do. I recently moved them to our unfinished basement, hoping the cooler temps would help, as the mites popped up after the room they were in got warmer.

Well, now I have mites AND fruit flies. :headshake2: Great.

So how do I get rid of SOME of the bugs (the flies and mites) without killing OTHER bugs (the worms)?

I can't imagine that the flies or mites would harm the fish. I know fish are supposed to like flies. Mites, I dunno. A lot of mites have noxious chemicals to make them unpalatable. But I doubt they would HURT the fish. But they are gross, and I DO NOT WANT!

Help??
 
Start a new culture from the existing one and make sure not to transfer over any unwanted guests. Make a better lid with smaller holes for the new culture to keep stuff out.
 
Dr. Awkward said:
Start a new culture from the existing one and make sure not to transfer over any unwanted guests. Make a better lid with smaller holes for the new culture to keep stuff out.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea, but I doubt it would be possible to avoid the mites. The full size is very small, and I suspect the juvies are nearly microscopic. MIGHT work for the fruit flies, but I doubt it with those as well.I am stumped. I don't want to nuke the whole thing...it is really big.

Has anyone else had this issue?
 
I have mites too & fruit flies in my red wiggler culture. I've started taking their plastic boxes outside to open & let out any flies. I squish any mites I see on the sides but I think they're just a part of worm growing. I get the cootie feeling afterward, LOL, the things we do for our fish!

You could try putting some worms in dish of water to wash off any mites or eggs & starting a new culture with clean worms. I don't know if it'd work or not.
 
I've never cultured live foods (someday!! I already have about 70 plain yogurt containers with lids) but I did get Michael Hellweg's excellent book on the matter, "Culturing Live Foods"

I am typing most of page 104 out for you :)

"The only potential drawback to culturing worms is that critters can get into the worm culture container and compete with the worms for food, or actually eat the worms themselves. This was more prevalent in the past when culture containers were made of wood than it is nowadays when they are made of plastic and have various contrivances for sealing the containers, but it still can happen. Mice will eat worms, especially whiteworms, and ants can sometimes become a problem. Both of these intruders are best controlled by proper pest control techniques. Fruit flies also can invade the culture. Small numbers of them can be controlled by using good old-fashioned fly paper. This contains no insecticides and is completely safe for use around fish. If the culture becomes infested with a large number of fruit fly maggots, it is best to remove some worms, discard the rest and the media, and start over.

It is likely that mites are the biggest threat to worm cultures. These tiny relatives of spiders and ticks either eat the food directly or eat the young worms. Either way, over time mites can take over a culture container. Mite prevention, though, is easy. There are commercial preparations available from scientific supply houses that prevent mites from climbing into the containers. Even without these barriers, infestations of mites can be prevented by keeping the culture containers tightly covered and poking only very tiny pinholes in the cover to allow air circulation. An alternative method is to keep the culture container in a large fish bad, sealed to keep out the mites. If a culture does become infested with mites, all is not lost. Harvest as many worms as possible and submerge them in water. Any rwemaining mites will float and can be poured off. The clean worms can be used to start a new culture."

phew :D
 
Thank you, Platy!!!

Geez, what a PITA. Starting over is going to be annoying, but I guess it can't be helped.
 
DRILL A HOLE IN THE LID AND STUFF THE HOLE WITH POLYESTER FILTER FIBER AIR GETS IN BUT NO MITES OR FLIES
 
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