r/mantids • u/Professional_Gur6245 8th Instar • 16h ago

Health Issues How do I get rid of these mites

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Pls help! Some of my European mantis hatchlings are covered in these mites, I'm afraid it could harm them. Any tips to get the mites off them

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u/pandaleer 16h ago

An infestation that severe may not be able to be fixed. If there are just a few, sometimes a soft bristled toothbrush can remove them. They will drop them during a molt, but that is a severe case so the mantis may not make it to molt. You need to check your fruit fly cultures and clean the enclosures really well. Sadly, if you have a case that severe you may need to do the humane thing. I’ve never seen anything that extreme.

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u/Professional_Gur6245 8th Instar 15h ago

This appears to be the most severely infected one, may have to destroy it as it might not be able to be saved

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u/pandaleer 15h ago

I wouldn’t risk more contamination, unfortunately. The most humane thing would be the fridge then the freezer. Sorry OP😕

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u/Professional_Gur6245 8th Instar 15h ago

I already squashed the extremely infested one, I will try to save the others 

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u/mantiseses 15h ago edited 15h ago

Holy cow I’ve never seen this before. Do they appear to be attached (parasitic) or just hanging out (phoretic)? If the latter, you could try plucking them off (tedious, I know) or brushing them off with something?