Little mites on my crabs

[sarahlovescrabs]

there are little, teeny tiny white mites crawling on my crabs back! Thay are SUPER small and I have washed my crabs and they wont come off.

[JoeHermits]

Sounds like food mites, which are harmless. They’re attracted to warm, humid environments full of food.

Hermit crab mites will latch on to the crabs’ antennae, eyestalks, and leg joints. They can only be introduced by an infected hermit crab.


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[sarahlovescrabs]

Thanks! Do you know if there is any way to get them off? (Their kinda annoying)


I wonder which crab was infected because I have not gotten new crabs recently.

[JoeHermits]

Those wouldn’t be brought in by a crab. Parasitic mites latch on and won’t run around on a crab like that.

Food mites live in our homes. There’s no real way of getting rid of them since they’ll just come right back.

If they’re bugging you, change out fresh foods before they start to rot (within twelve to twenty-four hours). Some people have also found “clean-up crew” animals like isopods and springtails help keep mites in check by competing for food.


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[sarahlovescrabs]

Ok. Thanks again! I am so relieved that they are not harmfull!

[Jkosty]

I used to have all sorts of problems with mites, and I stressed about it like none other. I washed my crabs in salt water, fresh water, fresh water with stress coat, etc. to get rid of them. None of it worked, and it was super stressful for the crabs. One of my crabs actually died this way, still unsure if due to mites, general bad health, or if it was the stress of washing them.

Anyway, I don't give my crabs baths anymore ever. I give them water and they bathe themselves, but that's another topic.

The best way I've found to get rid of mites is... wait for it... more mites. Predator mites are species of mites that eat other mites (and other tiny insects) but not your crabs. They've been used in gardening to control aphids, spider mites, and other pests. As it so happens these little guys will eat the mites right off your crabs and out of the top layers of substrate in your crabitat. After they run their course (and out of a food source), they die off and your crabitat is mite free once again.

I've used them twice to great success, and would probably do it again if I was sure my crabs had parasitic mites on them. Like others have said though, the white mites you're seeing on your crabs potentially aren't harming them. The parasitic mites are red and stick to their joints and eye stalks.

[wodesorel]

If they are food mites, you can try to bait them in by putting banana slices on the substrate, and then removing them a few hours after lights out and scooping the surrounding substrate away. Its not going to get rid of them completely, but if you have a lot it should cut down on their numbers. They love banana.

[AwesomeHermit]

If they’re bugging you,
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Lol!