# Slow-worm mites, nothing online about it?



## elephantbird

Hi - I got slow-worms in my wormey and this year they are carrying some kind of mite which are multiplying by the day, all the slow-worms have got them on tips of theyre tails and they are spreading up the body, am really worried for them as I see them as pets even though they live in my compost area which I have made cat and rat proof so they can go about their business in peace. Any help would be appreciated. BTW how do I add pics?


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## panther_87k

i cant offer any advice about your problem, im sure someone else will be able to help there.
to post pics, upload the images to somewhere like photobucket.com then copy and paste the IMG code into your reply, that should work


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## elephantbird

*here's pic if of any use?*

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb77/ihatethatduck/slow-wormmites.jpg


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## vawn

I am imagining they would/could be something like snake mites, there is alot of good advice on them in the snake forum


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## vawn

elephantbird said:


> http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb77/ihatethatduck/slow-wormmites.jpg


omg that looks nasty, still worth trying out the usual techniques? baths, frontline etc?

edit; there is also advice on uploadin pix in the help section on the forum (img not url lol)


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## Speeple

They look like tics that some of our native reptiles are prone to. A macro shot might help to identify them accurately, but it's likely Ixodes ricinus, are there any farms with livestock close by?

I guess it's feasible to treat by using a tiny amount of spay on Frontline with a cotton bud - but defender mights might be your best and most natural option given their living arrangements.


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## elephantbird

Yeah, am in countryside, farms everywhere, also we got dogs which we treat with frontline when they get fleas have also a family of box turtles which am worried could get the things to but so far they're ok. Have taken to manually scraping the ticks/mite off which is tricky as I don't wanna make them drop they're tails especially the little ones. 

Ideally I'd get some of these predator mites but I don't think you can get them in UK.


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## freekygeeky

elephantbird said:


> Yeah, am in countryside, farms everywhere, also we got dogs which we treat with frontline when they get fleas have also a family of box turtles which am worried could get the things to but so far they're ok. Have taken to manually scraping the ticks/mite off which is tricky as I don't wanna make them drop they're tails especially the little ones.
> 
> Ideally I'd get some of these predator mites but I don't think you can get them in UK.


you can they are called defender mites, we have used them on our collection.
but i tdont think they are mites anyway.


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## freekygeeky




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## jabba212006

Log onto www.defenders.co.uk and go to scarid fly treatments... they have a predatory mite called hypoaspis miles...totally natural and wont harm anything other than the mites that are feeding on your slow-worms...they'll have a great time in amongst all them little buggers....

they cost £12.95 for 10,000 and you just sprinkle them around the affected area's where the slow's live...let them do the rest...: victory:


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## jabba212006

not sure if they look the same but take a look at grass flea's on google images: victory:


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## elephantbird

Thanks for replies, OK , I bought these predatory mite things even if they don't work I gotta try as I've recently found some victims of the things. I found a few babies that where literally covered in them one was barely alive and out in the open - I've got as close a pic as I can but its not a great phone camera, sorry

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb77/ihatethatduck/horriblemiteinfestation2.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb77/ihatethatduck/horriblemiteinfestation3.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb77/ihatethatduck/horriblemiteinfestation.jpg


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## Speeple

Wow that's really savage. I'd be inclined to nuke the bastards with Frontline given their numbers, but if you can get predatory mights pronto try that first.


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## freekygeeky




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## freekygeeky

I too would frontline they are in there thousands, so will easily kill the reptile.


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## elephantbird

*Maybe sexton beetles are to blame?*

Just a note that I seem to have made a discovery as to where the mites have come from , basically alot of sexton beetles in the compost I've recently noticed these mites on them and found out they are normal to be on these beetles as they eat small maggots and stuff. I have loads of fruit flies and their larva in the compost so maybe they are using the slow-worms as transport to get around, I still cant be sure though?


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## Speeple

Interesting.

By the way, I've got to retract my previous suggestion of using frontline. Using a biological method of introducing defender mites is the best bet as I fear smaller slow worms might themselves eat the very mites you're treating, which could poison the slow worms you're trying to save.

Human intervention of removing them from the slow worms will be very worth while in the long run I'd imagine.


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## Billy19

Hello everyone, apologies for bumping an old topic, however finding info on slow worm mites proving a real challenge.

I have a similar problem with the slow worms in my compost, has anyone been able to clarify what the orange mites are? Are they parasitic or harmless?

The mites have been compared to the ones on saxon beetles - those mites are harmless and live symbiotically with the beetle.

Can anyone provide more substantial information on this subject?

Thanks!!


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## vawn

:hmm: well, if these mites occur naturally with the slow worms... i have never seen any scale damage at all on any slow worm... maybe it's safe to assume they are ok?
unless of course they are to that kind of extent (was the slow worm previously injured? is that what is attracting all those mites?) will the mites just rub/wash off? defender mites can have an adverse affect on the area you live in, i used them once, all my potted plants died...
if they are not too harmless, as it might seem, wash them off imo


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## elephantbird

*Mites are back!!!! AND KILLING BABIES!!!*

A few year ago I posted this topic about the slow-worm mites, and past couple of summers I had no problem with them, infact didn’t see any. This week (has been particularly hot and dry recently?) I found a dead sexton beetle in there compost just as all the babies are being born, anyway I've found many dead baby slow worms with minute mites around there faces and all the others I found are in the early stages of being killed by them. I think they are the same mite, just tiny baby mites?. Anyone know of anything I can do before they kill all this year’s crop!??? HELP...


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## elephantbird

*evacuate surviving babies?*

I think I should try and find as many newborn slow-worms as I can and try to scrub the buggers off somehow, they are attacking around the eyes and face stopping them from eating, They haven't moved on to the larger slow-worms yet


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## elephantbird

*Pic of dead and dying*

Mobile Photobucket


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## freekygeeky

Oh my poor things. Could you make a new area for the snaks to live, and attempt to move them to another section?


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## vipera

*slow worms*

I've seen these mites once in a slow worm colony some years ago, they can certainly kill them. Personally if it was me I'd try the biological control again, seems like the best approach as you cannot stop them reinfesting themselves in the heap even if you clear the mites from the lizards themselves.
May be worth posting in the lizard section, more traffic in there.


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## freekygeeky

You have PM.


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## elephantbird

*Killer Mites Update*

Thanks for replys been really useful, I didn't evacuate them in the end. I stopped watering compost and also putting in as much food waste as I have a feeling it helps mites spread. So far there are only small traces of the bigger(adult?) mites on the tails of the adult slow-worms and semi adults, I also found 3 babies alive that seem to be coping ok even though they had a few of the killer tiny (Baby?) mites around there necks. Im gonna leave it this year and see if any babies make it. If they don't then I'll atleast know whats gonna happen for next time.


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