Mite Mite go away dont come back some other day if I will if I may KILL A STINKING MITE TODAY!I cant stand them.There I am with my fatigues on, my brow sweating as the war rages on.A few months have gone by and no matter what I try those dang mites keep returning!They are warriors of the sneaky type.Hiding in the day and attacking at night!So I have planned my attack........Oh yea my brow was sweating my teeth were clenched I held the granade in my hand.It was my last effort every thing had failed and this is all out war now.I would pull the pin and wait three seconds and then throw it into the enclosure destroying every mite in its path.My mind races as the stand off becomes longer I think of my friends and my neighbors how would the neighborhood feel about a live grenade destroying the neighborhood?Well I did not care this is my fate it was either me or them and I would not let them win!You wont break me! I yelled at the top of my lungs,but they just seemed to laugh I could hear their little party going on drinking their bloody maries made with my snakes blood!I slowly put the pin to my mouth I tasted the green and black war paint as the sweat ran into my mouth, and while I knew disaster would happen I could not avoid the need for revenge although I would have no place to live I did not care because neither would they!I pulled the pin with my teeth waited for what seemed an eternity 3 seconds before I threw in the granade dieeeeeee!!!!!!!!!You could hear me yell as I ran out the back door KABLOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!yessssss!!!!!I won!As I stood looking at my house in shambles I did not care because victory was mine and oh how sweet it is! Do you ever feel like this?I know how frustrating it can be.I had a room full of snakes I had never encountered mites but one other time and that snake was the only one so it was cured fast.Any how I just bought a gorgeous rainbow boa from the local pet store.I put the snake that was in a bag in the room to keep it warm.The room was heated to 85 degrees.I then took the snake to my friends house where there was more room.A month past and I was cleaning my albino burmese cage.What are those little bugs?Oh no miiiiiiites! I looked around so many cages no my papuans dont have them I looked yes they did!My retics surely staved off their attack no they did not!My anacondas my boas my kings all my snakes infected!Most were in large custom wooden cages what do I do?I cusulted a veterinarian.I used an ivermectin spray surely that would kill them.Every cage was cleaned about 20.Every snake was sprayed it took 2 days to do it all.I would wait another week and repeat.I repeated yes I thought I was done how wrong I was!I tried special bedding to rid the mites Nope.O.K. these reptile sprays on the market should work right?Nope.How about flea shampoo for dogs or olive oil?Nope nothing worked.However I stumbled on to the mites worst enemy!The no pest strip!I had heard of its magical powers and decided to try it.Did it work?Nope!What it should have worked!Well the recommendations are wrong on how to use these 24 hours in and then out for 24 and then in for 24 and then repeat in 2 weeks?BULLPUCKY! ITS A BUNCH OF CRAP!Mites laugh at that exposure.So it took me 3 years to finally rid my collection of mites.Three long frustrating years!That was a long time ago I have since learned how to use this miracle against its enemy!First let me say this treat every snake you get like it has mites because it probably does!You may not see them but they are lurking under the scales!Mites are tiny bugs that suck the blood of reptiles.They get under the scales and hang on like ticks do except they do not clamp down in the skin and are easy to pull out with cutips.They breed and hatch so fast that a snake can be overcome by them and literally crawling with them in a short month.Here is how to rid yourself of them.First a plastic shoe box or sweater box is the best method for smaller snakes and those that will fit into them.The plastic seems to hold in the toxins very well and has a lingering effect releasing them for a few days after the strip is removed.The snake should be soaked for a few hours in warm water.The enclosure should just have newspaper for a substrate.A small piece should be cut off of the strip.These are the big ugly smelly yellow rubbery bug strips.A piece of about 2 inches by 3 inches is perfect fo a sweater box.It should then be place in a Garden vegetable ziplock bag,you know the type with the holes in it.It should be sealed and taped to the top of the enclosure.The snake should be put back in.No water should be given and the enclosure should stay dry and not become humid regardless of the species.This should be left in for a full week!I have used this method on baby boas and pythons with no problem!I would be weary about smaller snakes.I have never killed a snake leaving the strip in that long.The trick is this.The enclosure should smell like the strip if it does not smell to you the strip will NOT work in the enclosure.However the smell should NOT be overwhelming.You should be able to crack the lid of the enclosure and smell the strip but it should not knock you out.If you can smell it you are on the right track.Treat every snake in the same vicinity at the same time!O.K. a week goes by remove the strip.Clean the enclosure with bleachy water place fresh newspaper in and then replace the snake.One week later clean the cage with bleachy water fresh newspaper yada yada yada snake back in with the strip for another week.This should be done three times that is strip bleach,strip bleach,strip bleach.After that you are done!Remeber to clean the outside and around the enclosure also!That should be it no more mites!For larger enclosures you need a larger strip.For my 3 and 4 foot enclosures I use one entire strip for a week maybe two.And use the same procedure as the plastic tubs.This does work on wooden cages its just that the right amount of strip should be placed in the enclosure.For my large 4x4 x2s I use two entire strips for 2 weeks on and two weeks off.The snakes in these enclosures are large enough and will not die from this exposure.Again even in wooden cages the trick is to have the enclosure smell like the strip when the door is opened but it should not be so strong as you can not stand it.Bleach the cage and 3 seems like a magical number always repeat three times.Carpeting should be treated with a commercial mite spray also if the snakes enclosure rests on it.Also with the wooden enclosure in addition to bleaching the cage I then spray it inside and out with a commercially available mite spray.Let this dry and place the snake back into the clean enclosure.DO NOT spray the cage the time before the mite strip goes in.Only after it has been removed for that week or two.If you use two weeks on in the large wooden enclosures use two weeks off also.One week on one week off get it?All new snakes should be quarantined and treated during quarantine just in case take no prisoners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!P.s. I did not really nuke my house you didnt beleive me did you?