How to Get Rid of Snake Mites Naturally with Stratiolaelaps

What Are Snake Mites?

Snake mites (Ophionyssus natricis) are one of the most common and frustrating pests in reptile keeping. While they primarily target snakes, they also infest lizards, turtles, crocodiles, and other reptiles. Found worldwide, these tiny parasites complete their lifecycle from egg to adult in just 7–14 days — meaning an infestation can escalate quickly.

Beyond the discomfort they cause, snake mites are a genuine health threat. They can transmit bacteria, parasites, and viruses between animals, and a heavy infestation will weaken a snake over time, leaving it vulnerable to secondary infections.

Why Are Snake Mites So Hard to Eliminate?

Snake mites are highly mobile and persistent. They can survive for extended periods without feeding, which means they can hide in enclosure cracks and crevices long after you think the problem is solved — only to reinfest your animals later.

Conventional insecticides present another challenge: many products that kill mites are potentially harmful to the reptiles themselves, making chemical treatment a risky approach. The standard advice — clean the snake, clean the enclosure — is necessary but often not sufficient on its own.

A Natural Solution: Stratiolaelaps scimitus

Stratiolaelaps scimitus (also known as Hypoaspis miles) is a predatory soil mite native to temperate regions worldwide. It is widely used in commercial horticulture as a biological control agent, and it is often applied to reptile enclosures as a safe, chemical-free way to combat snake mites.

Adults are tan in color, less than 1 mm long, and move rapidly across substrate surfaces. They are harmless to reptiles and pose no risk to the reptiles in your collection. They are generalist feeders and will also target fungus gnat larvae, thrips pupae and springtails. 

How Stratiolaelaps Works

Stratiolaelaps are active hunters that patrol the substrate of an enclosure, seeking out prey in the top layer of bedding and substrate. Each individual can consume 1–5 pest mites and eggs per day, and when snake mite populations are high, they get to work immediately.

Their optimal temperature range for development and activity of Strat mites is 59–86°F (15–30°C) — a range that overlaps well with the cool side of most reptile enclosures. They complete their own lifecycle in approximately 18 days at 68°F, with an equal sex ratio (1:1 female to male), meaning populations establish and sustain themselves efficiently.

When prey is scarce, Stratiolaelaps can survive as scavengers, feeding on algae and organic debris in the substrate — so they remain active in the enclosure even between mite pressure events. They do not feed on isopods. 

Note: Stratiolaelaps controls mites in the enclosure environment only. Any mites present on the reptile should be treated separately under veterinary guidance.

Product Information

Stratiolaelaps is supplied in a pasteurized peat/bran carrier mixture, which makes it easy to distribute across enclosure substrate. The smallest size available is 12,500 mites. If this is too much product, simply release some on houseplants for fungus gnat control or in garden beds. The carrier may also contain a secondary mite species as a food source to keep the predators active during shipping and storage.

To verify live mites: inspect the carrier under 10–15x magnification. Stratiolaelaps are tan and move quickly; the food source mites are white or translucent and move slowly.

Storage: Apply as soon as received. Do not refrigerate. If needed, containers can be stored on their side, out of direct sunlight, at 60–70°F for up to 7 days.

Application Rates for Reptile Enclosures

• Standard 40-gallon enclosure: 1,000–2,000 mites
• Per square meter of substrate: 100–500 mites

Distribute the carrier mixture evenly across the substrate. Stratiolaelaps will disperse on their own and begin hunting immediately. Repeat as needed. 

Further Reading

Review of the distribution and biology of the snake mite Ophionyssus natricis. Acarologia, 2024.