For the past few months I have had reoccurring problems with bugs. I'm not talking about mites or harmful bugs. I am taking about small little beetles that multiply everywhere and eat the hermit crab food. They are annoying and are almost impossible to get rid of. Not too long ago I gave one of the 40 gallon tanks a deep cleaning. I got rid of all the substrate, baked the wood products, boiled the rocks and shells, and scrubbed down the plastics. It was a lot of work! In total in took me about three day with a couple hour sessions each day. This got rid of the bug problem for a while.
I still have a bug problem with the same type of bugs. They just never seem to leave. Maybe they are bugs that live in my house that make their way into the cage. It's a mystery on how they keep coming back. However the good news is that I have found a way to trick the bugs. It requires a bit of extra work but it works pretty well. If you have a bug problem similar to mine this may work for you as well!
What I have been doing is putting the food bowl in the middle of a water dish. I fill the bowl with rocks so the bowl stays out of the water. Keep in mind that hermit crabs with heavy shells will climb into the bowl. Putting the bowl in one of their already existing water bowls or putting in another with work. In one of my tanks I put the bowl in an already existing bowl but in another I added a small bowl that just exceeded the rims of the food dish. You want the food dish to be able to sit in the water bowl without touching the sides. Also make sure the crabs can still get to it! This way the bugs are unable to reach the food dish but the crabs can still eat.
If the crabs can or will be drinking from the water bowl you will want to completely change the water at least once a week to prevent food from molding in the water and your crabs from drinking the dirty water. In one of my water bowls (with a food dish in it) I added a plastic grid with some fish net wrapped around it. This is submerged in the water so that the food dish can sit on top of it. This helps catch bigger chunks of food that the hermit crabs might drop in the water.
I have used this method for about two months now and it works pretty well. I haven't had any bugs in the cage since and I hope it stays that way. It's a bit more work to care for the tank but at least I don't have to worry about a bug infestation!
Written By: Emily Huang
I still have a bug problem with the same type of bugs. They just never seem to leave. Maybe they are bugs that live in my house that make their way into the cage. It's a mystery on how they keep coming back. However the good news is that I have found a way to trick the bugs. It requires a bit of extra work but it works pretty well. If you have a bug problem similar to mine this may work for you as well!
What I have been doing is putting the food bowl in the middle of a water dish. I fill the bowl with rocks so the bowl stays out of the water. Keep in mind that hermit crabs with heavy shells will climb into the bowl. Putting the bowl in one of their already existing water bowls or putting in another with work. In one of my tanks I put the bowl in an already existing bowl but in another I added a small bowl that just exceeded the rims of the food dish. You want the food dish to be able to sit in the water bowl without touching the sides. Also make sure the crabs can still get to it! This way the bugs are unable to reach the food dish but the crabs can still eat.
If the crabs can or will be drinking from the water bowl you will want to completely change the water at least once a week to prevent food from molding in the water and your crabs from drinking the dirty water. In one of my water bowls (with a food dish in it) I added a plastic grid with some fish net wrapped around it. This is submerged in the water so that the food dish can sit on top of it. This helps catch bigger chunks of food that the hermit crabs might drop in the water.
I have used this method for about two months now and it works pretty well. I haven't had any bugs in the cage since and I hope it stays that way. It's a bit more work to care for the tank but at least I don't have to worry about a bug infestation!
Written By: Emily Huang