Every creature on earth it seems has some of parasite that attaches itself to it.
Hermit crabs are no exception.
Granted, this situation may not appear life threatening.
If left unattended, mites will, in fact, cause your hermit crab quite a bit of unnecessary stress.
And that over a period of time may very well contribute to the early death of your crab.
The key to the elimination of mites actually found in one word - prevention.
It's far easier to take all steps possible to prevent their presence than to get rid of them once they arrive.
And when I say easy, it's really what I mean.
Your first step is to ensure that everything you place in the tank in which your hermit crab lives is sterilized.
This means that you need to boil everything for a minimum of 15 minutes before placing it in with your new friend.
Secondly, if and when you add a new crab to your tank, quarantine him before you place him with the rest of the group.
This quarantine period should be for at least several weeks to a month.
If you discover that your crab does have mites, then you'll want to bathe him immediately.
Many of these little, unwanted critters will simply come off in the water.
Be sure, though, that you wash your crab several times, because you won't eliminate all of them on the first wash.
Many of them are lurking inside your crab's shell.
It'll take several washings to lodge them from this spot.
Next, clean the tank out as well.
If you find mites on your crab, the chances are good that the cage is filling up with them as well.
In fact, the most effective way to eliminate them is to actually eliminate all the substrate, replacing it with fresh material.
If you simply can't afford to replace the substrate, then at the very minimum boil it to sterilize it, which effectively kills all the mites.
If your substrate material is gravel, you'll want it to dry naturally.
If you're using sand, you may bake it in the oven until it dries.