How to control both humidity and temperature in your dermestid beetle enclosure

Temperature and humidity are both very important environmental conditions that you must monitor and control for optimal performance of your dermestid beetle colony. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but the easiest and most accurate way is to install a dual function thermostat and humidistat. 

A humidistat is a small electronic device that works just like a thermostat, except, instead of measuring and responding to a space’s temperature, it measures and responds to the space’s humidity. A humidistat works by automatically switching on/off connected humidity control devices such a humidifiers, dehumidifiers, air conditioners and fans. Unless you have advanced electrical skills, you should stick with one of the many plug-and-play models available.

Basic Option - ZooMed HygroTherm™ HT-10.  The HygroTherm™ HT-10 is a Thermostat and Humidistat all in one! It controls up to 1000 watts of combined temperature and humidity control devices. It has a 2-in-1 Remote Temperature/Humidity Sensor with 5 foot cable. It’s great for use with Zoo Med’s Repti Fogger™ Terrarium Humidifier or Repti Rain® Automatic Misting Machine. The HygroTherm™ has a nighttime temperature drop feature controlled by a photocell, built-in memory which stores settings in case of power failure and an alarm that can be set to flash when the temperature or humidity reaches extreme high or low levels.

• Controls temperature by turning on/off heating devices in “HEAT” mode or by turning on/off cooling devices (e.g. fan) in “COOL” mode.

• Temperature control range is 50°F to 122°F (10°C to 50°C)
• Humidity control range: 15% to 95% RH (Relative Humidity)

I have used other controllers by Ponie and InkBird but found them to be less reliable. You need to be certain the controller you choose can handle the wattage of the units you plug into control (heat lamp, dehumidifier, fan, etc.).

THE BEST and MOST RELIABLE OPTION - DIGITEN DHTC-1011. DHTC-1011 is an easy-to-use, safe and reliable digital temperature and humidity controller, which is used as over temperature protection and automatic temperature and humidity control system.

• Plug and play.
• Be able to control temperature and humidity simultaneously.
• Be able to connect with temperature and humidity devices at the same time.
• Be able to display measured temperature/humidity and set temp/humidity at the same time.
• Heating/Cooling function could be set separately for refrigeration and heating to protect temperature controller from violent change. Same as humidity Control.