another worried question concerning knats

[element19_98]

i came in from work today and noticed two tiny little knats in my pinktoes cage i quickly took the avic out and cleaned the cage and looked at all other cages there were no signs of them, i seperated the avic in another rook for the time being i looked all over the house and found a few of the knats near some dog food i had saet out i sprayed flying insect killer all around the dog food area were i found a few of them and then sprayed the outer rim of the door to my spider room,the knats themselves look tiny there mouse brown and fly pretty quickly there so small there hard to see with a nked eye,so my question is what do i do now ive cleaned my entire apt. from top to bottom making sure to get up the tiniest crumb ive put my krickets into a paper bag and taped them sut as to not attract more id say i personnaly killed 15 of the little nats after a thorough search of my place so do you think i can get this under control has anyone else seen or had trouble with these things any comments are greatly apprciated thank you

 

[MizM]

Most importantly... NEVER USE INSECT KILLER! Remember, it works on tarantulas too!

The "gnats" you are seeing are probably scuttle flies, the same little critters you see in your damp houseplants. They will not harm your tarantulas NEARLY as much as insect spray. If they truly are gnats, those are harmless in small numbers also.

The best remedy is to keep your enclosures bone-dry and keep ALL insect remains cleaned up. I have found that roly-poly bugs in my T enclosures do a great job of chowing down on any cricket legs, etc. that are left by my messy Ts.

Tiny little pests are highly attracted to dark, damp places, so be sure to keep your enclosures dry and ventilated.

 

[element19_98]

i put flying bug spray onto a paper towel and wiped it on the outside of the door frame of my spider room i didnt spray it directly onto or near the spiders just the outside of the frame,so i think they will be ok i keep them in a closed room with good ventilation on book shelves that that are coverd in glass that i had cut to make sort of a display case so i dont think thell come in contact wiht the spray,but i see your concern i hope im ok with that i was worried about spraying it but i thought it might be a good ditturent to the knats,and i feel that becase the t's are behind the door on the opposite side of the room and on shelves inside kk's coverd by glass doors that i would be ok

 

[element19_98]

now im im worried about the flying bug killer spray i wiped on the perimeter of the door outside my t. room ive since used a mixture of bleach and soapy water to wipe down the area i sprayed and ive changed all there substrate and washed all water bowls and cage hides with hot water and a toothbrush and set up a fan two circulate air in the room with an open window and placed them back in with fresh water they all seem fine the container said the active ingrediant was 0.10% tetramethrim and permethrin i hope i havent done more harm than good in trying to get rid of the possible scuttle flies i found in one of the tanks, im just trying to give them the best homes in my care gosh i feel like a crappy pet owner and i only have 9 t's,think im ok with the precautions that ive taken all replies are apprciated thank you

 

[element19_98]

bump.......

 

[Hedorah99]

If you have damp substarte, you are prolly gonna have those gnats. if you go spraying or removing your t's every time you see one, you are doing more harm to your pets than good. If you see one or two or even ten, its not a problem. If there are so many it chokes out the light, then you have a problem. hopefully they will be alright.

 

[BugToxin]

Here is what I do when I see the guys in one of my cages. Take an empty film canister or other similar sized plastic vial/box. Take a finger full of petroleum jelly (vasilene) and swab it all over the inside of the canister. Then take an adult cricket and smush it up inside with the vasilene. The smushed up cricket should stick to the slimy vasilene. Then tape the little fly trap you just made to one of the upper corners in your cage. Tape it in such a way as to not have any sticky parts that your T could get stuck in. I double up the tape and stick it in the corner. The little flies will go in and get stuck trying to get to the cricket. I have used this method several times and it has always worked. Hope that helps.

 

[MizM]

I'm sorry if I scared you with my paranoia... I just DO NOT use pesticides in any way, shape or form in or around my home. Yes, I have a wolf spider or two inside with lovely webs that catch ALL flying pesties. And everything in my garden is safe. I care more about the insects than to worry some dumb plant getting eaten.

There are so many natural ways of controlling pests that I (thankfully) haven't had the need to use chemicals.

 

[element19_98]

no you were right mizz m,i shouldnt of used that to try and make a barrier to control the knats,do you think there all ok as i said there in a seprate room at least 10 feet from where i wiped the contact pesticed and there in a glass case in side all of there enclosured i chaned all substrate in th cages and washed them out throughly and scrubed down all water dishes and hides,this is the 4th day and there all acting normal and all but 2 have fed but those two havent fed in a couple of weeks anyway,think it safe to assume there fine oh and a few hours after i wiped the pesticed i washed it off with a bleach solution,worried T keeper

 

[MizM]

Oh my! Just calm down hon, your Ts will be o.k. If you didn't spray it into the air, I can't imagine it affecting them. Relax. Sit back and enjoy the Ts, and if you see a gnat, just SQUASH HIS LITTLE HEAD IN!!!