Fruit flies galore!

[MrsHaas]

Holy hell!! We have had a fruit fly outbreak in our house, big time. None of the traps or fly paper we've hung seems to work and it's getting ridiculous!
Two questions:
A) is there any thing I can spray or any safe and effective methods of killing this little buggers that won't potentially harm my ts?
B) do they pose any threat to my collection?
Any and all advice is welcome!! Thanks!

 

[Ellenantula]

I just fill a baby food jar 1/4 full with apple cider vinegar, then put plastic wrap/Saran Wrap on top of jar (using a rubber band outside around upper threads to make it super tight and secure). Then I punch a bunch of tiny holes through plastiwrap with a knife point. Fruit flies go in through the holes, can't figure out how to get back out. This is an old trick, been around a while -- but there are many variations of using ACV to catch them.

 

[Sana]

I just fill a baby food jar 1/4 full with apple cider vinegar, then put plastic wrap/Saran Wrap on top of jar (using a rubber band outside around upper threads to make it super tight and secure). Then I punch a bunch of tiny holes through plastiwrap with a knife point. Fruit flies go in through the holes, can't figure out how to get back out. This is an old trick, been around a while -- but there are many variations of using ACV to catch them.

That's the trick I use if we have an issue. I've also heard water with a touch of dish soap in place of ACV.

 

[SpiderDad61]

Dish soap in a shallow bowl near the problem. It's poison to them. Also, get a empty juice container. Remove the lid. Get a
Small piece of paper and roll it into a small funnel with 1 end the size of the container mouth and the other end 1/8" big. Turn
It 1/8" side down into the container and tape it on the mouth AFTER u fill the container with apple cider vinegar and fruit.
Apples n strawberries seem to work best. Fruit flies are stupid and after they fly in the mouth of the funnel and into the
container they can't find their way out, and die.

 

[Beary Strange]

The last time I had a major outbreak I used a combo of the vinegar trap Ellen mentioned and hanging tape around the areas they congregate in. But what really did it was these tiny little cobweb spiders that moved into my windowsills not long after.

I don't believe they pose a threat per se, but I have had them get into my dubia container. I fixed that by drying their container out a bit and covering the underside of the lid with Vaseline.

 

[shawno821]

The last time I had a major outbreak I used a combo of the vinegar trap Ellen mentioned and hanging tape around the areas they congregate in. But what really did it was these tiny little cobweb spiders that moved into my windowsills not long after.

I don't believe they pose a threat per se, but I have had them get into my dubia container. I fixed that by drying their container out a bit and covering the underside of the lid with Vaseline.

Believe it or not,you don't actually need lids for dubia colonies.I have 2 colonies of them,and took the lids off last year when I was getting condensation on them.Never had an escape.

 

[fowlmoodmandy]

My house chicken would make quick work of my dubia colonies if I didn't keep a lid on it lol. I have the fruit flies from hell too....coming handy to catch and feed to my slings. I take a 2 liter or 1 liter bottle and put some water with ACV and piece of banana in it. ....they get in there. I brew kombucha which is what attracts them but they can't get in the jars.

 

[Sana]

I had a harder time with fruit flies and other annoyances when I had my cricket incubator running. I changed up my methods and dropped the temperature and it helped a lot.

 

[MrsHaas]

Thank u guys I'm gonna try all of these!!!



--J.Haas

 

[Beary Strange]

Believe it or not,you don't actually need lids for dubia colonies.I have 2 colonies of them,and took the lids off last year when I was getting condensation on them.Never had an escape.

I know they can't escape; I keep mine lidded to keep a nice micro-climate in there. Plus I use their container as a table when feeding. x3

 

[Chris11]

Carnivorous plants. An interesting and effective long term solution.

 

[MrsHaas]

Carnivorous plants. An interesting and effective long term solution.

Ooh me likey!



--J.Haas

 

[Chris11]

I had a ff outbreak in my spider room and just got a venus flytrap and a butterwort and after a week or so no more pesky flies!

 

[MrsHaas]

I had a ff outbreak in my spider room and just got a venus flytrap and a butterwort and after a week or so no more pesky flies!

Where can I get one??



--J.Haas

 

[Chris11]

My local nursery had some carnivorous plants ovee the summber but i dont know about winter... i think you can go about ordering the over the interweb but i never have...

 

[peterUK]

Everyone is assuming that the flies actually are fruit flies, but if there isnt rotting fruit laying about then it is highly unlikely.

It is more likely that these are fungus gnats which is a totally different thing altogether and also a small chance of them being Phorid flies (fingers crossed that it isnt them !)

 

[MrsHaas]

Everyone is assuming that the flies actually are fruit flies, but if there isnt rotting fruit laying about then it is highly unlikely.

It is more likely that these are fungus gnats which is a totally different thing altogether and also a small chance of them being Phorid flies (fingers crossed that it isnt them !)

We'll, in the event that it isn't fruit flies, what's a good way to rid me of the other pests you suggested it could be? I wanna cover all my bases...

---------- Post added 11-10-2015 at 09:50 PM ----------

They started when our sink backed up... That's why I assume fruit flies...

 

[peterUK]

We'll, in the event that it isn't fruit flies, what's a good way to rid me of the other pests you suggested it could be?

Fruitflies have red eyes and are attracted to . . fruit


Fungus gnats are about the same size as ff and have feathery antenna.
These live around damp soil (substrate) and can be controlled by letting the substrate dry out so that the eggs and larvae die.
Another way is to add their natural enemy, the predatory Hypoaspis mite. I have used these myself several times and are very good (and safe to use with tarantulas)

http://www.defenders.co.uk/pest-problems/sciarid-flies.html

http://extension.colostate.edu/topi...s-gnats-as-houseplant-and-indoor-pests-5-584/

They started when our sink backed up... That's why I assume fruit flies...

If the flies appeared then i would start to worry as they are probably Phorid flies :evil:

Phorid flies are small black with a humped back and they will mostly run erratically around and around rather than fly away when approached.

These are an absolute nightmare to eradicate and can take months to get rid of them.

1) Keep all tanks as clean as possible (spot cleaning)
2) If you only have a few T's I would definitely consider changing all the spiders substrate immediately and be prepared to change it on a regular basis for the next few months
3) Consider keeping any prey insects in another part of the house or even better just dont feed the spiders until they are gone
4) Hang several sticky non toxic fly around the spiders tanks and change regularly
5) Let all the spiders tanks dry out

If you do a search on any tarantula forum there will be posts about these pests and maybe you can get several ideas to help you

http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/eh/docs/Specialized/Vector_Management/phoridFlies.pdf

 

[MrsHaas]

Our tanks are dry and clean. We have tons I fly paper hanging around. They are little black flies w black wings. We haven't seen them inside any of the enclosures. But we have 37 Ts and so it wouldn't be possible to just change their sub out lickity-split. I can't get up close to any to see their eye color. But they don't fly around erratically and seem to settle mostly on fruit when it's been out out as an experiment. They have lessened in number over the past week since we've been putting up paper, cleaning, and swatting.



--J.Haas

---------- Post added 11-11-2015 at 07:27 PM ----------

They don't look like the photos flies in the article u sent. They have black wings and they are larger than the actual size picture shown... Then again what do I know. Not I'm nervous!!!



--J.Haas