Fruit Flies

Vanilla

Arachnosquire
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Oct 13, 2006
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I just found a LOT of fruit flies in my millipede tank.We just moved into a new apartment and I never had fruit flies until now...so I am assuming they were around here.There are tons of trees out back too.

Anyway I cleaned everything,but I was wondering if there is anyway to prevent them?
 

petshopguy

Arachnosquire
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Jun 13, 2007
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how can u discard food promptly?

yeah but how can you discard food promptly with milli's? these guys need their food to sit and 'age', and get moldy and broken down. only way to avoid is to have an impregnable barrier. thin mesh, panty hose, etc. these ideas have been offered on other threads before.
 

froggyman

Arachnoangel
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Nov 26, 2006
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the mesh works too, i changed the food in my millipedes tank every 2-3 days and in that period they seem to eat most of it
 

Savvo

Arachnopeon
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Jul 8, 2007
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Are there fruit trees mixed up in the bunch outside your home? When they drop fruit, the flies come like crazy. I used to have 6 fruit trees in my backyard, and the flies appeared by the thousands when the fruit started to drop.
 

Vanilla

Arachnosquire
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I will see about getting some mesh for the top of the tank.

There are trees in the back,but not fruit trees.They are maple trees.I have never had a problem with fruit flies before,so this is a new thing and it only happened since we moved to the new apartment.
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
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Oct 22, 2006
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I still like my frequent suggestion whenever this comes up:

Carnivorous plants! {D
 

Texas Blonde

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I still like my frequent suggestion whenever this comes up:

Carnivorous plants! {D
Oh wow, are pitcher plants awesome for getting rid of fruit flies. Ive also noticed that they will land in the candle wax if I have a candle burning, so yesterday I lit about twenty tea lights around my apartment, and turned all the lights off. After about two hours, over 100 fruit flies lay dead in the melted candle wax. Muahahahaha!
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
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Horray for evilness! {D Every time one of my pitchers browns and starts to dry, I'll check inside before I discard it -- there's always plenty of half-decomposed fruit flies and gnats sitting in the bottom.

When Lori picked up some sundews they were covered with bugs within a few hours.

If you go with this option, Vanilla, make sure you look up proper carnivorous plant care -- the internet is ripe with plant myths that are surely to send them to an early compost pile. :( I know a few good people to go through if you want info. :)
 

Rav

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Aug 2, 2007
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I have also been getting tiny bugs on fruit in my Milli tank, but I don't think they are fruit flies. They are just tiny little black specks (much smaller than the mites on my Milli for example), and they don't seem to fly, just crawl around very slowly. They infest any fruit in less than 24h, and I've seen them crawling on the glass sometimes now too. My pede doesn't seem to be as interested in food that has gotten a lot of them on it. Any ideas?
 

dragonfly

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Jul 22, 2004
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just drop a house spider in the tank and the flies are gone.
Works in my tanks i don't have flies any more.
 

july_74

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Jun 27, 2006
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I have the same problem as well. I do not think they are fruit flies either. There may be some that hatch from eggs in the fruit but maybe not. I live in an apartment myself and have what are commonly known as "Drain flies". I see them in my bathroom and in the kitchen. Anywhere there is water. My solution? I do what I call "hiring spiders". I find little spiders outside on the porch and in the house and put them in the tank. No flies. Except lately the employees have been kind of lax. I do not allow the management here to spray for bugs in my home. I have too many other animals here to allow that. I do not like pesticides in my house! I let the spiders in the house do it and the House Millipedes eat all the unwanted pest bugs. I will look into the Carniverous plant solution though.
 

Vanilla

Arachnosquire
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Oct 13, 2006
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I have NO luck with plants...so that is not going to work.I know what I have is fruit flies.I found the tank infested again today.

:mad:

I am going to try feeding my pede in a different enclosure,that way there will never be food left in her home.It could be hard this way...but I have no other options.

Wouldn't putting any old spider in there be harmful? Also what if the spider cannot live in the same conditions as my pede?
 

Mr. Mordax

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They actually like rotting food pretty well -- switching for feeding could be stressful and unecessary. It seems to work best for them if they can eat on their own schedule.

"Any old spider" should be fine. 'Pedes aren't exactly on their menu. Try looking for a little cobweb in / around your house that has little flies trapped in it. Gently work the spider out and put it in the millipede tank.

Good luck, and I hope something works. :)
 

Mr. Mordax

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I think switching containers for feeding would be more stressful than a small spider . . . other posters, any thoughts? :)
 

echostatic

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Aug 14, 2007
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im not sure what millipedes you are keeping but i have 2 giant black african millipedes, and they eat mostly green leafy veggies kept fresh. they occasionally get a small piece of fresh fruit, but i dont give them old and/or rotting stuff. it seems to me like they eat that in the wild because its what they got, and would eat fresh if they had a choice. but thats just my opinion.
 

july_74

Arachnopeon
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Jun 27, 2006
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Fruit Flies challenge

IHeartMantids is correct. The description given by him to collect a small spider is the way I do it. I have probably a hundred little spiders about the house. They live in corners and under cabinets. They are really tiny spiders. Full grown they are maybe 1/8th inch to 1/4 inch. I collect them in a small jar and immediately place them in the tank on the wood or the plants. The back flaps of the hoods have the sections you can remove to accomodate filters and pumps for an aquatic tank. I have one section removed from each hood on opposite ends of the tank. If the spiders are not happy then they have and are able to find the exit and go where they please.
I have never had any spider I placed in with the Millipedes prey on the Millipedes. The fruit flies dissapear within days. 2 spiders, 3 days, no flies. Granted it took me a couple of times to have a spider stay. They will stay though. Besides it is a win win situation. Millipedes eat in peace, Spiders have plenty to eat, and the human does not obnoxious flies in his house. If you cannot locate the spiders inside , you can try outside around the porch, garage etc. I get spiders from the outside from the porch. It seems if the spiders come from a bright and not so hidden area then they seem to be smaller as adults and easier to use in this application. Also with a less predatorial relationship with the Millipedes. Best of luck to you.
 

fantasticp

Arachnocompulsive
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Jun 18, 2004
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Didn't see anyone else say it- just bury the food. The millis can get to it fine, but the flies can't.
 
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