i'm having a problem w/gnats and its driving me crazy

[xBurntBytheSunx]

they eat the food i feed my millipedes and roaches and then they lay eggs in wet substrate or water dishes....no matter how many i kill they keep coming back. i don't want them to get out into the rest of the apt b/c my room mate hates my bugs and i don't want him to know its basically my fault we have the gnats. any suggestions?

i've been trying to smash them whenever i get the chance and dumping out waterbowls filled with babies whenever i notice them....but no matter how many kill there are always a few left

 

[fantasticp]

They are probably fruit flies. When milli food starts to go bad, just bury it. They can still get to it, but you won't get flies. Then all you have to do is kill all the flies you already have. Try thinking about how tasty a cup of coffee is. Then look in your coffee cup and five fruit flies will be in it. Worked for me.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

bury their food huh? sounds like a good plan. won't it mold under the soil though?

 

[ghost_tomb]

i'm pretty sure that ladybirds will sort this one out
they are very good predator's and depending on how big the tank is 5-15 should take care of your problem.

 

[fantasticp]

It doesn't mold beneath the soil. Perhaps the mold needs more oxygen? I just know burying it solves everything.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

great thanks!

 

[CustomNature]

Here's what I do..

I've had a couple millipedes in my day and I kept having the same problem as well. I kept them in a 5 and 1/2 gallon tank and this is how I solved it. I removed all the food and substrate that was infested with the larvae, then I put in new peatmoss and food in the food dish. Before I put the screen lid back on, I covered the opening (top) of the tank with a papertowel and then put the screen lid over the papertowel. I have never tried to burry the food like mentioned above but it seems like it would get moldy and/or the fruit flies could still get to it. Again though, I have not tried it so it might work. But I do know that the papertowel thing worked for me, and after about 2 weeks of doing this, all the fruit flies in the house should die (unless they find another food/egg-laying source) and once they die, you can keep it uncovered from then on.... until you get infested again. Hope this helps!

 

[mantid]

Maybe you should try some of those fly tapes, I hade some in my plants and these worked great, just make sure you don't get them stuck on you...

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

i tried the fly paper and it is a dismal failure...the way i ended up killing most of them was i'd open my millipede and roach enclosure in the bathroom and trap them in there, and then i'd catch them and throw them in the toilet haha. i must have killed 30 doing that, flypaper only caught me about four of them...and it is a huge mess!

 

[mantid]

Sorry the fly paper didn't work it did with me...ah well glad that you got rid of the gnats I hate those stupid things :clap:

 

[knightjar]

Killing the adults is really only dealing with the symptom. By the time you see them, they have probably already laid eggs. The most effective way to deal with fungus gnats is to use predatory mites. They are not cheap, but do the job. You should also place the food on a sheet of paper rather than directly on the soil, as the gnat larvae will feed on it from below the surface of the substrate. (Also millipedes seem to enjoy eating the paper!).