Phorid flies in tarantula enclosure

[Xerinex]

Why do phorid flies keep lay eggs in the top of my enclosure even if there was nothing for them to feed on? I have one C.darlingi with that i kip seeing its enclosure having the phorid fly egg for few days and now it is in its death curl. I already put it into an ICU. But i also found egg in the top corner of my davus pentaloris enclosure, few days ago i feed it and the moment i c the corpse are full with flies after the feeding, i immediately took it out but now i still see eggs on its enclosure almost every few days. Why is it? How to solve the problem? Is it that the phorid flies smell my C.darlingi is sick? My C.darlingi have a fall about 1 m high the day be4 it molt. N it juz molt few days ago. Could this be the reason? If it is, that wat about my healthy davus pentaloris enclosure?

 

[Poecilotherion33]

Why do phorid flies keep lay eggs in the top of my enclosure even if there was nothing for them to feed on? I have one C.darlingi with that i kip seeing its enclosure having the phorid fly egg for few days and now it is in its death curl. I already put it into an ICU. But i also found egg in the top corner of my davus pentaloris enclosure, few days ago i feed it and the moment i c the corpse are full with flies after the feeding, i immediately took it out but now i still see eggs on its enclosure almost every few days. Why is it? How to solve the problem? Is it that the phorid flies smell my C.darlingi is sick? My C.darlingi have a fall about 1 m high the day be4 it molt. N it juz molt few days ago. Could this be the reason? If it is, that wat about my healthy davus pentaloris enclosure?

Well, keep in mind that phorid flies are primarily scavengers with a very powerful sense of smell. Maybe their primary objective is not your T´s enclosures but something nearby that drwas their attention (Cricket containers, an old molt forgotten in a corner, it could be anything organic).

Now, since insecticide use is not an option when getting our collections rid of those nuisances, you can put something in the same room that draws the phorids´s attention ina more powerful way that your T´s homes. I would recommend you to build a trap, using a flask and an paper funnel:

First, put a small piece of meat or any other bait piece (high in proteins, preferrably) in the bottom of the flask and cover it´s mouth with a funnel made of hard carboard, taking care that the narrow end of the funnel is of just the exact size to let the fly in, the will get into de flask to lay their eggs in the bait and then you can remove them easly.

However, keep in mind that phoridas are stubborn an as they´re very small, they will keep coming over and over again.

One last word of advice. Usually live T´s are not the target for phorid larvae, unless they are weak or stressed, in the case of the recently molted T, that could be the case, and the eggs you found in your Davus enclosure could have been laid there just because te surface was nearby.

 

[Jesse607]

Often the pupae are mistaken as eggs, are you certain it is eggs you are seeing (very very tiny white, hardly visible) and not pupae (light brown/yellowish, easy to see)? Although they generally do not feed on healthy living organisms, they will begin feeding on an organism as soon as death occurs if not immediately preceding.

 

[Vanisher]

Once one have an infestation, it doesnt matter if there are much food. Remember that bits of prey that are almost impossible to see is a bonanza for them! There are always small pieces of food laying around in a cage, even crickets leg are hard for you to see. So i promise you, the flies have plenty of food, even if you cannot see it

 

[Vanessa]

I have taken vials and put dead crickets in the bottom. Then, I use a piece of plastic that I put over the top with an elastic, and put one hole in it with a tack. They go in, but can't find their way back out. Then, when I have a group inside, I take the vial and stick it in the freezer. When they are all dead, I flush the flies and cricket down the toilet.
It is the same thing that people suggest to do to catch fruit flies - just with different bait.

 

[Vanisher]

I used traps containing of delicups with small holes in the lid. Inside i lined the sides of the delicups with sticky flypaper. I put damp peat on the bottom and a rotting cricket. I put those trsps in tve cages. The flies entered the traps to feed and got stuck on the flypapers. In a couple of weeks the flypapaper became black of flies, and i just changed the paper to new ones. It took some month, but eventually i got the infestation under control

 

[Xerinex]

Well, keep in mind that phorid flies are primarily scavengers with a very powerful sense of smell. Maybe their primary objective is not your T´s enclosures but something nearby that drwas their attention (Cricket containers, an old molt forgotten in a corner, it could be anything organic).

Now, since insecticide use is not an option when getting our collections rid of those nuisances, you can put something in the same room that draws the phorids´s attention ina more powerful way that your T´s homes. I would recommend you to build a trap, using a flask and an paper funnel:

First, put a small piece of meat or any other bait piece (high in proteins, preferrably) in the bottom of the flask and cover it´s mouth with a funnel made of hard carboard, taking care that the narrow end of the funnel is of just the exact size to let the fly in, the will get into de flask to lay their eggs in the bait and then you can remove them easly.

However, keep in mind that phoridas are stubborn an as they´re very small, they will keep coming over and over again.

One last word of advice. Usually live T´s are not the target for phorid larvae, unless they are weak or stressed, in the case of the recently molted T, that could be the case, and the eggs you found in your Davus enclosure could have been laid there just because te surface was nearby.

Thanks, thats informative. And my C darlingi die after few days

 

[Xerinex]

Often the pupae are mistaken as eggs, are you certain it is eggs you are seeing (very very tiny white, hardly visible) and not pupae (light brown/yellowish, easy to see)? Although they generally do not feed on healthy living organisms, they will begin feeding on an organism as soon as death occurs if not immediately preceding.

Thanks, I m pretty sure it's egg since I see them laying the egg

 

[Xerinex]

Once one have an infestation, it doesnt matter if there are much food. Remember that bits of prey that are almost impossible to see is a bonanza for them! There are always small pieces of food laying around in a cage, even crickets leg are hard for you to see. So i promise you, the flies have plenty of food, even if you cannot see it

But the C darlingi is a new bought and reject feeding so there is no food residue in the enclosure. And after it dies there is nothing in the enclosure anymore but I still see the fly eggs. N I think I heard that phorid fly egg hatch within 24 hours but the egg are already 2 days but have yet to hatch

 

[Xerinex]

I used traps containing of delicups with small holes in the lid. Inside i lined the sides of the delicups with sticky flypaper. I put damp peat on the bottom and a rotting cricket. I put those trsps in tve cages. The flies entered the traps to feed and got stuck on the flypapers. In a couple of weeks the flypapaper became black of flies, and i just changed the paper to new ones. It took some month, but eventually i got the infestation under control

So it's going to be a long term fight?No direct solution?

 

[Vanisher]

Iy depends.how big a infestation you have. I had a huge infestation, with many enclosures where there where flies in almost every enclosure+ flies not only in the spiderroom but other rooms aswell

 

[pitdragon]

Well, keep in mind that phorid flies are primarily scavengers with a very powerful sense of smell. Maybe their primary objective is not your T´s enclosures but something nearby that drwas their attention (Cricket containers, an old molt forgotten in a corner, it could be anything organic).

Now, since insecticide use is not an option when getting our collections rid of those nuisances, you can put something in the same room that draws the phorids´s attention ina more powerful way that your T´s homes. I would recommend you to build a trap, using a flask and an paper funnel:

First, put a small piece of meat or any other bait piece (high in proteins, preferrably) in the bottom of the flask and cover it´s mouth with a funnel made of hard carboard, taking care that the narrow end of the funnel is of just the exact size to let the fly in, the will get into de flask to lay their eggs in the bait and then you can remove them easly.

However, keep in mind that phoridas are stubborn an as they´re very small, they will keep coming over and over again.

One last word of advice. Usually live T´s are not the target for phorid larvae, unless they are weak or stressed, in the case of the recently molted T, that could be the case, and the eggs you found in your Davus enclosure could have been laid there just because te surface was nearby.

Try to keep enclosure dry, spot spray as phorid flies like moist dead everything including live plants that get constantly watered at rots

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Try to keep enclosure dry, spot spray as phorid flies like moist dead everything including live plants that get constantly watered at rots

4 years ago lol , I hate those flies…

 

[Mike Withrow]

Something is obviously going on with these fly's.
I just watched a video from Dave Fisher where he had to deal with a spider that was having a issue with them . That may be why some of these posts from the past are popping up.

 

[ant ramblings]

It's because people bought spiders at the Bedford show UK two weekends ago and spiders started to appear on Facebook groups covered in larvea or possibly nematodes. I was at that show and the two sellers were at opposite ends of the hall but both sellers sell alot of wild caught adults .
I have all my new spiders bought at that show in isolation, so far no signs of any problems .