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- Dec 18, 2007
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I've discovered my B. lateralis colony has a small population of phorids in it. What should I do about this?
Phorid fly problem
- Thread starter EightLeggedFrea
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- Jul 8, 2007
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- 994
These guys only reproduce in moist decaying substrates, though unfortunately the amount of matter they can breed in is miniscule. Your best bet is to do a thorough cleaning of your bin to remove all decaying matter, then ensure that things stay clean and plenty dry. Because breeding adults will probably be flying around even after the cleaning, you'll want to take up any old food pretty much daily and perhaps consider putting up some fly traps until the problem is under control.
Do you feed gel/wet foods? I was having a fruit fly problem in my bug room (which has similar causes) and found that leaving wet foods in the bins for more than a day was a huge contributor to the problem. I take it up daily now and rarely have fly issues now. Also, how frequently do you spot-clean in your bin? Many roaches use a 'latrine corner' so to speak, and the concentrated damp fecal waste is another popular source of fly infestation.
Do you feed gel/wet foods? I was having a fruit fly problem in my bug room (which has similar causes) and found that leaving wet foods in the bins for more than a day was a huge contributor to the problem. I take it up daily now and rarely have fly issues now. Also, how frequently do you spot-clean in your bin? Many roaches use a 'latrine corner' so to speak, and the concentrated damp fecal waste is another popular source of fly infestation.
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- Aug 12, 2006
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Phorids target decaying protein matter. This specifically means dead or dying animals/bugs.
I've posted remedies many times. Please search "phorid fly traps" and you should find it pretty easily.
Don't forget to keep your kitchen sink clean and free of food particles and moisture. Also around you laundry area and bathroom. The adults will spread throughout the home and infest every bit of food they can find. The garbage can is also a great congregator of phorids. Remove from your home daily. Also recycling bins.
Good luck and keep your substrate dry. This helps mightily. Remove "deaders" daily until your problem is completely gone.
I've posted remedies many times. Please search "phorid fly traps" and you should find it pretty easily.
Don't forget to keep your kitchen sink clean and free of food particles and moisture. Also around you laundry area and bathroom. The adults will spread throughout the home and infest every bit of food they can find. The garbage can is also a great congregator of phorids. Remove from your home daily. Also recycling bins.
Good luck and keep your substrate dry. This helps mightily. Remove "deaders" daily until your problem is completely gone.
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- Apr 11, 2007
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- 5,438
Once you've cleaned the enclosure out, get a dead roach (or kill one) and put it in the middle of a glue trap. Place the glue trap right on top of the oach colony. Phorids will be drawn to the decaying roach and get stuck on the glue. I caught a LOT of phorids this way when I had them in my crikets a while back. I haven't had a repeat since i went to roaches though.