Phorid in Dubia colony

[WhitenerJ]

I just got a new Dubia colony a week ago and now it seems like I have an issue with phorid flies. At first I thought they were fruit flies since I had put oranges in the enclosure but they run around more than fly. I have been loosing roaches every day since I got the colony and I thought it was just the heat from when they came in the mail. I gave them plenty of roach chow and a dish of water crystals.

How can I eliminate the phorid flies? I'm assuming they are attracted to the dead roaches and feces. Luckily the roach colony is on the other side of the house away from my T's so no sign of flies around them.

 

[EulersK]

Welcome to my world, mate. Here are a couple threads to read:
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/unwanted-guests.283646/

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/larvae-pupae-of-what.284240/

Here's how I took care of them.
You need to replace everything. All of the egg crates, all of the substrate, all of the food, all of the water. Everything organic. You're going to need to do weekly cleanings for about a month and a half to completely rid yourself of these pests. The goal is to throw away the phord fly pupae before the hatch. No, you don't need to replace the egg crates every time. By doing this regular cleaning, it'll stay dry enough in the colony that the flies won't be able to reproduce. I would suggest replacing the egg crates one last time when you think the flies are taken care of. If you need a place to buy cheap egg crates, let me know. To help speed things along, I suggest hanging a fly strip in the room with your roaches - it helps a lot to have a night-light near the fly strip to help attract the flies at night. At first, you'll need to replace this strip every few days, as it'll fill up quite fast. If you have an infestation in your tarantula enclosures (something I had to deal with), you'll have to rehouse every one of your humid species and put them on peat moss instead of whatever it is that you're using. Phorid flies can't breed on dry substrate or peat moss - fulfill either one of those two requirements, and you'll be fine. Don't bother with those fly traps made out of plastic bottles that you'll find online, they're utterly useless.

 

[WhitenerJ]

Welcome to my world, mate. Here are a couple threads to read:
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/unwanted-guests.283646/

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/larvae-pupae-of-what.284240/

Here's how I took care of them.
You need to replace everything. All of the egg crates, all of the substrate, all of the food, all of the water. Everything organic. You're going to need to do weekly cleanings for about a month and a half to completely rid yourself of these pests. The goal is to throw away the phord fly pupae before the hatch. No, you don't need to replace the egg crates every time. By doing this regular cleaning, it'll stay dry enough in the colony that the flies won't be able to reproduce. I would suggest replacing the egg crates one last time when you think the flies are taken care of. If you need a place to buy cheap egg crates, let me know. To help speed things along, I suggest hanging a fly strip in the room with your roaches - it helps a lot to have a night-light near the fly strip to help attract the flies at night. At first, you'll need to replace this strip every few days, as it'll fill up quite fast. If you have an infestation in your tarantula enclosures (something I had to deal with), you'll have to rehouse every one of your humid species and put them on peat moss instead of whatever it is that you're using. Phorid flies can't breed on dry substrate or peat moss - fulfill either one of those two requirements, and you'll be fine. Don't bother with those fly traps made out of plastic bottles that you'll find online, they're utterly useless.

Thanks. I would like to know where to get the egg cartons cheap. I have had no luck with that.
I did order an indoor bug zapper that supposedly helps like the strips do.
So far no flies in my T enclosures. I only have 2 Avic slings that are kept slightly moist.

 

[WhitenerJ]

On and I don't use any substrate with my roach colony. Should I be?

 

[Trenor]

On and I don't use any substrate with my roach colony. Should I be?

No, you don't need substrate. The roaches will produce frass that will accumulate on the floor of the enclosure. If you have this replace it when you clean till you get rid of the pests.

 

[EulersK]

Thanks. I would like to know where to get the egg cartons cheap. I have had no luck with that.
I did order an indoor bug zapper that supposedly helps like the strips do.
So far no flies in my T enclosures. I only have 2 Avic slings that are kept slightly moist.

https://www.enasco.com/product/C15756N

You may not need that many, but you will eventually You won't find them cheaper anywhere else. People talk about getting them free by going to breakfast restaurants... I had no luck with that, personally.

 

[crlovel]

Maybe check what you're feeding them, too. I feed my Dubias the Colony Builder diet and Fluker's jelly water stuff. The CB diet doesn't rot, I keep it in a lid I use for a dish, and I limit the Flukers to what they'll consume in a few days, also kept in a lid I use as a dish.

 

[WhitenerJ]

https://www.enasco.com/product/C15756N

You may not need that many, but you will eventually You won't find them cheaper anywhere else. People talk about getting them free by going to breakfast restaurants... I had no luck with that, personally.

Wow. Killer deal!!! $40 for 140 flats. Cant beat that. Thanks man!

 

[EulersK]

Yeah, that's including shipping! By far the cheapest I've found.

 

[WhitenerJ]

So I ordered the flats and they will be here Saturday.

How do I clean my colony effectively? What method did you use to clean everything out?

 

[EulersK]

So I ordered the flats and they will be here Saturday.

How do I clean my colony effectively? What method did you use to clean everything out?

Pretty simple. Get yourself another container and just shake out the egg flats one by one into that extra container. By the end of it, you'll have a pile of egg flats off to the side, a tub full of roaches with nowhere to hide, and the original tub with the roach frass (feces) still in it. I'd usually suggest sifting through the frass for the babies, but don't do that until your fly problem is taken care of. These things breed like roaches, throwing away a few babies won't kill your colony. You can reuse the egg flats so long as they're not too moist (they get moist eventually, around 2 months for me) or don't have too many holes in them. Yes, the roaches eat the egg flats. No need to hose off the original tub unless you've got some gross buildup, just throw away the frass. Set up the enclosure and just pour your roaches over the egg flats. Done.

Note that once all your roaches are in the bare tub with nowhere to hide, you'll want to rehouse them pretty quickly. No need to run, but they do start to stress eat... like, each other. The larger ones start snacking on the smaller ones, I've noticed. Like I said, no need to rush, just don't take a lunch break.

Side note - sell that roach frass! I sell mine for $20 per 5lbs on Craigslist.

 

[WhitenerJ]

Sell the frass??? Why would anyone want to buy it? Fertilizer?

 

[EulersK]

Sell the frass??? Why would anyone want to buy it? Fertilizer?

Exactly, my man. It's dry, odorless, and very high in nitrogen compared to other fertilizers. It's great for in-house plants, actually. I sprinkle a little on my plants as well.

 

[crlovel]

Exactly, my man. It's dry, odorless, and very high in nitrogen compared to other fertilizers. It's great for in-house plants, actually. I sprinkle a little on my plants as well.

How long does it take to collect 5lbs of roach poo?

 

[Trenor]

How long does it take to collect 5lbs of roach poo?

Once they ramp up it accumulates faster then you would imagine.

 

[EulersK]

How long does it take to collect 5lbs of roach poo?

For me, only about two cleanings. But I've got a colony of nearly 1000 adults.

Protip - feed about 75% dry food and 25% fruits/veggies. Too much wet food and the frass will be liquid, and you'll be unable to collect it.

 

[crlovel]

For me, only about two cleanings. But I've got a colony of nearly 1000 adults.

Protip - feed about 75% dry food and 25% fruits/veggies. Too much wet food and the frass will be liquid, and you'll be unable to collect it.

I just put in the colony builder diet and Fluker's jelly water stuff. They seem happy enough.

 

[EulersK]

I've never used the builder diet, using straight chick feed worked just fine for me. I only recently started feeding fruits/veggies because I wanted them to breed faster so I could sell them, but I can't say that I've noticed a significantly higher reproduction rate.

The gel water is a ripoff, don't buy it again. Use this stuff:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Miracle-Gro-0-75-lb-Water-Storing-Crystals-100831/202563065

I'm sure you can find it cheaper elsewhere, but I bought it from them. It has lasted me about a year and a half, and I've used under a fifth of the bag. That is, I still have a mostly full bag.