Problem with flies...

[aveul]

Hello guys...

I have made new terrariums and now I see that I have flies, little ones, in every new terrarium! I use coconut fiber and was very wet! What I should do? Dry all the coconut?

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

Hello guys...

I have made new terrariums and now I see that I have flies, little ones, in every new terrarium! I use coconut fiber and was very wet! What I should do? Dry all the coconut?

yeah drying out the cocunut before using would be a good idea. I usually make a batch of coco bedding then put it in the oven to not only dry it out but to kill off anything that might be living inside there. I would buy a fly strip and put it next to a bright light to attract the flies. I have had flies in my enclosures too, but i set up a fly trap and havent seen many more.

 

[Boanerges]

Those little fruit flies? I hate them things :evil:

 

[mafiamike]

I had the same problem at one point. I even noticed maggots crawling in tarantula droppings, luckily none of my tarantulas were harmed. I cleaned out all their containers and put the substrate in the microwave until it was steaming. Be careful, cocofiber will start to smolder if it dries out in the microwave completely! After that, I put screen over all their containers to keep even the smallest flies from getting in. I used to silk screen T-shirts, so I already had some 110 mesh laying around. If you can't keep the flies from coming back, you might try some. It's really inexpesive. I think the major attraction was my roach colony, so I covered their container with screen too.

 

[CT9A]

They are probably phorid flies. One easy way to tell is if they run across the substrate more instead of flying off the substrate. Best way to do is get rid of them, are to take out food remains, and/or dry out substrate.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

I agree with the above poster; unless they have red eyes/tan bodies and take wing promptly when you pester them, they're probably phorids, which are much more common pests in invert tanks. They feed on decaying matter, chiefly decaying protien matter, so chances are they are after uneaten prey, prey boluses, or feces. If you dry out or bake your substrate to kill them and after that, remove feces, dead crickets (or whatever your feeding), boluses, etc. as soon as you find them, you shouldn't have a problem. If the issue persists, there is info on the True Insects section of the board on how to make phorid fly traps.

 

[Endagr8]

i used to have a problem with phorid flies until i completely dried out the substrate and cleaned out boluses and doodoo:}

 

[Bill S]

The flies are feeding on mold or fungus growing in your substrate. Baking the substrate will kill any mold already present, but mold spores are always in the air and will inevitably reappear in your substrate. If the substrate contains nutrients and moisture, you will have mold, and the flies will reappear. Removing leftover food bits and other debris will help. Keeping the substrate too dry to support mold will help. But I don't tend to run dry, sterile containers. The alternative there is to get used to the flies. But they can be kept low in number with basic maintenance.

 

[KJE]

I did a whole research on different types of flies because I've had problems with them for a long time. If they have red eyes they are fruit flies. If they hop instead of fly they are phorid flies. Now, if they are similar in size to both of those, but fly really well they could be what I have which are fungus gnats. Those are a royal pain in the butt to get rid of.

 

[aveul]

Thank you guys! You were a real help!

 

[aracnophiliac]

I dont use coconut substrate but i find thier are also littel flies in my soil.Are they the same flies?

 

[MizM]

i used to have a problem with phorid flies until i completely dried out the substrate and cleaned out boluses and doodoo:}

These little buggers are one of the reasons that I keep my enclosures bone dry. They are annoying and darn near impossible to get rid of. If you keep houseplants, you've seen them gathering around the moist dirt. There is simply no reason to keep substrate moist if you provide a dish of clean water at all times.

For moisture dependent species, use isopods. Roly poly bugs, pills bugs, whatever you call them in your area. I keep them with T. blondi, who must have a moister environment. They eat mold and must eat little phorid larvae, as I don't have the little pests anymore.

 

[aracnophiliac]

Does anyone have a picture of these rollie pollie bugs?

 

[MizM]

http://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...TF-8&p=roly+poly+bug&fr2=tab-web&fr=slv8-msgr

 

[Moltar]

Another problem with phorids is that they like other environments in the home too such as sink drains and under the rim of toilets. If you see them in these areas you'll need to clean them thoroughly with chemicals. Pour bleach sown the drains and scrub the bejeezus outta your toilets.

 

[Drachenjager]

biological cleaning also works well for sink drains and under toilets. use a septic tank helper bacteria culture. one in liquid form so that you can squirt it under the rim of the toilet and pour down the sink drain and let sit overnight then rinse