Unwanted Guests

[EulersK]

Alright, so here's the short story: I am sick and tired of fruit flies in my T room.

You can imagine how this has happened. I believe the issue started in my roach colony, but once I had an issue of fruit flies in my T room, I've never been able to get rid of them. I've cleaned out the colony several times, and the flies still persist - I believe that they are breeding in the humid tarantula enclosures, especially the T. stirmi cage.

I have tried several remedies, and the one that seems to work the best is a fly strip by a bright light in a dark room. However, I still have lingering pests. I know that they're not harmful to my T's, but my office and my T room are synonymous. These flies on my screen are driving me crazy. Short of a massive rehouse of all humid spiders (which might not even work), does anyone have a suggestion to get rid of these pests?

 

[Toxoderidae]

mantids. Buy an ooth of stagmomantis carolina or whatever native species, and let them hatch.

 

[EulersK]

Of course Toxoderidae would suggest mantids I don't need another hobby, that's for sure. I'm looking for something along the lines of fly strips, bottle traps, pesticides that only affect flies, and so on. Nothing living, is what I'm getting at.

 

[Toxoderidae]

Get a mason jar, put something sugary at the bottom, and put like cooking oil around the rim, add a funnel, then they get stuck cause they're stupid flies.

 

[chanda]

Are you certain that they are fruit flies? Phorid flies and fungus gnats can look somewhat similar and will thrive in moist conditions like your t's cages. Phorid flies can be harmful - I'm pretty sure they killed my P. irminia, after she lost a leg in a bad molt. Depending on what type of fly they are, you might need different tactics. For fungus gnats, you can let the substrate in your cages dry out for a few days - if your T's can tolerate it. For Phorid flies, you can try drying the substrate plus a funnel trap like Toxoderidae suggested, but you might need different bait - like a couple of dead crickets.

I have free-range spiders (mostly Steatoda triangulosa) in my bug room, and they clean up a lot of the escaped feeder fruit flies and crickets - as well as the occasional phorid flies or fungus gnats, when they show up. (Of course, every once in a while they "clean up" something I don't want them getting hold of, too - like a baby gecko and a few mantis and phasmid nymphs and amblypygid hatchlings.)

 

[Tenevanica]

I don't need another hobby, that's for sure.

Is it really another hobby? I keep arthropods, and I don't consider myself to be a cockroach hobbyist, tarantula hobbyist, beetle hobbyist, isopod hobbyist, millipede hobbyist, etc. I am an invertebrate hobbyist. It's one hobby. Just because I keep all different kinds of arthropods, I don't consider myself to have two dozen hobbies. Really, I think mantis and tarantula keeping fall under the same category. Keeping animals with an exoskeleton.

 

[EulersK]

Are you certain that they are fruit flies? Phorid flies and fungus gnats can look somewhat similar and will thrive in moist conditions like your t's cages. Phorid flies can be harmful - I'm pretty sure they killed my P. irminia, after she lost a leg in a bad molt. Depending on what type of fly they are, you might need different tactics. For fungus gnats, you can let the substrate in your cages dry out for a few days - if your T's can tolerate it. For Phorid flies, you can try drying the substrate plus a funnel trap like Toxoderidae suggested, but you might need different bait - like a couple of dead crickets.

I have free-range spiders (mostly Steatoda triangulosa) in my bug room, and they clean up a lot of the escaped feeder fruit flies and crickets - as well as the occasional phorid flies or fungus gnats, when they show up. (Of course, every once in a while they "clean up" something I don't want them getting hold of, too - like a baby gecko and a few mantis and phasmid nymphs and amblypygid hatchlings.)

No, I'm not sure at all, and that might be why the bottle traps don't work. They use sugar, and it seems like the flies don't care about that. I try it with a dead roach, see if that makes a difference. Thanks! I'll report how that works in the next couple days.

 

[EulersK]

Is it really another hobby? I keep arthropods, and I don't consider myself to be a cockroach hobbyist, tarantula hobbyist, beetle hobbyist, isopod hobbyist, millipede hobbyist, etc. I am an invertebrate hobbyist. It's one hobby. Just because I keep all different kinds of arthropods, I don't consider myself to have two dozen hobbies. Really, I think mantis and tarantula keeping fall under the same category. Keeping animals with an exoskeleton.

I'm more of juts a tarantula kind of guy. When I get into a hobby, I throw myself into it, learning as much as I can. I'm still doing that with tarantulas (and some true spiders), and I already have my hands full!

 

[Jacob Ma]

If it is fruit flies (also called vinegar flies), try a mix of dishsoap and vinegar in a cup. It works for me every time, as I get tons of the flies every time I use the trap because of the strong smell that attracts them and the sticky solution that is mixed with their "food".

Wait, @chanda, you said a baby gecko and amblypygid hatchlings? Now, how do you manage to let one of your hatchlings escape to be eaten by the means of a small spider? Or was it just a wild gecko that happened to scuttle in? Surely, you have a secure container, do you not?

 

[chanda]

If it is fruit flies (also called vinegar flies), try a mix of dishsoap and vinegar in a cup. It works for me every time, as I get tons of the flies every time I use the trap because of the strong smell that attracts them and the sticky solution that is mixed with their "food".

Wait, @chanda, you said a baby gecko and amblypygid hatchlings? Now, how do you manage to let one of your hatchlings escape to be eaten by the means of a small spider? Or was it just a wild gecko that happened to scuttle in? Surely, you have a secure container, do you not?

None of the unwanted meals were escapees - it's just that the dang spiders are so small when they first hatch that they can get through the screen tops and into the cages. They set up shop out of sight on the cork bark or plants and often go unnoticed, poaching feeders, until they get big enough to start picking off the inhabitants of the cage. Whenever I see one that's actually moved into a cage I remove it - but I'm not always in time.

 

[Jacob Ma]

Oh, OK. But for the sake keeping any unwanted guests out, have you all tried using ultra-fine mesh screens, like the ones they use on gardens? It usually helps me keep out the flies for my smaller species.

 

[The Snark]

Wifey's fruit fly remedy. She puts out a plate of over ripe fruit pieces. After about an hour she fires up the vacuum cleaner and does a 10 minute lady with a long hose dance. Repeat every hour for a day or so. Our vacuum is very powerful making it entertaining zooping them on the wing. A little diligence and good eyesight pretty much eradicates them in one day.

 

[EulersK]

And the award goes to @chanda. Thank you sir or madame, you have fixed my problem.

By your post, they are apparently phorid flies. I set up a fly trap with a couple dead male dubias, and wouldn't you know it, I caught literally hundreds of the little buggers. My sugar trap was almost untouched.

 

[chanda]

And the award goes to @chanda. Thank you sir or madame, you have fixed my problem.

By your post, they are apparently phorid flies. I set up a fly trap with a couple dead male dubias, and wouldn't you know it, I caught literally hundreds of the little buggers. My sugar trap was almost untouched.

You're welcome - glad I was able to help you identify them. Now comes the hard part - getting rid of them. The traps should help to round them up, as long as you change/discard the bait frequently so you don't end up just breeding more. If you can safely do so, you might also want to let the substrate in your tanks dry out a bit and be sure to clean up any dead feeders or boluses that could serve as a food source for their larvae. Good luck getting rid of them!

 

[chanda]

Oh, OK. But for the sake keeping any unwanted guests out, have you all tried using ultra-fine mesh screens, like the ones they use on gardens? It usually helps me keep out the flies for my smaller species.

I have not. It isn't really practical to do so, given the number and variety of cages we have. If it became a significant problem, I suppose we might have to take more extreme measure like that - but given that we've only had a few minor losses in 6 or 7 years, it's not that big a deal.

 

[EulersK]

You're welcome - glad I was able to help you identify them. Now comes the hard part - getting rid of them. The traps should help to round them up, as long as you change/discard the bait frequently so you don't end up just breeding more. If you can safely do so, you might also want to let the substrate in your tanks dry out a bit and be sure to clean up any dead feeders or boluses that could serve as a food source for their larvae. Good luck getting rid of them!

I just got done doing a massive cleanup in all of my cages. Took about an hour, but there isn't a single bolus to be found, even in the sling enclosures. I've set up five traps total with freshly killed roaches, all of which are in a connected room with the light on. The light will draw them in, the traps will kill them, and I can rest easy. I can't really let my cages dry out, but I think that this will resolve my issue. You'll know if it doesn't - I'll resurrect this thread!

 

[chanda]

I just got done doing a massive cleanup in all of my cages. Took about an hour, but there isn't a single bolus to be found, even in the sling enclosures. I've set up five traps total with freshly killed roaches, all of which are in a connected room with the light on. The light will draw them in, the traps will kill them, and I can rest easy. I can't really let my cages dry out, but I think that this will resolve my issue. You'll know if it doesn't - I'll resurrect this thread!

You'll need to keep it up with the traps for at least two or three weeks, until any eggs/larvae/pupae that are currently hidden in your cages or elsewhere in the room have matured enough to be attracted to the bait. It typically takes between a week and a half and three weeks for phorid fly eggs to become mature adults, depending on temperature, humidity, and available food. If you maintain fruit fly cultures, they can also get into those - in which case the entire culture may have to be discarded. (We've had that happen before.)

 

[EulersK]

You'll need to keep it up with the traps for at least two or three weeks, until any eggs/larvae/pupae that are currently hidden in your cages or elsewhere in the room have matured enough to be attracted to the bait. It typically takes between a week and a half and three weeks for phorid fly eggs to become mature adults, depending on temperature, humidity, and available food. If you maintain fruit fly cultures, they can also get into those - in which case the entire culture may have to be discarded. (We've had that happen before.)

Wow, thanks for the info. For sure, I'll keep that in mind.

Question. The traps I have are a one-way route; they get in, but they can't get out. They also shortly die via drowning. That being said, couldn't I just leave the traps out for days on end? It's not like they could use that environment to breed. Or would it lose the effectiveness?

 

[chanda]

Wow, thanks for the info. For sure, I'll keep that in mind.

Question. The traps I have are a one-way route; they get in, but they can't get out. They also shortly die via drowning. That being said, couldn't I just leave the traps out for days on end? It's not like they could use that environment to breed. Or would it lose the effectiveness?

Yeah, if they can't get out of the traps, leaving the traps out should be fine. The adult flies are attracted to the smell of decay, so as long as the roach smells dead it should do the trick of attracting them. Are the roaches positioned in such a way that any larvae leaving the corpses will drown? Or might they be able to squirm their way out of the trap and pupate elsewhere in the room, starting the whole cycle over again? If you're using an inverted funnel and a cup or jar of some sort, the larvae could probably wriggle through the narrow gap where the funnel touches the sides of the container. By discarding the roaches every few days, you are also discarding any developing larvae before they are ready to disperse in search of a spot to pupate. (You are also making sure your room doesn't smell too bad - decaying roaches stink! Even a recently dead roach or cricket will attract the adults, but after a few days the stench might start offending you as well!)

 

[EulersK]

Yeah, if they can't get out of the traps, leaving the traps out should be fine. The adult flies are attracted to the smell of decay, so as long as the roach smells dead it should do the trick of attracting them. Are the roaches positioned in such a way that any larvae leaving the corpses will drown? Or might they be able to squirm their way out of the trap and pupate elsewhere in the room, starting the whole cycle over again? If you're using an inverted funnel and a cup or jar of some sort, the larvae could probably wriggle through the narrow gap where the funnel touches the sides of the container. By discarding the roaches every few days, you are also discarding any developing larvae before they are ready to disperse in search of a spot to pupate. (You are also making sure your room doesn't smell too bad - decaying roaches stink! Even a recently dead roach or cricket will attract the adults, but after a few days the stench might start offending you as well!)

Nope, they're positioned in a way that the flies die before even laying eggs. I made this vile solution of 10% alcohol, 90% water, and one mutilated roach. They're attracted to the roach, but the low surface tension of the water solution causes them to immediately drown. And yeah, the smell is worse than I expected. I thought that the alcohol would have helped with that, and I thought wrong. I'm going to have to change these daily, but it's not that big of a deal.