Fruit fly issue

[Kevin McRae]

Hi,

I've been having a fruit fly issue for a few months now. They are becoming quite a problem and I can't seem to get them to die off. I spot clean weekly and have let the enclosure dry out for a week and they just keep coming back. I removed all of the sphagnum moss as well. I'd rather not change out the substrate as it is filled with roots from my pothos. If I must I will...

If I had a very small gecko species that ate these flies I'd be happy but that's not the case.

Any advice?

 

[BryanF]

I had an infestation of some kind of little fly in a rack of 12 cages. Super annoying to have flying around. I read online that fruit flies are attracted to the smell of vinegar, and that you can trap them my adding a little soap to cider vinegar in a jar with a perforated top. I tried that, and learned that they weren't fruit flies; they didn't give a ship about that jar. Next I got a 4-pack of those glue traps, those hanging ones you may have seen on episodes of Hoarders and that instantly give any room a trashy feel, and they worked really well. Kept them up for a month, the fly population crashed, and although I periodically see a gnat in one of the cages, it's not often. I still keep one hanging trap above the cages.
Good luck.

 

[Hilde]

Are you sure they're fruit flies? Phoridae (Humpbacked flies) and Sciaridae (Fungus Gnats) are often confused with Drosophilidae (Fruit Flies). Unless you're specifically feeding fruit or fruit products, if you've got a naturalistic tank or organic substrate and plants, you've probably got humpbacked flies. Fruit flies will fly away readily, Humpbacked flies would rather walk or run away in zig-zag or jerky movements, flying only if they really have to.

Check out this site to ID what have: Flies / Snail Problems (scroll down a wee bit)

Once you know what you're dealing with, it's easier to come up with the right info.

 

[Kevin McRae]

I tried googling photos of the insects but I could not find any that match mine. Now that you mention it, they are most likely not fruit flies. When I see them on the glass and I "poke them" they often scurry or take very short flights to get away.

Annoying little buggers. Wish I was breeding some sort of small gecko species!

 

[Supreme Gecko]

Try raising them. Every time I try to raise FFs they die! Might work for you

Seriously, the best solution I found was fly paper, and more thourough cleaning (no MRP dishes with food in them past a day).

Good luck

 

[AeroWRX]

Lower the humidity and add the sticky paper (you will have to remove geckos for this). As long as this fly population isn't growing. It's okay to have like a few, but if it gets pass a handful you better do something about it.