Fruit Fly Maggots Always in my Cricket Keeper

[Geckozilla0439]

Phorid Fly Maggots Always in my Cricket Keeper

Hi!

I have a problem I don't know what to do about. I have a large storage-like bin with holes poked at the top that I keep my crickets in. It's been working well for over a year, but lately I'm having a big issue.

Literally every single day I find at least one decomposing cricket that is full of Phorid Fly maggots. I've been cleaning out the dead crickets every single day, but it doesn't matter, because if there's one dead one in the morning, there will be maggots in it. :-x

My crickets don't have any substrate, and I'm thinking that that may be part of the problem, because I know that the flies will lay eggs in the feces. So, I'm going to try to put newspaper at the bottom of the bin so I can dispose of them often and keep the feces cleaned out.

But, I'm still afraid that won't help enough, because I can't afford to throw out the newspaper every single day, and like I said, one day I don't clean the bin, and I'll have a maggot mess to deal with the next. I'm sick of having to clean this thing completely every single day to keep these stupid worms out, and I have no idea what to do to get rid of them. :-x

Any help would be seriously appreciated. I'm out if ideas.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Hilde]

I doubt they're fruit flies, which feast on fruit, not bodies. You've probably got phorid flies.
Fruit flies have red eyes, if yours don't have them, then check out this link to get info on phorid flies.

Phorid flies

 

[Geckozilla0439]

I doubt they're fruit flies, which feast on fruit, not bodies. You've probably got phorid flies.
Fruit flies have red eyes, if yours don't have them, then check out this link to get info on phorid flies.

Phorid flies

You're right, they're definite Phorid flies. But I still don't know what to do about them....

 

[Hilde]

The most obvious is to remove the dead crickets.
Phorid flies like somewhat humid places, so lowering humidity is another option.
Can you cut out a section of the lid of the bin, and hot-glue screen to it? That would lower the humidity considerably.
If I had that problem, I would start over with a new bin, no holes poked in, just the screen cover cut out in the lid - at least half the lid, or even more. Poking holes allows flies to enter the bin, screen will make it more difficult.
If you can't use a new bin, or add the screening, get a desiccant like silica gel to absorb some of the moisture. It can get a bit expensive, but it's reusable (instructions online show how to dry it and use it a few more times).

Try giving the crickets veggies or fruit instead of water. That cuts back a bit on humidity too.

You could use fly tape to catch the flies, hopefully before they lay eggs. Don't just put the tape in the bin, put it in something like a tall deli-cup with tiny holes, just big enough for the flies to get through, but not the crickets. A paper clip through the cup lid can hold the tape up so the flies can rest on it and get caught. Add a dead cricket, or two, as bait, and place it inside the bin.