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I have been noticing some small black bugs flying inside some of my enclosures. I am assuming they are gnats. What can I do to safely get rid of them? I read that you can use a jar of vinegar with holes poked in the lid.
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Gnats??
- Thread starter james.w
- Start date
montana
New Member
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- 253
Pray for winter ???
I think it is probably a seasonal thing that would be easier put up with than dealt with ..
An apple or fruit in a fruit jar and an inch hole in the top may help you could put some poison like terro ant killer in the jar too or just physically remove them when you see them in the jar ..
I think it is probably a seasonal thing that would be easier put up with than dealt with ..
An apple or fruit in a fruit jar and an inch hole in the top may help you could put some poison like terro ant killer in the jar too or just physically remove them when you see them in the jar ..
First why are they there? Usually uneaten food attracts them. The best things to use is not good in the house its a stink fly bait but it gets them. I am not sure about vinegar.
I found this. But should be careful what you use next to your animals
Of all the flying pests, gnats might be the most annoying. Though they're harmless, they hover and buzz around our heads, driving us crazy. Gnats are also known as vinegar flies or fruit flies because of their attraction to the smell of rotten food. This explains why they particularly enjoy the areas around drains and trash cans.
Gnats are most commonly found around fruit, saturated house plants, compost piles, and other rotting, smelly food or plants. The problem is there's no such thing as one gnat. In fact, one gnat can lay two to three hundred eggs in its two to four month life span. If you frequently see gnats hovering around your sink drain or trash can, there's a good chance they're laying eggs inside your home.
If you don't want gnats around, you have to cut off their food supply. This means fruits and vegetables have to go in the refrigerator or a bin the bugs can't penetrate. Make sure house plants stay damp, but not wet, and they must have the proper drainage. Gnats just love over-watered house plants. Empty trashcans regularly and don't allow rotting food to sit in the house. Make sure all trash receptacles and sink drains are cleaned thoroughly, and don't have any old rancid food stuck to them. Never let dirty dishes stand in the sink. You can also get rid of gnats by using products found around the home. Since they are attracted to the scent of vinegar, fill a jar with vinegar and poke holes in the lid. The gnats will climb into the jar, but they won't be able to climb out. For those that remain in the house, try putting vegetable oil around your kitchen sink drain. Gnats finding themselves coated in the oil will be unable to breed. If you're not interested in potentially clogging your drain with vegetable oil, pouring a cup of ammonia down your kitchen sink is said to get rid of any flies hovering around that area. Let it sit for a couple of hours before using the sink again.
I found this. But should be careful what you use next to your animals
Of all the flying pests, gnats might be the most annoying. Though they're harmless, they hover and buzz around our heads, driving us crazy. Gnats are also known as vinegar flies or fruit flies because of their attraction to the smell of rotten food. This explains why they particularly enjoy the areas around drains and trash cans.
Gnats are most commonly found around fruit, saturated house plants, compost piles, and other rotting, smelly food or plants. The problem is there's no such thing as one gnat. In fact, one gnat can lay two to three hundred eggs in its two to four month life span. If you frequently see gnats hovering around your sink drain or trash can, there's a good chance they're laying eggs inside your home.
If you don't want gnats around, you have to cut off their food supply. This means fruits and vegetables have to go in the refrigerator or a bin the bugs can't penetrate. Make sure house plants stay damp, but not wet, and they must have the proper drainage. Gnats just love over-watered house plants. Empty trashcans regularly and don't allow rotting food to sit in the house. Make sure all trash receptacles and sink drains are cleaned thoroughly, and don't have any old rancid food stuck to them. Never let dirty dishes stand in the sink. You can also get rid of gnats by using products found around the home. Since they are attracted to the scent of vinegar, fill a jar with vinegar and poke holes in the lid. The gnats will climb into the jar, but they won't be able to climb out. For those that remain in the house, try putting vegetable oil around your kitchen sink drain. Gnats finding themselves coated in the oil will be unable to breed. If you're not interested in potentially clogging your drain with vegetable oil, pouring a cup of ammonia down your kitchen sink is said to get rid of any flies hovering around that area. Let it sit for a couple of hours before using the sink again.
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Does anybody else have a problem with gnats?? They seem to be getting worse, I put up some fly strips in my reptile room and it catches them, but I need to find out a way to kill them.
Neeko
New Member
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Do you feed fruit? I once baby sat birds and left fruit in there to long and gnats where every where... So many I vacuumed them off of the cage bars. For 2 weeks or so i stoped veggies and fruit for them and I think they went away. It was a while ago so it a bit hazy. They did come from fruit.
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Very rarely do I feed fruit, my rhino iguana gets it about once a week.
Neeko
New Member
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i think most of the time fruit fly egs are on all veggies and fruit. And they hatch after we've taken them home. Try buying flash forzen veggies and thaw them out if your doing veggies. Frozen eggs dont hatch are dead, though that does make me think about another type of frozen eggs now... I wont go into detail on that.
tora
New Member
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- 441
AUGH! Yes! I had some a few months ago and they were breeding under my tegu's water dish!! They were driving me totally insane, I have no idea where they came from. I had to change out the substrate and hose out the tank.
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tora, what do you use for substrate?
tora
New Member
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Eucalyptus/soil. I'm not sure if this is when I was using cypress or eucalyptus though. I think I switched because eucalyptus is supposed to be bug resistant and those gnats drove me insane.
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I think I might have brought them in with my substrate, sand/soil. It will be a huge pain to have to change out all my cages substrate.
tora
New Member
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Yeah probably, I can't figure they came from any of her food. I rarely feed fruit, and when I do I just feed with tongs so I can get rid of it right away in the highly likely event she wants nothing to do with it.
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Might find something that works here:
http://wanttoknowit.com/how-to-get-rid-of-gnats/
http://wanttoknowit.com/how-to-get-rid-of-gnats/
j.sawyer48
New Member
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i have just started having this problem and i use cypress mulch i never feed him in the enclosure so it cant be food i dont know in thinkin it has to be the cypress mulch
Piercedcub32
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Mine aren't fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) mine are just tiny black flies .. only in the Pixie frog enclosure though... think its something to do with the heat and the saturated ecoearth they are housed on. only a problem when I feed the frogs, other than that they stay in the tank.
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I don't think mine are food related due to the fact that they first showed up in my Sav and Water Monitor cages. Both of which are carnivorous monitors.
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It is the time of year that if your going to have them, this is it.
The "fungus gnat" is a small, slender, fragile black or grey fly measuring only about 2 1/2 mm in length. It is a close relative of the "sewer fly", which is slightly larger than a gnat, dark brown to black in colour, and is commonly found in the bathroom and around sources of water.
The adult fungus gnat lays tiny eggs, on the damp soil in houseplants and/or damp substrate dust in the bottom of your enclosures.
The life cycle of the fungus gnat is short, only about 1 week. But that is to mate and lay more eggs, which take about 1 week to hatch. They are harmless, yet bothersome. Trick is, to catch the flyers before they can lay more eggs.
What I would like to suggestion is take a milk carton , then coat it with a sticky oil. Place or hang the carton near windows or where fungus gnats congregate. When the gnats are attracted to the light, they stick to the oil and die.
I have even used a small Christmas light inside the milk carton to attract them to it.
Rose
The "fungus gnat" is a small, slender, fragile black or grey fly measuring only about 2 1/2 mm in length. It is a close relative of the "sewer fly", which is slightly larger than a gnat, dark brown to black in colour, and is commonly found in the bathroom and around sources of water.
The adult fungus gnat lays tiny eggs, on the damp soil in houseplants and/or damp substrate dust in the bottom of your enclosures.
The life cycle of the fungus gnat is short, only about 1 week. But that is to mate and lay more eggs, which take about 1 week to hatch. They are harmless, yet bothersome. Trick is, to catch the flyers before they can lay more eggs.
What I would like to suggestion is take a milk carton , then coat it with a sticky oil. Place or hang the carton near windows or where fungus gnats congregate. When the gnats are attracted to the light, they stick to the oil and die.
I have even used a small Christmas light inside the milk carton to attract them to it.
Rose
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I have hanging fly paper strips in my herp room and they are always covered in gnats, but these guys breed like crazy.
j.sawyer48
New Member
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yea they are annoying as hell
james.w said:
dude i have them. do you use cypress mulch? im almost positive mine came in with the mulch. they are little hard black bugs i dont think they are gnats but i havent been able to get rid of them. im thinking they are a type of mite or something though. my best guess
