i was cleaning out the cresties' food dish and i found fruit fly maggots under it. needless to say im going to take the tank apart and replant everything. also ive been feeding jack and freya crickets for the past few days instead of the cgd, so far no more maggots but im still finding fruit flies in their tank. i think that the fruit flies may have come from the eco earth i was using becasue i also found a couple in my croc skink tank. i cant think of where else they could have come from. though there has been an increase in the amount of bugs in the apartment recently so maybe they came from outside?
We get these little stinkers in the hermit crab tank at work from time to time. Let me tell you, they are a pain in the butt to get rid of (although it's probably worse there because...it's a pet store. And it's inhumanely hot and humid, which the bugs love.). I've made it my personal mission to perfect the art of eradicating them. A merciless approach is your only option. Suit up and bring your game face. Okay, I may be being a LITTLE dramatic. The thing is that if you don't disinfect every single surface, you'll probably miss one or two little gnat thingies, and that's all it takes to restart the whole issue. Disinfecting the cage isn't that bad. Just pull everything out and wipe it down with a 1:10 bleach water solution. Rinse it out extremely well and let it air out for at least an hour before putting anything back in it. The decor is the slightly trickier part. If you have larger pieces it can be somewhat awkward to work with. Just make sure you wipe and rinse every little part. The porous pieces like hiding logs and driftwood are the most important thing to take care of, as the gnats will burrow down in there and make an easy comeback. I let all the driftwood in our crab tank soak in hot bleach water for thirty minutes, then boiled it for ten minutes. Ever since doing that, the gnats haven't reappeared. That was a good six months ago, so it seems to have done the trick. I'll warn you, with the warm weather approaching, these creatures tend to be more prevalent. Also, you are probably right about them coming in from the bedding or outside. Just keep an eye out for them and I obviously be scrupulous about cleaning and you should be able to keep them at bay. Good luck!
i have some lieve plants in there, do i just wipe them down or will the bleach hurt them? im also thinking of getting one of those magnetic shelves to keep the food bowl in so it will be easier to clean around the food area
Lol, don't bleach your plants; you'll kill them. I guess just rinse them off really well, especially the roots, and hope that gets any stragglers off.
lol ive never had to clean plants because of maggots before so i just wanted to see what im suposed to do XD i guess this is a good thing becasue when i set up the tank before i forgot to add a drainage layer and a couple of my plants didnt heal up so well from being dried out at the store. ive got rocks and organic fertalizer free dirt that im going to use instead of eco earth. ive also got some moss to mix in there a little bit
A really good way to get rid of unwanted bugs and such in wood pieces and eco earth is to bake it... yes... stick it in your oven, lol. Just put the eco earth block (not in plastic!!!) on tin foil or in a glass bowl or something in the oven and bake it for an hour or 2 at 250-300 degrees F... just keep an eye on it and be careful when you're taking it out b/c it will be hot for a while.
Wow. Can't believe I didn't think to mention that. Just to add, you can also bake driftwood and branches to get rid of pests.
Lol, I'm not so sure you want to taste your eco-earth to find out though.... lol I swear I remember there was an old wives tale type of trick to get rid of fruit flies.... I'll have to do some research (and call my mom) and find out
Wow, this is a slightly ridiculous article on how to get rid of them... might help! http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/pest-con...of-fruit-flies/
my cresties only go for fast moving prey, maggots, mealworms, and waxworms are all things they ignore
still seeing some fruit flies here and there but not nealry as many as before. and so far i hvent seen any maggots.
Just curious, is the screen on your enclosure course enough to let the flies in? If so, you'll need something like a piece of a flea and tick collar inside to keep them away. It may be smart to use that anyway, actually. I used to use that in my snake cages. Also, other ways to kill off the eggs are to soak the cage in the bath tub with the bleach solution (plants removed), or in the microwave (short bursts). It guarantees you won't miss a corner or edge. You can leave the dirt in with the microwave, IF you can fit the cage in it. Also, any non-metallic or electronic cage accessories that won't last in the oven, except the plants, should do OK in the microwave. Good luck.. Jeff
my bath tub it itty bitty, i dont think my tank would fit in it all the way lol and from what ive seen they cant get through the screen
