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Argh! Flies!


Huntsman

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Over the past two weeks, I have noticed little flies scuttling about in my roach colonies. :angry:

About 2mm long, they scuttle a few inches, stop, and scuttle again. The can fly, but seldom do unless threatened.

Daily, their numbers are growing as is my concern! Any ideas what flies they are, what the ramifications are of having them, what attracts them and most importantly...how to get rid of them? :o

Thank you, for any and all input. :rolleyes:

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Huuu... do you have some pics?

IF it is Megaselia scalaris (a asian species which spread over the world) you have a problem.

How to get rid of them: Ever heard of Flypaper? ;)

There are other small flies too which dwell in wet soil and feed of organic mater (e.g. food, leaves & dead roaches) like Drosophila melanogaster or the Sciaridae spp. They are easy to avoid: keep roaches dry, avoid excessiv wet/fresh food (or add some woodlice to the culture), and remove dead roaches.

Grüessli

Andreas

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Hi, I had the same problem with phorid flys, I got some in the mail when I ordered some crickets online and within a few days they where all over my enclosures and all over my house. All I did to get rid of them was to take out all the water dishes and I didnt mist or anything like that for a few days and they where gone pretty fast. If you cant get a pic of the fly try doing a online search of pest flys and maybe youll get lucky and see the one you have, Im sure knowing what it is will help you figure out how to get rid of them. Goodluck!

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Thanks, guys!

Yeah, we have flypaper in place, but it doesn't even dent the population! :P

I considered the drying out method, but my colonies are very large and I'm concerned about the effect on the roaches...?? I'll try the pest fly search too, thanks.

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I had some MAJOR phorid fly problems a month back, especially with my discoids.

If you up the ventilation it makes a HUGE difference. To compensate for the loss of this humidity, just keep the roaches hydrated with more fruits and veggies.

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Thanks, Z -

Yeah, the better ventilated colonies are definitely less affected, and the ones that require the most cleaning are worst hit of all.

I'll pop some isopods into each colony (I have a colony of those, too!) and clean them all out, as suggested. I'll stick a fan onto them 24/7 also...

BTW Do these little buggers die off for Winter, or am I stuck with them until I can eradicate them myself? Anyone?

Cheers. :)

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Thanks, Z -

Yeah, the better ventilated colonies are definitely less affected, and the ones that require the most cleaning are worst hit of all.

I'll pop some isopods into each colony (I have a colony of those, too!) and clean them all out, as suggested. I'll stick a fan onto them 24/7 also...

BTW Do these little buggers die off for Winter, or am I stuck with them until I can eradicate them myself? Anyone?

Cheers. :)

I had them around all winter. As long as they have a place to lay their eggs and the larvae can pupate, they'll be around. :/

Luckily for me I started a colony of them... Hello new dart frog food. :P

Anyways, I haven't tried the isopod thing, though I am tempted too, but as long as you keep the frass levels down to a bare minimum in your colonies, the flies will disappear.

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Sometimes I get outbursts of them myself, and with my colonies a small outburst can be a thousand of them...

SO, after trying EVERY sort of clean-up clear-out or other remedy, I found something that works. I bought a cheap aquarium light fixture, and a reptile UVB 10.0 bulb to put in it. I placed that on a piece of glass bigger than the light fixture. The phorid flies are attracted to the UVB light and buzz around it until they die. An added measure was to hang two strips of flypaper next to the fisture, where ALOT of them stuck. Flies are now few and far between. Good thing because my wife was about at her limit with the flies....

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Sometimes I get outbursts of them myself, and with my colonies a small outburst can be a thousand of them...

SO, after trying EVERY sort of clean-up clear-out or other remedy, I found something that works. I bought a cheap aquarium light fixture, and a reptile UVB 10.0 bulb to put in it. I placed that on a piece of glass bigger than the light fixture. The phorid flies are attracted to the UVB light and buzz around it until they die. An added measure was to hang two strips of flypaper next to the fisture, where ALOT of them stuck. Flies are now few and far between. Good thing because my wife was about at her limit with the flies....

Same with my mother. XD

I think I've severely cut their numbers, but my discoids are the main culprits.

Speaking of which, with the cut in humidity, it seems as though many adults aren't making it out of their exoskeletons when they melt.

Is it humidity or something else causing this?

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