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What to do about those pesty Gnats


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Lately ive i had a Gnat problem in a couple of my roach bins, any suggestions on how to get rid of them. I've cleaned the bins twice and the gnats keep returning and start breeding in the bins, its only in 1 of my Hisser bin and the lobster bin. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :(

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That surprises me how you have cleaned twice and the gnats are still there. Don't feed them much for a while, and try cleaning w/ soap (take the roaches out first). You could also try moving those bins somewhere else until the gnats die out.

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it all started one weekend that the bins got a lot of dew over a couple of nights and the gnat larvae just appeared on the inside lids of my bins, a whole lot in just a couple of days and within a couple of days they were flying around in the 2 bins, thats when icleaned them out then within a couple of more days it happened again but only in the 2 bins. Do they piggy back on the roaches? do ineed to clean the roaches? way to many to do that.

Any ideas?

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Sure they are gnats? Could they be phorid flies? Gnats you can easy get rid of with a predatory mite. Phorids on the other hand are a real nusiance.

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Fly eggs and young maggots could stick to roaches. Try gently shaking the roaches in a plastic bag with some flour, that should dislodge hitchhikers. I had success eliminating phorid/scuttle flies with small rove beetles I collected outside. That may not be practical or easy if you have a really bad problem.

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How much flour should i use? i'll try anything that would help, use big ziplock bag and do 5-10 roaches at a time or less? cuz when i cleaned the bin i just put all the roaches in another bin while i cleaned the dirty bin and probably moved the the larvae with them. I don't want to hurt the roaches or give them a heart attack.

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... the larvae do not ride or live on the roaches.

If they are fungus gnats, the eggs or larvae can be unseen on your hands, so washing hands in between touching anything is necessary. If they are phorid flies, not so necessary as the eggs and larvae are quite large in comparison and very visible to the eye. The gnats eat decoposing substrate, so a predatory mite would eliminate them all. If they are phorids, the leftover food and dead roaches need to be policed for several weeks consistantly, and they should go away.

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Hey Matt,

will predatory mites harm or affect the roach colony? How do i go about aquiring those mites and how many and what kind do i need?

I've been trying to read up on them but they only explain how they are used on crops. But its looking like they are phorid flies cus i see the eggs and larvae, so i guess its the hard one to get rid of.

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