Flying Insects in my mac cage.

[john]

Ive recently had a batch or two of some flying insect hatch in my spotted salamander's cage. They are not fruit flies. They have broad wings. Any ideas what I should do or is this a normal occurrence?
Thanks.

 

[heather]

Hello, I have something similar in my tigers cage, and in some potted plants. I think mine are gnats, and when I did some research into them I read that you could take some card stock and spread vaseline onto it, as the vaseline is safer than pesticides. The gnats are attracted to the vaseline and get stuck. This would only keep the population in check and not rid the tank of the bugs, and I wouldnt put the card stock directly in the container, but suspend it over the enclosure. I dont know if this is helpful or not, but I bet some others from the site can lend a little more light to the subject. I dont think the bugs are harmful at all, maybe they can even be a supplemental food source if your sallie is quick enough. Good luck, Heather

 

[john]

Great idea, they dont seem to breed as fast as fruit flies (thank god), but maybe your idea will kill enough so that they are not flying around my head while im doing chemistry homework

.

Thanks!

 

[mark]

Yea, gnats suck! I hate them

 

[josh]

phorid flies. these are pesky little critters. when i collected tarantulas and carnivorous plants, i had to deal with these things. the larva live in the soil and eat decaying matter. when there isnt any decaying matter, they will eat living plants. in my tarantula cages, there isnt any plant matter.... so they ate the bolus (chewed up cricket parts) left after the spider was done eating a cricket. when there is no cricket for the fly larva to eat and there was enough larva in there, they would attack the tarantula. ive seen tarantulas killed and eaten by these things in my friends collection. i dont know how they will affect amphibians, but i highly doubt they are a threat. my dart frogs just eat the larva and the flies. do a search on google and youll find all kinds of info on them.

-josh

 

[william]

Wow I didn't know they caused so much damage to plants and animals. Like you said when ever i see them my tree frogs are eating them.

 

[josh]

lol, yeah. alot of the damage they cause is unseen. so sometimes you would not even think you had a problem

 

[russ]

I've got them in my containers too. They seem to be more of a nuisance than anything. I set two of those sticky covered fly traps (tube shaped) by the window. They seem to be drawn to the light if they leave a container. It doesn't alleviate the problem, but it keeps them from dying all over the place.

A word of warning though. If you can't contain them to one one room they will spread to any house plants you may have. I have a dedicated room (door closed) so this hasn't been an issue for me. But a friend of mine ended up with them throughout his house (he had a lot of plants).

RUSS

 

[josh]

yes, they can manage to survive with virtually nothing. the mildew that goes unnoticed in your bathroom can be a breeding ground for them..

 

[john]

I think I have fungus gnats. They seem to have died off, not sure if the colder weather was a factor.

 

[russ]

Be prepared, they cycle. Just when you have seen a live one in a while, there's a sudden explosion.

RUSS