Explosion of gnats!

[alhickabee]

I started noticing a couple yesterday and this afternoon it seems the cage is full of them. Luckily Dante, who is doing great, isn't shooting at any of them. I don't know if eating them would be bad or not. They seem to all be congregating around the UVB inside and outside the cage. Does any one know where they could have came from? I used MiracleGro organic soil and washed all of the plants thoroughly. I've put a cup of vinegar near the cage and that seems to be attracting and killing a few of them. Does anyone know any other tricks to get rid of these pests?

 

[dodolah]

I started noticing a couple yesterday and this afternoon it seems the cage is full of them. Luckily Dante, who is doing great, isn't shooting at any of them. I don't know if eating them would be bad or not. They seem to all be congregating around the UVB inside and outside the cage. Does any one know where they could have came from? I used MiracleGro organic soil and washed all of the plants thoroughly. I've put a cup of vinegar near the cage and that seems to be attracting and killing a few of them. Does anyone know any other tricks to get rid of these pests?

probably come from the soil that you used.
soapy water poured on the soil everyday should diminished some (not all).

Other than that there is this organic bio pesticide called Gnatrol. They used some kind of engineered bacteria parasites that supposedly attack gnat's larvae.

I talked to one member who used it, he said that the bacterias are not parasitical to chameleons and humans. It specifically attack gnats.
However, you and I need to a bit more research about it to make sure that it is absolutely safe.

 

[Riggsy]

I had that happen and the soapy water trick worked, eventually they just stopped showing up all together.

 

[Kat77]

Are you sure they aren't fruit flies?

 

[ChrisnLisa]

A couple dishes full very sugary water worked well, so did the soapy water trick. If they dont leave after that I would rewash and repot your plants. We had that happen after using the same soil you are using.

 

[ciafardo 4]

probably come from the soil that you used.
soapy water poured on the soil everyday should diminished some (not all).

Other than that there is this organic bio pesticide called Gnatrol. They used some kind of engineered bacteria parasites that supposedly attack gnat's larvae.

I talked to one member who used it, he said that the bacterias are not parasitical to chameleons and humans. It specifically attack gnats.
However, you and I need to a bit more research about it to make sure that it is absolutely safe.

thats really interesting dodolah hope it is safe cause it could really solve the dreaded gnat problems we all get from time to time

 

[dodolah]

thats really interesting dodolah hope it is safe cause it could really solve the dreaded gnat problems we all get from time to time

I read the definition of the product, they do claim that it is safe for human and pets.
I wish someone here could shed some of their experience (good or bad).
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/gnatrol.html
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Ipm/homegrnd/htms/40afgnat.htm

 

[alhickabee]

Thanks for all of the help everyone, I figured soapy water would work. I also found a tip searching that soapy, garlic-water works well. Tomorrow is the scheduled cleaning so I'm gonna pull him out for a while, spray the plants down with this mix and let then dry in the sun. Then mist them with water, let them dry out again and continue watering with the mix till they're gone. I'll leave the Gnatrol for someone else to test out. And I'm pretty sure they're gnats and not fruit flies.

 

[jukeboxpunk]

Dry Ice

Do you have a temporary place to house your cham? I mean for maybe 2 hours?

1. Go to your local grocery store and ask for a DRY ICE Block.
2. Place the dry ice block anywhere in the enclosure, preferably at the top or base.
3. Wrap your enclosure thoroughly tight with saran wrap, letting no oxygen or carbon dioxide escape.
4. Dry ice naturally turns to carbon dioxide excellent for plants, bad for living things like insects or animals. This process basically suffocates everything in your enclosure. All insects will perish while your plants survive and get high off the carbon dioxide.

My buddy does this to his enclosure to kill off any free radicals, like gnats, mites, millipedes etc...
Grocery stores usually will give it to you for free. Just go to the back of the store and ask one of the clerks or meat packers.

 

[alhickabee]

Do you have a temporary place to house your cham? I mean for maybe 2 hours?

1. Go to your local grocery store and ask for a DRY ICE Block.
2. Place the dry ice block anywhere in the enclosure, preferably at the top or base.
3. Wrap your enclosure thoroughly tight with saran wrap, letting no oxygen or carbon dioxide escape.
4. Dry ice naturally turns to carbon dioxide excellent for plants, bad for living things like insects or animals. This process basically suffocates everything in your enclosure. All insects will perish while your plants survive and get high off the carbon dioxide.

My buddy does this to his enclosure to kill off any free radicals, like gnats, mites, millipedes etc...
Grocery stores usually will give it to you for free. Just go to the back of the store and ask one of the clerks or meat packers.

That's a really good idea. We have a big ficus in the living room next to the glass door he likes to hang-out in during cage cleanings. I'll have to set up his basking light and keep an eye on him while I give this a shot.

 

[TylerStewart]

You can dry out the soil in your plant... Whenever the soil gets too saturated, gnats always show up, but if you can keep the soil (at least the top 1" or so) dry, it will help alot.

 

[sandrachameleon]

You'll get fungus gnats if the soil is constantly damp/wet. Let the soil dry out. Alternatively, beneficial predatory nematodes will eat/kill off fungus gnat larvae. You can get nematodes from nursaries, organic lawn care places, etc.

 

[dodolah]

You'll get fungus gnats if the soil is constantly damp/wet. Let the soil dry out. Alternatively, beneficial predatory nematodes will eat/kill off fungus gnat larvae. You can get nematodes from nursaries, organic lawn care places, etc.

This is what gnatrol do.
Sandra, have you ever tried it?
I want to use it; but a bit afraid if there is a side effect if my chameleon ingest the soil or eat the plants or the infected gnat.

 

[jukeboxpunk]

Next time

Before you add you cham back the enclosure I would seriously consider adding a layer of orchid moss on top of the soil, then a layer of stones on tap of the orchid moss. The orchid moss holds moisture very well, yet prevents fungus from building up. You can get the stones and moss at home depot or lowes.

 

[sandrachameleon]

This is what gnatrol do.
Sandra, have you ever tried it?
I want to use it; but a bit afraid if there is a side effect if my chameleon ingest the soil or eat the plants or the infected gnat.

I have used nematodes in my greenhouse on several occassions and found they did the trick like magic. I only once used on a plant (a pothos) that was in a chameleon cage. It worked very well. My chameleon didnt seem to notice. If gnatrol is a nematode, I would use it. Be sure to check the expiry date (nematodes are only good for a few months in containers).
HOWEVER, I should note that that chameleon of mine does not eat any vegetation whatsoever, and never tried to eat the gnats either.

 

[ocdirtyjerz]

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this remedy:

Hot water with lemon and cloves keeps flies away.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

This is what gnatrol do.
Sandra, have you ever tried it?
I want to use it; but a bit afraid if there is a side effect if my chameleon ingest the soil or eat the plants or the infected gnat.

I have used gnatrol in Hydroponics. It was nothing short of amazing in that application. It was used on edible plants and did not affect them in any way. I consumed some of the greens produced by it and had no ill effect.

 

[Grizz]

Gnats are like mosqitos the require standing water to breed. remove any standing water or cover any drainage system and they will die off. they cannot reproduce without standing water. to eliminate any straglers i reccomend a fly strip. they are not toxic they work on adhesion. i had a problem with them nesting in my humdifier. i got a 2.49 flying insect strip put it by humidifier,no more gnats. I am wondering if baby chams could eat gnats? they are about the size of fruit fly. they reproduce so fast you could breed out disease easy.

 

[alhickabee]

Just to follow up I did what jukeboxpunk recommended with the dry ice and it work beautifully. I've been watering the plants with a mixture of water, soap and garlic to help kill any larvae still in the soil which has a layer of river rocks on top of it. My dripper was set to 5 sessions a day for 20 minutes each, so I reset it to 2 30 minutes sessions and a midday 45 minutes session. I also moved my last misting session an hour earlier to allow the cage to dry out fully. No reappearance of the little buggers yet so something must be working.

 

[jukeboxpunk]

Thought

Ya my buddy raises rare, exotic geckos and he keeps them in exo-terra glass enclosures. He has to create a humid and moist environment for them and sometimes he gets millipedes, gnats and whatever free radicals in his enclosure. So when he observes these things in his enclosure he "nukes" the enclosure with dry ice. I am happy it worked. If you see more of them, that just means the dry ice wasn't kept in there long enough and/or the CO2 did not penetrate the soils surface. If you have the opportunity, I would leave it over night. Was it easy to do? I have yet had an issue with gnats.