HELP! Common Pests

listen2justin

listen2justin

Established Member
What are common pests you guys have experienced? I have a sudden increase in tiny flies in my enclosure. they literally sprung up in a week. at least 30 right now. I don't think they are Phorids, based on picture comparison and behavior/movement. they might be fruit flies based on size, lighter color on the bottom. Pics on the web are inconsistent so i'm not sure because the ones in the cage are darker color. they're about 5mm in size. anatomically they are flies for sure, so i don't think they are gnats. i can't post pics because they're so small i can't focus in on them. i live in Anaheim close to Disneyland if my location helps.
 
listen2justin said:
What kind of flies are they? Any idea on how they came about? I've had the same plants for some time and never moved them outside or anything.
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There actually called fungus gnats... It is kinda strange how they seem to come from no where and I don't really know how they come to be but it's something we all end up dealing with at least once sooner or later lol
 
correct me if I'm wrong, but i was under the impression they were soil gnats (Are they the same thing as fungus gnats?). I've had the same problem. They are attracted to the humidity and lay eggs in the soil if I'm not mistaken. I heard adding play sand on top of the soil helps prevent them from laying since its harder to penetrate. However even with the sand I've had the problem. I was using repti carpet and noticed at least 100 little eggs or larvae that were partially burrowed in the carpet. I have since removed the carpet and haven't noticed them since.
 
Most likely fungus gnats are what everyone has experienced. I used buckets of water and sticky traps to catch lots of them. There are preventative measures like covering the top and bottom of you plants with rocks and soil. Personally I don't cover my soil, the larvae actually make great clean up crew's when you keep them in check too. I added carnivorous plants to my cham room thinking they probably wouldn't do much, but they have turned out to be better than sticky traps. Nepenthes, pinguicula, and drosera have all worked great for me, seem to catch any gnats that leave the cages. Springtails and isopods might also help outcompete gnat larvae and lower their numbers. Any soil is going to draw gnats sooner or later. I notice certain growing mixes(such as sunshine mix) have less gnats. You can also add predatory nematodes that kill the larvae.
 
jamest0o0 said:
Most likely fungus gnats are what everyone has experienced. I used buckets of water and sticky traps to catch lots of them. There are preventative measures like covering the top and bottom of you plants with rocks and soil. Personally I don't cover my soil, the larvae actually make great clean up crew's when you keep them in check too. I added carnivorous plants to my cham room thinking they probably wouldn't do much, but they have turned out to be better than sticky traps. Nepenthes, pinguicula, and drosera have all worked great for me, seem to catch any gnats that leave the cages. Springtails and isopods might also help outcompete gnat larvae and lower their numbers. Any soil is going to draw gnats sooner or later. I notice certain growing mixes(such as sunshine mix) have less gnats. You can also add predatory nematodes that kill the larvae.
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@jamest0o0 i just saw your post from march... i think i might have the same bugs you took a pic of. i just don't think they're fungus gnats because i've examined them closely and they have the anatomy of house flies, just smaller. i even measured one while it was posted on the glass door and it was about 5mm. they're dark color up top, but the bottom is lighter brown. i just don't think they're Phorid Flies cuz they don't have that jerky behavior everyone keeps talking about. as far as feeling how hard they are by squishing it, they also don't stay and wait to get squished. they fly away before i get a chance. but i this is my first bug issue so i have no idea what i'm talking about. lol.
 
Actually I may know what you're talking about, they're like mini house flies? I have seen a couple of them, but never had a lot. Did yoiu recently add anything new?
 
jamest0o0 said:
Actually I may know what you're talking about, they're like mini house flies? I have seen a couple of them, but never had a lot. Did yoiu recently add anything new?
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No didn't add anything new, but I have my enclosure in the living room and a friend of mine was house sitting and she left the patio door wide open for a long period of time so i'm thinking that's what attracted them inside. Cham's home is literally next to the door! haha. But yet... they look like mini house flies.
 
ChamLB said:
Mealybugs are little white creepy things that don't fly.
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from what i've read online, the males fly. i have seen the white creepy furry things crawling around and the mini cotton ball things they leave on plants. so i really hope that's the case, and i don't have 2 different sets of bugs!:eek:

jamest0o0 said:
I've only seen mealybugs outside, they are among the worst pests for plants. Can you post pics
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I can't get a good pic. And now i'm really worried because everything i've read about getting rid of them leads to just straight up getting rid of the plants and sterilizing the cage.
 
Insecticidal soaps and a lot of work will save the plant but then it can't be in the cage for a while. You should repot it to make sure nothing is in the soil.
 
@jamest0o0 so looking to get some input and your wisdom. Since this problem I had a few months ago, I’ve done a complete refurnishing. I replaced all the plants, changed the bottom of the cage to a completely plastic bare bottom with a drain hole, and scrubbed the entire thing with anti bacterial soap. I put 2 different types of pothos, a rattlesnake plant, a bromeliad, and crotons. So now that I have set up the new plants, I’d really like to prevent an outbreak. From what I’ve read throughout this forum, you run bioactuve setups in a rental place. I keep my viv in the living room of my rental apt, so there’s those limitations. I’ve never work with cleaner crews or have any good knowledge about them... hopefully you can school me and point me in the right direction to learn. My lady gave me our cham as a present on the condition that bugs aren’t crawling around our apt, so do cleaner crews stay inside a screen enclosure? Also you mentioned carnivorous plants in your Cham room. Are they in the actual cage? I just saw one of those exact same flies I had before today along with a couple of gnats/tinier flying bugs, so i’d really like to keep them in check if not totally eliminate the problem. Thanks in advance man...
 
Do you have picture of this mini house fly? Did you figure out the species? Might not be something fun to have around. There are several species who are smaller than house flies but look similar. I like flies for the amazing things they do and how helpful they are. Predatory nematodes are awesome and super easy to get as well. I totally recommend some of them as a pest eating species who are otherwise not harmful. But definitely get the correct ones... or you might run into various problems.
 
Andee said:
Do you have picture of this mini house fly? Did you figure out the species? Might not be something fun to have around. There are several species who are smaller than house flies but look similar. I like flies for the amazing things they do and how helpful they are. Predatory nematodes are awesome and super easy to get as well. I totally recommend some of them as a pest eating species who are otherwise not harmful. But definitely get the correct ones... or you might run into various problems.
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Unfortunately no pics... no macro lens to get a clear pic. I’m leaning towards fruit flies, but the only reason I can’t give a definitive yes is cuz they look darker from certain angles. I’d like to learn more about cleaner crews, especially pest eating ones who aren’t harmful.:D are you in so cal? If so any recommendations on where to get them once I figure out what I need.
 
Will answer other question in the morning stay safe sweetie not sure if you are near the fires.
 
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