Help - Gnats!

[AZJ0SH]

I have had my enclosure all set for a few weeks, and today I noticed some gnats in the enclosure. I want to stop the gnats before they breed, what can I do that is safe for the chameleon?

What I read online was do a mix of soapy water and olive oil and spray down the plant/soil?

Some of the soil is exposed, not enough for the cham to get down there but little gaps between the rocks, should I add some more rocks?

 

[AZJ0SH]

I did some research on various gardening forums, it seems that a lot of people are sprinking ground cinnamon on the soil, or mixing cinnamon and water and spraying it on the soil. Has anyone here tried this?

Also, I did not realize dead leaves were basically food for gnats, I removed the dead leaves from the soil and cleaned his cage throughly which a 1:10 mix of water and dish soap.

 

[stevie]

wats a gnat ?? somekind of mite ??

 

[AZJ0SH]

wats a gnat ?? somekind of mite ??

What? A gnat is a gnat...

 

[jaglon53]

I have had this problem before more than once. First your going to want to go to the store and buy some sand. I buy the repti-sand that has calcium in it but other members have just gotten regular sand my only worry is that my cham might ingest some. Then I take my Cham out of the cage and put him in a separate cage or plant. After that take your sand and whole cage with the plants still in it so more gnats don't get lose in your house. Once outside or you can do this prior get some rocks and wash them off with your hose or you can buy some river rocks at store I'm just cheap and a rock is a rock. Next take your plants out of the cage shake em up a bit then rinse with water and take an inch or two of soil off them. Before you add sand make sure you rinse your cage thoroughly so no more gnats. Then put an inch or two of sand in each one of your plants and place rocks on top of the sand. When you place your plants back in the cage I like to raise them off the bottom of the cage so there isn't a place for water to sit and eventually have more gnats. You should be good to go!

 

[Leroux2008]

I havnt had problems with gnats in the chameleons cage but Ive had problems with gnats in my old cricket container when Id stick soil in with them. Id miss a couple of adult crickets that died and got mixed with the soil then a couple days later id find mites in there and little small gnats.... -_- a pain I just threw out all the old soil and started over with a clean container fore the crickets and just stick soil in a diff container with them.

 

[panthercross]

go to lowes or home depot and buy insecticide and spray your property or hire a lawncare company. its bug season

 

[AZJ0SH]

I am going to pick up some sand in the morning, and do a layer ontop of the soil and add some more rocks.

go to lowes or home depot and buy insecticide and spray your property or hire a lawncare company. its bug season

That doesn't sound safe for the chameleon? I live in an apartment, I have no other plants around my apartment.

Usually gnats come in the winter, not the summer, at least in my experience.

 

[Chamero]

I think they come from too moist of dirt..Just make sure you turn the dirt more often and let it dry in between mistings

 

[AZJ0SH]

I think they come from too moist of dirt..Just make sure you turn the dirt more often and let it dry in between mistings

I read they can develop from moist soil, the soil drys out between mistings and never really stays wet.

 

[stevie]

What? A gnat is a gnat...

english is not my home language so i do not now wats a gnat

 

[tadeusz]

I went through the same thing when I used live plants. I could never get rid of them. No matter what I tried, they kept coming back. I really think my problem was poor drainage though. I tried several remedies and never had any work so I just got rid of my live plants altogether.

 

[seanUTD]

I have them... From what I can divulge living down here in Texas where gnats roam in visible blankets in the air... They're attracted to everything you wont be able to get rid of... the dirt around the live plants, I had some kind of gnat developing on the leaves (cleaned them properly, still came back)... They like the bug, crickets, roaches all of them... They like the gutload your feeding probably as well... I say NO insecticides and get a fly paper because I've tried everything there is to try and I have had no luck... I can't see them doing harm more as a nuisance but if you figure something out let me know!

 

[Jhov2324]

Sticky paper/fly paper on top of cham cage works wonders...

 

[cushcameleon]

I suffered from constant gnat problems regardless of the location I was in (humid CA, dry NV, etc.). I also tried homemade solutions, like some of those that were already described, and all of those failed. I spent time researching the causes of gnats, and most of the sources blamed over-wattered soil. This isn't terribly surprising, considering that chameleons require large amounts of misting/humidity. I then examined all of my pot soils, and sure enough they were infested with gnats. For months I continuously changed soils until I came up with another solution, which required experimenting with soil types.

If you check out my blog entry, you will see that I found an optimal soil for chameleon plants. Since I began mixing my own soils, I have had no problems with gnats (simply because the soil dries much faster: preventing gnat infestation). There are members who have also incorporated my sand/soil technique, and I have been told it works well for them as well. I hope this helps!

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/cushcameleon/131-custom-plant-soils.html#comment235