Gnats and other Dubia problems.

[Ostrommaysi]

For the past month I've been battling an onslaught of Gnats. They are breeding inside my dubia colony container. I figured maybe if I cleaned it out more maybe the problem would go away but that is simply not the case. Its gotten to where I clean it out daily and still everyday I open it up and see nothing but gnats. The container is in my room which is a clean, secure location so I don't understand why I'm having such a problem with them. Is there any way to get rid of gnats?

Its getting to the point I'm seriously considering getting rid of the colony. It makes me sad to do so I've raised the colony from 200 to several thousand. I open it up and I see dead roaches, not in masses but around 10 or 20 every day. I feed them daily with my own mix of puppy chow and cheerios. They eat through probably close to a liter bottle full each day. I fear the stench that is starting to form from the constant death is whats attracting the gnats.

Their temps are near a constant 90-95, they get a heap of water gels daily to keep it moist and they go through a mountain of roach feed a day. Plus I've been cleaning out their bin daily I honestly cannot keep this up much longer. Getting rid of the whole lot might be the only option left. I can't deal with the gnats in my face all the time anymore.

Any help or advice is appreciated

 

[tempusfugit]

Ya, pretty much everyone I know when their bugs get fruit flies or gnats there isn't an easy way to get rid of them except start over..

Maybe starting with fresh egg crates, a clean bin, and then transferring roaches 1 by 1 making sure they have no gnats on them would work, but that seems like it would take forever.. Maybe you can just get the biggest ones clean so you can get your colony back up again sooner.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

I really regret to have to resort to that. Even though they are just bugs I have a sort of pride and caring for them that comes from such a long time of helping the colony grow.

I guess I'll just grab a few moms and a dad and take it from there. Shame really but I am getting so sick and tired of gnats constantly in my room and in my face. I find it funny that people have such a problem with roaches. I mean how can roaches be considered so bad when Gnats are the unholy spawn of the devil

 

[randommonks]

Fruit flies need moisture to reproduce. Where I've found maggots most frequently is where the water crystals come into contact with the frass. I normally have to take a spoon to that corner to get out all the wet poop and maggots every week. They also like to lay eggs into the dead roaches so I remove those as quickly as I see them. I once put a dead roach that had been in the bin for about 3 days when I noticed some flies in a jar. Eventually dozens of fruit flies filled the jar, and even started laying their own eggs in the dead roach.

If the problem is bad, take the whole bin outside and shake it all out. Do this for a couple of days, and eventually all the grown flies will go away. Scoop out any maggots you see, and remove all dead roaches. Right now for me, it's population control.

 

[clear]

I would suggest lowering your temps between 85-90. We clean tubs about once a month when we pull the babies out. I freeze all the eggflats to kill off any gnat eggs that have been laid inside them. I also dont recommend keeping a top on them. (it sounds like you do) Try this if its possible.

-Create a fresh new tub of fresh egg flats, and a clean tub and place in a different room with a closed door.
-Filter all the dubia waste from the dubia.
-Leave the dubia in a large tub for a bit and try to make all the gnats fly away.
-After a few hours take the dubia and place in the new tub in the different room and leave them there for a few days. Dont worry about temps, just make sure they have food and water.
-Before you move the dubia back to the original room, clean it good and kill all the gnats that you possibly can.

I know this all seems like a lot of trouble, but after you do it a few times it should really kill the gnat population.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of another room to put them in D: The only reason I have them in my room to begin with is due to the fact I live with others. My only living space has pretty much been modified to support my beardie. All the other rooms either have occupants or can be accessed by our cats. My room is really the only safe haven. Maybe I can air out the container outside, let the gnats fly away. Then transfer the roaches over before bringing them inside. I have them in a big 48 long container, there are a lot of roaches inside

I'll try getting a new set of egg flats, a new container ect and transferring them over as much as possible. My room is always extremely clean, I even wipe everything down with disinfecting wipes. Its gotta be as it doubles as my beardie's playground.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

I was forced to get rid of the colony. It got to the point the roaches were getting killed off and the walls of the container were infested with Gnats.

Shame. I cared for them for so long. But I didn't want to risk any bacteria or disease reaching my beardie

 

[kjinxx2]

What did you do with them? (Curiosity)

 

[Ostrommaysi]

Took them outside and turned the container over. I'll let them fend for themselves till the cold weather claims them.

I hate to condemn anything to death but it was past the point of return for the colony. It was getting so bad.

 

[tempusfugit]

Took them outside and turned the container over. I'll let them fend for themselves till the cold weather claims them.

I hate to condemn anything to death but it was past the point of return for the colony. It was getting so bad.

:roll:

This is why states like florida can't get dubias...

 

[Ostrommaysi]

Took them outside and turned the container over. I'll let them fend for themselves till the cold weather claims them.

I hate to condemn anything to death but it was past the point of return for the colony. It was getting so bad.

:roll:

This is why states like florida can't get dubias...

I'm sorry if you disapprove but I did what I had to do. I put em off back in the woods so its not likely they'd bother anybody even if they managed to survive the cold and rain. I needed them out of my house and quick

 

[rdoyle]

Just a question where do you live?