gnat season/ fruit fly

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Sun May 10, 2015 3:32 pm

Warmer muggy weather has been poking its head in the forecast and with that come gnats and those little fruit flies. They will find there way into your tank and become a pest also they will make homes in your house plants..best way to prevent it is keep your trash can in your house empty, garbage disposal clean and empty, any fruits and veggies keep them from rotting. Once these little bugers invade your house and your tank they are hard to get rid of. My crabs will not move if there is bugs in their tank!!! I have felt with this I think 5 times cause people keep giving us veggies..

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon May 11, 2015 6:10 am

@Laurie, I just had my hermitcrabs outside in one of their wire carriers because the weather has been in the 80's and the humidity has been in the 70's.I redid the substrate in my forty gallon because the sand was going on two years old and had a really musty, weird odor and needed replacing badly so we went by the pet store Saturday and I got the last three pack of Eco Earth they had and immediately dumped out about half the sand in the forty.I took the opportunity while I had my hermitcrabs out of the enclosure and put them outside in a safe place so they could enjoy some natural sunlight.I noticed some gnats in the enclosure when I was in it cleaning it out because my mother let some bananas go bad in the house which attracted them in the first place.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Tue May 12, 2015 7:48 am

Recently I've noticed a couple gnats in my tank but my hermit crabs don't seemed bothered by it because I keep it under control. I live in a backroom at my mom's house so bugs are kind of a given. But everyday when they are sleeping I go blow on the substrate a little and shake their wall net to get anything out and if I can I kill it if not I at least try to shoo it out of thir tank (and sometimes kill it once it's out because it's easier) so I at least already have my situation in control and I don't want it getting worse so I'll definitely will be following your suggestions. @crabber85 that can be done? Its safe to do that? Like put your hermit crabs outside in a wired cage for a little? Because I'd be worried about a few things like humidity. How were you able to tell the humidity outside? And is it the same as having the humidity in the tank? Also I'd worry about bugs getting in their cage. If there's a way though I'd love to take my babies outside and chill with me when the conditions are right. <3

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Tue May 12, 2015 1:41 pm

Yes its perfectly safe as long as nobody is using pesticides, bug sprays or smoking near the hermitcrabs.Here in GA you can get the humidity level in the local weather report and being in the south we are one of the muggiest states you'll ever see in the summer time so on any given day the humidity will be over seventy percent naturally just due to our weather patterns and location.I've done this several times and never had any problems with pests getting in with the crabs.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Tue May 12, 2015 2:59 pm

Awsome! I live in San bernardino CA so summer is always hot. It reaches the 100s here and there is a good portion in the middle of summer it's muggy like no other. At least I don't like it. What I do like however is relaxing outside reading a book and I'd love to have company and let them get some natural sunlight and at my house there is non of that in the air we don't use any of those things. So one day I'll try it and I'll get a wire cage for them. ^_^ I'm excited.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Tue May 12, 2015 3:35 pm

If the temps outside are higher than the upper eighties I would avoid leaving the crabs out in that for very long as the excessive heat will cause some breathing issues but other than that you should be good to go.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Tue May 12, 2015 3:57 pm

OK thats good to know I will remember that. I have asthma so I know what it's like to not be able to breath. Thankyou for letting me know I'd never want to do that to my hermies

Herman Coen · Post by **Herman Coen** » Tue May 12, 2015 5:13 pm

I remember once when I opened the tank top I saw one little fly go in towards the full spectrum light and I have had them ever since. When feeding time comes I blow on the substrate like paperheartz does and then I take the dustbuster and suck a couple up. Right now there are a lot of baby crickets and almost zero flies, so I think they are getting them. Here in Colorado it is rather dry and fruit isn’t the problem, wet soil in a potted plant is all it takes to have them.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Wed May 13, 2015 8:15 pm

My father in law brings veggies over and so much that we can't eat it before it to ripe and then the flies come. I'm convinced the veggies have them already on them..if I see one split, starting to turn rotten veggie then it goes bye bye

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Thu May 14, 2015 11:37 am

quote:Originally posted by Herman Coen:I remember once when I opened the tank top I saw one little fly go in towards the full spectrum light and I have had them ever since. When feeding time comes I blow on the substrate like paperheartz does and then I take the dustbuster and suck a couple up. Right now there are a lot of baby crickets and almost zero flies, so I think they are getting them. Here in Colorado it is rather dry and fruit isn’t the problem, wet soil in a potted plant is all it takes to have them. Ya blowing in the tank seems to get them going. But how do you catch them with the dustbuster? I would think that would be too messy and end up sucking up a lot of substrate and stuff. I could just see it going bad. @laurie have you tried refrigerating or freezing them that might keep them from going bad so quickly

Herman Coen · Post by **Herman Coen** » Mon May 18, 2015 6:16 pm

paperheartz; quote:Ya blowing in the tank seems to get them going. But how do you catch them with the dustbuster? I would think that would be too messy and end up sucking up a lot of substrate and stuff. I could just see it going bad. I don’t have to go far into the tank. The lid is a quarter tank top sized with a two bulb LED light I use for quick night checks or feeding. The flies head right to it when they get stirred up and I just hold the dustbuster near the light, don’t need to go into the tank. No way to get them all, but love getting what I can.

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Mon May 25, 2015 12:12 pm

thats a great idea! i have a over the tank light too and they fly to the light too i noticed. i usually either shoo them out of the tank when i see them starting to fly out the tank or i try and catch them with my hands. i either squish them if they land on the glass or pinch them off the net or try to clap it if they fly to the middle of the air. but just letting them fly to the light and getting them there seems easier haha ima try that. but lately i havent found any actually....i really hope it stays that way. ^.^

Herman Coen · Post by **Herman Coen** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 2:08 pm

I used to shoo them but the crabs really didn’t like all that motion over their heads, not to mention I had all these little buggers flying around the house. They have enough trouble with the lid being open. Now, when ‘bust' the gnats I make sure the dust buster doesn’t touch the tank and vibrate it. I can sweep back and forth and get them where I see them with a little nose cone that flips out from the end of the vacuum. The crabs are not bothered by it nearly as much.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:34 pm

If you use a over the tank light where your light is outside like a heat looking lamp and crabs can't get near it.. Then you can try sticky strip type bait.. the type that you use for ants roaches and what ever bugs. You can peel the back off and the set it up by your light. They get attracted to the light at night then get stuck t9 the paper. I would use pop cicle sticks to carry it and move it cause it gets stuck to you it's hard to get off'

paperheartz · Post by **paperheartz** » Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:30 am

@Herman Coen when I shoo ed them the crabs were either hiding or I did it behind them like if they were facing one way I'd do it the opposite direction and make sure I didn't cast a shadow over them ^_^ and then they flew in the room it was easier for me to kill them without worrying id scare the crabs or break the tank or something. but that defiantly sounds easier and that's for letting me know about the caution of not hitting the tank. Like it seems obvious when u think about it but I might not have initially thought about it. @LAURIE I do have an over the tank light. It's a long bar looking thing that I just sit over the screen on the outside. Also there's a gap between the screen and the light because the edges of the tank are raised and the light sits on the edges so if my natural problem were to come back to get worse like it was for a couple days I might try that. Thankyou.