Gnats!

PaulaIN · Post by **PaulaIN** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:45 pm

I don't know if this is an emergency or not but there are little gnatty things in the substrate of my ISO tank where Hermie is buried down! OMG! What do I do??! I've been trying to fnd a past post on gnats but can't find one! HELP! I was worried about this because we tend to have these little fruit flies really bad in the summer here in the summer (Arizona). I was worried with the humidity in the crabitat that this would happen. I try and put the fruit/veggies out only at night and remove in the a.m. because leaving it there all day would certainly be a risk. None the less... they are now there in the soil! ARe they harmful? How do I get rid of them. I'm worried they will go next door to 10 gal tank as well. Any info would be much appreciated!

tnt4eva · Post by **tnt4eva** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:27 pm

Can you get a picture? If you can, it will help the people here who are good at IDing bugs to tell you what they are. If they are gnats, I doubt they are harmful. Fruit fly are not harmful either - just an annoyance to us.

You might find this thread helpful viewtopic.php?t=30282

SebbyCrab · Post by **SebbyCrab** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:49 am

What is your substrate? Fungus gnats love EE, I don't really think they do any harm they're just an annoyance.

viewtopic.php?t=30282

Post by **wodesorel** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:13 pm

If they are fruit flies they're easy to draw out of the tank and trap. (Sorry, I think tend to post this a lot.

) Mix half cider vinegar and half water, and to that add a few drops of dish soap, and either a sprinkling of sugar or a drop of honey. Place a dish or bottle of this somewhere out of the crabs reach inside of the tank (a small-necked bottle will keep the crabs from getting inside) or on top of the lid outside of the tank.

The vinegar and sugars is irresistible to the fruit flies, and the soap breaks the surface temperature of the liquid so when they land they immediately drown. This should clear your tank of all flies in a few days, and if you have a lot of flies you should change out the solution daily as when it becomes full of flies it stops working. I've had bad infestations in the summer, and this trick will always get rid of all of them in short order, with no drastic cleaning or chemicals!

PaulaIN · Post by **PaulaIN** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:37 pm

Thank you so much everyone! I will do the vinegar/water solution! We tend to have fruit flies pretty bad in the summer. I can't keep fruit on the counters at all. I've done the traps for the house but will put one in the tank and hopefully that'll do the trick!

Thanks again for the responses!

PaulaIN · Post by **PaulaIN** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:40 pm

Oh and yes, my substrate is EE and sand... more EE than sand because I have a hard time keeping the humidity up w/ the desert here in So. Arizona being so dry. Not thinking I can get a picture... ?? They are small and fly fast!!