Rats! I've got gnats!

[Guest]

I have gnats in my crabitat! I just got my 20L a little over a month ago and I have gnats. I never had gnats in my 10g tank. My hermies aren't into fruit so there's no fruit in there. I had cholla wood in there, but remembered something on here about wood eating gnats. I just took the cholla wood out last night. Is there any other reason I might have gnats & how the heck to I get rid of them?!?!? This is upsetting to me because I work very hard to keep a clean tank. It's not easy because I have problems standing for a long time and it takes me for ever to do things sometimes. I hope it's just from the cholla wood because then I'll just leave it out and get something else for them to climb on.Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Guest]

You didn't mention getting any new crabs lately, so I'm going to count that out of the possibilites of how you got them. I got mites from my new crabs even though I was sure I'd bathed them thoroughly. Anyway, the gnats may have gotten into your tank and decided to stay for the moisture, warmth, and endless food supply. They probably hide out in the decorations. In my mite incident (and you're going to hate me) I had to take all the crabs and decorations out, dump the sand, take the tank outside and hose it down, hose down all the decorations and toys, boil anything that I thought the bugs could be hiding in, replace the sand, bathe all the crabs over and over again to be sure. I basically had to quarintine everything. It was a big production. But I haven't had any bug problems since. I was also very anal about keeping my tank clean and I take a long time to do things, too. Sorry ^_^;. I hope that wasn't more than you needed to know and I hope I didn't give you useless information.

[Guest]

Try the wine trick, it works with fruit flies and might work with gnats as well. Take a small dish, something you can put out of the crabs reach, and put some red wine in, along with a drop of soap. Check it every day or so, and replace whenever it's got dead bugs in it.

[KittyCaller]

I have a very tough time keeping fruit flies (gnats) out of my tank. If you're using EE, you could switch to sand. However, even with my fruit fly problem I still prefer EE. Then again, I'm not completely nuts about getting the flies out. Call me lazy or irresponsible or whatever, but I don't get fanatic about them simply because they don't hurt the crabs. I realize they're pretty much only after the food and warm substrate. I haven't had one crab death yet because of them and they haven't made them sick either. Anyhow, they're annoying and you may not want them in your tank, but at least they don't hurt the crabs, unlike some types of mites.

[Nicole]

Suggestions from Other Members:From Julia Crab: Get some of these:http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp ... 648796Hang them above, outside, of your tank. The way the light reflects off the yellow tells the insects "dinnertime" and sometimes "lay your eggs here." It's a completely non-toxic glue so it won't outgas chemicals to irritate your crabs, and most of your gnats will stick to them and not go in your tank.From Oimsofunny: Here are a few ways of trying to get rid of them or keeping them away from your hermies tank.. The best way to get rid of them is to get a ziplock bag and put raspberries or any strong smelling fruit in it. Ziploc it up to almost closed, then put it near the hermit crabs tank. In the morning before thelights go on check the bag and quickly close the bag. Check the area to see if you have gotten them all if not then squish the ones in the bag and open it up a little bit. Leave it on the counter to catch the rest.Or another way is: Take an old jar with a lid, put some vinegar in, then place some plastic wrap on top with some holes, or even a metal lid…the flies are attracted to the smell go into the whole and can’t find their way out. Or:Have you ever seen the method outdoor restaurant patios use to keep flies out of the dining areas? Get a large freezer bag, put a penny in it, and fill it halfway with water, and hang them in the area you want to keep flies away from. They stay away thinking those are spiders. I seen that in Eureka Springs, Ark. at some of the outdoor cafes, and finally my curiosity made me ask, then they explained why they do it.