foghog
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 235
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Post by foghog on Aug 14, 2011 21:07:46 GMT
Anyone have any ideas on how to deal with them? I only have like two. I know I could do a thorough clean, but do not want to frankly. I do not think they'll harm the snails at all, but its annoying. I thought about setting up a container with fruit in the bottom, and a cone to small for the snails to get into but enough for the FF's, and being a cone will presumably prevent them coming out again. but figured I'd ask and see what others think.
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bugz2go
Achatina achatina
Posts: 56
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Post by bugz2go on Aug 14, 2011 21:36:52 GMT
If you only see a few it isn`t a problem but better do it now before they multiply. Do a google search for this `How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies - wikiHow`. Some good tips but some not for the tanks themselves, just the room. Window fly traps (stickers) do a great job but look a bit unsightly especially when they have dead flies on them. Never use a fly spray in the same room as any pets. Regards Paul www.bugz2go.com
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foghog
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 235
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Post by foghog on Aug 15, 2011 0:15:48 GMT
thanks...ut this is for in the tank, not in my house. I have to think they got in there from fruit feeding the snails....I don;t think fly tape would be a good idea to use in the tank with the snails.I just figured since it was the perfect environment for them, fruit and food and warm and moist, surely others ran into having them at least once.
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Post by angelgirls29 on Aug 15, 2011 10:25:25 GMT
I read, somewhere, to get a tub and put fruit in it and then stretch tights/nylons over it - the flies can get in but they can't get out. I'm currently testing it but my fly population seems to have dwindled...
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foghog
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 235
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Post by foghog on Aug 15, 2011 14:58:42 GMT
"I'm currently testing it but my fly population seems to have dwindled.."
Doesn't that mean it is working?
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Post by angelgirls29 on Aug 16, 2011 8:20:12 GMT
No, I just seem to have less flies about - there's none in the trap (unless they disintegrate or something in the trap)
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Post by muddydragon on Aug 16, 2011 10:17:27 GMT
as reguards in the tank the best thing to do is take out any fruit before it goes too sqishy, they breed on this the larvae feed on the bad fruit before hatching into fruit flies (it's probable the ones you saw were looking for somewhere to lay and wont be a problem if you prevent there young from hatching). the other problem is i immagine they can do this on 'fruity poo'. another similar looking small fly breeds in soil which is a pain if it get's into compost (i have a lot of plants where this sometimes occurs) i don't know if this can happen with coir though.
if they start coming into the room a less unsightly trap is a carnivourous plant (not venus fly trap they're not terribly effective on small flies and need a lot of heat to be effective atall) something like a sundew or butterwort (living fly paper) or a pitcher plant works best.
as reguards your cone plan it depends how steep the sides are slanted are you going to have the narrow end at the top or bottom? with the narrow end at the top they are less likely to escape - but still can if they can grip the sides you'll need to put something slippery or sticky at the top.
sorry that's not a great deal of help but i hope it is of some help
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coyote
Archachatina papyracea
Cochleas ego amo
Posts: 2,955
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Post by coyote on Aug 16, 2011 17:47:59 GMT
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foghog
Achatina immaculata
Posts: 235
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Post by foghog on Aug 16, 2011 19:44:05 GMT
"Put a paper cone with a small hole in the bottom in the mouth of the jar. It should have the pointed end pointed downward. The fruit flies will enter the cone through the large end by the mouth of the bottle and find their way through the hole into the bottle. They will not be able to get out."
thats what I did and it worked great. at least so far. I change my food everyday, I never let it get yucky, and I clean different parts of the substrate every 3 days as well. after reading about fruit flies it appears they lay eggs, the larvae hatches in 24 hours, then becomes a larva through 3 periods, in which case it hardens and then becomes a adult. so it appears like it takes 3 days from egg to adult anyways, which means I'm killing them before they become adults by baking the coir, surely.
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