# Gnats in my habitat!



## Cali~jenn

What doi do to get rid of a gnat infestation in my habitat? I clean it daily and when i put it alltogether we had no problems. Think it took maybe a month or so before i noticed them and now there r tons. I have tried letting the soil dry out (as i found somewhere per a google search) which isnt as easy as you would think. This also goes against the whole keeping it humid idea. Lol i keep their hide very wet and at 80 like i have seen and the tank i keep between 90-100. I put a fly strip in there which did catch a bunch but there r more daily i think. Maybe once the soil dries completely they will stop? We pick from the garden for much of their food and i am thinking that may be where they started from. Anyhow... I am stuck between figting them and dumping it all to start over. I just ordered pillbugs (was thinking what we had in there died cuz we havent seen any in forever) but dont want to put them in if i am going to start over. Also if i must start over, how do i keep them from reclaiming the enclosure if they did come from the yard? help! Also, can they hurt the baby tortoises? They dont seem to mind them but i am itchy and having bug nigtmares so must bother them too. Lol


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## tortdad

The bug eggs were in the soil, they hatched after you added moisture and heat. It always happens but the good news is they are harmless to your tort and will go away soon. I wouldn't dry the soil out. I just wait it out, they will a hatch soon. I wouldn't use the flu strip either. The heat from your lamp will heat the glue possibly releasing toxic gasses in your enclosure.


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## Cali~jenn

tortdad said:


> The bug eggs were in the soil, they hatched after you added moisture and heat. It always happens but the good news is they are harmless to your tort and will go away soon. I wouldn't dry the soil out. I just wait it out, they will a hatch soon. I wouldn't use the flu strip either. The heat from your lamp will heat the glue possibly releasing toxic gasses in your enclosure.



Wont they just keep having more babies? I have even tried a vinegar bowl up high out of reach of the babies but didnt attract any. Didnt think about the heat lamp and the glue, i hate those strips anyhow so i wont use anymore. Was nice tho seeing them die on it. Made Me feel like we were getting somewhere. Then if you think it is ok, i will dump the pillbugs in while the tortoises r outside. Am i the only one who has tortoises that try to eat the pillbugs? Hopefully these ones will get hidden well before the babies' outting is over.


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## tortdad

Cali~jenn said:


> Wont they just keep having more babies? I have even tried a vinegar bowl up high out of reach of the babies but didnt attract any. Didnt think about the heat lamp and the glue, i hate those strips anyhow so i wont use anymore. Was nice tho seeing them die on it. Made Me feel like we were getting somewhere. Then if you think it is ok, i will dump the pillbugs in while the tortoises r outside. Am i the only one who has tortoises that try to eat the pillbugs? Hopefully these ones will get hidden well before the babies' outting is over.



Pill bugs are a favorite snack for most torts.


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## Cali~jenn

tortdad said:


> Pill bugs are a favorite snack for most torts.


Great... Between the turtles and the water dish drownings these bugs will get expensive. Would be niceif we had them in the yard naturally.


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## tortdad

Cali~jenn said:


> Great... Between the turtles and the water dish drownings these bugs will get expensive. Would be niceif we had them in the yard naturally.


The gnats will be gone in no time. Next time you out new substraight in you can bake it in the oven on low like 250 for a few hours or freeze it for 48 hrs. This will kill most of the eggs before they can hatch. When I spot clean i take some substraight out make it really wet and microwave the crap out of it to steam it up.


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## ShannonC

So, I'm gonna put pill bugs in my enclosures, and I'm gonna hang fly strips near each of them. But, how do I get rid of all the ones that live in the dirt of my plants?????? I'm sure I can find a way to get rid of them from my regular houseplants, but I grow a lot of plants for my babies and would not want to put any type of chemical on any of those. Every time I water the plants, they go EVERYWHERE!!!! They are driving me INSANE!!!

Too bad I can't keep the pill bugs contained in my plants!!


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## Tom

These little substrate flies are harmless detrivores. They come from the surrounding environment. You can use sterilized, baked, boiled or otherwise disinfected substrate and they will still show up, because they are not coming from the soil or substrate, they are coming from the surrounding area.

To get rid of them and keep them away without toxic chemicals, you will need to bake, boil, or replace your substrate every two weeks or so.

Personally, they don't bother me and I just leave them alone.


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## christinaland128

1st make sure you remove old food remnants. I use this thing and it works great. When it runs out, I put apple vinegar in it. http://m.homedepot.com/p/Terro-Fruit-Fly-Trap-2500/203225201/


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## christinaland128

They are harmless I agree, but they like to join a suicide pact in your coffee cup if you leave it for too long. Lol.


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## Tom

christinaland128 said:


> They are harmless I agree, but they like to join a suicide pact in your coffee cup if you leave it for too long. Lol.



Thank you. Since I am not an avid coffee drinker, I would never have known that!


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## ShannonC

LOL......I was just complaining about this this morning......I left my coffee cup unattended for a few minutes and came back to THREE in my cup!! My husband drinks his coffee black, and he never has this problem!

The only problem with the trap from Home Depot is that I have plants scattered all over my house, so I would have to have like ten of them all over the place. These things grow and multiply in my houseplants just as fast as in the babies' closed chamber!!


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## Cali~jenn

Ok... I am now not seeing as may flying gnats but many little bugs on the ground. Is there another bug it could be? I was thinking it was baby gnats but now that most the flying gnats r gone i am second guessing it. They r so teeny tiny but many of them....


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## JohnnyB65

I had a bad infestation of them a few years back when I put some sod in. I could not even sit on patio for over a month. I bought a couple dozen fly strips and had them hanging about every 3ft or so which made the patio completely useless. They would fill up and had to be replaced every 3 days until finally they were gone. It was so frustrating that I was getting ready to move, but I haven’t had them since.


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## Yvonne G

The ones on the ground that don't fly are springtails. I hate those things. The only way to get rid of them is to dump the substrate, sanitize the habitat and start over. I use a product called Orange Guard. It's a natural product and isn't harmful to the tortoise, but smells strong, so I don't use too much of it. I spray the empty habitat, then add a layer of substrate, then spray that layer, then I add more substrate and don't spray that layer. If more springtails start up after a bit, I'll remove the tortoise (a good time to give him a good soak) remove the top layer of substrate and spray with Orange Guard, adding another clean layer of substrate over the top.

Usually, by the time the infestation has reached extra large proportions, the weather turns warm and I'm able to put the tortoises outside during the day, and break down and store all the indoor habitats. For night time all you need is a cardboard box full of shredded newspaper, then back outside the next day.


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## Cali~jenn

Yvonne G said:


> The ones on the ground that don't fly are springtails. I hate those things. The only way to get rid of them is to dump the substrate, sanitize the habitat and start over. I use a product called Orange Guard. It's a natural product and isn't harmful to the tortoise, but smells strong, so I don't use too much of it. I spray the empty habitat, then add a layer of substrate, then spray that layer, then I add more substrate and don't spray that layer. If more springtails start up after a bit, I'll remove the tortoise (a good time to give him a good soak) remove the top layer of substrate and spray with Orange Guard, adding another clean layer of substrate over the top.
> 
> Usually, by the time the infestation has reached extra large proportions, the weather turns warm and I'm able to put the tortoises outside during the day, and break down and store all the indoor habitats. For night time all you need is a cardboard box full of shredded newspaper, then back outside the next day.


Yes i think they r springtails, you r right! The orange guard will kill the pillbugs too wont it? I have diatomaceous earth and am tempted to start sprinkling that in there but dont want to kill the pillbugs too. Guess i need to start over and try and find all the pillbugs to salvage them out of this substrate before i trash it? Such a pain.... I have been putting it off.


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## Yvonne G

Well, the pill bugs eat decaying matter and old food/poop left in the habitat. If you spot clean, there won't be anything for them to eat and they'll die anyway.


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves

christinaland128 said:


> They are harmless I agree, but they like to join a suicide pact in your coffee cup if you leave it for too long. Lol.


Too funny. Thanks for sharing. I do love me-cup-o-joe in the morning out in the garden. Better start looking before I drink 'em. No gnat protein for me.


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