Then we have to figure out what you are doing wrong. I forget what age and species of tort you have...let's start there...but maggie i've done all this and and i had hundreds of the bloomin things, i read how people don't change their substrate for months even years and yet i struggle to get through a month,
Okay so based on that I’m not sure I have either ….. :/ only a few of them actually fly around, there is always just a few little tiny black things flying around almost fly looking. Then when I mix around the soil you see all these little tiny whitish dots moving around everywhere back under the soil. Any idea ? They would try to lay eggs near my water dish and all die I think tooFungus gnats are wee flying insects...they look like miniature mosquitos. They dart around on the ground, but when you go to poke at them, they fly off. Springtails don't fly - they *sproing!* when disturbed by deploying an itsy lever under the abdomen.
Springtail | Insects, Soil Dwellers, Microarthropods
Springtail, (order Collembola), any of approximately 6,000 small, primitive, wingless insects that range in length from 1 to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inch). Most species are characterized by a forked appendage (furcula) attached at the end of the abdomen and held in place under tension from thewww.britannica.com
fungus gnat - Ditomyia
An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information.bugguide.net
Phorid flies are likewise tiny, but have a more Fly-like appearance:
phorid fly - Phalacrotophora longifrons
An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information.
