Fungus Gnat Infestation and Possible Solution

[Michael Twohy]

Hi all,

Issue:
For the past two months, I've been dealing with fungus gnats, and in the last couple weeks, they've gone from annoying to out-of-control.

Current Solution (which doesn't work):
I've been putting out sugar water traps, which catch about 100 gnats in 3-4 days, but the gnats breed faster than I can kill them. I had to throw out my seed-mix planters because they had hundreds of eggs and larvae, and now I'm realizing that his substrate (Eco-Earth Coco-Coir) has the same issue. I usually rehydrate the substrate about once a week, but since they like hot and humid, I've stopped doing that in an attempt to prevent them from laying eggs... but it's not working and I don't want to have his humidity this low for this long. I need a solution ASAP.

Possible new solution that I'd like some feedback on:
I was going to replace his substrate entirely, but I know they'll just start breeding again as soon as the new stuff is in. So my new idea is:
1) Set up more traps
2) Remove all of his substrate for a few days
3) Once flies die off, put new substrate in.

My main worry is that he won't have substrate for a few days... but I don't see another solution. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Herman_WA]

I too had a similar problem and I just hung up one of those flypaper ribbons above his enclosure. After a few weeks, I haven’t found any more of those pesky flys.

 

[ALICENWNDERLND]

I bought a “Katchy” off of Amazon, I put it in the enclosure at night and next to it during the day. I’m on day 3 and im happy with the results. Not Immediate but better! I know it sounds silly but I had bad images of my hermanns swinging on the fly strips ?

 

[Herman_WA]

I bought a “Katchy” off of Amazon, I put it in the enclosure at night and next to it during the day. I’m on day 3 and im happy with the results. Not Immediate but better! I know it sounds silly but I had bad images of my hermanns swinging on the fly strips ?

Ha ha ha!? Wouldn't that be a funny sight! ?? Hope it works out for ya! With the flys, that is.....

 

[Michael Twohy]

I too had a similar problem and I just hung up one of those flypaper ribbons above his enclosure. After a few weeks, I haven’t found any more of those pesky flys.

Just got some today! Hoping it'll work.

 

[TeamZissou]

I had a similar problem since about August.

After the first infestation was out of control, I replaced the substrate and baked it before putting it in the closed chamber. It was fine for a while, but then it got seeded with fungus gnats that were probably flying around the house or other potted plants nearby. I eventually put a TON of the stick traps hanging from the ceiling of the box, with the idea that if the flies fly around, a majority of the places to land were sticky traps. This worked well and a lot of the traps are full.

I also got some "Gnatrol" which is a bacterial larvicide and is supposed to be safe for pets. The BTI bacteria supposedly only eats the gnats in the larvae phase. I mixed up a couple of gallons of that at the highest strength possible and drenched 95% of the soil at night and avoided the corner where the hatchling tortoise was buried. I also used mosquito bits at one point and soaked them in water to remove the BTI . The mosquito bits are much weaker and hence were a waste of money. I removed the tortoise and did the Gnatrol treatment a few different times but never saw any ill effects, so I just leave him in there now. The best place I found to buy Gnatrol in smaller quantities was ebay; Amazon only had a ~50 lb pail for like $150. It's best to wait 4-6 days between treatments due to the life cycle of the gnats.

I have also been running a Katchy for a few hours periodically after the tortoise has gone to bed. I imagine that if my tort woke up, he would think there was a spaceship in his box!

Lately I've only seen a few in the closed chamber. I hope someday soon I can remove all of the hanging sticky traps.

In summary, the best thing I've found is to hang as many sticky traps as possible, treat the substrate with Gnatrol, and try to brush the top layer to get as many gnats as possible to fly up and stick to the sticky traps. With this approach, I only see about one or two per week and hope to see none soon.

 

[Michael Twohy]

I had a similar problem since about August.

After the first infestation was out of control, I replaced the substrate and baked it before putting it in the closed chamber. It was fine for a while, but then it got seeded with fungus gnats that were probably flying around the house or other potted plants nearby. I eventually put a TON of the stick traps hanging from the ceiling of the box, with the idea that if the flies fly around, a majority of the places to land were sticky traps. This worked well and a lot of the traps are full.

I also got some "Gnatrol" which is a bacterial larvicide and is supposed to be safe for pets. The BTI bacteria supposedly only eats the gnats in the larvae phase. I mixed up a couple of gallons of that at the highest strength possible and drenched 95% of the soil at night and avoided the corner where the hatchling tortoise was buried. I also used mosquito bits at one point and soaked them in water to remove the BTI . The mosquito bits are much weaker and hence were a waste of money. I removed the tortoise and did the Gnatrol treatment a few different times but never saw any ill effects, so I just leave him in there now. The best place I found to buy Gnatrol in smaller quantities was ebay; Amazon only had a ~50 lb pail for like $150. It's best to wait 4-6 days between treatments due to the life cycle of the gnats.

I have also been running a Katchy for a few hours periodically after the tortoise has gone to bed. I imagine that if my tort woke up, he would think there was a spaceship in his box!

Lately I've only seen a few in the closed chamber. I hope someday soon I can remove all of the hanging sticky traps.

In summary, the best thing I've found is to hang as many sticky traps as possible, treat the substrate with Gnatrol, and try to brush the top layer to get as many gnats as possible to fly up and stick to the sticky traps. With this approach, I only see about one or two per week and hope to see none soon.

Thanks a ton! Just ordered a Katchy, and I'm pretty intrigued by the Gnatrol. How much did you need to buy?

 

[Tolis]

If you let the top inch of soil dry for 2-3 days then the gnat eggs will die and gnats will dissappear.
Sticky traps help speed up the process but it's not a solution.

 

[TeamZissou]

I initially bought 1/2 pound for something like $32 which wasn't terrible. At that point, I was in the stage of the super-bad infestation before the substrate replacement. I probably used 1/3 of the 1/2 pound trying to get that substrate to work before abandoning it.

Baking the soil worked fairly well, but it eventually got re-seeded. I then went crazy with the sticky traps trying to get any gnats to land on the traps by default. I feel like the two stage approach (of traps + Gnatrol) worked.

Doing a total dry-out wasn't an option as I didn't have a second place to put my tortoise. He didn't even enjoy being in a1.5 x 2' tote over night.

Plus, that would have let all the gnats into the living room, where they would most likely go to other plants to hide out and return later.
.

 

[SJTort]

Lots of good solutions here! I have tons of gnats in the plants that I grow for my Greek tort (small indoor greenhouse). I read that I can water the plants with a hydrogen peroxide solution to kill them. Is that safe to do though since Frank eats the plants?

 

[GMDVM]

First I bake the soil before using it for seeds or for potted plants. I also boil the substrate before using ( coir and cypress mulch ) A real tedious undertaking. Also soak potted plants with Hydrogen Peroxide- the soil is out of his reach. Also use sticky tape in the enclosure. Still have a few after all that. Boy do I hate gnats. Thanks for the tip on Gnatrol. Can you use it while the tortoise is in the enclosure? My little Hermann is only 5 months old.

 

[TeamZissou]

I initially removed the tortoise, but eventually just waited until he dug in for the night and then doused 95% of the enclosure except for the corner where he was buried. I did not see any ill effects.

 

[GMDVM]

I initially removed the tortoise, but eventually just waited until he dug in for the night and then doused 95% of the enclosure except for the corner where he was buried. I did not see any ill effects.

Thank you much!

 

[Michael Twohy]

Hi all, sorry for the late response. Got super busy with college/work, and completely forgot about this thread. Anyways, I'm happy to say that the fungus gnat's are no longer a problem!

• Things I did:
  • Lined the perimeter of the tortoise table with sticky traps, and they worked like a charm.
  • Allowed the substrate to dry out for a couple weeks, which prevented eggs from hatching.
  • Bought a Katchy. Cannot recommend this thing enough. It looks sleek and keeps the gnats under control
    • Apart from it's blue light, placing a banana peel on top of it can help to lure the gnats in.

If you follow these steps, you should expect the gnat population to significantly decrease in about a week or two.