Hi everyone. I have come upon a problem I have not had before and that is teeny flying gnat thingys in my tortoise planted indoor enclosure.
From reading around the internet they either came in the substrate or in some of the roots of the plants Ive planted in there. Problem is how to get rid of them without completely changing, baking, freezing or microwaving new substrate before I put It in.
Ive read people have several methods from keeping the soil dry to white vinegar but they seem to have variable effects. I just cant face putting other bugs into he enclosure, it is open topped and Id have nightmares that they are escaping all over the flat. Same reason I don't want to go down the praying mantis route that Ive seen mentioned.
I did come across a couple of plants recommended for them but I need to know if they are safe IN the tortoise enclosure or if Id have to leave them in pots on top of my tortoises house where he cant get to them, even then, I guess they could potentially find a way to poison him so here I am asking for advice. The two plants Ive seen suggested for being good for actually massively reducing this fungus knat population, its not in the hundreds but it is in the tens which is bad enough, are Buttorwort and Drosera.
So, any sugguestions regarding these two plants please, Ive got a little Russian. I cant really go down the drying out the soil route because the plants are planted so need watering as I wanted him to be able to wander around and graze in as natural a way as possible for an indoor enclosure. There is no rotting food in there although some of the plants that were planted for food have been reassigned as mattress's by Gary my tort, some he eats, some he loves to sleep on instead and they eventually just sort of wither and no amount of watering will save them so I then take the straight out.
From reading around the internet they either came in the substrate or in some of the roots of the plants Ive planted in there. Problem is how to get rid of them without completely changing, baking, freezing or microwaving new substrate before I put It in.
Ive read people have several methods from keeping the soil dry to white vinegar but they seem to have variable effects. I just cant face putting other bugs into he enclosure, it is open topped and Id have nightmares that they are escaping all over the flat. Same reason I don't want to go down the praying mantis route that Ive seen mentioned.
I did come across a couple of plants recommended for them but I need to know if they are safe IN the tortoise enclosure or if Id have to leave them in pots on top of my tortoises house where he cant get to them, even then, I guess they could potentially find a way to poison him so here I am asking for advice. The two plants Ive seen suggested for being good for actually massively reducing this fungus knat population, its not in the hundreds but it is in the tens which is bad enough, are Buttorwort and Drosera.
So, any sugguestions regarding these two plants please, Ive got a little Russian. I cant really go down the drying out the soil route because the plants are planted so need watering as I wanted him to be able to wander around and graze in as natural a way as possible for an indoor enclosure. There is no rotting food in there although some of the plants that were planted for food have been reassigned as mattress's by Gary my tort, some he eats, some he loves to sleep on instead and they eventually just sort of wither and no amount of watering will save them so I then take the straight out.
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