Fruit flys in my cage

[ScottChoc]

Over the last couple of weeks there have been an increasing number fruit flys in the cage. They don't seem to bother my cham too much. I have seen him try to eat one and miss once but he doesn't want to eat them generally. Is there a way I can get rid of them?

Cage Type - 18x18x36 screen cage (LLL Reptile)
Lighting - 18" Reptisun, 25w light bulb. 7am - 7pm
Temperature - 80-85 basking, 70-75 ambient, 60 overnight
Humidity - 30-50, up to 70-80 during/after misting
Plants - Schefflera arboricola, fake vines
Placement - Cage is in my bedroom, light traffic, I occasionally turn on a fan 1' away from the bottom of the cage to circulate air through the cage and help evaporate excess water on the bottom.
Location - Southern California

 

[alhickabee]

You sure they're fruit flies and not fungus gnats? Do a forum search on fungus gnats there are many ways to get rid of them.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Fruit flies are attracted by rottin fruit and similar. remove anything like that from the cage.

More likely you have gnats. Do the search as suggested. This seems to be a common problem, but luckily one with many easy solutions. The best/easiest of which is Let the plant soil dry out completely.

 

[codiwatkins]

awww........you can gte gnats in your cage......that is something i am def not looking forward to!

 

[ScottChoc]

I think they are fungus gnats actually. I guess I will need to re-pot my Schefflera.

and on the subject of re-potting, how deep does the soil need to be for Schefflera? If I re-pot it I would like to use a pot that is shorter than my current one so the plant can sit lower in the cage.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I think they are fungus gnats actually. I guess I will need to re-pot my Schefflera.

You dont need to repot to rid yourself of gnats. Just let the soil dry out completely before you water it. The larva and the fungus it eats needs moisture. You can also cover the soil with plastic wrap to prevent the gnats from laying eggs. And/or have at least two inches of rock on top of the soil, again to prevent the gnat from laying more eggs.