HUBSonDUBS
Established Member
Is there any solution to deal with the small little flies that I get in my cricket keeper, and anything to deal with the smell. I clean it out religiously every 5-7 day.
How to deal with the flies in my cricket keeper.
- Thread starter HUBSonDUBS
- Start date
ChameleonsTree
New Member
well thats not often enough to get the dead ones out...you live where is warm...keep them outside.
HUBSonDUBS
Established Member
never thought of that.
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
Welcome to the absolute worst aspect of chameleon keeping - bulk crickets means lots of dead stuff in the cricket container. That attracts our sworn enemy, the phroid fly.
These little wretches are so vile, I can't fully describe how much I truly depise their entire evolutionary history.
They thrive on warmth and moisture and death. Dead crickets, dead dubia, dead eggs - heck, maybe even good eggs, all attract these things.
They are the reason you shouldn't put holes in your egg containers - nothing like finding an near-term egg pulsating with hundreds of maggots.
They are easy to control, if your setup is done properly.
Dry those SOB's out - keep your cricket bin well ventilated - do not try to shut them out - these flies will get in. The key is to make the conditions unsuitable to their larvae (technical term for: absolutely disgusting maggot that is merely a step above parasitic worms on the level of vileness).
What works for me 100% of the time: A 100 Watt bulb suspended above my cricket bin 24/7. Keeps them warm in the winter, dries all the dead crickets. If you spill water, or some cricket bin detritus gets moist -they will move in - the heat lamp prevents this from happening. Make sure that the majority of the bottom of the bin is heated by the light - might take some trial and error.
I switched to a 26 Watt CFL bulb this summer - cause it was getting warm. One weekend the phorids came in (open door). I noticed the dead crickets were moist on the bottom of the cage, and dumped th ewhole lot out in the yard - about 1000 pupae were stuck to the bottom, under the dead crickets. would have been BAD.
BAck to a 100W bulb, no more maggots in the crickets... I need to put screens on my roaches, though...
These little wretches are so vile, I can't fully describe how much I truly depise their entire evolutionary history.
They thrive on warmth and moisture and death. Dead crickets, dead dubia, dead eggs - heck, maybe even good eggs, all attract these things.
They are the reason you shouldn't put holes in your egg containers - nothing like finding an near-term egg pulsating with hundreds of maggots.
They are easy to control, if your setup is done properly.
Dry those SOB's out - keep your cricket bin well ventilated - do not try to shut them out - these flies will get in. The key is to make the conditions unsuitable to their larvae (technical term for: absolutely disgusting maggot that is merely a step above parasitic worms on the level of vileness).
What works for me 100% of the time: A 100 Watt bulb suspended above my cricket bin 24/7. Keeps them warm in the winter, dries all the dead crickets. If you spill water, or some cricket bin detritus gets moist -they will move in - the heat lamp prevents this from happening. Make sure that the majority of the bottom of the bin is heated by the light - might take some trial and error.
I switched to a 26 Watt CFL bulb this summer - cause it was getting warm. One weekend the phorids came in (open door). I noticed the dead crickets were moist on the bottom of the cage, and dumped th ewhole lot out in the yard - about 1000 pupae were stuck to the bottom, under the dead crickets. would have been BAD.
BAck to a 100W bulb, no more maggots in the crickets... I need to put screens on my roaches, though...
