Plant Gnats No Longer!

[absolutbill]

I've been battling against the dreaded plant gnats for a couple of years now, and I've tried nearly everything. I tried those granules that you pour over your plants, I've tried the cider vinegar traps, and never had any success. Finally my husband lost his patience and bought the Katchy bug catcher on Amazon (I'm sure you can find it other places as well), and boy is this a game-changer! It's small, smaller than a gallon of milk, and I have it in my reptile room, near the door. It has a light on it and a sticky pad inside on the bottom that you can easily replace. This thing has worked so well, and since I know this is a common issue for those of us with naturally planted cages I wanted to share. I'm not a part of this company, and don't stand to benefit at all if you buy one, I just like to pass along tips and tricks that work well. Here's the link to check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Ind...&qid=1584014809&sprefix=katchy,aps,159&sr=8-6

We typically keep the door mostly closed, but open about 4-6" at all times. With that set-up we had great success catching these little buggers and then I hit upon a good idea. A few hours after lights out when my chams were totally zonked out, I'd go in to the room, open their cage doors (they are all in Dragonstrand Large Clearsided Atriums so these gnats can't really get out super easily), and close the door to the reptile room. The gnats would leave the cage and the only light source would be from the Katchy, so that's where they would meet their demise. I'd only do this during my shower, so the doors were open for 15-20 min at the most, then I'd go in, close the cage doors and open the main door to the reptile room as normal.

The light doesn't appear to disturb my chams at all. Where it's positioned all 3 could see it, however they are sleeping through the night just fine, and never budge. I've been using this for about 4 days now and have noticed a dramatic reduction in the amount of plant gnats (it got out of control there for a while), so hopefully this tip works for you!

 

[Ares05]

Had a huge problem with drain gnats a few months ago. Tried making those dish soap, sugar and vinegar mixtures. It caught some gnats, but not enough to put a dent it them. Used some Thrift ( Heavy duty drain cleaner/de-clogger ) on the kitchen sink, where the majority of the flies were coming from. Bought the Katchy and it works great! It also catches other small flying bugs, like mosquitos and flies. Even though the drain gnats are mostly gone, our dogs go in and out alot and let mosquitos in. This things takes care of em'!

Just don't forget to change the sticky sheet in the bottom after a little while, depending on how big the problem is. If you wait too long, the gnats don't get stuck and when you open the machine, the loose ones come flying out.

I have yet to see any plant gnats in my cage, but i'm sure I will eventually. If that times comes i'm sure Katchy will help take care of it!

 

[jamest0o0]

But did you try sundews? I've had the WORST gnat situation solved by a few sundews within a couple days.

 

[absolutbill]

I did buy sundews, but they were shipped from California and have quite a bit of growing to do yet. This was a stopgap measure until they get larger - they are currently in 2" pots and are just the cutest little things, though pretty ineffectual for my needs at the moment.

 

[jamest0o0]

I did buy sundews, but they were shipped from California and have quite a bit of growing to do yet. This was a stopgap measure until they get larger - they are currently in 2" pots and are just the cutest little things, though pretty ineffectual for my needs at the moment.

Ahhh gotcha, once they get to several inches they'll take care of them for you. They grow fast, especially outside during summer.

 

[absolutbill]

Do you keep your sundews in the cages or outside of them? I have 2 adult veileds (male and female), and a 7-8 month panther. Currently the plants are in the cages, fairly high up so they can get the right amount of light, and I'm not worried about the chameleons trying to eat them or getting stuck on them right now since they are just so small.

 

[Redman]

I don't think I would keep sundews inside the enclosure. And in my experience, gnats/fruitflies can pass in and out of most screen enclosures. Not sure about those that use the glass or plexi enclosures though. Maybe you could make a safe housing for them with an inverted Tupperware container and cutouts for screen? Maybe hotglued inside? Seems like it could work, but I have no actual experience doing it.

 

[MissSkittles]

Katchy is awesome! Somehow I have mosquitoes coming in through the bathroom vent and have been eaten alive. Honestly am surprised at how many mosquitoes it’s caught. Great solution until I can get someone up on my roof to figure out and fix whatever the problem is.

 

[Redman]

Wow, that must totally suck. I never even considered that as a possibility. I guess some no-see-um screen on the inside of the vent housing might do the trick, if you can find someone to get up there and install it properly, or if you are I DIY'er.