# Fruit flys in my springtail culture?



## scooter7728 (Sep 1, 2014)

I noticed every few days I open my culture I get a fruit fly or 2 comes out. I open it up outside so I get the flies out of the container. Is my culture garbage now or will I constantly have fruit flies in it? I did notice a few little larva crawling around on the coal.


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## dsaundry (Sep 29, 2011)

Could you be a bit more specific? As long as there are larvae the culture is not garbage. Are you questioning production or the state of your cultures in general? Maybe a picture? Or are you wondering about what it is doing outside?


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## scooter7728 (Sep 1, 2014)

I don't leave it outside, I open it outside now so I don't let flies into my house. I assume the larva is the fruit flies, I'll have to take a pic. Just wondering if there's anyway of ridding it of the flies.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

They're more likely Gnats or phorid flies.


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## scooter7728 (Sep 1, 2014)

ok i was wondering how I got flies in there, what do I do next?


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

scooter7728 said:


> ok i was wondering how I got flies in there, what do I do next?


Phorid or (Drain flies) are after skanky water, so maybe a water change?

Gnats just like it wet so the only way to get rid of them is to dry it out.

Your best bet is prevention, a tight fitting lid.


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## radiata (Jul 24, 2010)

Had a bunch of cultures, both Isos and Springs, get infested with Phorid sewer flies a year ago. I marked the infested cultures and, like Scooter, only opened them outside where I chased the flies off. Took a month, but I eventually eliminated them. 

Tight fitting lids are a must. I was using KIS shoe boxes, but I'm switching over to larger food containers with snaps on all four sides. The use of shoe boxes has also resulted in dwarf striped isos in my spring cultures and springs in all my iso cultures.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

I've had ffs get into cultures before. Occasionally one or a few will fly in when I have the lid off and sometimes what you feed the springs is acceptable enough to the the ffs, that they lay eggs and you get a few larva in there. 

The only harm I've seen other then the maggots eating the spring's food, is that when that happens it is possible some mites hitch a ride on the ffs and infect the culture.

I've also had the fungus gnats get in there. I've also had some very small moths infiltrating some plant grow out containers. Bigger then hydei ffs but smaller then house flies... I guess I need to catch some and see if I can figure out how to culture them.


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

Dendro Dave said:


> I've also had the fungus gnats get in there. I've also had some very small moths infiltrating some plant grow out containers. Bigger then hydei ffs but smaller then house flies... I guess I need to catch some and see if I can figure out how to culture them.


Interesting, I wonder what those moths are. As long as they aren't some mutant killer bug, then I definitely think they would be worth culturing. The hobby can always use more bugs 

John


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

FroggyKnight said:


> Interesting, I wonder what those moths are. As long as they aren't some mutant killer bug, then I definitely think they would be worth culturing. The hobby can always use more bugs
> 
> John


That grow out rack to is pretty close to my laundry area... they may be living off my old socks 

I looked up culturing fungus gnats but I guess no one does that. I did find they like wet soil with a lot of organic matter like peat, alge, fertilizer run off and saline from leached soil and greenhouse waste water... So maybe wet peat with some aquarium salt, alge and mushroom slices would serve as a culture? I might try it just to see.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

My fungus gnats, they are Sciaridae, come probably from mushrooms - I live in an area rich in mushrooms and right now my father is around the nearby woods in search of mushrooms (Boletus edulis). 
Sometimes I have fungus gnats in some new springtails cultures, but they disappear after a while.
I gave the larvae of fungus gnats to my fish, but I never gave them to the frogs. But I think that adult fungus gnats, tiny more of melanos here, are good food for froglet and I think to give dusted fungus gnats to my froglet in the future precisely because they are very thin.
According to you, it's okay?


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## scooter7728 (Sep 1, 2014)

Dumb ? But if I flush the dirty water I guess no real way of saving the springtails. Most will be flushed out?


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

scooter7728 said:


> Dumb ? But if I flush the dirty water I guess no real way of saving the springtails. Most will be flushed out?


Skim the springtails off the top of the water with a cup or spoon and dump them onto fresh memedia, many survive.


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## scooter7728 (Sep 1, 2014)

yah did a flush of the water just tilted it and refilled it a couple of times.


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