# Tiny little flies in my vivs



## Estrato (Jan 6, 2009)

I have these tiny white flies in my viv. I think they came in with some plant I got, and they do actually fly. First I only noticed one but there seem to be a couple more every day. They are very very small, smaller than melanos, and have white bodies. Does anybody know what they are? Are they harmful to my frogs if they eat them?


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

they are probably fungus gnats and will go away with time. no worries IMO kristy


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## Estrato (Jan 6, 2009)

Thanks, thats good to know. The damn things are annoying, and now they're escaping whenever I open the vivs to feed.


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

no prob. they will just die off when out of the viv and eventually your viv probably wont get them anymore in time. kristy


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## Estrato (Jan 6, 2009)

These annoying little bastards are reproducing like...well flies. Are there any steps I can take to get rid of them? My intermedius seem to be keeping the population in check in their viv, but theres 10-15 of the damn things buzzing around in my chiriquis viv right now. I dont think theyre bugging my frogs at all, its just annoying when they get out and keep buzzing around my face!


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

w/o having to remove the frogs you can set out some wine, or vinegar and a couple drops of dish soap in a cup....or get some non-toxic fly paper hung somewhere. Besides that just wait it out bud. Thats all i know to the best of my knowledge. My tree frog vivs are like that but it eventually went away. they are likely fungus gnats. If someone else has any better ideas, by all means help. are they smaller than fruit flies? do you have any fruit in viv and are using hydei and melos by chance where they could have mutated to fliers? kristy


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## Estrato (Jan 6, 2009)

Thanks again, I guess Im just being a bit impatient. I buried some mushroom slices underneath my sphagnum layer to help the springtail population but they were in there before that. They have bodies that are a little smaller than melanos, but their wings are a lot bigger.


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## kristy55303 (Apr 27, 2008)

sounds like fungus gnats. try to take the mushrooms out. a good leaf litter will make the bloom like crazy, trust me. oh and if all else fail, gorilla tape in front of the viv hanging with the sticky side towards it catches everything for me lol. I am a huge gorilla tape fan. It works for everything, well i guess i havent tested it on the hubby yet


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## tonying (Mar 6, 2008)

I've had tiny flies like that for about five months now. But I rarely have more than three or four at a time, at least I never see more than that. Still, they seem to be able to maintain that population indefinitely. What's even more amusing, I have two tiny spiders (about the size of a melanogaster fly, I think they came with some moss) who live off of them. They construct small webs near the ground and catch the tiny flies. If you have tiny spiders available (I've never been able to identify the ones I have), they might help you out.


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## Estrato (Jan 6, 2009)

I put a few dishes filled with soapy water right outside my vivs and that seems to have killed off a ton of the damn things flying around my apartment. At least 50-60 have ended up drowning in the water. Ill try and get a tiny spider or two in there also =) Thanks for the advice.


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## Estrato (Jan 6, 2009)

Haha, there actually is a little jumping spider in my intermedius viv right now. I just saw him hopping from leaf to leaf, but I think hes gone if the frogs see him.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

This does not sound like Fungus Gnats but rather a fly which you already ID'd yourself and didn't realize it... White Fly. White flies are solid white; wings, head, body... Everything. Fungus gnats will have black bodies and clear/iridescent wings.

These little bastards are voracious feeders of plant juices and are among the top pests of many nurseries in this area. I've never experienced them in a viv before but in the greenhouse, any systemmic insecticide with imidacloprid in it will wipe them out. If they are not going away in your viv, you may want to tear it down b/c I'm not sure how safe applying imidacloprid in the viv is since it has to be soaked into the soil for the plants roots to take it up. I will say that I use it here in the nursery and the spring tails (or other similar soil creatures) still end up populating the pots no problem.

Good luck.


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