# Damn Gnats!!!!!



## shrum (Dec 1, 2008)

So my 20 gal long has Gnats like I never seen before....I put fly paper in the viv watching closely so my frogs don’t touch it and killed a huge portion of them or so I thought. I wake up this morning and it was like I never addressed the issue they are all back or reproducing quicker than anything I have ever seen. I did some searching and saw people use vinegar bowls to attract them but they seem to want to stay in the viv and not outside of it. I wanted to see how other people dealt with such an infestation inside of a viv. Maybe something i dont have to worry so much about like flypaper inside the tank...That is all i need is a frog stuck to whatever that goo is they put on that paper.


----------



## Mer_ (Sep 11, 2011)

I had this issue when I started by first viv and was disgusted and annoyed by the gnats. I tried to get rid of them, but could not. In the end after the population grew (at what seemed to be an exponential rate) they all died. I am now the proud owner of a gnat free viv.


----------



## toxicterribilis (Mar 21, 2008)

Fly paper is a dangerous idea , I personally wouldn't use it no matter how bad the gnat problem is.. 
I would use either the vinegar mixed with hand soap in a bowl maybe try covering the bowl with plastic wrap and poke small enough holes for the gnats to get into it or you could use all-natural oils such as peppermint or cinnamon. These oils are natural defenses that plants use against insects and should help kill them off...
Hope that helps shrum...


----------



## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

I just Got done dealing with an almost three month infestation in and out of a half a dozen newly setup vivs. I did multiple things to cut them down and almost gave up. Make sure the vivs is fly proof so they don't get to the rest of the house and really bug the crap out of you. I used a vacume to suck out newly hatched gnat but they were all frog free still.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Fungus gnats typically are not attracted to vinegar. The reason you are seeing them is probably from more emergences from the larva that have pupated in the tank. They are typically very common in new set-up enclosures and over time the numbers decline. 
They do sell nematodes for controlling them. 

Ed


----------



## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

I Didn't have any luck with vinegar but i did find some floating in tad cups without lids. i used flypaper all over hell and it was a very important part of getting rid of them but again no frogs were in vivs. i had just moved and started setting up a new frog room from nothing. I did have some frogs that got moved to 
q-teen on later towel so i could scrap all the old substrate


----------



## shrum (Dec 1, 2008)

I used the flypaper in half hour intervals and blew air into the tank gentley to stir the gnats and it worked until the next day. I have never had this before and it is pretty frustrating....


----------



## coxdre123 (Aug 3, 2009)

Just wait it out and they will eventually die off. I still have a few but not like before.


----------



## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

@ Ed - is that what is in the biological larvicide gnatrol? It says. Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. Strain AM 65-52. 

I had to start useing it when watering all my house plants since they were not just in the basement and i did use it once or twice in uninhabited infested vivs figuring i was not putting frogs in them anytime to soon. But this was only after extensive emails back and forth with someone with personal experience useing it in their colection for some time. I just was really leary about useing it in vivs with frogs in them even though he said he uses it like that. 

this is a topic i ment to start here a few months ago and just never got around to it. I very interested in any more info i can gather on this product.


----------



## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

removing newly hatched gnats before they can mature and lay is important if you are actively trying to get rid of them. I vacumed them out twice a day.


----------



## toxicterribilis (Mar 21, 2008)

Eric Walker said:


> removing newly hatched gnats before they can mature and lay is important if you are actively trying to get rid of them. I vacumed them out twice a day.



You can also try this 

Potato recipe getting rid of Fungus gnats


----------



## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

Tried it but felt it wasn't doing a good enough job. Don't get me wrong. they did go to the potato but for every one that did i can't even guess how many didn't. Tried it for about a month and gave up. 

i also tried A bit of coffee grounds sprinkled on the surface. I was told by a plant caretaker friend that it deteres them from laying in the soil.


----------



## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

This too will pass. If you are to the point you think they will drive you insane, then the worst part is probably over and they will dwindle and crash any time now. We have all been through it. You can try cutting back a bit on feeding and make your frogs work for their meal. That could cut down on them a bit.


----------



## Eric Walker (Aug 22, 2009)

Yep. about the time i was thinking i was just gona get rid of everything and give up they started to dwindle fast. i just wish i would have taken pictures of all the gnat pads i threw out with thousand of dead gnats on them just as a reference to how bad they can get. 

I watched my anthonyi go nuts over them for a bit.

I seem to recall a signature line with the phrase
" patience is the key to fine froging "

couldn't be more true


----------

