# Flies Infesting Sprigtail Cultures.....?



## Mikembo (Jan 26, 2009)

Just noticed today that my larger springtail cultures are getting infested with Flies!!! Never encountered this problem 'till now........ My question is; has anyone encountered this problem before and what did they do to stop them!? I feed my springtails bakers yeast, is the yeast attracting the flies? Should I use some other type of food for the springtails? Any suggestions are welcome........ here are some pics:

Flies-
















Pupae-








Maggots-









Thank you for your time,

-Mike-


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

i have, u just killed pretty much all the larvae and pupae i saw, they tend to dwindle down after a week or so.


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## Mikembo (Jan 26, 2009)

Thanks Julio, for the info.........

-Mike-


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Those are phorid flies. They have been a big pest for me as they infest froglet containers with springtails in it-- as they are attracted to the springtails' food.

Coincidentally, I was at the garden center today to pick up sticky traps to catch flies. I'll report how it works for me.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Rain_Frog said:


> Those are phorid flies.
> 
> Coincidentally, I was at the garden center today to pick up sticky traps to catch flies. I'll report how it works for me.


We had the same problem last summer. We used the sticky traps (Big ones) attached them to an overhead shop light fixture and left the light on all night. We left the cultures open all night as well. The sticky trap caught tons. We also misted the cultures with water. The flies then came to the surface and we sucked them up with a shop vac.

It took a while but we eventually got rid of them.


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## MichelleSG (May 1, 2010)

Were these cultures kept inside or outside?


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## Mikembo (Jan 26, 2009)

Thanks for the ID, I tried killing all the pupae, maggots, and flies that I can find and go from there.........



Rain_Frog said:


> Those are phorid flies. They have been a big pest for me as they infest froglet containers with springtails in it-- as they are attracted to the springtails' food.
> 
> Coincidentally, I was at the garden center today to pick up sticky traps to catch flies. I'll report how it works for me.


All of my springtail cultures are kept inside the frogroom. What's funny is that they are in my completely sealed cultures as in the ones that don't seal very well.



MichelleSG said:


> Were these cultures kept inside or outside?


-Mike-


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## MichelleSG (May 1, 2010)

Mikembo said:


> All of my springtail cultures are kept inside the frogroom. What's funny is that they are in my completely sealed cultures as in the ones that don't seal very well.
> 
> -Mike-


That really is weird. I've taken to using Ziplock screw on containers, they're new and really nifty for culturing. More of a 32 oz container shape but the tops seal better, especially for shipping. I don't know if they'd keep flies out since the flies managed to get in your sealed containers. Very odd.


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