# Dry ice for pest control!



## syble

Some of you may know that recently I had some kind of thrip like bug out break in one of my frog tanks. I dreaded the thought of trashing the tank just as it was growing together nicely so went on to researching eco friendly ways to do a wide spread wipe out!  The mystery cure? dry ice : I'm up for it, so my dad called his dealers (through work) and I got 10 pounds of this stuff (super dense, looks like packing peanuts, filled about 6" in his lunch cooler). 

So for the CPs I used a large ruber made tub i had laying around. approximately 2' x 4' and about 2' deep. I filled the bottom up with cps, leaving a spot in the middle for a large diced tomato can, which was approximately 2/3 full of very hot water. Added to that was a corn can 2/3 full of dry ice pellets. bam! tons of fog contained with some sheets of glass. when the fog settles some (as its a heavy gas) this is what you get:









I changed out the water/ice every 15 minutes and kept them in for about 1 hour.

Simular routine for the frog tanks (frogs removed of course). Only difference was i riased the can off of the moss as I didn't want to sear or freeze it! Like this:









the initial fogging eruption:









Once it settles down some:









I'll keep ya posted on any results
So far the plants just are very green which makes the insect damage just that much more apparent!!!
Thanks
sib


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## skronkykong

I used this method twice, sitting overnight to get rid of the scale on one of my broms. It did not work. I also soaked them in bleach water for 20 minutes three times. Also did not work.


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## housevibe7

Let me know how it works as I am thinking of doing this for my grow out tank I am thinking of turning into a froglet tank but has tons of aphids.


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## pa.walt

about i think a year ago one of the froggers had problems with snails or centipedes in thier tank and used the dry ice method. my be in the pest forum or what ever it was under. i am sure someone will chime in to tell you where it was located on the board.


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## harrywitmore

Just a note about scale on bromes. Once dead they still look the same and may never drop of. So, it's really hard to tell if you got them. About the only way is to see if they still populate new leaves.


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## syble

it seams to have worked fully. none of the fruit fies that were running about in there are still doing so, I can't find any live springtails(which is never hard to do), and theres no sign of live bug on the plants that caused me to take this step. I plan to re introduce the frogs thismorning. Oh I should also mention that it appears to have taken care of the slugs and spiders in the other tank 
Thanks
Sib
(oh and for scale try rubbing alcohol  )


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## flyangler18

Great looking Nepenthes! Is that _sanguinea_ or _ventricosa_? The one at the bottom right- _madagascariensis_? 

I've used the CO2 treatment in the past with great success.


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## titan501x

good work! do you know what else dry ice is commonly used for? :wink:


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## syble

the top center nep is a maxima, flanked on the left by a gymnaphora, and the bottom left is an ampularia, although I do have ventricosa, macfarlanei, ventrata and alata spotted in other tanks.

Dry ice is commonly used in rock concerts for the fog looks 
Thanks
Sib


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## syble

ah, just looked at that picture again, the little nep in the right foreground is a macfarlanei that i took out of a tank that I sold and was houseing untill the other tank is finished off.
Sib


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## titan501x

syble said:


> Dry ice is commonly used in rock concerts for the fog looks
> Thanks
> Sib


Pshhh!!!! forget that! im thinking more along the lines of dry ice bomb!  but i think its illegal to do that :roll:....hmmm....


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## syble

when i mentioned to friends that i was gonna try that method, thats the response I got, rock concert and popbottle explosions 
Sib


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## Regan

Ok, I saw on Law and Order that some vampire cult had a "dry ice" coffin they would use in a kinky asphyxiation ritual (got everyone's attention?!). Is that the science behind this? The bugs run out of air? Curious mind wants to know 

Anyone know where I can get a LOT of dry ice? heehee, just kidding...


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## housevibe7

Regan said:


> Ok, I saw on Law and Order that some vampire cult had a "dry ice" coffin they would use in a kinky asphyxiation ritual (got everyone's attention?!). Is that the science behind this? The bugs run out of air? Curious mind wants to know
> 
> Anyone know where I can get a LOT of dry ice? heehee, just kidding...


 :lol: This just made my day.


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## syble

that's exactly the principal behind this. The bugs run out of air, but it's non selective so all your "benifical bugs" bit the dust aswell. so remove anything you want to live or add more later. I'm sure it will kill eggs also so check over real close!
Sib


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## tzen

> I'm sure it will kill eggs also so check over real close!


You were talking about frog eggs, I think, but actually this does bring up the question of eggs of the pests you are trying to rid. 
For success, do you need to repeat this in a week? To get rid of the hatched eggs, before they can lay more eggs?


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## syble

i'm not certain, and i will check for them also, but wouldn't they suffocate also?
sib


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## cindre2000

Can't you also burn tobacco and get the same effect? I understand that dry ice is easier in small terrariums, but for larger setups...


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## fishmommy

I have big terrariums, and for pest control I am using a compressed CO2 tank, regulator, and hose. I own mine (due to other hobbies), but you can rent them I believe from bottled gas places, welding places, and beverage/catering places.

I treat once a week for a month just to be absolutely sure. It's easy when you have bottled gas since you can store it forever and use it whenever.

the trick is figuring out when the terrarium is flooded with CO2, since there's no fog to see. I cover the viv with just two holes open. One hole gets the tube, and the other hole is where the air escapes. After a few minutes of pumping in the CO2, I use a lighter *over* the other hole (not inside the viv) to see if there's air coming out or just CO2. When the lighter won't light or even spark when held a few inches above the hole while I'm pumping in gas, the viv is full.


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## xm41907

a single treatment of dry ice probably won't kill eggs, or even some pupae. Depending on what the pest is, some are very resistant in these stages. Fishmommy, you're right about treating multiple times being more affective. the reason behind this is to allow the segment of the population in a resistant stage to mature to a more susceptible stage. Same principle applies in treating a home for fleas, roaches, bed bugs, etc. multiple treatments over a span of time.

Most species that I can see in a viv should easily be knocked out in one treatment though, provided the treatment time is adequate. I've used CO2 many times to knock down insects temporarily for various reasons. I would say at least one hour's exposure, preferably longer. anything shorter than that and it just puts them to sleep. They will soon revive.


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## FrogBoyMike

for the annoying worms, would one treatment work? 
Trying to disrupt my frogs as little as possible plus they are in the middle of the breading cycle but some tiny white worm pests seam to be eating the eggs!!!!


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## abraldestim

Be careful with using dry ice treatment. Both my geckos died after the treatment was completed and I put them back in terrarium. (Aired out for a half hour and did some cleaning before putting them back) I hope this helps someone


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