fly problem

[vincent winyard]

hi evryone i need some help and advise. i seem to have a problem with these tiny flies there in 4 of my tanks i dont know where they've come from and cant seem to get rid of them i've seen them flying round the room itself. i try'de getting them out by hand but with no luck. i dont want to have to clean the tanks out unless i really have to though i'd rather not for the spiders sake. so if anyone knows what they are and have any idea how to get rid of them would be a great help thanks.

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Vincent, hope they're not like the ones we had earlier this year, they were a nightmare in a bubble car lol. They multiplied so fast, they were actually breeding in the substrate, so we ended up taking the T's out and then putting the substrate in the oven @ 150-160c, drying it all out, and replacing it in the tanks, we then got one of these blue zapper lights to hang in the spider cupboard together with a couple of fly papers, and that did it. The ones that did fly around seemed slow moving and a lot smaller than a normal house fly, and we felt they came from the damp substrate, or maybe not sterile, although I would say that this time of the year should be against them getting established.

[vincent winyard]

There the size of a full stop and a pain in the neck I'll do as you suggest and zap the substrate in the microwave
thanks for your help

[michaelmckinney]

I know what you mean I have had the same problem in the past with my H.lividum vivs. They are almost like tiny midgies. i think maybe sometimes their eggs are present in certain substrates, and with optimum conditions in the vivs, they thrive. I chose the exact same practice and nuked all my substrate in the oven to kill any eggs and spores. But i must say they are a major pain in the butt LOL.

[vincent winyard]

hi michael thanks for getting back to me. i think im getting rid of them slowly as i've been splating them with my hands everytime i see them so i think the numbers are going down. im trying this method as i really dont want to disturb the spiders to much but i will as a last resort. i did nuke the soil when i first set up there tanks so i haven't a clue where they've come from. thanks again for your reply.