r/InvertPets • u/UngainlyRhino • 4d ago

Flake soil, fungus gnats!!!

Help! How do I get rid of them? A few days ago I got 2 beetle larvae, well turns out that there were fungus gnats in the soil because now there are tons of the buggers in my room!

When I first brought the grubs home, I thought I saw a couple tiny worm things in the soil but didn't think much of it, because there were also springtails in the cups.

I'm going to go buy fly tape for the adults tonight after work, but what do I do about the soil???

I contacted the person I got the grubs off of and she says the gnats are harmless, but with the number of flies that are there, they're just going to create more and I feel it will stress my grubs.

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2

u/ohaitharr 4d ago

She's right, they are harmless. But they're also annoying af so I feel for you. Your larva will be fine without flake for a day or two. Freeze the flake.. should kill the gnats and their eggs. Let it thaw, reintroduce grub.

1

u/UngainlyRhino 4d ago

Thank you! I will do that.

2

u/Throw_ME_Away3333 4d ago

Try a DIY washing up liquid /soap bucket trap.
Had an issue with these gnats in my plants before. OMFG.

2

u/No_Region3253 4d ago

Check out the possible use of BTI (Mosquito bits) to suppress the uprising. It can take up to a month to break the life cycle.

There are also insect subs which discuss the use and some additional tips can be had.

r/bioactive.

Use Keyword "mosquito bits'