Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK so I just checked on my eggs and noticed a few of the containers had a few gnats in them. Is this an issue that others have experianced? Is it something to worry about? All the eggs look good. My initiall reaction was to spray the surrounding area outside the egg containers with bug killer but I am not so sure spraying poison is my snake room is such a good idea either. Thanks in advance for any feedback

Allen Sheehan

Hi Allen,.....

Well, gnats generally aren't attracted to good eggs until either they start pipping(feeding on the yolk), or they start going bad for whatever reason(s). If they start feeding on bad eggs, it can often put the good neighboring eggs next to them in jeopardy. I would either move them to a different location where the gnats can't get to them, while still keeping them at a good temp, or slip a pair of pantyhose leg around the egg container to keep them out. This acts like a micro screen and totally prevents them from getting in while still allowing air circulation to the eggs.

Good luck with them!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

It wouldn't be a bad idea to hang some sticky fly tapes around in the immediate area too.

I have also heard that a dish of Apple cider vinegar with a drop or two of dish soap on the surface works to drown them by breaking the surface tension of the vinegar. This smells pretty nasty though.

Man, I hate those little bastar*@s too!!..LOL!. But fortunately I hatch my eggs in an indoors temp-controlled cabinet.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Thanks Doug. You are always a help. I will do both of those methods tonight. I have heard the vinegar works well but I have forgotton that trick. With some reading I was doing last night after my post i think what I have is called fungus gnats. And they are feeding and breeding in the organic matter of my incubation material. This is one good reason why 100% vermiculite is a good idea.

Thanks again
Allen Sheehan

You are very welcome Allen. Don't forget to get the "Apple Cider" vinegar, and not the other kind. I hear it is supposed to work better on gnats than the plain white kind.

Good luck with it!..

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Are you sure they're not Carrion Flies? Carrion Flies are attracted to eggs and their larva will destroy good eggs. I might remove the egss, wipe them off and set them up in a new container with new substrate. I'd make the container air tight, and open it every day or so for air circulation.

Tim

Third Eye

Yea these are not flies they are these incredibly small gnats you might find on old fruit or something. About the size of a pin head. At any rate I set of several cups of the apple cider vinegar with soap and have killed several dozen in one day. Last night I also started the fun process of moving the eggs to a vermiculate only container and got rid of all the moss and other material I have traditionally used. Next year I will build a sealed cabinet. In the past I have simply pulled the egg tubs and put them on top of my snake racks with no gnat issues and It stays right about 82 degrees. Apparently this is a perfect way to incubate gnats as well.

Allen

Yeah, there are several tiny fly/gnats that look very similar, and also typically feed and lay larvae on similar things. They are also called many different names as well, so it can be very confusing.

These are more what I typically see in Florida that are very attracted to snake poop, bad eggs, or just about any decomposing items.

Commonly known as "humpback" flies.
Link

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Allen,

Carrion Flies are about the same size and shape as Fruit Flies.
Doug's right, identifying small insects can be confusing.
I find it's better to be safe than sorry, so moving those eggs is a good idea.

Tim

That's right Tim,.......

The bold highlighted portion describes the ones I always see here. When you see one and go to smash it, they run off to either side very swiftly without taking flight, just as it mentions below. They are a real pain in the ARSE in the warm months!..

PHORID FLY IDENTIFICATION

The phorids, also known as humpbacked flies, are small flies that resemble fruit flies in appearance.
They are usually tan to dark brown in color. The Phorid fly lacks the red eye color that is the classic trademark of the fruit fly.
Phorid flies are in the small category of flies, measuring up to 1/8 inch in length, including the wings.

The most prominent feature of this fly is the humpbacked shape of its thorax. The severe arch of the thorax gives it the common nickname of humpbacked fly.
A key indentifying trait is that the adult Phorid fly has a distinctive habit of running rapidly across surfaces instead of immediately flying when disturbed. Most flies immediately take flight.

Phorid flies are also know as coffin flies, when found in mortuaries and mausoleums.

Phorid flies have also been found to breed in poorly stored meats, damaged containers of moist foods, and organic-based glues and paints.
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

I meant to highlight this next sentence just beneath that one..LOL!..D'OH!!

"A key indentifying trait is that the adult Phorid fly has a distinctive habit of running rapidly across surfaces instead of immediately flying when disturbed. Most flies immediately take flight"

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

OK so I am almost certain I have the Phorid fly after looking at it under a jewelers loop. I just spent the last 5 hours moving every single egg I have into new tubs with nothing more than perilite and vermiculite. I also sealed up the egg boxes much tighter with very small holes for air circulation. I also Stole DMONG's idea with the pantyhose and wrapped the tubs with those as well. I also moved the tubs to a different part of the house completly and then spraid the area they were in to kill off any straggelers. I have not seen any flies in the last few hours but I am sure it is far to early to declare victory. But for what its worth the apple cider vinegar works better at killing the flies than orange juice. I will keep these cups wth the nest boxes as long as I continue to see dead flies
On a side note 95% of the flies ended up being on just two bad eggs that were burried in a rat snake clutch. So I have to imagine that is how it all started. It was almost brain surgery to get those bad eggs out of the rest of the good clutch. Moving forward I am going to seperate all eggs as they are laid so removing bad eggs will be much easier, and next year I will have a sealed incubator for sure.

Thanks for all the help as I used every idea given to me. I will repost in a few weeks with how things are going

Allen Sheehan

The panty hose is a good Ideah! This year I made made one large hole in each egg tub and while the plastic was still hot and soft, I inserted a pipe screen which has very tight mesh. So far so good, but I noticed the lids on these tubs aren't airtight, so I'll keep a close eye on them.

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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

Yea I liked the pantyhoe idea as well however I felt kind of rediculous standing in the check out line with 20 pairs of them...LOL

Just say you and your gang, are gonna rob a bank, lol!
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

"Yea I liked the pantyhoe idea as well however I felt kind of rediculous standing in the check out line with 20 pairs of them"

HAHAHAA!!!!!!, that is freakin HILARIOUS!!!

20 pairs??, geez!, how many egg container do you have anyway?. two PH legs cut and tied-off at the ends would give you BUNCHES of screens..

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Yea I got way to many pairs. These things are like snake sheds. You can stretch a 3'leg 10'. I have about 20 clutches so far with about 10 more to go. I also breed Box Turtles so some of them are turtle clutches. But yea I could have gotten away with 5-6 pairs LOL. I still would have looked like a perv. anyway.

Allen

Yeah, I guess buying one pair at the checkout line is basically just as embarrasing as buying twenty pairs..LMAO!!

I can just picture you at the checkout line as the cashier looks up at you, and then saying,........"umm, no, these aren't for me!, they are for my snakes"

I'm sure that would definitely put the cashier's mind at ease......

HAHAA!!

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"