Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok in my tank i have the tree conks siliconed on the sides. Well i saw this "saw dust" material today and i started looking. and theres a bug or something eating holes all through it!

i know i have a few bugs in there. little white ones, springtails i have been told. some gnats. other then that nothing! im not concerned with a insect being in there but its eating my tree conks!!!!

aj
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Click Here to See My Dart Tank In The Making UPDATED 6.15.03 SPOILER! Still Needs Moss View At Your Own Risk

kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

They're grubs or bores, I've never been able to find a way to destroy them besides take the conk out and submerge it in boiling watetr, but that usually destroys mine. You'll probably end up losing them, I'm pretty sure that they only go after the softer conks, as I've never had any trouble with them on the ones I collect from Black Locust trees, which are a lot harder.

I'm not sure what sort of borers you have, but there is an very old fashioned way of dealing with plant and tree stem borers, albeit tedious. It might be worth a try before ripping your tank up to boil the conks. Insert a thin, flexible wire into the borer holes and stab the little buggers to death with it. Just keep at it on a daily basis every time you notice a new bunch of sawdust.

What animals do you have in this tank? You could also try tamping in some cotton ball pellets soaked in some non-denatured ethanol such as Everclear or even straight vodka, or go after them with flexible cotton swabs saturated in this if the holes are large enough for these to fit into and jab around. If it this doesn't work, you can spike some party punch with the left-over "chemicals" or make a martini. Isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) would work too, but it is denatured so alcoholic bums can't evade the liquor tax without dying, and I really don't know if it would leave any possible toxic residues to eventually harm your animal inhabitants. I doubt it, but this is arguable, so it's better to be safe and use the stuff you have to pay taxes on.

It's lots of work, but probably more fun than taking your tank apart and boiling stuff.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus
D. imitator
D. leukomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos (soon)

i have no darts in there yet. i noticed a little dust the other now. now theres tons of it. i guess i try stabbing the buggers. then putting silicon around the holes? a very thing layer.

if any thing the silicon could give it structural support i guess.

aj
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Click Here to See My Dart Tank In The Making UPDATED 6.15.03 SPOILER! Still Needs Moss View At Your Own Risk

kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

Packing silicon into the holes just might work better than booze as a murder weapon. It must have been close to cocktail hour when I wrote that.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus
D. imitator
D. leukomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos (soon)

ya i was reading that and thinking geeze wont that stuf harm the frogs, or is she just needing a drink? lol

ill try poking a needle in the holes a couple times a day then try to put a light layer of silicon on them. hoefully the smell would kill em. If they make contact when its still wet theyd stick. but if they are still alive they would just eat there way out. i have never seen one of them yet and theres tons of holes in it. im noticing a few in my other two conks. but they are chewing this one up fast.

Could i put like rat poison pellets or some kinda poisonous pellet on it? so they might eat it and die, but wouldnt stay to harm the frogs once i get them?

aj
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Click Here to See My Dart Tank In The Making UPDATED 6.15.03 SPOILER! Still Needs Moss View At Your Own Risk

kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

You MIGHT want to avoid using rat poison....
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Randy
Lawrence, Kansas
1.1 Azureus
1.1 Cobalt
1.1 Fantasticus
2.2 Bastimentos Pumilio

well i also mean some sort of a tablet or something that would rid me of the bugs yet still be safe for in a few months when i get my frogs. rat poison was the first thing that popped into my head.

aj
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Click Here to See My Dart Tank In The Making UPDATED 6.15.03 SPOILER! Still Needs Moss View At Your Own Risk

kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

You ould put a thin layer of silicone all the way around all of your conks to prevent further burrowers and they couldn't get out. If this works,,I would recomned doing it right when you get the conks.
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P. sauvagei
derekb15.tripod.com/tropicaltreasures

Most rat poisons contain warfarin, which is an anticoagulant. This works by interferring with the blood clotting cascade in mammals so they bleed to death internally. (This is the same stuff that's in coumadin- a drug sometimes given in controlled doses to people who have had strokes, etc.) It wouldn't work on borers because the blood components aren't the same. It also has to be ingested to be effective.

There are ways to "fumigate" by sealing the tank and releasing various poison gasses from combinations of certain household chemicals, but it would need to be done outdoors and very dangerous to mess with without a proper respirator. It might have a detrimental effect on the plants, as well.

Since your conks seem to be riddled with tiny holes, it looks like starting with new boiled conks is going to be the best solution after all. When I spouted off my first advice, I was thinking on the terms of some of the stem borers that have fewer and larger holes. At least you aren't right down to the wire and have some time before your frogs arrive.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho

D. auratus blue
D. galactonotus
D. imitator
D. leukomelas
D. pumilio Bastimentos (soon)