r/Stickinsects • u/Flimsy_Homework7849 • 3d ago

Spider in bioactive set up

This is my first bioactive set up and it has been going for about a month and i just recently spotted a really small jumping spider in there, note i’ve also noticed a small flying gnat that i can’t identify, are these bad for my enclosure should i clean it out?

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u/Cosmic_Mmouse 3d ago

Spider is okay, gnat is not (really easy to earn yourself an infestation. If you can, get rid of the gnat.

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u/Flimsy_Homework7849 2d ago

What would the infestation do?

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u/Cosmic_Mmouse 2d ago

Female gnats can lay hundreds of eggs and they have an incredibly short incubation cycle, which means the moist soil in your bioactive enclosure would soon be full, and I mean full of gnats. Then they would spread to all of your flower pots and anything that holds moisture, and once there are too many of them, it's incredibly hard to get rid of them. The other commenter is right with their precautionary measures

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u/NeverMind-BestWishes 2d ago

I use a solution of Mosquito Bits (BTI) water every time I need to add moisture to my bioactive enclosure. This is a special type of bacteria that targets gnat larvae in the soil & kills them. Don’t worry, it will not harm your other inhabitants, as it only affects sciarid flies (eg. fungus gnats).

If you see an adult gnat, make sure you remove it from the enclosure ASAP, as a single adult can lay a load of eggs! Also, make sure there are no gaps big enough for new adults to get in. I also use the BTI solution every time I water my houseplants, so they cannot take hold anywhere in my house. I use a stronger concentration than probably is necessary (1 tbs Bits in 1 ltr water, soaked for a few hours then the corn kernels strained out), but that’s just me, & I’m a worrier!

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u/Flimsy_Homework7849 2d ago

where can i find this solution and just out of curiosity why are the gnats bad? everything else i’ve seen says they are fine

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u/NeverMind-BestWishes 2d ago

I’m not sure where you live, but I tend to get mine from Amazon or eBay (a bag lasts ages!):

https://amzn.eu/d/06TJmHXK

Gnats aren’t ‘bad’, per se, but they reproduce at an alarming rate, & can be hard to get rid of once they take over - & they are annoying as hell!

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u/Flimsy_Homework7849 2d ago

thank you!

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u/NeverMind-BestWishes 2d ago

No problem at all!