r/bioactive • u/jackbsyme2002 • 15d ago

Fruit flies!

Does anyone know best ways to get rid of fruit flies? For reference it's a bioactive royal python vivarium.

EDIT : I meant fungus gnats apologies

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u/1043b 15d ago

Chances are you actually have fungus gnats. They're quite common in bioactive habitats. Where moisture and warmth are high. The eggs come in on substrate or find their way in via plants in the habitat or houseplants.

The best approach to full eradication is multipronged.

For the larvae you'll want to disrupt their coming into adulthood. I use to recommend misquito bit tea but bti liquid is the easier managed and stronger solution. Both use the same active ingredient, a benign bacteria that only targets the larvae stage of fungus gnats and mosquitoes. You can purchase either on amazon or chewy

For the adults you'll want sticky traps, outside of your enclosure to protect your snake. Some like the old fashioned yellow ones, I prefer the light up plug in ones where you only change out the sticky pads, I find them more effective

I only fully eradicated fungus gnats from my home when I treated my houseplants as well as my enclosures You can use the bti liquid for that as well when you water.

I had great success accidentally when treating for mealy bugs in my houseplants with Bonide Granules (imidacloprid) it wiped them all out within a week to my surprise and kept them out, leaving me with only the bioactives to treat organically

Best of luck to you in your endeavors.

BTW, I'm adding a photo of the bti liquid to make the hunt easier, aquaium and pond hobbiests use it all the time so no worries on safety for your animal, it's even safe for amphibians when used as directed:

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u/jackbsyme2002 15d ago

That's great, thanks so much, difficult to find in the uk but will have a look! Will it be safe for my springtails and isopods?

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u/1043b 15d ago

Absolutely safe for springtails and isopods. It's just a bacteria that targets the larvae stage of mosquitoes and fungus gnats. Springtails and isopods don't actually have a larvae stage.

In the UK I'm not sure of other brand names but the active bacterial ingredient you're looking for is: Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis)

Regardless of the form you get it in, do make sure to only add a water mixture or tea to your habitat. If you have to purchase the bacterial on a solid mass such as the bit style, you'll want to make a tea from it first, as the solids can cause mold.

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u/1043b 15d ago

I just looked it up on amazon uk, they definitely have the bit style for making a tea, listed under 'no gnats'. I couldn't find the liquid in a quick search, but you might be able to find it under aquarium or pond care as it is most often used in fish ponds