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Questions about gnats in terretium...

joossa

Aklys
Hey! I have had my VFT's in a terrarium for about three weeks now. They are in a perlite-peat moss mixture.

I have started noticing small to medium gnats (they look like a cross between circkets and flies and are a brownish color with wings).

Are they harmful to the VFT's???
Should I worry?
Can I completly cover my terrarium to avoid the gnats flying out into my bedroom? Do VFT's need a certain amount of ventilation?

thanks a lot!
 
They may be fungus gnats. If the plants in your terrarium were sundews (drosera) instead of VFTs, they would be happily feasting on the tiny insects.

I have had several infestations of fungus gnats in various pots of my orchids in the past, and they seem to do little harm if their presence is not too prolonged. Their life cycle is very quick, and if you allow the planting medium to dry some they may all soon disappear.

If the planting container is inside the house though, they can become a source of aggravation to humans.
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Do your little pests look like this? Fungus Gnats, info and pics
More info about fungus gnats: Fungus Gnats
 
I would take them out of the terrarium, put them in pots and grow them outdoors after hardening them off slowly. Terrarium culture just never seems to work long term, and VFT's resent static conditions: they like sun and rain and fresh air. I kept a terrarium for over a decade, and I was religious about keeping the mix nutirient free. Used only distilled water, but things still went bad. If you have fungus gnats and algae scum, you got problems! In terraria (without a sump pump that can circulate and clean the water) salt buildup is going to happen and over time the plants will resent it. Just my 2 bucks worth!
 
I saw some of the pictures of the fungus gnats, and the pests inside my terrarium are definitly NOT fungus gnats. My pests look like small pale brown crickets with wings, I woke up today and my plants seemed to have caught some in their traps. Now I only see one gnat, but i am pertty sure more will show up soon. I will keep a close eye on things and will try to dry out the moss a bit. Ill keep you guys posted on what happens.
 
Alright, I have an update to what happened...

The gnats(pests) went away 2 days after I posted this original message. I am very happy they did not turn out to be fungus gnats.
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So, everything is alright. I have though stopped misting so often. Just to avoid fungus/bacterial build up.
 
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