Dubia Colony Update - a few problems

I moved into a new apartment and my husband allowed me to move my Dubias with us. Most of the colony survived though I have lost a few adults. I'm going to be moving them into a larger tub soon with better ventilation because the molding food is getting annoying. I'll put food in and a day later I have mold. :mad:

Also, I'm getting gnats really bad. Just this morning I counted 6 gnats in the bin.

Anything I can do to get rid of the gnats?

I have read to use an old set of panty liners over top of your screen. This is supposed to make them not be able to get inside. I also read if you have a large cup with a 1/2 apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup water the gnats will be attracted to it and drown. I would also hang up some fly tape around the bin.

I'm not sure how long you are leaving your fruits and veggies in the bin but don't leave any fruit or veggies in the tub longer than 24hrs at this point, at least until the gnats get under control.

I hope this helps.

What are you feeding them? I only give fruit once in a while, maybe once a week or so and then just one piece. The main diet is cheap cat food ground up with a coffee grinder. I've never had mold in my colony.

I give them fresh fruit or veggies every few days. Other than that it is crushed oats and dog food.

I had flies really bad in both my lat and dubia tubs.
Here's how I cleared them up. No wet food, all dry mix or kibble. I stopped misting the substrate, after a week or two it was bone dry. I used water crystals exclusively. Fly ribbons help a lot too, I tried dishes of vinegar, wine, water, soda but nothing compared to the ribbons.
My lats seemed to take some losses (adults only, there were tons of nymphs on the bottom), but my dubia are thriving.

How do you heat your tub? I started using heat ropes with part of it going through their dry food and I haven't had any mold since.

Are they gnats or grain bugs? I was getting grain bugs really bad with mine and even now that I no longer have dubias, once in awhile I'll find some in my kitchen and have to tear everything apart.

Once you have those, it's almost impossible to get rid of them. I threw away every cereal, grain, oatmeal, flour, corn meal, dog treats, you name it. Anything they might get into and I still find a couple here n there.

Watch out for those things. They will truly drive you insane!

Mold kills Dubias fast


Dont leave anything wet in there longer than a couple hours

Increase ventilation

Make sure your not spilling any water crystals

Keep the frass from building up too high

I keep my dubia in a tub in my snake rack and don't run into problems. I don't add water crystals. I add apples, oranges, spinach for water. I've even added whole peaches that have just gone off and have just been left with a pit - no mold. I NEVER let anything wet touch my egg crate. What temp is your colony?