Bugs in his water dish, should I be worried?

So, it's my first summer in my new home and of course a new location (same town). I've noticed pretty much since summer started that Crowley has been getting little bugs in his water dishes. I keep his enclosure clean, his java perches and bamboo are all clean and stay dry. I have reptile carpet as bedding so it can't be coming from the substrate. I have not seen these bugs anywhere else in the house, only in Crowley's water bowls. Is this something I should be worried about or is this just normal bugs going and drowning themselves in Crowley's water for the summer? I change his water every 2nd day, I'd change it daily but I use well water which I have to go to my parents place to get and don't want to bother them too much, my parrot and I also drink that water. City water here is just gross and well water is much better than store bought spring water and it's also free. The bugs I find are always dead/drowned and I assume they come in from the screen on top the enclosure as the bugs are small enough to fit there. I keep the humidity at 55% or 70% while Crowley is shedding. Here are a few pictures of the bug I found this morning.

Here it is without the zoom so you can see how small it is, this happened to be the biggest one I've found so far.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/yjrLuay.jpg

Here it is with zoom so you can maybe tell what kind of bug it is.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/s8veNCg.jpg

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Originally Posted by Valyndris

So, it's my first summer in my new home and of course a new location (same town). I've noticed pretty much since summer started that Crowley has been getting little bugs in his water dishes. I keep his enclosure clean, his java perches and bamboo are all clean and stay dry. I have reptile carpet as bedding so it can't be coming from the substrate. I have not seen these bugs anywhere else in the house, only in Crowley's water bowls. Is this something I should be worried about or is this just normal bugs going and drowning themselves in Crowley's water for the summer? I change his water every 2nd day, I'd change it daily but I use well water which I have to go to my parents place to get and don't want to bother them too much, my parrot and I also drink that water. City water here is just gross and well water is much better than store bought spring water and it's also free. The bugs I find are always dead/drowned and I assume they come in from the screen on top the enclosure as the bugs are small enough to fit there. I keep the humidity at 55% or 70% while Crowley is shedding. Here are a few pictures of the bug I found this morning.

Here it is without the zoom so you can see how small it is, this happened to be the biggest one I've found so far.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/yjrLuay.jpg

Here it is with zoom so you can maybe tell what kind of bug it is.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/s8veNCg.jpg

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If you have noticed these little bugs in other places in your house then it’s probably a bug from the surrounding area that was attracted to the water then died there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NewmanLovesSnakes

If you have noticed these little bugs in other places in your house then it’s probably a bug from the surrounding area that was attracted to the water then died there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I've only seen this kind of bug in his water dish and nowhere else in the house or around the house outside.

I would call it up to just little buggies in the house this time of year. Just keep an eye on it.

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

I would call it up to just little buggies in the house this time of year. Just keep an eye on it.

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That's what I figured but I worry about everything so might as well ask. Weird that they don't end up in my bird's water, I guess a tank is easier to climb than a cage.

Are they fruit flies? It's hard to tell from pics. If they're fruit flies you can set "traps" for them. We have a few in my house right now. You can just put a little bit of apple cider vinegar in a glass, open jar, etc. and add a drop of dish soap to break the surface tension. Some people also cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and poke holes in it, but I don't really see the point of that since they drown in the vinegar and can't get out anyway. If they are / could be fruit flies you could put one of those little traps near the enclosure so they're attracted to that instead of the water dish? Even if they're some other kind of bug that kind of trap might be worth a shot.

That looks like a fungus gnat. They often breed in potted plants when you overwater them. Do you have any plants in the house? They may be migrating to your enclosure and breeding there as well.

Do get rid of them I would temporarily move any plants outside to dry for a few weeks and thoroughly clean the enclosure and reduce humidity as much as possible for a while to keep them away.

You can put a towel over the screen to prevent them from getting in.

Pretty sure it's harmless & just part of the "seasonal invasion"....no extra charge for the protein, as they say. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by royalreilly

Are they fruit flies? It's hard to tell from pics. If they're fruit flies you can set "traps" for them. We have a few in my house right now. You can just put a little bit of apple cider vinegar in a glass, open jar, etc. and add a drop of dish soap to break the surface tension. Some people also cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and poke holes in it, but I don't really see the point of that since they drown in the vinegar and can't get out anyway. If they are / could be fruit flies you could put one of those little traps near the enclosure so they're attracted to that instead of the water dish? Even if they're some other kind of bug that kind of trap might be worth a shot.

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I will try this and see how it goes, thanks for the advice. I don't think they are fruit flies but I will try this method regardless.