Mites in your Fruit Fly cultures?

[kyle1745]

Mites

So you have mites in your Fruit Fly cultures, I think many of us have had this issue at one point or another so I figured I would post a small care sheet on the topic. Expect reduced production from this method, but as long as you make some extra cultures you should be ok. It might also be a good idea to run some tests first and then put your treated cultures in a separate location.

This is what worked for me:

• Purchase some Benzyl Benzoate and soak paper towels to line your culture rack or shelf. I have had better luck with this than mite paper.[/*:m:3eypbdrq]
• Use about 1/2 a teaspoon of Benzyl Benzoate in your cultures for roughly 1 month.[/*:m:3eypbdrq]
• Never keep a culture longer than a month. Throw them out or clean out the containers, if you leave them around the mites may return[/*:m:3eypbdrq]

Here is a running thread on the topic

More information:
http://www.fruitflies.net/mites.htm

If you have anything you would like to see added or changed in this care sheet, or if you would like to see your care sheet here, please send me or a mod a PM.