Where are all the flies?!?

We have had an issue with reoccurring drain flies in our utility room ever since we moved into this house. I've poured boiling water down the floor drain and that works for awhile.I've swatted them when I saw them. We have not used pesticides. Something about pouring pesticides into a drain doesn't feel right, so we've lived with the flies. The flies were usually in a pretty isolated area so they weren't totally bothersome. They stayed in the utility room and would on occasion move to the basement bathroom, but that was about it.

Back last fall, we adopted a stow-away lizard. Ponce, as many of you probably recall, was a baby anole that found itself in my husband's office after jumping off of a plant that had been delivered from Florida. He was sooooo small and so new that we weren't sure he/she was going to make it. We fed him fruit flies which almost seemed like to much of a mouthful.

Time passed and Ponce hung on. Ponce did more than hang on, he/she thrived. Ponce got large enough we were able to tell that he was indeed a she. Ponce moved from fruit flies to small/medium crickets. Ponce also enjoyed our drain flies. At some point I realized I could catch the drain flies, they don't move very fast, and put them in Ponce's habitat. It was wintertime so the drain fly output was fairly low. I'd scope the water heater or furnace every couple of days for a fly or three to put in Ponce's cage. They were a tasty treat... a break from the crickets. Then one day I noticed, no more flies. The weather is getting warmer, things are happening. Where are the flies!?! Fly production should be picking up and Ponce is hungry.

Ponce is continuing to thrive (although her Vinca vine is not... it's on schedule for replacement). Here is a photo of what Ponce looks like today. I'd say if you measured her from tip of tail to tip of snout, she's approaching 5 inches.

Ponce is eating a lot more these days. The days of 2 fruit flies per day are long gone. She's gnarfing crickets at a steady pace and could really use some drain flies for variety, but they appear to be gone. It dawned on me that I probably over-harvested them and left nothing to procreate. A few years ago this would have been a good thing! I would have been so happy that the flies were gone, but this morning as I went down to the utility room for something else and scanned the furnace and walls out of habit, I found myself kind of miffed and grumbling, "Where are all the flies!?!?!"

Comments

[Claire]

Man! Ponce has gotten big! I'm sorry your flies are gone, for only Ponce's sake.

In other pet-related news, today not-so-wee Frank is getting neutered! Huzzah!! We went to the vet this morning and there was no murmur and he's just happy and healthy and ready for some minor surgery. He also weighs 9 lbs 4.5 oz! He's huge!

[Chuckles]

GAH! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR CHILD, CLAIRE! Poor Frank! YOU SHALL BE AVENGED!

Also, Helob the Tarantula of Unknown Specie may have eaten a cricket. He has performance anxiety of late, so I didn't want to disturb him by watching him. Two days since dumping the crickets in the cage, there are a lot more dead crickets, but most of those look like they died of natural causes. Perhaps I should use carrots and not banana rind as food for them. Any thoughts?

[Claire]

Dude, my roommate and I have had more viewings of Little Frank recently than we need to... this is for the best. I do NOT want cat spray in my house.

[Jennifer]

Ponce has gotten big! I'm hoping not much bigger.

Good news about Frank- that the murmur is gone, not that he's getting snipped... that's bad news for him, but good news for you. :)

Chuckles- I will not go within 20ft of your tarantula no matter how cool he might be! Guh! As for your crickets, if they are not eaten right away, they do need their own food. In Ponce case, we have to either feed the right number of crickets, or put food in for the remaining or the crickets will start to eat her!!! Our crickets like banana, but I also read a small sprinkling of fish food does the trick.

[The Uncanny Canadian]

That's so weird, Jennifer. I also have one drain that enjoys supporting the drain fly larvae, and I too always control the population with scalding water. It usually works for a month or two, and then I do it again. The most benign pest problem ever. And I too was expecting their emergence now that the weather has finally gotten over 40 degrees here in Boston. Strangely enough, no drain flies here either. I would have been happy to export some to you otherwise.

[Jennifer]

UC- maybe the drain flies (or are they really moths?) have gone the way of the honey bee!!

If they do come back, export away! Or... buy a lizard!

[The Uncanny Canadian]

They are in fact flies, but because of the fuzziness and near-comical overgrowth of the wings, they resemble moths. Hence, they are sometimes referred to as moth flies. They fall into the family of Psychodidae where Psychoda alternata are the most commonly found drain flies. They're kind of hapless unfortunate little critters that I usually pity rather than detest. And I have a pretty serious phobia of flying insects.

You just know that if I bring in a lizard to take care of the drain flies, the next thing I know, I've imported Chinese needlesnakes to eat the lizards and it just escalates from there.

[Jennifer]

Yeah, what is with those wings??

Does the common house fly bother you, UC, or is it innocuous enough? What bothers you? The fact that so many insects that fly can also sting?

And I don't even want to know what Chinese needlesnakes are!

"There was an old lady who swallowed a fly... I don't know why she swallowed the fly... " I don't recall needlesnakes being a part of that song!

[Chuckles]

I'll import some Brazilian Salmon Pink tarantulas for the needles snakes. Those spiders grow to be at least 12 inches across and are black with bright yellow and pink stripes. They look awesome and live for 25 years!

Jennifer, if you ever come to DC, I'll take your whole family on a scenic nature walk. Without leaving my apartment.

[Jennifer]

I checked out that tarantula... YUCK! Same for the needle snakes. My Ponce is cute and demure.

Wow, the thought of a Chuckles in his natural environment sounds intriguing.

[The Uncanny Canadian]

I'm not scared of flying insects that I can rapidly identify as non-biting/stinging. Therefore, house flies are fine, as long as I can be sure they aren't black flies. I'm not really scared of mosquitos either. They just annoy the F*CK out of me. Anything that can possibly even be mistaken for a bee makes me run. Really fast. I've never been stung. Apparently when I was little, one of my neighbours was terrifying of bees, and my parents think I learned it from her.

Any time I say something obscure, like Chinese needle snakes, consider it a likely Simpsons reference. This is from the episode where Bart unleashes Bolivian Tree Lizards on Springfield, and they develop a voracious appetite for pigeons:

KENT
Our top story, the population of parasitic tree lizards has exploded, and local citizens couldn't be happier! It seems the rapacious reptiles have developed a taste for the common pigeon, also known as the 'feathered rat', or the 'gutter bird'. For the first time, citizens need not fear harassment by flocks of chattering disease-bags.

Later, Bart receives an award from Mayor Quimby outside the town hall. Several lizards slink past.

QUIMBY
For decimating our pigeon population, and making Springfield a less oppressive place to while away our worthless lives, I present you with this scented candle.

Skinner talks to Lisa.

SKINNER
Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.

LISA
But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?

SKINNER
No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.

LISA
But aren't the snakes even worse?

SKINNER
Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.

LISA
But then we're stuck with gorillas!

SKINNER
No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

[Jennifer]

I loved the Simpsons... I had to stop watching when it was not appropriate for my lamblets and then I never got back in the habit.

Poor gorillas...

Sorry about the bee issue, UC. My youngest lamblet hates them as well, but then she plucked one off of the screen when she was 2 and was terrified to find out it was not happy with that. Then... when she was 4, she sat on a fence that had a wasp nest. I was not there for this, but Grizzled said she screamed, he realized what was going on, pulled down her shorts, all while the neighbors were holding a garage sale. Need I say more.

I don't mind flying insects. I can't deal with SPIDERS!

[Brando]

I love Kent Brockman.

I am also with Jennifer on the spiders. Saw the Brazilian Salmon Pink. Ugh, no thanks.

[Adorable Girlfriend]

Schmoopies, is that a bee flying next to your head?

Jennifer, you have no idea what UC is like with the insects. Rats? OK. Mice? Sure. Costa Rica? No way! There's insects there.

You have no idea how much AG wants to go to Costa Rica!

[Jennifer]

AG- Costa Rica is supposed to be lovely, but it does have lots of creepy crawlies. Doesn't CR have the highest rate of poisonous snakes (or maybe just snakes)per square mile?

I do love their coffee though...

[Adorable Girlfriend]

While they might have a bunch of creepy crawlies, UC goes to places like I don't know -- Israel. You know where you can get bombed and have your testicles put on a Palestinian key chain free of charge if they see a kippa on you.

The guy is inconsistent in his fears, if you ask AG.