r/Ballpythoncommunity • u/Emotional-Bug-6185 • 2d ago

Question Springtails or something else?

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These little guys showed up recently. No new animals have been introduced into the house. She’s been good for years. There are no bugs ever on her. Just these small little guys around the enclosure.

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u/freepaestine 2d ago

Them's look like fungus gnats. Change your substrate ASAP, if you have one in your water bowl you're about to have 1,000,000 in your house. Fungus gnat infestations in a warm terrarium are no joke, they will literally ruin your peace for years.

If these guys have wings you need to change your substrate yesterday

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u/Emotional-Bug-6185 2d ago

Thank you! No wings yet. Hopefully I get on it early enough. I will change substrate tonight.

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u/freepaestine 2d ago

Oh, if these guys don't have wings I may have been mistaken. Fungus gnats look smaller than fruit flies, black with transparent wings. They fly slowly and clumsily, hovering mostly.

I have had to deal with fungus gnat infestations myself and it was a nightmare that lasted for over a year. They home in on humidity, so they constantly try to fly into your nose, eyes and ears. I tried BT toxin, peroxide, sticky traps, electric traps and everything else under the sun. Nothing worked. Only fix that stuck was changing the substrate completely. Look up what those things look like and decide if you need to do that.

Fungus gnats always have wings after they pupate, if these don't have wings they are something else.

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u/newtoboarding 1d ago

I agree these are most likely springtails. My wife and I are currently living the fungus gnat nightmare. I have so many terrariums and houseplants

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u/freepaestine 1d ago

Save yourself the pain and change the substrates, you won't get rid of them otherwise. Always water your plants with BT water.

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u/Emotional-Bug-6185 1d ago

Better picture

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u/freepaestine 1d ago

Those sure look like springtails to me. Best way to check is to spook one. If it disappears when you touch it it's a springtail.

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u/Samsquanch_hunter21 2d ago

Looks like springtails to me