[DendroDave]

Hello maybe someone can help me, I have to thrown out about 5 or 6 cultures due to not
producing flies. it'll start out about 50 larvae in about the 12th day then nothing, and the flies I started the cultures with are dead, I did see something smaller than a fruitfly in a couple of the cultures (I think mites) so I have washed everything with bleach and water and placed the media, cups, lids,dusting powders in the freezer and I've ordered new flies to start new cultures. does anyone know how this can be prevented in the future so I won't have to go through this again. any imput who be appreciated
Thanks
Dave

[The_Feeder]

Hey DendroDave,

Read your post and it sounds like your having a problem with mite infestation! Sorry for the late response but I'll drop some advice for you here anyways. I know of two excellent working ways that prevent mite infestations. Well before I get into that I'd recommend microwaving your culture if at all possible. This will help sterilize it completely before adding flies. This will depend on how you do things! Now back to the failsafe ways to prevent mites.
First get some insecticidal shelf paper. Once you have it cut some pieces out and put them under your culture! This always works for me! It's my preferred method! Now for the second try putting your cultures into small containers with shallow amounts of water. This will create a barrier around your cultures. I even add a bit of alcohol to the water. Always wipe your cultures off with a bit of alcohol after you have used them especially if you set them anywhere other than the normal place. If you want you can combine both methods for maximum security! LOL! It doesn't hurt! If your interested I'm selling D. melanogaster cultures, various size mealworms, baby superworms and small waxworms. In the future I'll also have Isopods and springtails available. Again sorry for such a late response! Just thought I'd offer some advice! Good luck! Let me know if you find any other ways that work well for you!