# Just ordered my first Mantis and have some questions about handling and feeding.



## Sauromayne (Jun 14, 2018)

Hello,

I just ordered my first Mantis (Giant Golden Hierodula) and just have a few general questions.

First of all, do mantids like to he handled? Like should I go out of my way to hold my mantis because they enjoy it or do they not care for it? I've seen a few videos where the mantis is feeling threatened by their owner and attacking their finger and am curious what I should do if I'm in this situation. How can I convince my mantis that I'm not a threat and not trying to hurt it?

In regards to feeding, I'm just curious how you get the feeder insect from point A to point B. I have never had a pet that required live feed before so never had to deal with feeder insects. Do I just stick my hand in the culture and grab a fruit fly (I don't know how small these things are as I've never seen them lol), do I need tweasers, do I just dump them, etc?

I know these are probably silly questions but I'm very inexperienced with this and want to make sure I'm doing things right.

Thank you! 

Edit: the fruit fly's that I ordered are the wingless ones that bugsincyberspace.com has.


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## lovemymantisfriends (Jun 14, 2018)

Hi and welcome!  

The people in the videos are usually trying to get their mantis to do a threat pose (it's pretty). 

Put your hand out flat in front, usually they will just walk on.  You can gently push from behind too.  

As for the flightless fruitflies...they are tiny, but man can they jump and climb!  From what I saw and how I do it is tap the bottom of the ff enclosure on the table to knock them off the top so you can open the enclosure.  I have another cup ready (like a solo cup) to put them in (it is also recommended to put a thin film of vaseline or olive oil around the top of the inside so they cant climb up and out).  Then tap a few of the ff into your mantis enclosure and put back the unused ones.  

Depending on your chosen enclosure, you may want a dedicated feeding cup so that you know your mantis ate and can keep your enclosure cleaner longer.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 14, 2018)

lovemymantisfriends said:


> Hi and welcome!
> 
> The people in the videos are usually trying to get their mantis to do a threat pose (it's pretty).
> 
> ...


It looks like she has you all figured out!  I don't usually have problems handling my mantids. Good luck with the new mantis!

- MantisGirl13


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## Sauromayne (Jun 14, 2018)

lovemymantisfriends said:


> Hi and welcome!
> 
> The people in the videos are usually trying to get their mantis to do a threat pose (it's pretty).
> 
> ...


Awesome thanks for the info that is very helpful! Do mantids enjoy being handled or do they not care either way?

If I do get a separate feeding cup should I put anything in it? Like a few sticks and leaves or something?


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 14, 2018)

Sauromayne said:


> Awesome thanks for the info that is very helpful! Do mantids enjoy being handled or do they not care either way?
> 
> If I do get a separate feeding cup should I put anything in it? Like a few sticks and leaves or something?


Most mantids love to be taken out and handled. It all depends on the temperament of the mantis though! If you notice that she has trouble moving around in the feeding cup, then yes, add some extra things to climb on, but it is not necessary.

- MantisGirl13


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## Sauromayne (Jun 14, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Most mantids love to be taken out and handled. It all depends on the temperament of the mantis though! If you notice that she has trouble moving around in the feeding cup, then yes, add some extra things to climb on, but it is not necessary.
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Awesome that sums up the questions I had thank you!


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 15, 2018)

The more you handle your mantises the more they will trust you. They get used to you and even recognize you as a safe person over other people. 

Fruit flies are extremely tiny, you won't be able to pick them up with fingers or even tweezers. Besides tapping the container to keep knocking them down you can also put the entire ff cup in the fridge for a few minutes to slow them down. Then you just shake however many you need into a separate container. You can tap that container to keep them from crawling out and add them to your mantis's enclosure or you can put your mantis in the second container with the flies. Depending on the size of your new mantis it may eat only a couple flies or many but don't overdo it. Too many flies in the container at once can stress out the mantis, you can always add more later if he eats them all. Since you are getting a Hierodula java it will likely have a big appetite. It will quickly outgrow the fruit flies so I'd recommend looking into buying some housefly pupae or similar sized prey for the very near future. 

Adding twigs to a dedicated feeding container is fine but not completely necessary, mantises spend the vast majority of time hanging from the ceiling of whatever they are in.


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## Sauromayne (Jun 15, 2018)

Predatorhousepet said:


> The more you handle your mantises the more they will trust you. They get used to you and even recognize you as a safe person over other people.
> 
> Fruit flies are extremely tiny, you won't be able to pick them up with fingers or even tweezers. Besides tapping the container to keep knocking them down you can also put the entire ff cup in the fridge for a few minutes to slow them down. Then you just shake however many you need into a separate container. You can tap that container to keep them from crawling out and add them to your mantis's enclosure or you can put your mantis in the second container with the flies. Depending on the size of your new mantis it may eat only a couple flies or many but don't overdo it. Too many flies in the container at once can stress out the mantis, you can always add more later if he eats them all. Since you are getting a Hierodula java it will likely have a big appetite. It will quickly outgrow the fruit flies so I'd recommend looking into buying some housefly pupae or similar sized prey for the very near future.
> 
> Adding twigs to a dedicated feeding container is fine but not completely necessary, mantises spend the vast majority of time hanging from the ceiling of whatever they are in.


Good to know you can put them in the fridge for a little to make them easier to deal with.

Would small crickets be a good step up from the ff's or should I try the housefly pupae before crickets?

The habitat I'm starting with is this one https://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Mantis-Habitat-Kit-bic861.htm

Since mantids spend most their time hanging from the ceiling is it okay to take the lid off while the mantis is hanging from the ceiling? If I take the lid off and put my hand underneath it will it crawl onto my hand? (As long as it's not molting) I'm probably being overly cautious but I've never had an insect as a pet before and I am assuming they are fragile so I just don't want to do anything I shouldn't be doing.

Also, do you have any suggestions for a bigger habitat I should get once this one is outgrown? Would something like this be good? https://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Small-White-Cube-with-Sleeve-bic868b.htm


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 15, 2018)

welcome  

Those cups will do fine for the first coupls of molts of your hierodula. You have time to find him/her a bigger home.

Buy some tweezers to handle your feeders when you give it to your mantis. They can better bite in there than your hand. You will love to see your mantis eat.

About handling? Do it a lot, so they learn you are no danger and you will get used to have a bug in your hand. I handle mine every day.  At the moment of writing this, my mantis is sitting in my hand. I am typing this post with 1 finger?


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 15, 2018)

Sauromayne said:


> Would﻿ ﻿small crickets be a good step up from the ff's or should﻿ I try the housefly﻿ pupae﻿ before crickets﻿?﻿


Small crickets are okay but be sure to remove any your mantis doesn't eat after a few hours. Crickets have been known to nibble on a newly molted mantis and you can't always predict when a mantis will molt. Houseflies would also work as the next step or you can buy both to alternate between them. You buy houseflies as pupae then let them hatch into adult flies as needed while keeping the remaining pupae in the fridge. The hatch rate diminishes after 7 to 10 days in the fridge so don't order too many at once, it'll end up being a waste. You can hatch a larger amount of pupae towards the end of their viability and the flies will live a few weeks longer if you give them food and water. 



Sauromayne said:


> The﻿﻿ habitat﻿ I'm starting with is this one﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ https://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Mantis-Habitat-Kit-bic861.htm
> 
> Since﻿ mantids spend most their time hanging from the ceiling ﻿is it okay to take the lid off while the mantis is hanging from the ceiling? If I take the lid off and put my hand underneath it will it crawl onto my hand? (As long as it's not molting) I'm ﻿probably being overly cautious but I've never had an insect﻿ as a pet before and I am assuming they are fragile so I just don't want to do anything I shouldn't be doing.﻿
> 
> Also, do you have any ﻿suggestions for a b﻿igger habitat I should get once this one is outgrown? Would﻿ something like this be good?﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ https://shop.bugsincyberspace.com﻿/Small-White-Cube-with-Sleeve-bic868b.htm﻿﻿


The cup habitat is great to start when your mantis is a nymph. Yes, you can take the lid off when the mantis is hanging onto it, just be careful because mantises can jump. They are not super fragile as long as you aren't rough and don't squish them or anything, you can handle them in the manner you are asking. They will usually crawl onto whatever you put in front of them. If they don't want to move you can encourage them by gently touching their back or butt.

The cube habitat you showed is going to be way too small for an adult Hierodula, that species gets quite large. I have a Hierodula membranacea in a 12x12x18" Exo Terra terrarium. This pic is when she was L4 and still quite small, she's 3.75 inches in length now.

View attachment 10484


I like Exo Terra terrariums because they look nice and have doors in the front and that makes it very easy to access. The absolute minimum size a Hierodula would be ok in is the 8x8x12" terrarium. You don't want to go any smaller. Height is very important for a mantis to molt properly so make sure the final enclosure will be at least 3 times their body length in size and twice as long across. The only issue with these is the metal screen lid, mantises can get their feet caught in the overlapping wires so I hot glued fiberglass window screen to the bottom and secured with wooden dowel rods as you can see in the pic. There is a variety of other materials you can use besides fiberglass window screen to protect their feet, see this thread that explains how to make an enclosure.


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 15, 2018)

Little Mantis said:


> Buy some tweezers to handle your feeders when you give﻿ it to your mantis. They can better bite in there than your hand﻿. You will love to ﻿see your mantis ﻿eat﻿


Yes, getting some metal feeding tongs or 5 to 7 inch long jewelry tweezers will help a LOT for handling feeders and for hand feeding mantises. I got a 16 cm pair of dental tweezers off eBay like these 






You don't want to offer your mantis a feeder insect using your fingers, a mantis's raptoral arms are quite strong and can accidentally give you a pinch when they grab the insect. It doesn't really hurt but it can be difficult getting them to let go.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 15, 2018)

Predatorhousepet said:


> The only issue with these is the metal screen lid, mantises can get their feet caught in the overlapping wires so I hot glued fiberglass window screen to the bottom and secured with wooden dowel rods as you can see in the pic.


I like the Exo Terras too because of the doors. I need to buy another one for my H.masjuscula when she outgrows her cup.

About the screen lid I have solved to sow a piece of cloth against the lid.  (don't know how this material is called in english)


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 15, 2018)

Little Mantis said:


> About﻿﻿ the screen lid I have solved to sow a piece of cloth against the lid.  (don't know how this material is called in english)
> 
> ﻿


I think the material is called Burlap.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 15, 2018)

Thanks. Google translate wasn't nice to me to translate from Dutch to English. It didnt gave me the english word for it.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 15, 2018)

I have never used Exo Terras because they are too expensive for me. Making your own cages is a neat idea! I use leftover containers with toole on the lid. It works great!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 15, 2018)

the Exo Terra is indeed very expensive, that is why I have one for Cochise. I think Neyteri will be the same size as Cochise or bigger. Then my self made box won't work. It isn't high enough. Not enough space to molt.


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## Sauromayne (Jun 15, 2018)

Thank you again everyone for your help!



Predatorhousepet said:


> The cube habitat you showed is going to be way too small for an adult Hierodula, that species gets quite large. I have a Hierodula membranacea in a 12x12x18" Exo Terra terrarium. This pic is when she was L4 and still quite small, she's 3.75 inches in length now. ﻿﻿


What about something like this 13.5 x 13.5 x 24?  Or is that too big of an upgrade from the cup? I think I'm going to just be using a separate feeder cup so I wont have to worry about knowing if hes eaten or not.

That Exo Terra cage looks really nice though and something that I may get later on down the line.


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 15, 2018)

Sauromayne said:


> What about something like this 13.5 x 13.5 x 24?  Or is that too big of an upgrade from the cup? I think I'm going to just be using a separate feeder cup so I wont have to worry about knowing if hes eaten or not.
> 
> That Exo Terra cage looks really nice though and something that I may get later on down the line.


Either of the net cages will work. I misread the dimensions of the first one you posted, lol. For some reason I thought it was being measured in centimeters rather than inches ?

A Hierodula can be housed in a 12x12x12 *INCH* cube just fine or you can go with the taller one. You'd be surprised how far a Hierodula nymph will go to chase after prey. I fed mine in the 12x12x18" terrarium from when she was L4 and she always found her food but you can feed in a separate smaller container if you prefer.



MantisGirl13 said:


> I have never used Exo Terras because they are too expensive for me. Making your own cages is a neat idea! I use leftover containers with toole on the lid. It works great!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


I wait until they go on sale to buy Exo Terra terrariums. Petco has really good deals from time to time with free shipping. Most recently I got a 12x12x18 for $49 during their Christmas sale and when they had a Mother's day sale I got three 8x8x12 for $26.50 each. Father's day is coming up so they'll probably have another sale.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 15, 2018)

Ya, well even 26$ is kinda expensive for me, since I am only 13. Thanks anyway!

- MantisGirl13


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## Synapze (Jun 17, 2018)

When do you expect your mantis to be delivered? Great species choice... one of my favs. ?


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## Sauromayne (Jun 17, 2018)

Synapze said:


> When do you expect your mantis to be delivered? Great species choice... one of my favs. ?


He will be here on friday, I wanted to make sure he got here when I had a day off. I'm very excited


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 18, 2018)

I hope he arrives safely! Let us know when he arrives!

- MantisGirl13


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## Sauromayne (Jun 22, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> I hope he arrives safely! Let us know when he arrives!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


He arrived safely today  Here are some pics. If it is actually a he I'm going to name him Dante, if its female I'm not sure on a name yet lol. I have to admit I am a little nervous when I have him out of the habitat because he is so tiny and fast and I'm worried to lose him. He gets mad when I try to put him back in the habitat and starts running up my arm lol. When I hold him though he doesn't want to stay still and runs all over my arm and hands and I'm worried I will lose him.


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## Synapze (Jun 22, 2018)

It might sound weird, but when I start handling a new mantis, I take it to the bathroom. ?

It seems many of my mantids were calmer and easier to handle when in a smaller space. After a few trips, they became comfortable with being handled, and I felt more comfortable handling them. Cover the drains, roll up a towel to put under the door, close the toilet seat and throw a towel over it. Now if your mantis starts jumping around it will be easier to find and you'll worry less about it getting harmed. 

Don't laugh... it works. ?


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## Sauromayne (Jun 22, 2018)

Synapze said:


> It might sound weird, but when I start handling a new mantis, I take it to the bathroom. ?
> 
> It seems many of my mantids were calmer and easier to handle when in a smaller space. After a few trips, they became comfortable with being handled, and I felt more comfortable handling them. Cover the drains, roll up a towel to put under the door, close the toilet seat and throw a towel over it. Now if your mantis starts jumping around it will be easier to find and you'll worry less about it getting harmed.
> 
> Don't laugh... it works. ?


That is brilliant! Thank you for that suggestion it makes me a lot more comfortable.

I just fed him successfully for the first time and feeling a lot less nervous


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 22, 2018)

The mantis is very small, is it a L2-L3? it's a cutie.


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## Sauromayne (Jun 22, 2018)

Little Mantis said:


> The mantis is very small, is it a L2-L3? it's a cutie.


Yeah he is a small guy. I imagine L2, L3 but I'm not really sure. Hes a lot smaller than I was expecting though

Edit: I'm going to send a message to the seller and ask though because I suppose its probably a good thing to know lol


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 22, 2018)

(S)He is adorable! I am glad you feel more comfortable holding him/her now!

- MantisGirl13


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## Nicolas (Jun 23, 2018)

That looks like L2. Glad to know he arrived safely - I've got two chinese babies on the way as of typing this, so hopefully it goes as well for me. Sadly I don't have any fruit flies, but I could feed them small things I find outside instead.


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## Sauromayne (Jun 24, 2018)

Nicolas said:


> That looks like L2. Glad to know he arrived safely - I've got two chinese babies on the way as of typing this, so hopefully it goes as well for me. Sadly I don't have any fruit flies, but I could feed them small things I find outside instead.


Yeah ends up he is L2. I hope they arrive safely for you as well.

By the way when I'm holding my mantis he likes to put his legs in his mouth and suck(?) on them. Is this just a grooming thing? I never see him do it in the habitat but he does it a lot when I'm holding him.


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 24, 2018)

Sauromayne said:


> By the way when I'm holding my mantis he likes to put his legs in his mouth and suck(?) on them. Is this just a grooming thing? I never see him do it in the habitat but he does it a lot when I'm holding him.


Yes, he is cleaning himself. There may be some salts on your skin and his feet are extremely sensitive so he can feel any tiny difference. Him doing this a few times is normal, mantises like to keep their feet clean if they've been roaming about but if he is doing it a lot (like every few seconds) you may want to consider washing your hands and arms with an unscented mild bar soap and water and rinse very well before handling him and see if that cuts down on the amount he cleans his feet.

If you've ever taken Microbiology you'll know that human hands are incredibly dirty. Even if you shower everyday you should still be washing your hands regularly several times a day anyway to cut down on the bacteria.


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## Sauromayne (Jun 24, 2018)

Predatorhousepet said:


> Yes, he is cleaning himself. There may be some salts on your skin and his feet are extremely sensitive so he can feel any tiny difference. Him doing this a few times is normal, mantises like to keep their feet clean if they've been roaming about but if he is doing it a lot (like every few seconds) you may want to consider washing your hands and arms with an unscented mild bar soap and water and rinse very well before handling him and see if that cuts down on the amount he cleans his feet.
> 
> If you've ever taken Microbiology you'll know that human hands are incredibly dirty. Even if you shower everyday you should still be washing your hands regularly several times a day anyway to cut down on the bacteria.


I figured it had something to do with the oils or salts on my skin. I don't have any mild soaps though so I didn't want to wash my hands right before handling in case that could be harmful.

I'll try getting a mild bar soap and wash with it beforehand to see if it helps because he is constantly cleaning when I'm holding him.


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 24, 2018)

As long as it is unscented, any soap is better than nothing (with scented soaps the fragrance particles stick to your hands, even if you rinse extremely well, you'll still be able to smell them...you're trying to get rid of the residues on your hands here, not add them.)

If you have to go out and buy an unscented soap anyway maybe consider something marketed towards babies, these tend to be very mild.


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## Ocelotbren (Jun 24, 2018)

@Synapze Just wanted to say that I also handle my mantids in the bathroom sometimes! Usually for adult males that I don't want flying out of reach anywhere. For tiny nymphs, I try to keep them on a big flat surface that is a very different color from them, such as a white towel or sheet of paper. That way it's easier to spot them if they roam.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 25, 2018)

I will keep the bathroom in mind for mantids who can fly when they are adult and  the dog cant't reach them:  good idea?


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 25, 2018)

I handle mine in my room, where I have a light tat I can focus on the mantis.

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 25, 2018)

I handle the mantids where i am the most. At my desk. Fat Cochise won't fly away. She will crash to the ground?


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 25, 2018)

Those adult males can be tricky. I always keep the door of the room where I have my insects closed and the room free of a lot of clutter. I figured that would make it easy enough to find a large adult male mantis that decided he wanted to fly somewhere and usually that is true....but when I was moving my Hierodula membranacea male back to his cage after breeding him he promptly took flight off my hand across the room and under the bed. Theres nothing under the bed but it still took me 20 minutes to find him after crawling under there with a flashlight. He was hiding on the underside of the bedframe way in the back. You do everything you can to try to mantis proof a room and they still seem to find the one weakness you didn't think about. Maybe I need to get a bedskirt to prevent that from happening again.

@Little Mantis I have heard that females do have the ability to fly very short distances but generally don't...probably because of the sheer effort it would take to get themselves airborne. Males can easily take flight because they don't have near the amount of "baggage" weighing them down that females do.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 25, 2018)

Cochise never made any atempt to fly. Sometimes I see her only fluttere her wings. Maybe she can glide whit her wings to prevent hard landings.


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## ★ Ｔｒａｃｙ Ｇｒｅｙ ☆ (Jun 26, 2018)

lovemymantisfriends said:


> Hi and welcome!
> 
> The people in the videos are usually trying to get their mantis to do a threat pose (it's pretty).
> 
> ...


~I've personally tried olive oil and it doesn't work, idk if it was the brand or what but the flies can climb up it


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 27, 2018)

There's a product called Slippery Feet that is supposed to work for fruit flies but it's a bit expensive. 

I have found that if you coat fruit flies in a fine powder such as powdered honey or bee pollen they can't climb the sides of a deli cup, they just stay at the bottom. (You might have to run the powder through a coffee grinder or high powered blender a few times to get it fine enough.)


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