How to feed blue bottle flies ?

[skinzfan72]

Can someone PLEEEEEASE help? I am at wits end here! I need to know a less lethal way of feeding my flies. They keep "drowning" on me. I have tried bread and screen, I even thought maybe putting honey in the bottom ridge of the cup they come in to feed them in the bigger enclosure I have them in would work. But NOOOO they crawl right in the honey and die. The only thing left is the sponge trick but I wouldn't think a household sponge from say Wally World would work because of all the fungicides and germicides in them. I have seen hanging paper towels and the sponge trick but I am having problems locating these ideas on here. So can someone please HELLLLLLLLLLP?

 

[hibiscusmile]

You need to use wood chips, and dry sugar, you do not need honey to feed them if they are dying in it. Take your cup and put the wood chips in there, add some water that they can reach without getting their little feet wet and put their food in another container, I am putting the wood chips on mantisplace.com along with fly food. It is not there yet (wood chips) but fly food is.

http://www.mantisplace.com/cupoflies.html also you can use the cupoflies to keep them in.

 

[Rick]

Here is what I have always did and it works. I keep the flies in the same 32 oz deli cups that I keep mantids in. The cup is set up the same with a hole in the side plugged with a foam plug. Using a syringe filled with honey I squirt a large drop on top of the foam plug inside the cup. The honey will run down the sides of the cup. I have NEVER had issues with the flies drowning. There is no need to do anything fancy to feed them.