Infestations

You cannot freeze or dry substrate to get rid of nematodes as they are capable of going into a dormant state in which they are nearly impervious to normal extremes. They will appear when conditions are right and in most cases are in such low numbers that we hardly ever notice them. They only explode in numbers when they are able to find a high amount of freely available nutrients or other food sources. Once you removed the fungust gnats, you opened the niche in which they were utlilizing and allowed the mites and nematodes to take over. I would assume fungus gnats are not the cause of the black spots, but they may be able to carry viruses or other pathogens that can harm the larvae. A nutrient-rich substrate would also be a good breeding ground for microbes that may or may not be harmful to your larvae.

It's possible that the flour you're using may be a problem, but it should not be an issue unless you're using the substrate before it's completely fermented.

It's more likely that the flour has instead been broken down and taken up by yeast cells and caused an explosion of yeast cells in the substrate. Fungus gnats, mites, and nematodes are all going to be able to feed on the yeast cells that are still present within the substrate.

 
Hey, Oak, I wonder if nuking the substrate will work with your fungus gnat infestation?

>>> How to get rid of mites <<<

I know I'm going to give it a try with a batch of substrate I've had sitting around for over a year that's still infested with fungus nats and mites.

Cheers

 
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