Im wondering if they are tiny moths? I had a problem with tiny moths that I thought were flies in one of my set ups, I bought Anoles (3) and they took care of the moths but once the Anoles were removed they always came back, they are in the soil, and the ONLY way to get rid of them is to take you set up apart and clean everything! Im talking EVERYTHING! Remember, I speak from expierience! Good luck! =)

Will it be possible to save any of the plants? My maidenhair is especially lovely. I hate the thought of getting rid of everything, but if I must....

You can keep all of your plant =) just clean the roots under cool water, be sure to keep the roots moist during the whole redo =) and if you have any broms or any other plant that hilds water in them be sure to empty the water and rinse them too.

ok no, you do not have to change and clean out everything in your terrarium

what you have are just common fungus gnats. they live in the soil and lay their eggs and everything in the soil. it will be very hard to get rid of them unless you do clean out everything.

The easiest way to keep everything in check is to get a couple of sundews (drosera) or even butterworts (pinguicula). they will put a large dent in the gnats and almost completely get rid of them. i had this same problem when i started my terrarium, but luckily i had a couple butterworts and soon enough there were tine little gnats getting stuck to the surface of the plants.

sundews (drosera) need a specific habitat to grow happily, unless you can dedicate your whole set up for them,and others like them, it will be very hard to set up a small section of it for them, unless you have a huge tank I dont think they will survive? the plants you have, and the sundews (drosera) live in a completely different habitat =) but you can try it if you want =) it was much easier, and cheaper, to do a clean out.

Dews & butterworts expensive? Not hardly.

Many BBS carry them for $4-5. Of the 2 I would lean toward the dews, they seem more forgiving to me. If you tank has enough moisture to make the gnats that much of a problem, then it is likely moist enough for dews. You could, just to make sure, leave the dew in the bottom portion of the container it came in and just make sure the media there is always very moist. When you first add the dew to the tank, do NOT remove the cover of its container for any long period of time -- just leave it open a crack. Over the course of a week or more, leave the container open more & more until you finally remove it completely. Why, you ask? You will need to get the dew acclimated to your tank's humidity conditions. [Very similar to the need of getting a plant that has been growing indoors slowly acclimated to the light intensity & other conditions when moving it outdoors.]

"Dews & butterworts expensive? Not hardly.
Many BBS carry them for $4-5" Never said they were expensive =) just said it was cheaper to do the cleanout,if the infestation is as bad as it sounds, one dew just wont "dew" LOL! clean out is just about free, unless you have to buy soil/substrate, which will cost just about the same,but the moths will be there allways, no matter how many dews you have, the clean out will get rid of them permanately, but the choice is up to you allinarow, we're just trying to answer the question, Help! Flies, flies everywhere in my terrarium! LOL! =)

"the clean out will get rid of them permanately"

Fungus gnats seem to show up no matter what. The dews & butterworts pretty much wiped out my fungus gnat population in my bog tank. Thinking of adding a dew to my orchid tank.

Aslo completely tearing down a tank and redoing it seems like a lot of work to go to.

My tank was infested, I cleaned it out, which wasnt a lot of work, unless a person isnt used to doing such things (no disrespect) and they have never returned, and although the moths themselves will seem to be gone when the dews are used, there are always eggs, and the way to get rid of them is to clean out the set up, no ifs ands or buts, I only want to be sure that the problem is taken care of permenately, but as I stated before, the choice is yours =) Here are a few pics of my "moth free" terarium =) yes, thats my big head self in the reflection! LOL!

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" I cleaned it out, which wasnt a lot of work, unless a person isnt used to doing such things (no disrespect) and they have never returned"

No offense taken but still disagree w/ ya. IME [and that of other folks I know], seems the fungus gnats always come back -- though not necessarily right away. If yours haven't, kudos to ya!

Now moths I've never had a problem with.

As far aas work, I still find it a pain. Now part of that could be due to being in an apt, hence a lack of room to really work .........

On a different note:
I like the pink serated leafed plants in your tank. What are they?

What are the dimensions of the tank?

I had tiny moths, they were not flies or nats, but very tiny moths that were definatly breeding in the soil,as for the pink serated leafed plants, yeah, I USED to have the plant ID stake, but my beautiful and loving wife threw them out just last week, dont ask me why she didnt ask me about them first, but thats a whole other thing! LOL! they are common plants found at Home Depot or your local home improvment center, the dimensions are as follows: 24" wide x 12" deep x 32" tall, I actually glued two tanks together(piggy back style) and the seam doesnt really bother =)here are three more pics, two are close ups of the plants that might help you ID them =)

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Are your plants in pots? If so soak all your plants up to the rim of the pot overnight in a tub or sink to drown the flies and eggs.

Well...many thanks for all your suggestions. I have been daunted about redoing my tank, so it remains still with flies. I had (what I thought)a brainstorm! I picked up some fly paper and hung it in the tank, while very unattractive, it was certainly doing the job of "catching" these little buggers. I thought it a great idea, and that it would save me the trouble of a redo, but after seeing the amount of flies it caught, I'm not so sure. Four flypaper traps came in the pack, so I figured if the four don't do the trick, I'll redo. Well, I'm on my fourth roll and though the pop of flies seems to be diminishing, I'm sure there must be a gazillion eggs in the soil. I believe I will try one or two of the plants suggested and see if that will help, though I am seriously thinking of redoing.
Let me ask, is there anywhere to buy "soil" that is sterilixed of the little buggers? Or perhaps a soil-less mix? Thanks again for all your advice.

Doesnt matter if you get "sterile" soil =( if you dont get rid of the flies, moths, fungus gnats, or whatever they are, they will just hang around and re enter the tank and lay more eggs,thats why I used the anoles to gobble up the "things" then when they were all gone, I did a clean-out, been just about two years and theyre still gone, but if you want to try all the mentioned methods, go for it, hope at the end it all works out =)

Ok...iliketerrariums...say I buy these anoles, this means I have to take care of them! I mean, sure there will be plenty of "things" for them to gobble up, but I'll have provide water and heat and etc. Also, my tank cover is that of a fish tank and there is a large opening, covered now by aluminum foil, and I don't think that will keep the little critter in. And if it gets out, there will be a big fat kitty waiting for lunch!
"why I used the anoles to gobble up the "things" then when they were all gone, I did a clean-out, been just about two years and theyre still gone" When you did this clean out, was that the plants, the soil and the anoles? Guide me, oh wise one!

Alrighty then...I now have vivarium! I did some reading on Anoles and they don't look too hard to care for. I purchased three today and I hope they have voracious appetites! Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted.

LOL! Thats a funny one! Wise one? I think not, just went through the moth thing is all =) I dont know much more about terrariums than you! =) When you mentioned you had a terrarium I just figured it had a semi screen top, sorry for assuming =( " When you did this clean out, was that the plants, the soil and the anoles?" everything! yes, cleaned everything with near hot water, plants in cool water, removed all the soil from the tank, and removed all the soil from the roots too, cleaned everything else in near hot water and brush everything off, the tank too, then reset everything back up the way it was with new soil, added the anoles too!, now, the secret is, dont over water! the soil should be just moist enough to keep the roots from drying out, if any water starts to build in the soil it will sour and attract the flies, moths, and gnats, I just mist lightly once, sometimes twice a day with a regular old plant mister, I make sure that water gathers on the leaves a bit so the anoles have water to drink, they wont drink from bowls so this works out great, by the way, they will eat till the critters are gone! when they do, take them out to a temporary tank, take your set up outside, ( if there are any live moths they will fly away outside and not in your house/apartment) and go to town! Good luck and please keep us updated =)

I have had an anole in mine for over a year. The tank produces so many little insects that I have never fed him and he is doing just fine :)

-DH

Beautiful job on that terrarium. I only have a tiny one with a couple of tillandsias and some mini african violets. I had the fungus gnat problem but put in the yellow sticky traps and after a couple of months the population just seemed to die out, I guess the traps catch the breeding adults before they have a chance to lay eggs?
That pink plant looks like a fittonia variety to me.

Just my two cents there.
Chaz

"Guide me, oh wise one! "
Lol.

I put up clear plastic bags filled with water. I'm not sure about the science behind this method, but it's actually a common technique that seems to keep flies and wasps away.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Get Rid of Flies in Houston

I also have the tiny flies. But I also have a tarantula. She isn't not eating the bugs and I can't really take her out for a full clean. But these bugs are annoying. I'm going to try the plants. She doesn't go on the end of the 20 gallon tank with the plants so I will put them in between those plants. Hope it works!

The only way to prevent it is to sterilize the soil beforehand by heating it up