infested vivarium; red wigglers, sow bugs and millepedes?

Question

I have a 29g tall tank planted with tropicals; It was given to me with a tree frog who is no longer with us. It has pea gravel, covered with top soil covered with moss. I believe the pea gravel was collected outdoors, some moss may have been aswell .
At some point red wigglers, sow bugs and millipedes were introduced. the millipedes are abundant and their are hundreds of small worms (red wigglers I'm guessing upon inspection). The sow bugs don't seem to be as prolific.
Thus far they have not been eating plants as far as i can tell but i am aware that all these bugs could potentially eat most of my plants.
I was planning on obtaining either a tree frog or anoles for this tank but since discovering how many bugs i have I am considering CO2'ing the tank with dry ice in an attempt to kill off the bugs first.

so should i co2 or would an insectivores inhabitant be able to keep these bugs in check?

Answer 1

I have all of these in my marbled salamander tank - and I put them there! It adds variety to their diet and are foods they would naturally eat. Because they stay below the surface, except at night, there's always enough to reproduce, so they cut down on my food costs. I sometimes even "harvest" them for treats for my other herps. Your situation may be different , though, because none of your animals are burrowers, like my salamander.

I've never had trouble with them eating my plants - they usually eat the food I put in for the crickets!

The CO2 is an interesting idea. You've have to cover the tank with plastic (garbage bag or saran wrap on the top) to keep the CO2 in long enough to get them all, but this would be environmentally safer than insecticides and shouldn't harm the plants if there's a light on for photosynthesis. You'd have be careful with the temperature, though, and not touch the plants with the dry ice.

Answer 2

The co2 is an interesting idea, you would need to keep it in that state for a while to give the gas time to sink in through the soil. Try a strip of insect repellent (it comes is the form of a hard plastic strip), just use an inch or two of it (it can be hard to cut), and put it on top of the screen lid, or hang it inside, but don't let it touch the soil directly. Leave it until the insects have died out. It may take awhile, but it will do the trick. After they have died, remove it and let the tank air out for a few days before introducing amphibians and reptiles.

You may need to retreat the tank with either the strip or co2, since you will have unhatched eggs, that will hatch long after the first treatment.

This is also a good way to get rid of mite infestations on reptiles. Just hang a small piece were the reptile can't get to it and it will kill the mites, and then remove the strip.

Answer 3

Pressure washer might work or bug spray to kill the bugs.

Answer 4

So, I sewed the buttons on a sow - soo what?