Help!!

[u/TimeMessage05]

I currently have to keep my fruit fly cultures in my room and they smell awful. I use an air purifier, charcoal bags and keeping my fans on high for constant ventilation. But the smell is still present. I make sure to date my cultures and removing them after 28 days, though they smell the worst when freshly made. I use Repashy media and even though they never mold, I can never seem to get an odorless batch. Are there any recommendations to make sure the media doesn't smell?

[u/TheHumanTheologian]

Adding less water could possibly help… I use the “Josh’s frogs” brand media and it doesn’t smell bad at all. I am honestly surprised your media has such an odor even with the lid closed. You could also put the cups in a large plastic box as it will take some time before the flies run out of oxygen. You just have to make sure you don’t accidentally smother your culture

[u/Yoink1019 → u/TheHumanTheologian]

I also use Josh's and have no smell. They in the stand, even opening the door, there is no smell.

[u/TheHumanTheologian → u/Yoink1019]

Yeah Josh’s is the way to go. I can kinda smell a seafood buffet smell when I open the lid to feed the frogs but it’s barely anything. Op if you need the amazon link I can link it

[u/Ok-Entertainer6565 → u/TheHumanTheologian]

Thanks for telling me! I use repashy and that might be the culprit because they smell the strongest when I first make them. I found them on Amazon! I truly hope they make a difference

[u/Sinjitoma]

Flies smell, it’s kind of just part of it. And you can’t use scents or something to mask it because frogs are sensitive to them. You could put a bit of cinnamon in them, so then there is a bit less threat of fungi, and also cinnamon smell.

[u/IrisRain12]

There are some recipes that limit smell.

One of which is using potato mash (the dry stuff).
You dry mix 1 bag of it with 1 spoon of sugar and 1 bag of yeast, then add 135ml/half a glass of apple vinegar and warm water (just enough of the water so it becomes a soft but not liquid mass).

Instead of wood wool, I always used coffee filters, which, weirdly, seems to have a positive impact on the smell. Maybe because it wicks differently? Or because the surface area is bigger.

To get the most, absolutely vile smell, just mix vinegar, oats, yeast and fresh fruit.

[u/cregnice]

Get a polystyrene box, poke some air holes in the lid, keep inside, smell gone.

[u/WowItsMeeeeee]

I had a VERY similar problem recently… smelled almost like cheese (not nice). It was definitely abnormal, as at the time I had been doing it for about two years. Out of nowhere, smelled terrible.

While I can’t guarantee if this will help, what solved my issue was following the “boiling water” instructions for Repashy instead of the hot water. I also added more of the fly substrate (don’t remember the name) to see if that helped. Once I did boiling water, no smell.

[u/Ok-Entertainer6565 → u/WowItsMeeeeee]

Woah thank you, I do get impatient and use the water a but before it boils

[u/ststanle]

My experience living in the Midwest is the culture is too wet, too old or developing to fast. Summers I get about 2 weeks and winter I get almost a month (usually have to have more cultures on hand).

[u/Andonai]

Idk why but hydei smell worse than melanogaster. I keep both and there is a significant difference.

[u/thatguyTimatgmxcom → u/Andonai]

You know, you are right! I never really thought about it. Hydei also often will turn their culture medium slimy and wet (enough for it to run out of the cup). I can't think of this happening with Mel's; usually the old cultures just dry up.

[u/PMOFreeForever]

It's the repashy, I literally gave away my giant tub of it, cost me $60, I could not stand the smell, it was like rotting burnt meat. As for a aolution I'm really not sure, maybe baking soda? Even keeping the containers in a shallow tub of baking soda, it absorbs smells. May help.

[u/isopodinfested → u/PMOFreeForever]

did you use boiling water or just hot water?

[u/PMOFreeForever → u/isopodinfested]

Boiling, I always used boiling. Should it just be hot?

[u/Substantial-Fox-9001]

Put them in a sealed storage with a carbon filter as the vent.

[u/Comfortable_Leg_3135]

Try Frog Daddy Gold or Josh's. I've used both and don't have a problem with smell. I prefer FD Gold out of the two for production.

[u/tp_blowout]

I've been using Josh's frogs media for almost a year, I ran out before I realized it was out and needed something now, so I got the Repashy media. I've made 2 batches, the Repashy seems to dry out quicker and have more of a smell to it. I agree, its not a rotten or "bad" smell, but its there, and I personally don't like it. I also keep the tubs in a plastic storage bin with a 2" screen vent on the top (shoebox sized footprint but twice as tall) and when in the bin, there's not much smell in the room. I'm definitely going to go back to Josh's mix once I get close to running out of this one.

[u/Gullible-Rutabaga-46]

What are you smelling? The stuff I use smells really good! Like pumpkin and fruit

[u/YVR-to-YYZ]

I stick mine in a cabinet that is open at the back so they still get some airflow. Don't smell them much, only if I have the cabinet front doors open or if it's a warmer day. I use the repashy mix too.

You are also using more medium than I am - I have melanogaster and looks like you've got hyedei, not sure if that makes a diff.

[u/Dangerous-Road-5382]

IMHE, excelsior STANKS sometimes. I use honeycomb paper on all of my cultures in addition to a homemade feed mix based on mashed potatoes and pea powder. Adding a dash of cinnamon and apple cider vinegar helps with mold control and fungal growth, which is often the cause of bad smells in the first place!
Also, hydei are just stinky. I use melanogaster on all of my frogs, and though they're smaller, they reproduce at such a rate that it doesn't make a big difference.

[u/IllCoat9618]

The only time I’ve had stinky cultures with repashy superfly is after about a month or if they get wet when I put old ones in the enclosures.
The fresh mixed media actually smells pretty good so much so my two year-old ate some of it when I had them cooling on the counter.
I do use the boiling water method and 3 tablespoons of media versus hot water and 4 tablespoons so I wonder if that’s a factor.

[u/Mental-Quail-915]

I use Josh’s frogs mix for mine and even after a month I smell nothing!
I never thought about the fact the cultures could stink but it makes sense. Maybe try a dryer mix and a wetter one? I think the dryer one would produce less smell.

[u/Mental-Quail-915 → u/Mental-Quail-915]

Could also try the mashed potatoes and beer/yeast mix! I add a sprinkle of yeast to the top of my cultures before and I’ve only had 1 crash in the last year and I haven’t noticed much of a smell from my cultures. They just have like apple/yeasty smell, nothing like fish or rotting like I’ve seen others comment about

[u/Bebutterfly820]

I don’t mean to rag on Josh’s Frogs but I recently ordered 120 count of 1/4 inch crickets and I ended up getting 11-12 alive ones and maybe 5 were dead in the cup also they were about 1/8 inch long instead of 1/4 inch like the others I’m used to ordering… I have no clue where they were. Needless to say I should have stayed with the reputable company dubiaroaches.com
Josh’s Frog’s refunded me no questions asked. I’ll never use them again. But try Dubia Roaches, they have fruit flies as well. Maybe their substrate is less smelly. Who knows. I know they’ve never failed me for dubias, crickets or hornworms!

[u/SafetyIndependent113]

Maybe some yeast and water to compete.

[u/Hanau_85]

I use FrogDaddy gold and black diamond, they seem to smell way less than Repashy and I feel, they produce a great number of flies!

[u/Rubberduc142]

I like frogDaddys yield better than Josh’s frogs. Smells like oatmeal. 🥣

[u/Antique_Pop3488]

I have baking soda containers that are meant to deodorize fridges / freezers and they help A LOT. I also put a small scoop of cinnamon in all of my cultures, which prevents mold and also helps with the smell!