Such seemingly harmless midges bring a lot of trouble to the owners of apartments and houses. In addition to the fact that midges in the apartment are carriers of a lot of diseases, their vinegars are very painful and can cause swelling and itching. These insects reproduce very quickly and cause a lot of trouble in breeding them.
There are many ways to combat midges in an apartment - from folk remedies to a variety of chemical sprays and fumigators. But all methods will be powerless if they are not applied comprehensively and at the same time preventive measures against insects in the apartment are carried out.
Where do midges come from: eliminating the cause
Most often, two types of midges appear in an apartment: fruit midges - Drosophila and soil midges - Sciriades. If you do not find the place of their distribution, then the fight against midges will be useless, because... they will appear again and again.
Important! Before you get rid of midges in your apartment, you first need to find a place that has become their breeding ground in the apartment.
Where do midges come from in an apartment:
- Dirty fruits and vegetables brought from the garden or store. If insect eggs were laid on the fruits, then in a favorable environment (as the fruit rots) small midges quickly begin to appear in the apartment. The lifespan of midges is short (about a day), but in the presence of a favorable nutrient medium (rotting fruit, for example), they multiply at high speed.
- Bin. Irregular garbage disposal is one of the most common reasons why midges appear in an apartment. The leftover food in the trash can may contain insect eggs, which begin to actively wake up during the process of rotting waste. Food debris that gets on the surface of the bucket (if the bucket is not washed) can cause an entire army of insects to appear.
- Living Corner. Many midges love to settle in living places - cages of rodents or birds, aquariums, etc. Leftover food or a poorly washed pet bowl, an aquarium with water that has not been changed for a long time, is an excellent environment for midges to settle.
- Houseplants. Midges love it very much indoor plants, especially if the soil is excessively moist. Some housewives water plants with tea leaves, which can also cause the active spread of midges, because they really love tea and its brewing.
- Neighbours. Midges can enter an apartment through ventilation ducts from unscrupulous neighbors.
- Sewerage and water supply. When food particles get into the pipes, they can get stuck in siphons and bends, where they begin to decompose. This process can lead to the appearance of entire hordes of midges, which are not so easy to control.
Important! Midges most often enter an apartment with the help of a person himself, but the further spread of midges depends on the cleanliness of the room and timely cleaning of water and sewer pipes.
Once the cause of the appearance of midges has been established, the fight against uninvited guests through preventive and sanitary measures.
How to quickly remove midges
The first thing you need to do to quickly remove midges from your apartment is to carry out general cleaning premises: wash all surfaces, remove crumbs, wipe the floor behind the furniture, throw away all products with the slightest signs of spoilage.
10 tips on how to remove midges from your apartment:
- Conduct a thorough audit of all kitchen cabinets where products are stored plant origin and cereals. It is necessary to check that there are no traces of spoilage or dampness in the places where cereals are stored. If necessary, cereals should be poured into dry and hermetically sealed jars, and all bulk products with signs of spoilage should be immediately thrown into the trash.
- Sort through all the vegetables and fruits. Fresh fruit and vegetables - place in the refrigerator, spoiled - throw in the trash.
- Vacuum the areas where midges accumulate. If there are a lot of black flies, you should vacuum all surfaces where hordes of black midges are noticed.
- Take out the trash every day, and be sure to wash and dry the trash can.
- Do not leave leftover food, sweet drinks in glasses, tea or tea bags on tables. If there are any at home small child, then you should pay attention to the place where it stands high chair– Children very often scatter food, and even a small piece of uneaten food can attract a lot of midges.
- Check filters and siphons under sinks (especially in the kitchen), and if necessary, treat them with special products.
- Treat the entire room where midges appeared with special sprays. You should be careful, especially if there are animals and small children in the house. It is better to carry out the procedure in a respirator and special gloves.
- If indoor plants are the source of midges, you need to change the soil or treat the soil with special insecticides. You should ensure that the soil does not become waterlogged - do not flood the plants with water, and regularly loosen the soil.
- Do not leave unwashed dishes in the sink.
- Regularly monitor the cleanliness of the living area.
Will help you get rid of midges quickly special means from insects, which can be purchased in almost any supermarket.
Effective remedies for midges:
- Aerosols (Dichlorvos, Raptor, Raid, Combat). Before using the product, you need to remove all toys, food, and cover all surfaces with film. The procedure is best carried out when closed windows, having first put on special clothing, but after processing the room must be thoroughly ventilated.
- Fumigators (Raid, Combat, Fumitox, Moskitol). Safer than aerosols, but no less effective. The disadvantage of the fumigator is that it begins to act after 3-4 hours, and complete disposal of insects occurs after 6-7 hours.
- Repellents (Off!, Gardex, Moskitol). The repellent body contains a special strip impregnated with toxic chemicals that repel midges. Repellents are easy to use because... they can be hung in any room, but are unsafe for other household inhabitants, so the room must be ventilated often.
- Insecticides (Grom-2, Fly eater, Bazudin). They are used for plant soil if indoor plants are the source of midges.
- Pipe cleaners (Floop, Mister Muscle, Mole, Tiret). The product is poured into the sink and left for a while. This will help not only eliminate midges, but get rid of all blockages in the pipes.
All chemical agents are very effective in combating annoying midges, but they are far from safe for humans, and they are not always cheap. Because a good alternative purchased funds are traditional methods of fighting insects.
Folk remedies for midges
You can get rid of midges using your own home remedies: making traps or using certain aromas that repel insects.
How to get rid of fruit flies in an apartment:
- Aroma oils (aromas of clove, verbena, ylang-ylang, patchouli). As soon as you install aroma lamps with the addition of super-hydrated oils in the room, the midges will immediately leave the room.
- Camphor. Camphor is crushed and poured into a frying pan, preheated well. As soon as steam begins to emit, turn off the fire and carefully carry the frying pan around the entire perimeter of the room. The aroma of camphor will instantly repel midges. It should be noted that camphor vapor is absolutely safe for others, including animals and small children.
- Geraniums and tomatoes in a flowerpot. If these plants are present on the windowsills of the apartment, midges will never appear indoors.
- Basil, anise, eucalyptus, horseradish– the smell of these plants repels insects.
- Orange and clove. Several sticks of cloves are stuck into an orange and placed in places where midges accumulate.
Traps- the safest and most effective way to combat midges; you can make them from any available materials.
We remove midges using traps:
- From a plastic glass: bait is placed at the bottom of the glass: a piece of overripe fruit or vegetable, honey, sweet water, compote, etc. The top of the glass is closed plastic film, in which small holes are made. The glass is left in the kitchen overnight, and in the morning its contents, along with the caught midges, are poured into the toilet.
- From a container with dishwashing solution. In a container where there is some left soap solution, pour apple cider vinegar, compote, juice, wine, etc. to attract fruit flies. Insects will flock to the bait and drown due to the agent, which reduces the surface tension of the liquid.
- Sticky traps. Cut paper sheets into thin strips, which need to be moistened in a solution of three tablespoons of black pepper, a glass of milk, and one tablespoon of sugar. Traps are hung around the entire perimeter of the apartment, which creates some inconvenience, but they help to quickly “collect” all the midges.
- Beer or wine bottle. By leaving such a simple bait overnight, you can collect a lot of midges that will fly to the bait and “stick” to the bottom of the bottle.
To get rid of midges in pots with indoor plants, you should stick matches into the soil with their heads down and temporarily reduce the amount of water for watering.
To remove midges from sewer and water pipes, you need to pour a little soda into the hole in the sink, and after 5-7 minutes pour in 1-2 glasses of vinegar. After 20 minutes, rinse the pipes with water.
Getting rid of midges in an apartment is a labor-intensive and troublesome task. Therefore, it is better to prevent them from appearing in the apartment by keeping the room clean and tidy, promptly removing garbage in the apartment and living areas of pets, paying attention to the maintenance of indoor plants and the condition of sewer and water pipes.
Almost every housewife has encountered such a problem as midges in an apartment or house. Surprisingly, this phenomenon can be encountered not only in summer or autumn, when fruits and vegetables are the cause of this disaster, but even in winter and spring. And it’s not so easy to remove this insect; this is where questions arise: are they dangerous, where could they come from, and how to get rid of midges in the kitchen.
Reasons for the appearance of small midges
The adults themselves great danger do not represent, except for the aesthetic. Few people enjoy dining in the kitchen surrounded by flying fruit flies. And the kitchen after their invasion does not acquire much nice view, traces of their presence are visible everywhere, black spots on the ceiling and surfaces.
But their larvae can cause great harm to health. If they are swallowed and enter the digestive tract, infection may occur. And given that an adult lays an average of about 1000 eggs, the fight against it should begin with the appearance of the first insects.
In order for the issue to be resolved radically, it is first necessary to determine the source of the midge. There may be several of them, here are the main ones:
As soon as the source of origin of the midge has been determined, and it is, as you can see, most often food, you can proceed directly to its elimination. To do this, you need to understand how to deal with midges in an apartment.
To get rid of Drosophila ( scientific name fruit midge), it is necessary to carry out a thorough cleaning, because it simply cannot stand cleanliness. To achieve best result should proceed in the following sequence:
Compliance with these simple rules will allow you to say goodbye to Drosophila forever.
The onion midge appears in the house where the onions begin to rot. It reproduces very quickly, so as soon as the first individuals are noticed, you should immediately begin to destroy them. You must proceed according to the scheme below:
- Eliminate the cause of the appearance, that is, sort out the onions and throw away the rotten bulbs.
- Near the place where the onions are stored, you should leave cotton wool soaked in pine essential oil.
- Install sticky tapes for flies and mosquitoes. For greater efficiency, they can be lubricated with wine, then they will fly together faster.
Cereals are also susceptible to invasion small insects. It may be infested with larvae still from the manufacturer or in the store. Since it will not be possible to get rid of the pest by sorting through the cereal, here again you will have to get rid of the spoiled goods. And in order to protect yourself in the future, you should put bay leaf or a clove of garlic.
Don't forget about chemicals ah to combat midges that can be found on store shelves. Remember that their use without destroying the source of infection is ineffective.
Making a midge trap
For prevention and instead of chemicals, you can use a trap. You can make it yourself, without any specific skills. Let's look at a few of these traps:
Chemicals
If you are tired of small midges in the kitchen, you can get rid of them forever. There are also radical methods of combating midges. Dichlorvos is suitable for these purposes. Why him? Affordable price and great result - here it is distinctive features this chemical preparation. But don't forget that safety precautions must be followed. Clear the premises of people and animals. Spray the aerosol for the time specified in the instructions. After which it is necessary to check the room within 15-30 minutes.
Don't forget about technical innovations, for example, ultrasonic repellers. Their periodic use will allow you to say goodbye to these pests forever.
Folk methods of struggle
To fight with ubiquitous insects You can also use various aromatic oils. A great option will essential oils lemon, vanilla, ylang-ylang. Not only will they faithful assistants in getting rid of midges, but also fill the rooms with a pleasant aroma.
There are also verified folk remedies. To repel midges, you need to place tomato plants or geraniums on the windowsills. By the way, geranium is also an excellent mosquito repellent that cannot stand its smell.
Following these rules will prevent you from encountering unpleasant pests..
Small midges in the apartment
Small midges in an apartment or house are associated with dirt and uncleanliness and cause a lot of trouble for the owners. In warm weather, midges multiply very quickly, so there is no time to waste. As soon as you discover that midges have appeared in the house, you need to leave everything and take action immediately.
It is not very difficult to remove midges, but some rules must not be neglected in order to exterminate all insects and prevent them from appearing again.
Why can midges appear in an apartment?
To get rid of it once and for all small midges in the apartment, you need to find out why they appeared. After all, midges often appear in the apartments of very neat and clean owners who never expected such a neighborhood.
There are two types of midges in an apartment or house: some start in, others in. The reasons for the appearance of the former may be excessive watering of plants or the purchase of flowers in a pot with midge-infested soil.
In the kitchen, and sometimes in other places in the apartment, midges appear if there is food for them - rotting foods. For such midges, the smell of rot is like a magnet, attracts, and the rotting fruit or vegetable itself becomes favorable place for life and reproduction.
How to get rid of midges in an apartment and house
Regular garlic will help remove midges from indoor plants. This is the simplest option; midges cannot stand the smell of garlic. Other ways to get rid of such insects:
- Water the plants with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Be careful not to burn the roots. You need to water all the flowers so that the midges do not move into the next pot. This remark applies to all methods, since it is not a problem for midges to fly over.
- Stick regular matches into the ground, head down.
- Expand orange peels in pots.
The most reliable remedy for midges in indoor flowers is to replant the plant in new land, washing the roots, processing the pot. But this method injures the plant; it is used as a last resort if all other methods have failed.
If midges appear in the kitchen, the first thing you need to do is find the source - rotting food, put them in a bag, tie them tightly and throw them away. And then start catching flying insects.
The most in an effective way How to get rid of midges in an apartment is to use special aerosols. But they cannot be used if there are animals or children in the house. In addition, after such treatment, you need to thoroughly ventilate the rooms and wash all objects that may have come into contact with the chemical.
Absolutely safe means from midges in the apartment is to use homemade traps. To do this you need to take plastic glass, put bait (rotten fruit) into it, cover tightly with film. Make small holes in the film. The midges will fly to the smell of rot, make their way inside, and no matter how hard they try, they won’t be able to get out. In a short period of time, all insects will be trapped.
Will help get rid of midges in the house sticky tape which attracts insects pleasant smell, and having sat on it, they stick and die.
Another way to get rid of midges in the house is with a vacuum cleaner. You need to suck in the midges flying and sitting on the walls with a stream of air, and then carefully shake out the contents of the vacuum cleaner into a bag, tie it tightly and throw it away. But there is a possibility that not all insects will be caught. Therefore, you need to either repeat the procedure several times, or use other methods in parallel.
These are the most common options for how to get rid of midges in an apartment, but in practice people come up with others. For example, you can leave a container with a sweet liquid or beer overnight; by the morning, the midges that have flocked to the smell will simply drown.
Some people find that cleaning with ultraviolet light or a mosquito repellent lamp helps.
After you have managed to get rid of midges in the house, you need to do some general cleaning. And in the future, make sure that the food does not spoil and that the flowers are watered in moderation.
How midges appear at home July 14th, 2017
Winter. It's minus 30 outside. Complete absence of insects. No mosquitoes, no flies. The question arises, where do the little ones come from? annoying midges? Yes these are the ones small flies that live in the kitchen and in trash cans. If you have asked this question and you are not indifferent to their appearance, influence and struggle, then let us examine the topic in more detail.
Have you ever thought that as soon as you leave a slightly rotten apple or other fruit, after a while the whole apartment is full of small flies? But all the windows and doors are closed tightly, and it’s winter outside with its cold conditions. That is, in other words, they cannot fly in from the street. And that's a fact.
So where do they come from then?
These flies are called Drosophila midges or wine flies, or fruit flies, there are, of course, other names for them. Midges have several species and subspecies. They range in size from 3 to 5mm. Like any insects, there are three stages of development: egg, larva and adult. Development time from egg to adult just a day, provided that the necessary environment is met. And these are rotting vegetables, fruits, sweet juices, compotes, indoor plants, their soil, used tea bags, various trash cans. In general, these flies thrive in decaying environments.
Drosophila ( fruit flies) Drosophila (family Drosophilidae, order Diptera). Many species are synanthropic. In nature, they feed on plant sap and rotting plant debris. The larvae also feed on microorganisms.
The life cycle of Drosophila from egg to adult at 25 °C is 10 days, at 18 °C it is approximately twice as long.
Imago (lat. imago - “image”) is an adult (definitive) stage of individual development of insects and some other arthropods with complex life cycle. At this stage, animals become capable of reproduction (except in cases of neoteny) and often of dispersal. Adults do not molt or grow.
The larvae spoil food (fruits, potatoes, onions, carrots, jam, etc.).
It turned out that flies develop where people forget to clean up on time. But how do these same insects get there? After all, you need to develop from conception. And if you clean everything up in time before and after the flies appear, once the fruit spoils, the flies are right there. How is this possible?
This is explained by the fact that adults lay their eggs on ripe fruit. And when we bring fruits or vegetables home from the store or, in general, from the street, we bring eggs of these hated insects. And for development they need a rotting environment. So, as soon as the brought fruit spoils slightly, the mechanism of development of the fly from egg to adult will be launched. These insects not only have a short development period, but also the ability to develop into large quantities individuals. Hence the appearance of large swarms behind short period time.
How to get rid of such unpleasant creatures? Very simple. You need to wash purchased and brought fruits and vegetables in hot water Or it’s better to pour boiling water over it, then the eggs will die. To be sure, store vegetables and fruits in the refrigerator, because the fly cannot develop in the cold. If something is rotten anyway, immediately get rid of it by thoroughly washing the place where it was all stored. Check all secluded places with food, clean them from possible rotting. When watering indoor plants, try not to overdo it with moisture. Do not store garbage bags and buckets for a long time, because any garbage has the ability to deteriorate, and this increases the likelihood of Drosophila midges appearing.
If you comply simple rules, then there is no need to resort to using various kinds chemicals. And the midges themselves will disappear without appearing.
So catch and prevent development - wash and store everything cool, do not leave the fruit to rot for a long time. Catch - a primitive trap with a paper cone placed in a jar works great.
Options for transferring already in the house from one purchased fruit to another - with your own hands, by placing flies (not necessarily fruit flies) in the same place on the table. Perhaps, unnoticed for now, she is just a fruit fly that will quickly inseminate everything around her.
The most common causes of midges
According to experts, there are more than a thousand different types midges, and if some of them annoy animals, others harm plants, then fruit flies, or so-called wine flies, most often appear in the house.
In order to take effective measures to combat insects, it is worth finding out where they came from.
These insects typically breed in the following places:
in the kitchen, where plant residues are contained, flies especially love rotten fruits and vegetables;
in the bathroom, if stored there wet rags, wet, stale items or the water supply is clogged;
near cages in which pets are kept, aquariums with fish, if their care is not too thorough;
in flowerpots with indoor flowers, if you add them too often.
There are many more such potential places in an apartment, but the main factors that explain the proliferation of insects are dampness and dirt. By eliminating these conditions, you can protect your home from the invasion of midges.
Often midges are found in the soil of domestic plants. Plants require moderate watering, you should not use tea leaves or coffee grounds to feed flowers. When humidity increases, it appears flower midge, she spoils the leaves, root system, and getting rid of it is not easy. Having reduced watering, the soil in the pot is spilled with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate, and if this does not help, then the soil is completely changed. You can use insecticides specifically designed for soil: (“Agravertin”, “Grom”, “Karbofos”, “Fitoverm”).
House midges do not like strong odors of garlic, citrus, camphor, incense; these products will help expel insects from the house. Household traps are also effective for eliminating midges. IN glass jar pour juice, compote or throw in pieces of fruit. A funnel folded out of paper with a small hole at the tip is inserted into the jar, carefully sealing the joints with tape. Flying in on the smell, insects crawl through the hole into the jar, but cannot return back.
If these measures do not help, you need to use traps or industrially produced aerosols.
In the fight against house flies, you need to use everything available funds. After the fruit flies leave your home, do not forget about proper storage products, keeping the house clean.
More than a thousand species of midges have been identified in the world. Some of them annoy animals and plants, while others - such as midges in an apartment - disturb residents. If you ask different people As for what the midges did to them, you can hear completely different opinions: they end up in my tea; a cat chases after them and tears off the curtains; they get into the eyes and ears of our children; they bite painfully; they ruined the leaves of my plants; they spread infection; I love cleanliness, and midges are a sign of contamination of the room.
Sources:
Midges can get into the house very easily. It is enough to wait too long to throw out the garbage, not to notice the fruit that has rolled under the refrigerator and is slowly rotting, or to bring vegetables with soil containing midge larvae into the house - and now, they are already everywhere: in the kitchen, in the bedroom, in the hallway. And these are just some of the reasons where they can come from.
In private country house or it’s even easier for them to show up at the dacha. And we need to somehow get rid of the midges. But by what means? There are several good options.
Reasons for appearance
Above were the main reasons why midges come from in a house/apartment, but in reality there are more of them. You need to understand where they come from at home in order to pay attention to these ways of their arrival in the future more attention. In addition to the above mentioned rotten or dirty fruits, the following reasons can be mentioned:
- aquariums that haven't been cleaned for a long time
- pet cages
- soil in indoor plants
- sewerage and water supply
Basic methods
You can get rid of small Drosophila midges in quite simple ways. traditional methods. But first, we need to ensure conditions so that new Drosophila specimens do not appear again. Throw away all rotting food in the kitchen, and if possible, put those that do not rot in the refrigerator.
Usually this is enough for the midge to gradually disappear without intervention. In a couple of days, there will be no fruit flies in the kitchen, or in the entire apartment. Drosophila lifespan is only a day. They just know how to reproduce very quickly.
But sometimes it’s not possible to remove everything, so there are several other quick options for getting rid of insects at home:
- Orange and cloves. This combination of odors is extremely unpleasant for fruit flies; they will try not to even get close to it
- Vinegar and soapy water. Three tablespoons of vinegar are mixed with soapy water. Open liquid with this mixture is placed near the midges. They fall into this liquid and drown in it - an excellent remedy for this problem
- Trap. It is very easy to make a trap that will be extremely attractive to midges. To get rid of them, place an open garbage bag in the kitchen and put some rotting fruit or vegetable in it. Its smell will attract midges. When they are there in sufficient quantities, simply tie the bag and throw it away
Other methods
A few more less popular, but still enough effective methods that will help get rid of fruit flies:
- Velcro against flies. This method helps with large flies; it will also help get rid of smaller midges. They just stick to the sticky surface and then throw away the tape.
- Vacuum cleaner. This may look quite stupid, but if you want to quickly get rid of clusters of midges after cleaning the kitchen perfect order, then you can deal with them simply by sucking them inside
- Bottle trap. You need to cut off the neck of the bottle, turn it over, insert it back into the bottle and secure it with tape. A funnel will come out. Something is poured into the bottom of the bottle that can attract midges. A good option is regular beer. After this, the midges will penetrate the bottle, but almost all of them will not be able to find their way back
- Geranium. It is recommended to grow this plant in the kitchen, then it will be an excellent way to get rid of midges. They do not like the smell of this plant. An additional advantage is that moths don’t like it either.
Prevention
Getting rid of midges is half the problem. It is important that they no longer appear in the house/apartment. Therefore, we need to do prevention.
By and large, it all comes down to the following actions:
- take out trash from home regularly
- clean siphons
- wash the trash can occasionally
- Immediately throw away food that has just begun to spoil
Sometimes you can create in the kitchen strong odors, for fruit flies they are unbearable. For example, the smell of incense or garlic can significantly reduce the risk of their occurrence. And the lower the risk of this, the better for you.