Who among us has not encountered this problem? Midges appear suddenly in an apartment and are very annoying, annoying the residents with their presence. Some species - and there are a lot of them - can even bite. But the good news is that the methods of dealing with them are the same, and you don’t have to read a bunch of literature in order to determine which of their representatives you are fighting with.
Where do small midges come from in an apartment?
The very first thing to do is to establish the cause of the appearance of midges. Only after this can you begin effective fight with them in the apartment.
Where they can come from is a mystery to many, because outside the window it can be any time of the year. The windows and doors are closed in winter, that is, there is simply nowhere for midges to fly in.
We list the main reasons for the appearance of these unwanted guests in your home:
Biologists say one of the most common reasons for the appearance of midges in an apartment is dirty fruits or vegetables brought home from the garden or store.
Long before they appear on your table, eggs were laid on the fruits, which are in a state of rest, remission, waiting for the fruit to begin to deteriorate and rot.
This is where their finest hour comes, because this is the main food for midges. Larvae emerge from the eggs, which very quickly turn into midges.
Their lifespan is very short, only about a day. But in the presence of an abundant nutrient medium, for example, rotting fruit, they multiply very intensively, which leads to the rapid filling of the room with these insects if measures to eliminate the outbreak were not taken in time.
A very common and widespread cause of midges is also poor hygiene trash can and irregular trash removal
There may be eggs in the leftover food lying in the garbage, and when rotting begins, they begin to wake up.
You should also remember about such a place in the house as a living corner
There is always organic matter with traces of rotting there. For example, an aquarium with abundant algae growth and water that has not been changed for a long time, or a cage with a rabbit or other animal. Such places should always be clean so that insects do not have the opportunity to feed there and lay eggs.
Indoor plants can also cause abundant reproduction of midges
Especially if such a folk method of fertilization as tea leaves is used. Midges are very fond of tea and its remains.
Also the reason may be high humidity in and around pots, associated with abundant watering indoor plants.
Well, the most mysterious place where midges appear, when it seems that everything around is simply licked and perfectly clean, is the water supply and sewage system
Pieces of food falling into the sewer can get stuck in the siphons of sinks and toilets and continue to rot there. This provokes the constant and uncontrollable appearance of midges throughout the house.
From all of the above, we can conclude that midges appear in the house precisely because of problems with the hygiene of the room and its communications.
Midges enter the house only with the help of a person who personally brings them into the house. Their further life and development depends on the cleanliness of the room in which they find themselves.
7 ways to get rid of small midges
fight with house flies makes sense only when the cause and place of their occurrence are precisely determined. In all other cases, all attempts to get rid of uninvited guests will end in failure.
Let's try to describe below the main ways to combat midges:
- The first step is to conduct a full-scale audit of all vegetables and fruits stored in the house
If the inspection reveals spoiled fruits, you should immediately get rid of them and put the good ones in the refrigerator.
It’s also worth looking into the cereals and pouring them in. Check that there is no dampness in the places where they are stored and that the bulk products themselves do not have any traces of spoilage. After checking, seal the cereals hermetically in a dry, clean container.
- Thoroughly clean the sink and washbasin
For this you can use different modern means to remove blockages in siphons and pipes.
If they are not at hand, then you can resort to the old folk way. Pour baking soda into the neck of the sink and extinguish it with vinegar. When the reaction, which is accompanied by intense hissing, has passed, rinse a large number running water.
It should also be taken into account that dismantling siphons for cleaning at least once a year will have a very positive effect on the hygiene of the room.
- Some manipulations should also be done in pots with indoor plants.
For example, a few matches stuck into the ground with the sulfur heads downwards help to get rid of midges. You should also, if possible, reduce the intensity of watering in order to get rid of dampness and rotting of the plant root system. You can also sprinkle some ground pepper on the ground.
- Pets' habitats and feeding areas must be kept clean
Change the fillers in a timely manner, preventing them from rotting and rinse the feeding dishes.
- Traps also help a lot
It is made very simply. To do this you need an empty plastic bottle. You need to cut off the neck from it so that you get a funnel. Then we insert it into the cut part with the spout down and secure it with tape. At the bottom of the bottle you need to put something that would serve as bait. A piece of rotten fruit or a spoonful of jam. A small amount of beer works well. Midges fly into a narrow neck based on the smell, but cannot get back out. Such traps must be disposed of without disassembling them by filling them with water and detergent.
- Geranium will help greatly in the fight against midges.
This flower should be grown on windowsills in residential areas. Many insects, including midges, cannot stand its smell. By the way, geranium also saves the house well from moths.
- Sticky tapes are also good for getting rid of midges.
They should be hung not only in open space, but also in the middle of cabinets.
But this method will be effective only when the causes of the appearance of midges are established and actions are taken to eliminate these causes.
Prevention rules - how to prevent midges from appearing in your apartment in the future?
Preventing the appearance of midges in your home is very simple and clear. This -
- Compliance with hygiene rules for residential premises.
- Regular cleaning and trash removal.
- Regular cleaning of the trash can.
- cleaning siphons.
- Timely discarding of food that has begun to spoil.
Also, caustic and persistent odors. For example, the smell of garlic or geranium, camphor or incense, if they do not prevent the appearance of midges 100%, will significantly reduce the risk of their appearance.
These measures are guaranteed to rid your home of annoying, uninvited guests.
But the answer to this question lies on the surface. And you just have to think a little and use your imagination, and it will immediately become clear where the midges on fruit come from. But we will not look for simple ways, but will approach the issue responsibly, revealing along the way all the secrets of the enemy insect invasion. To begin with, let us remind our readers of the picture of what is happening in the apartment in the event of infection.
Midges on cucumbers
Portrait of the enemy
For a detailed consideration of the enemy of fruits and vegetables in the apartment, you need to imagine full portrait enemy, starting with who he is and how he behaves.Who is this enemy?
First, let's figure out who is the very midge that is trying to spoil our fruits and vegetables. It turns out that this is the famous Drosophila fly, which was the first insect to travel into space.
Reference! Drosophila did not go to space of its own free will. Our cosmonauts conducted experiments on it.
It is also called a fruit fly or wine fly because it appears precisely on fruits or vegetables that are beginning to spoil or ferment.
When does he appear?
Midges usually appear at the moment when vegetables or fruits begin to deteriorate, when the process of rotting plant tissue begins. Then a dangerous enemy crawls out of all the cracks and begins to settle on the spoiled product.
Where does it come from?
Drosophila breed en masse in the following places:
- in kitchens among plant debris in garbage cans;
- in the bathrooms on the forgotten wet rags or just on a dirty floor;
- in the habitats of domestic animals if their hygiene is not observed;
- in flower pots with excessive watering, which caused rotting of plant residues;
- from the ventilation if there is a violation of sanitary standards in neighboring apartments or the basement.
How does he appear?
But there are cases when the house is in absolute order in terms of sanitation, but still midges appear on your favorite orange. How did Drosophila find out that the fruit in our house was starting to spoil, who told her about it?
It turns out that everything becomes clearer if we consider the process of wine fly reproduction. The fact is that after mating, Drosophila lays eggs on the surface of fruits or vegetables. And then nature starts the waiting mechanism.
Let's say that we bought good, fresh and strong fruits from the store or brought them from the garden. But wine fly eggs are so small that we simply cannot see them with the naked eye. And so our apple lies on the table until it begins to spoil. This triggers the mechanism for further reproduction of the insect. The egg begins to develop under the influence of putrefactive processes, and soon you will notice these same midges on the apple.
And after them, other individuals will arrive in time to attack the rotting fruit.
Prevention
Based on everything that we said earlier, the conclusion suggests itself that the best remedy for fruit gnats, undoubtedly, prevention. It is always easier to prevent an attack than to heroically fight it later.
So, let's denote preventive measures that do not allow the wine fly to appear in our apartment:
- maintaining sanitation measures in the apartment;
- preventing the penetration of midges from the outside;
- thorough washing of purchased vegetables and fruits;
- storing fruits in the refrigerator;
- treating the soil in flower pots with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
- Regular removal of garbage from the apartment.
Attention! Wash purchased vegetables and fruits with boiling water, it kills fruit fly eggs. The same advice applies to collected fruits, berries and vegetables brought from the forest or your favorite summer house. If it is not possible to quickly process the product, put it in the refrigerator or pour it over hot water. At room temperature, store only those that can last a long time without spoiling.
Fight the enemy
If the enemy does appear, then you need to think about how to get rid of fruit flies in the apartment. First, you should throw away all the garbage on which Drosophila can reproduce, and then thoroughly clean the premises with detergents.
If it is possible to leave the apartment, then the best remedy How to get rid of fruit flies in the kitchen and throughout the house will be the use of special aerosols such as “Dichlorvos” or “Raptor”.
Attention! After using highly toxic products, be sure to thoroughly ventilate the premises!
If midges appear in the apartment, but it is not possible to go somewhere, then use some kind of fruit fly trap. This can be either store-bought Velcro or a variety of homemade products, which have long been in honor among our fellow citizens.
Sweet sticky tape can be easily made at home by spreading a strip of paper with honey or sugar syrup with the addition of rosin and glycerin.
You can use, for example, this simple device:
- Take a wide-necked bottle or a narrow-necked jar.
- Pour sweet fruit juice or compote into it.
- Insert a thick paper funnel into the throat and secure it there with tape or insulating tape.
The principle of operation of this trap is simple: midges, attracted by the delicious sweet smell, easily penetrate the jar through the funnel, but they cannot get back out.
Fruit midges are annoying tiny creatures, whose presence in the house itself irritates all its inhabitants. When these little creatures, not limited to annoying flickering, begin to actively spoil food, and in addition also try to bite, the patience of the residents comes to an end, and they begin to urgently look for means to fight the annoying aliens.
Where do house flies come from and how to get rid of them?
The small black flies that so annoy housewives are extraordinary insects. The unique ability of these malicious flying creatures to appear as if out of nowhere gives them a certain mystical aura. However, the secret of the occurrence of midge swarms is in hermetically sealed closed apartments, has nothing to do with magic. Drosophila flies, of course, do not have the phenomenal gift of seeping through walls. In fact, midges end up in tightly sealed rooms along with food brought from outside, and the larvae and eggs of fruit flies can hide not only in vegetables and fruits, but also in mushrooms, cereals and garden flowers.
Each fly individual does not live long. Appearing into the world at dawn, she dies in the evening of the same day, but if there is room for her in the apartment food base, namely, a supply of spoiled vegetables and fruits, a wine fly manages to lay on them within a day huge amount eggs Thus, the number of midges begins to increase exponentially, however, in fairness, it should be noted that in winter fruit flies do not reproduce as actively, but if you do not fight them, even in cold weather they can fill the entire house in a few days.
In addition to rotten fruits, midges love indoor flowers, or rather, the moist soil in which they grow. In addition, the reproduction of midges that have entered the house is facilitated by stagnant water in the aquarium, dampness prevailing in plumbing rooms, dirt in pet cages, leaking sewer pipes, dishes unwashed for several days and garbage forgotten in the kitchen.
Therefore, if you have fruit or flower flies in your home, before you start poisoning uninvited guests, try to liquidate their “tavern” first. To do this, first of all, remove all food from the table and wash it dirty dishes, then inspect the refrigerator and carry out an audit kitchen cabinets. If you find any rotten fruits or moldy cereals there, immediately take them to the trash bin, and at the same time take with you the garbage that was left in the bucket.
Having finished putting things in order in the kitchen, to eliminate dampness, ventilate the apartment, clean the aquarium, loosen the soil in flowerpots and drain the water from their trays.
At the end of the cleaning, vacuum the floors throughout the house and at the same time check if there is an apple core lying around in some secluded place.
The three most effective ways to deal with annoying midges
1 way. Industrial insecticides
In the event that the general cleaning did not give the expected result, and harmful flies continue to scurry around the apartment, you, of course, can poison them with some kind of insecticidal aerosol, but the same dichlorvos, for example, is only allowed to be used in the toilet and living rooms, it is unacceptable to use such a toxic pesticide in the kitchen.
In areas where food is stored or prepared, it is better to use factory-made adhesive tapes to combat midges. Unfold and hang a couple of Velcro strips under the kitchen ceiling, and the very next day you will see that the number of small “saboteurs” secretly sneaking into your home has decreased significantly.
A fumigator can also become in a great way solving the problem of fly infestation. Fill this device with a special plate that acts on flies, or attach a reservoir with anti-fly liquid to it, turn on the unit all night, and in the morning you will not find a single fruit fly in your house.
Method 2. Homemade traps
Fruit flyers can be combated not only with chemicals, but also with safer, but no less effective folk remedies, which include the homemade traps described below.
Drunk trap. Flies love beer and dessert wine. Place it on kitchen table an open, unwashed beer or liquor bottle. After a couple of hours, a large number of fruit flies will gather in it, flocking to an unexpected feast, all you have to do is plug the cap of the vessel full of midges and take it to the trash heap.
apple trap. No less than sweet alcoholic drinks, fruit flies love apples. Taking advantage of this weakness, you can build a very effective trap, in which natural apple cider vinegar will play the role of bait. To make such a trap, take a half-liter jar and fill it a quarter full warm water, pour a spoonful of natural apple cider vinegar, the smell of which has a bewitching effect on midges, and add a couple of drops of shampoo or dishwashing liquid there. Attracted by the aroma of your favorite fruit, the midge will fall into the water, and the “sticky” soap film formed on the surface of the liquid will not allow it to fly back up.
3 way. Repellents
If you don't have time to build traps, try scaring away unwanted guests with some kind of unpleasant smell. As such “horror stories” you can use:
- camphor, the smell of which all flies and mosquitoes really dislike. Throw a pinch of this substance into a heated dry frying pan and, as soon as its crystals begin to emit a characteristic wormwood aroma, immediately remove the vessel from the stove and walk with it throughout the apartment. Having smelled the smell of camphor, the flies will be forced to retreat.
- garlic- garden midges are afraid of the smell of this plant, so they can repel flies that have chosen flowerpots with indoor plants. Cut a few cloves of garlic into slices, place them on the surface of the substrate in flower pots, and the midges will soon leave their homes.
- cloves, rich aroma which throws the midges into panic. Place a dessert spoon of clove buds in a small ladle, fill them with a glass of water, and place an impromptu aroma lamp on the stove. When the liquid in the ladle begins to boil, a thick spicy spirit will spread throughout the apartment, which will disperse the “stray” guests.
This material is not dedicated to bedbugs or cockroaches, but to fruit flies. We suggest you figure out where they come from. wine gnats(drosophila) in the house, and figure out how to get rid of this nuisance.
Let's remember biology: types of fruit flies
The insect is harmless, although annoying. Scientists count several thousand species, although only 1,500 of them are described in detail, 40 live in European countries.
Drosophila melanogaster (other names: fruit fly, fruit fly, small fly, wood sorrel) is a small, approximately 3 mm in length, insect belonging to the family Drosophiliadae, order Diptera. External characteristics: red eyes and brown-yellow coloration with black rings on the abdomen. The female's body is approximately 2.5 mm, while the male is smaller and has a darker rear. It is these midges that usually appear in houses and apartments.
By the way, the melanogaster subspecies is highly valued by geneticists because it is ideal for experiments.
And especially for aquarists, a wingless subtype has been bred, which is used to feed fish and reptiles.
Drosophila funebris (called the large or vinegar fly) is larger than melanogaster by an average of 1 mm. It lives mainly near ponds, barrels or other vessels with fermenting/rotting liquids, and less often found in fruits.
Where does the fruit midge live and what does it eat?
Specific distribution areas have not been established. Fruit midges (drosophila) live throughout to the globe. They feed on rotting vegetables, fruits, and plant juices. IN southern regions prefer to live in gardens and vineyards.
No one is trying to breed them there, given the harmlessness of the insect and the uselessness of this activity in natural environment. IN temperate climate and in the cold season it settles mainly near people.
How do fruit flies reproduce?
Where do fruit flies lay their eggs? The female insect lays eggs, the size of which is about 0.5 mm, in a rotting fruit or any other organic material. After approximately 10 days, the larvae hatch white up to 3.5 mm in size.
At first they are on the surface of the breeding site, then they go deeper, where pupation occurs. After 4 days, adults appear - imagoes, which reach sexual maturity within 8-12 hours.
Life cycle of a midge
An insect goes through three stages of development. During growth, the larvae molt twice: 24 and 48 hours after formation. At this time, they feed on the substances of the decomposing fruit and microorganisms involved in this process. After 4-5 days they pupate. They spend another 4-5 days in this state, during which metamorphoses occur that change, develop and prepare the organs for transformation into an imago.
The first mating in females occurs no earlier than 12 hours after final development. Only from the second day they lay eggs, 50-80 eggs at a time.
Depending on the air temperature, the answer to the question of how long fruit flies live differs. In the warm period - 10 - 20 days, in the cold - up to 2.5 months.
Where do Drosophila midges come from?
The microscopic wings of Drosophila are not designed to cover long distances. Scientists have calculated that on average a midge moves 180 m per day. So where do Drosophila midges come from at home, especially in winter, when doors, windows and all sorts of cracks are closed and insulated? Let's figure it out.
In nature, these insects feed on the sap and rotting remains of plants. Accordingly, they live in gardens, dachas, or simply on fruit trees.
There are several ways to get into the apartment:
- with fruits and vegetables (rarely midges, usually their eggs);
- with the soil that remained on the fruits, or was brought for plant replanting;
- through windows if there are trash containers nearby or fruit trees;
- through ventilation from neighbors or from the basement;
- breed in food that is stuck in the drain pipe.
Even the most careful connoisseurs of cleanliness are not immune from such a misfortune, who do not leave food on the tables, wash their dishes and pets’ bowls until they shine, regularly take out the trash and sort through the contents of the refrigerator, throwing out rotten fruits.
Yes, it’s unpleasant to see fruit flies wrapping a fruit bowl or your favorite in a cloud house plant. But don't be discouraged! Of course, the contents of the fruit bowl will have to be thrown away, but the flower leaves can be saved.
How to get rid of fruit flies in an apartment
Once inside an apartment, flies multiply quickly and are very difficult to remove. If you leave a rotting fruit or vegetable on the table overnight, by the morning you will have a full kitchen of winged “guests.”
To get rid of fruit flies, first find the source of their food and reproduction, put it not just in the trash, but away from the house.
You should always follow preventive measures:
- Wash your pets' dishes regularly;
- make sure that pieces of food do not fall into the cracks, and that there are no wet or spoiled fruits lying anywhere;
- Store harvests and fruits purchased for future use, if possible, in the basement;
- Take out the trash in a timely manner, wash the bin, and do not leave it open;
- water less often indoor plants, it is better to place them in those rooms where the fruit fly has nothing to eat.
If you constantly monitor this, then even if flies appear, after a while they will disappear on their own, without the use of chemicals. The timing depends on how long they can live without food.
In addition, immediately rinse vegetables and fruits brought home with hot water, or better yet, pour boiling water over them; this will kill the eggs. Late autumn – early spring when it's cold outside and fruit flies move closer to warm places, it’s enough just to ventilate the rooms daily.
How to remove midges from the kitchen
If you read our advice too late, and clouds of flies have already filled your home.
Trap 1. Place a slice of melon or watermelon in a new one cellophane bag so that insects can fly into it freely. They will definitely enjoy this treat. In the morning, you should simply tie up the bag containing the insects and take them out to the trash. If the flies soon appeared again, it means that these are new offspring.
Trap 2. Pour kvass or fruit juice into the bottle (about a quarter full), cover the hole with a paper funnel. Insects will get into the container, but it will be difficult for them to get out through the narrow opening.
From indoor flowers Drosophila are removed using insecticides and a solution of potassium permanganate. But before using chemicals, try simply hanging some sticky tape over the plant.
Effective method to get rid of fruit flies - a mixture of apple cider vinegar and dishwashing liquid. Dilute the components in jars 1:1, place them in those parts of the apartment where insects were noticed. Renew the solution weekly and the problem will soon disappear.
Everyone is familiar with the situation when, in the summer heat, flying creatures very quickly appear above an uncovered apple - tiny and very annoying. It's about about "fruit" midges. They are also popularly called “oxalis”. Each of us uttered this already sacramental phrase: Where does the midge come from?
Let's turn to science
Midges live no more than a day, but they manage to lay a great number of larvae, providing us with the absence of loneliness. These representatives of the Diptera family number more than 2000 species. Distributed all over the world, most famous family family is Drosophila. These are the same “fruit” midges. Their favorite place is the tropics and subtropics. Moisture contributed to the habitat and reproduction of more than 300 species of fruit flies.
These small insects are 10 times smaller in size regular flies. Rotting plant matter is their favorite refuge, which is where the midge comes from. Any fruit, vegetable or rotten food is their prey. Flowers, either fresh or planted in pots, can also be their refuge. Even in a container with chemical or cream, these “bad guys” can settle in the bathroom.
Given their size, getting into any crevice is not a difficult task. If you are wondering where they come from and don’t find the answer, read the article further.
A bag (even closed) of cereal, nuts in a box, seasoning for dishes, a wet tea bag, pet bowls, dishes not washed on time, a jar of jam, spoiled bread, a trash can (closed), sinks, sinks, sewerage in the house - these "pranksters" will sneak in there too. Now you have learned about where the midge comes from. People who often have to cover distances by bicycle along the river note this feature. Moving along the same road, in a certain place they will certainly encounter a swarm of midges, which unexpectedly fly into all the open holes on the body. The feeling is not pleasant. The reason is simple: in this place on the shore there is probably a large hole with standing water. But tainted substances plant origin are found almost everywhere, so the answer to the question of where midges come from on the street is already clear.
What to do?
Stop being patient and waiting, it's time to act! Clapping your hands in hopes of killing them all is a very tedious and stupid task. Or maybe you can drown the midges? Don't forget: they are waterfowl, so it makes no sense to fill them with water either. But there is still a way, and it’s quite simple. In a plastic cup (from yogurt, for example, which you don’t even need to wash) put bait in the form of lemon/banana/watermelon/grape peel. Cover it with transparent cling film, which sticks well to the edges of the cup (practically sticks). Then use a large needle to make several small holes. That's it! Midges fly inside easily, but back... Well, we got caught! Glass in closed is thrown away, or better yet, destroyed mechanically. But don’t forget the main rule: you can’t create these insects for life favorable conditions. Now you know not only where midges come from, but also how to get rid of them.