How to get rid of onion midges in an apartment and in a house?

Cultivation of soil in pots

If midges have infested flower pots, and you are not sure that the indoor plant will survive replanting, you need to use the previous traps and ways to repel midges, and also start cultivating the soil. There are several solutions that will help with this:

garlic - rub the garlic head and pour boiling water (0.5 liters) and leave for 2-4 hours. The soil is watered with this solution and the plant is also sprayed. The remaining pulp can be buried to the roots;
soapy - you need to grate a quarter of the laundry soap, dissolve it in a liter of water, spray the plant once a week;

sulfur - four matches are stuck into the ground with the head down, replaced every other day. The plant must be watered after each replacement of matches;
antiparasitic - any antiparasitic product purchased at a veterinary store will do. Dilute according to the instructions in a dosage suitable for puppies and water the plant.

If the plant is able to survive transplantation, then it is better to acquire new land.

Fruit flies: who are they?

Fruit flies (also called fruit flies, vinegar flies, wine flies), Drosophila (drosophila) melanogaster, are a small black flying insect 2-3 mm in size.

Intrusive insects feed on the juice of fruits and plants, giving preference to rotten parts. This is where the flies lay their eggs, from which the larvae hatch.

The reproduction process in Drosophila is very fast:

one female lays from two hundred to one and a half thousand eggs;
in just 10 days, the larva from the laid egg will become an independent adult insect.

Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to remove fruit flies from housing immediately.

Fertilizer and ammonia

The most effective means of pest control, according to experienced gardeners, is ammonia. A solution is prepared from it at the rate of 3 tbsp. l. ammonia in a bucket of water and water the soil well in the evening. Treatment should be carried out 3 times at monthly intervals. This is due to the fact that during the season the insect can colonize the site 3 times. And the nitrogen contained in ammonia is needed by onions as fertilizer. It nourishes the seedlings, gives them strength and prevents yellowing of the feathers.

Another effective remedy is ash. It can be wood ash or dead weeds. It is diluted with water, and the resulting product is used to water the beds with bulbous crops. You can add manure, tobacco dust, and powdered red pepper to the solution. Ash, like manure, fertilizes the soil and repels the onion fly.

Manure and peat can be applied to the soil before planting: the number of larvae and pupae will decrease several times.

Prevention

Since bulb fly larvae live inside bulbs, the best way to control them is to prevent infestation. Let's consider the basic measures that will help reduce the risk of pest damage to lily and other crops.

One of the simplest methods is to observe crop rotation. This method not only reduces the likelihood of onion flies laying eggs in the bulbs, but also helps prevent other plant diseases. It is recommended to plant the same crop in the garden no more than once every three years. During breaks, cucumbers or cabbage should be planted in this place.

Before planting, the bulbs should be soaked for 15 minutes in water heated to 45 degrees. This will help destroy harmful microorganisms found in the onion. The higher the temperature, the less time is required. For example, at 50 degrees, it is enough to soak the bulbs for only 4 minutes. To increase efficiency, you should add potassium permanganate in a concentration of 1 teaspoon per bucket of water.

Mulching plantings allows you to create a barrier through which pests cannot reach the crops being grown. In this way, you can protect the crop from the penetration of fly larvae.

Pest repellent

Another way is to combine plantings. Carrots growing next to onions repel insects, and at the same time, onions prevent pests from spoiling the carrot harvest.

The same mutual assistance is typical when planting onions with the following crops:

parsnip;
leaf and root parsley;
celery.

Nightshade crops, especially tomatoes and potatoes, also effectively repel pests. Nearby marigolds are also of great benefit; they are recommended to be planted with all vegetables vulnerable to pests.

Another way to prevent the development of parasites is to regularly sprinkle the space between the rows with ash. This not only repels the bulb fly, but also provides the bulbs with the nutrients they need, such as potassium.

To repel insects from plantings, you can spray them with solutions or infusions of substances and plants that have a pungent odor.

Suitable for this:

needles;
tobacco dust;
valerian;
tomato leaves;
mint;
sagebrush;
Melissa.

Saline solution

After the onion is planted and its feathers begin to grow, they are treated with a saline solution. This method of prevention should

apply very carefully to prevent salinization of the soil. It is allowed to spray the beds no more than three times a year

In this case, the concentration of the solution depends on the “age” of the onion:

for the first spraying, when the sprouts are about 5 cm long, use a solution in a concentration of one-third of a package of table salt per bucket of water;
the second spraying is carried out two weeks later, for this you need to take half the package dissolved in a bucket of water;
the third - three weeks after the second. The recommended concentration is two-thirds of the package per bucket of water.

The saline solution has a detrimental effect on the parasite larvae, so after such procedures the likelihood of onion disease will be minimal.

Fertilizer use

It has already been said about the beneficial properties of ash not only as a fertilizer for onions, but also as a means of preventing pest damage. In addition, it is useful to use manure, which also repels bulb flies. It can be used not only in its pure form, but also mixed with ash and tobacco dust. To achieve maximum effect, ground hot pepper is also added to this mixture.

Manure without additives is applied to the soil before sowing onion crops. Peat can be used instead. It is not prohibited to use a mixture of these fertilizers. They do not have an absolutely destructive effect on the larvae of onion flies, but can reduce their number by 3-4 times. The main thing is that this method, unlike the use of chemicals, is not only harmless to onions, but also promotes its growth.

Nitrogen fertilizers, especially ammonium carbonate, are also effective in preventing pests from multiplying. At the same time, they will give the bulbs the substances they need for their growth and will help fight mole crickets and diseases such as powdery mildew.

The bulb fly is a problem for all gardeners. It is better to start fighting it even before planting vegetables, treating them according to one of the methods listed above. It is often easier to prevent pest damage to bulbs than to fight the larvae later. In addition, it will be impossible to restore the integrity of the bulbs after getting rid of the worms.

Insect development

Life cycle of a fly

Drosophila, which resemble small flies. They are also called fruit midges.
Sciarids, in other words, flower gnats. They closely resemble small black mosquitoes.
Whiteflies, which look like small light gray or whitish small midges. They prefer to live under leaves.
Delia antiqua, or common onion flies, are 6–8 mm in size, ash-gray or yellow-gray in color, and resemble house flies. She lays eggs on the top of the bulb.

The onion fly damages not only onions, but also other types of onions: leeks, chives, shallots. In addition, the pest is partial to all bulbous plants, tulips, garlic, and some types of lettuce.

The fly begins to fly from the beginning of cherry blossoms; before that it is inactive. In June, flies lay eggs in the soil of onion beds or on young seedlings. After a week, the larvae appear, they penetrate into the pulp of the bulb, where they feed and destroy the plant. Afterwards, the pests crawl from one plant to another and can destroy the entire onion bed.

Super product for feeding and protecting onions from flies

Onion midge information

It is not difficult to distinguish insects from other representatives of this class. Onion midges have the following characteristic features:

small size within 1-3 mm;
oval shaped body;
slow, leisurely flight;
two symmetrically located wings and eight legs;
their color is in the yellow-brown palette; very rarely they can be black or orange.

You can take a closer look at the onion midge in the photo posted on the website. Pests do not pose a danger to humans, they do not bite, do not carry any infection, but have the ability to multiply quickly. The female lays eggs only on the surface of spoiling fruits and vegetables, which the larvae then feed on.

Midges on onions

To easily and quickly get rid of onion midges, you need to understand where the pests come from. A discovered source of spread of harmful insects, which could be a rotten onion in the kitchen, must be disposed of urgently. In addition, you must follow the rules when storing onions. It should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated area.

If midges from onions have managed to appear due to improper storage, you can get rid of the pests in the following ways.

Pesticide

Chemicals will help you quickly get rid of onion midges in your garden. The following brands of preparations are used to spray onions:

Terradox;
Aktara;
Karate Zeon;
Thunder 2;
Raptor;
Maksim;
Fly eater.

The products are used in accordance with the instructions for treating onion fields.

Pesticides against midges

Folk remedies

You can also get rid of harmful insects in your apartment using folk recipes. It is much safer to fight onion midges this way. After all, one should take into account the fact that feathers and bulbs are used for food.

Laundry soap. Regular laundry soap will help get rid of onion midges. It is grated on a coarse grater and combined with water (50 g of product per 10 liters of water). The resulting solution is sprayed onto the bulbous beds.
Carrot. To prevent onion midges from appearing, it is enough to alternate onion beds with carrots when planting. The phytoncides of these plants mutually protect each other from pests.
Dandelion. You can even get rid of the pest with the help of dandelion. An infusion is prepared from the crushed roots of the plant, which is then used to spray the beds twice a month.
Potassium. Potassium can also remove midges. The beds of onions, garlic or carrots are irrigated with the product once a week.
Salt. Salt is no less effective in combating harmful insects. To prepare the solution, you need to dilute 300 g of the product in 10 liters of water. To get rid of midges, barely emerging onion feathers are treated with the resulting mixture.
Ash. A mixture of wood ash, tobacco dust and ground black pepper is used to treat onion beds during periods of high insect activity.

Causes of midges

Before you find out how to get rid of fruit flies, you need to figure out why they got into your apartment. The midge won't start on its own. There are reasons for everything, and there may be several of them.

Fruit midges lay their eggs in vegetables or fruits that we bring into our home with purchases. Moreover, over time, the larvae acquire the same color as that of the fruit on which they develop. Therefore, it is not always possible to detect them. Most often, this problem is faced by people who store vegetable supplies for the winter in their homes. One rotten potato or onion, which is located at the bottom or in the middle of the bag, will do its “rotten job”. Moreover, you will not even understand where these midges come from, and at the same time their number will increase exponentially every day.
In summer, insects fly freely into open entrance doors and windows.
If there is a “living area” in your house, this can also cause the appearance of flies. Plant food for animals that begins to rot is a very favorable breeding ground for fruit flies.
Even indoor flowerpots with flowers sometimes cause midges to appear in your apartment. Many gardeners feed and mulch their plants with tea leaves, which fruit flies adore. And some people, out of ignorance, simply overwater their indoor flowers with frequent watering, which leads to waterlogging and rotting of the top layer of soil and the plants themselves. For prevention, indoor plants can be watered with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. It is also good to stick 3-4 matches into the soil, gray side down.

IMPORTANT! A fly that emerges from a larva is capable of fertilization within 8 hours. She turns into an adult on the 8th - 10th day, and in 2 months of her life, the female will lay from 200 to 2000 eggs, from which, at optimal air temperature (room temperature), the larvae will hatch and the process will be repeated again. This could turn your home into an infestation of flies.

This can turn your home into an infestation of flies.

Location

The most common habitat for midges is, of course, flower pots. But the list doesn’t end there, especially if we’re talking about fruit flies that can eat garbage.

Finding a source of fruit flies is not easy, but it must be done, because otherwise the fight against them will drag on for a long time.

Kitchen - favorite room

If there are midges in your apartment, then first of all you should go to the kitchen. It is here that a warm and humid atmosphere is often maintained, which small insects, flies, and flies love so much.

Of course, if there are whiteflies or sciarids, then you should look in potted flowers. But if we are talking about fruit flies, then you will have to do a general cleaning in order to find the pest.

The main “danger spots” where you should look for annoying pests:

window sill - often housewives put the finished dish on the windowsill to cool, or washed fruits, since there is no more room. Fruit flies will be happy to flock to such delicacies. And of course, the windowsill is a place where flowers often stand, which means all kinds of midges can settle here;
sink - if you do not wash the sink thoroughly, then over time a greasy coating will form, which fruit flies will also be happy about, since, in their opinion, this is a delicacy. Another reason why they may appear at the sink is a clog in the filter or siphon. Pieces of food fall into the drain hole, but do not go further into the sewer and begin to rot. This is where the aroma appears that attracts midges. And the most banal reason is that they flew in from their neighbors;
bulk products - due to improper storage of bulk products, such as cereals, flies, nuts, tea, midges can appear there. Moreover, we are not talking about home storage, but specifically in production or in a store - somewhere standards were violated;
fruits and vegetables are the most obvious place to look for unexpected guests. Midges either come home with purchased products, or fly to their rotten smell.

Yes, there are many places in the kitchen where flies can live. But if you maintain cleanliness, it is almost impossible to meet annoying guests.

Bathroom - dampness is a joy

Another place in the apartment where a warm and humid atmosphere is maintained is the bathroom. Flies, of course, prefer the kitchen, but if there is nothing to profit from there, then you can fly through the water supply to your neighbors and feast on them.

If midges appear in the bathroom, this does not mean that the hostess is a slob. Yes, midges are attracted to unsanitary conditions, but there are many other reasons for their love of the bathroom:

puddles forming on the floor due to leaking pipes;
dampness;
sewer pollution;
poorly cleaned toilet:
expired body care products.

And if there is a window in the bathroom, near which there is a flowering tree or a trash can, then there will definitely be no end to midges in such a room. It is best to avoid placing potted flowers in the bathroom, since the ever-damp soil can become moldy and serve as a luxury apartment for midges.

How to properly store onions so that they don’t get flies

Anyone who does not know the smell of spoiling onions has not stored them in sufficient quantities for the winter. When we buy onions in a supermarket or bazaar, we put them in a plastic bag, place them on the floor near the radiator and... store them safely there.

There is no need to do this - the heat and humidity of the closed bag will create a good microclimate for the decomposition of the product.

The first unshakable rule for successful storage of onions is their thorough drying after harvesting. Scatter the onions in one layer under a canopy, in a barn, on a terrace.
Only healthy and undamaged heads are laid for wintering. There is no need to trim the bottom of the bulb; only dry roots are trimmed or peeled. Otherwise, pathogenic microorganisms will penetrate through the “wounded” surface and create the possibility of damage.
Dry onions are stored at room temperature 17-22 degrees, but in the basement it is permissible to keep them at 1-5 degrees.
Air humidity in the room during storage should not exceed 75-80%.
In small quantities (when onions are bought at the store for a week), it is convenient to keep them in a bag in a special compartment of the refrigerator.
Boxes with holes and special braids are what you need to preserve onions.

Important! No matter how the onions are stored during the winter, they need to be inspected and sorted periodically, at least once a month. At the same time, soft or dried specimens are thrown away, and fallen husks are removed from the boxes.

It has been noticed that red onion varieties are more susceptible to rotting. This is explained by the fact that red onions are almost always early ripening and are not intended for long-term storage, and they are also almost always sweeter than usual. Maybe that’s why flies appear most often in such a bow.

You should not fall for the assurances of market sellers that there are special varieties of onions that do not rot. You may be advised to buy a bow that does not produce flies. But all this is pure fantasy. The main thing is to properly dry and store the onion.

What to do to prevent onion fly from appearing?

We talked about all the main methods of combating onion flies, and tried to talk about the most effective folk methods of combating this pest, without the use of chemicals, as our readers love. Of course, sometimes it is much easier to prevent the appearance of a pest on a site than to cure plants from it, so it is also necessary to talk about preventing the appearance of a pest on a site.

So, in order to prevent the accumulation of the pest in the soil and prevent mass infection of plants, the bed in which you plan to plant onions must be returned to its original place no earlier than four years later, during which time the onion fly larvae will simply die without food. In addition, by changing the place where onions are grown, you will thereby rid the soil of severe depletion of one or another element, for example, nitrogen, for which onions have high demands.

In the autumn, always dig up the area, as we described above, using a shovel full, but try not to break the lumps so that the soil freezes more strongly. Remember that onion fly larvae can “burrow” into the soil to a depth of two tens of centimeters and overwinter there. By digging up the area, we minimize the number of overwintered larvae.

Next, try to alternate beds with onions with beds with carrots, the onion fly does not tolerate the smell of carrots, and the carrot fly does not tolerate the smell of onions, this way you can “kill two birds with one stone”; besides, onions and carrots planted next to each other get along quite well.

Before planting and digging up onions, try to inspect the bulbs for the presence of larvae. To destroy them, just immerse the onion in salted water (a tablespoon per five liters), heated to 45 degrees Celsius for 8-10 minutes. Placing the bulbs in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for two minutes also helps. Such treatments of the bulbs are necessary, because if they are infected, then neither high agricultural technology nor a clean area will save the onion plantings from infection, because you yourself will place the larvae in your soil.

Bulbs affected by onion fly larvae. Christopher C.N.C.

If plants are heavily infested with onion fly, when the onion begins to rot, they cannot be helped; it is better to remove them from the site and burn them.

When planting onions and onion sets, try to adhere to possible recommended planting dates in your region. This is necessary so that by the time the onion fly begins summer and the larvae appear, the plants are already sufficiently strong and the damage from the larvae is minimal.

Throughout the season, carry out work around the site, be sure to loosen the soil, not allowing a soil crust to form, and remove weeds located closer than ten meters to the site.

If the onion fly is active, and you do not want to use chemicals, then you need to try to minimize watering the soil in the area so that its top layer is dried out, then the larvae from the ovipositor may not hatch. You only need to wait a week, taking into account the timing of the appearance of the larvae, which we described above.

The question may arise: why loosen the soil? Biologically, onion flies have developed a kind of protective reflex; they do not lay eggs in loose soil, considering it unsuitable for the hatching of larvae. If loosening the soil is constantly difficult for you, then you can mulch it with humus or wood ash, in a layer of about a centimeter. By the way, after the end of the summer of onion flies, humus or ash can be collected and thrown away - there may be eggs or larvae.

In case of severe infestation or when preparing the soil for planting onions, when there is a risk of onion fly infesting the area, it is necessary to clear the area of snow in winter so that the soil freezes more and the onion fly larvae die. If you combine digging up the soil with soil rotation and without loosening, and also with snow removal, then this will be most effective.

Onion fly spots on onion leaves. Boško Jezerkić

How to prevent the reappearance of pests?

To prevent insects from settling in your house or apartment again, you need to take measures to repel them. Thus, onion midges cannot tolerate the smell of pine needles and basil. Therefore, you need to purchase essential oils of fir, pine, and basil, soak cotton wool in them and place them in places where vegetables are stored.

Insects do not like the smell of clove seasoning - it can be stuck into citrus fruits that are stored outside the refrigerator. Midges also react negatively to the aromas of ylang-ylang, patchouli, and verbena oils, so they can be dripped into aroma lamps and used regularly. Midges also cannot stand the smell of camphor, which, by the way, is absolutely not harmful to humans. Preventing the appearance of midges is not difficult, but it is effective, and an unpleasant neighborhood will most likely not happen to them.

See also: Methods for successfully combating onion midges

How to get rid of small flies at home? First, let's determine why this needs to be done.

Insects in the house are a sure sign that not everything is in order with sanitation.

You will not be able to invite your loved ones and colleagues, partners and neighbors to visit, because they will notice that flies are flying around the apartment, and therefore your reputation will not be impeccable. Flies are carriers of various diseases, so while they are hovering in the house, you and your relatives are at risk of contracting a disease that could otherwise be avoided. From an aesthetic point of view, the apartment may be in perfect order, but the presence of flies ruins everything: you feel uncomfortable, feel discomfort

Home no longer seems like a place where you can control everything. Due to the breeding habits of flies, indoor plants have died or become “sick.” The fact is that they lay eggs in pots with plants, and the hatched larvae begin to devour the root system. Alas, you risk being left without greenery on the windowsill or shelves

From an aesthetic point of view, the apartment may be in perfect order, but the presence of flies spoils everything: you feel uncomfortable, feel discomfort. Home no longer seems like a place where you can control everything. Due to the breeding habits of flies, indoor plants have died or become “sick.” The fact is that they lay eggs in pots with plants, and the hatched larvae begin to devour the root system. Alas, you risk being left without greenery on the windowsill or shelves.

Fighting with ammonia

Externally, the onion fly looks similar to an ordinary fly - the insect is yellowish-gray in color and about 8 mm long. Its habitat is quite wide. The main danger of the fly for bulbous plants remains its larvae, which it produces up to 50-60 pieces. during its life cycle. She leaves a clutch in any irregularities and folds of the bulbous surfaces, usually up to 10 light, oblong eggs approximately 1 mm in size.

The pest should be fought actively, without delay - the fly larvae hatch quickly, in the first week after laying, soon reaching a size of about 1 cm. The entire larval group relatively quickly eats the soft part of the bulb, forming a kind of burrow. The larvae live for about 3 weeks and then move to the ground, where they pupate and a new generation of flies is born. The whole process is cyclical, and the fly can cause damage to plantings throughout the entire season, starting in April. The fly spends the winter in the ground, at a depth of about 20 cm, in the form of pupae.

Speaking about the signs of damage to bulbous plants by flies, we note the most obvious ones. Having discovered them, you should definitely begin pest control:

the presence of general wilting of bulbous feathers with adequate watering;
detection of whitening of the ends of the feather, which is replaced by its gradual yellowing and death;
the appearance of an obvious smell of rot in the garden bed.

If these signs are detected, you need to pull a couple of bushes out of the garden bed and carefully examine them. Maggot-like larvae will not be difficult to detect.

This remedy itself is diluted ammonia, used for medicinal purposes (can be purchased in pharmacies). It repels pests with its pungent and unpleasant odor, forcing the larvae to leave the territories they previously occupied. Absorbing into the soil after watering, such a solution creates a fragrant cloud of odors, which, by repelling flies, prevents them from laying eggs.

The productivity of using ammonia solutions is considered high, but not without drawbacks. Ammonia is used to fertilize soils where there is a lack of nitrogen. Its compositions accelerate the development of crops and improve the quality of root crop formation. But with excessive amounts of it, the opposite effects can also appear - yellowing of feathers and their drying out, cessation of growth of bulbs and their death. Therefore, it is important to maintain accuracy in dosage and frequency of watering.

Typically, ammonia is diluted with cool water, stirred, and if necessary, other components are added to the solution. The resulting solutions should be used immediately after their preparation, since ammonia quickly evaporates. There are no exact proportions for preparing solutions, since when preparing them you should know the characteristics of the condition of the soil covers. The typical ratio is 10 ml of product per 9-10 liters of cool water. Fluctuations in the concentration of solutions are permissible.

The classic saturated version of the active substance is 60 ml per 10 liters of water. The growing points of the bulbs are treated with this solution. Drops of the solution should not fall on the bulbous sprouts, this will cause burns and yellowing of the arrows. The watering procedure is repeated after about 9-10 days.
A solution with salt and ammonia. Here, 10 liters of water require 5 ml of ammonia and a glass of salt. The solution is intensively mixed, and then the beds are watered with it. Plants are treated in this way no more than 2 times every 4 weeks. Otherwise, the soil becomes salinized and its nutritional properties decrease. The method is also used against carrot flies.
Solutions of ammonia and iodine are used to achieve quick results. In this case, a number of components are used - 20 ml of alcohol, 3 drops of iodine, 5 ml of boric acid are diluted in 10 liters of water. Irrigate the soil twice every 4 weeks. The latter, having insecticidal properties, enhances the effect of ammonia.

The rate of use of the mixture for irrigation is approximately 10 liters per 2 m2. Within approximately 7-8 days, the insect disappears from the beds. There are other folk remedies to combat this unpleasant pest.

How does plant infection occur?

The insect's flight begins in the spring during the flowering of lilacs and dandelions, and lasts about 2 weeks. This period falls on the second half of May. The female lays 40-60 eggs during her life.

Soon after emergence, the female looks for a place to lay eggs. Eggs are laid at the base of the bulb, under the first dry scales, between the leaves or on the soil near the plant. Eggs mature within 3-8 days depending on weather conditions.

The hatched larvae continue to stick together. Immediately after birth, they bite into the flesh of the bottom and feed, scraping out the fleshy scales of the young onion. The insect remains in this stage for approximately 3 weeks. Baby flies are highly voracious and are able to eat not only multiple passages inside the bulb, but also large cavities.

Having eaten their fill, the larvae go into the ground next to the damaged bulb, pupate and form in this shelter for another twenty days. During this period, they already have the rudiments of wings. And in June, the flight of the second generation of flies begins, the larvae of which damage bulbous plants of late planting dates. In the southern regions, the onion fly can have 3 generations over the summer.

Only pupae overwinter, burrowing into the ground to a depth of 5-20 cm. And in May the cycle begins anew.

Some modern chemical-based products for controlling fruit flies

The Aeroxon Sticky Trap is designed to kill harmful insects on indoor plants. The trap has an attractive color. The glue is odorless and non-toxic.
Sticky tape for Raptor flies. The yellow color attracts flies, which stick to the adhesive layer.
Aeroxon Window Flycatcher Tape. An effective and safe remedy for midges.

Breeding whiteflies and sciarids on indoor flowers in an apartment

Simple remedies for whiteflies

The easiest and most harmless way to kill whiteflies is to manually remove insects from indoor plants. To do this, you need to remove the whitefly-infected leaves and loosen the soil in the pot. The entire plant must be treated with a soap solution.
You can place sticky tapes near indoor plants: adult whiteflies will stick to them.
Since the whitefly likes to live in the shade on the underside of leaves, you can scare it away with light: place sheets of foil near the flowers. The sun's rays, reflected, will fall on the underside of the leaves, where this pest lives.
If one of the indoor plants is most affected by the whitefly, then it may be better to sacrifice it and not spread the dangerous insect to other flowers.
Make an infusion of yarrow. Add a couple of spoons of dishwashing detergent to it. Treat the leaves of affected plants with this composition.
To prevent the appearance of whiteflies, spray the flowers with an infusion of dandelion leaves and roots every 10 days.
At the initial stage of whitefly spread, wipe the plants with garlic infusion (3-4 crushed cloves and 2 glasses of water).
Leave orange peels in water for 24 hours, then add 2 tablespoons of liquid soap. Spray on plants for several days in a row. Keep the product in the refrigerator.

Whitefly is a pest of indoor plants. Video

Means of combating sciarids

Dry the top layer of soil by 1–2 cm. Then the egg laying will die.
Make top drainage. Cover the soil with a layer of gravel or expanded clay. The drainage dries quickly after watering, and the pest is unable to lay eggs.
Remove dried leaves and flowers in a timely manner. Avoid watering plants with broths, drunken tea, milk, etc. Food products simply rot in the soil and help pests multiply.
Water the soil several times with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This remedy is considered quite effective.
Draw “Mashenka” chalk (for cockroaches) stripes on the top of the flower pots.
Use traps and adhesive tape.
Keep the house clean and tidy, promptly remove food waste that can become food for sciarids.

Sciarides. Video

The use of insecticides in residential areas should be treated with extreme caution. The most popular are Aktara and Aktellik.

You must strictly follow the instructions for using such products.

How to get rid of midges in the bathroom

In the bathroom, a butterfly (sewer fly) may appear near the drains. This insect is attracted to trash cans and clogged bathtub and sink drains.

Hence the methods of combating this disgusting insect.

Means to combat the butterfly

The main thing in the fight against butterflies is cleaning the sewer pipes. Pipes must be cleaned both mechanically (with a cable) and with modern means for clearing blockages. You can at least use the old folk method: pour soda into the drain and extinguish it with vinegar.
The trash can must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
Constantly monitor the cat litter if it is in the bathroom.
Hang adhesive tape in areas where insects appear.
Use midge traps.
Place containers with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and vegetable oil in the bathroom. Midges land on the surface of the mixture, but cannot take off, as their wings stick together.
Sewer flies really don't like the smell of chlorine. Treating bathroom surfaces with chlorine-containing cleaning products will help get rid of the unpleasant environment.

Midges in the kitchen: how to deal with numerous and elusive enemies?

Small midges in the kitchen are a very unpleasant phenomenon. A swarm of flying insects scares children and spoils the mood of adults; midges fly into the mouth and nose and can be accidentally swallowed.

The kitchen involuntarily creates the greatest conditions for the reproduction of midges:

leftover food and crumbs on the table, unopened compotes and juices, fruits and vegetables that are stored open;
dirty sink, dishes, trash can;
wet rags and napkins.

Eliminating all of the above conditions will help get rid of midges, but all of them. To completely get rid of insects, more radical measures should be taken.

A few secrets for getting rid of midges in the kitchen

One safe and effective way is to use homemade traps made from scrap materials.

There are several options for traps:

From a plastic glass. Place a piece of overripe or rotten fruit, a little juice or compote at the bottom of the glass. This is a bait for midges. On top you need to wrap the glass with cling film, in which several holes are made where insects can penetrate. The holes should not be too large, otherwise there will be no effect. They leave the glass in the kitchen overnight, and in the morning you will be surprised how many midges have gathered there: attracted by the smell of the fruit, they entered the glass and were unable to get out.
From a glass jar. This is how you need to put bait at the bottom of the jar. Next, place a funnel made of paper inside the jar so that the wide part of the funnel matches the diameter of the jar, and the narrow part does not rest against its bottom. The midges will get inside through the funnel, but will not be able to fly back out.
From adhesive tape. The traditional method for catching flies and midges, which are attracted by the specific smell of the tape, sitting on it, the midges stick.
From a solution with dishwashing detergent. You need to pour wine, apple cider vinegar, juice or compote into some container, which can attract midges. Then add a few drops of dishwashing liquid. The midges will flock to the liquid, and due to the dishwashing detergent, which reduces the surface tension of the water, they will drown in the bait.
From sheets of paper moistened with a special solution. This method is effective, but a little inconvenient, since you have to hang paper sheets around the apartment soaked in a solution made according to the following recipe: stir 1.5 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of black pepper in 250 ml of milk. Such “pepper-sweet” leaves attract midges, which die.
From a mixture of water, milk and formaldehyde. A solution made from 1 tablespoon of formaldehyde, 3 tablespoons of milk and 5 tablespoons of sweet water must be poured into a plate. This mixture strongly attracts midges, which immediately die after contact with it.

Mechanical methods of getting rid of midges

If you are so tired of midges in the kitchen that you want to get rid of most of them immediately, then you should use the following methods:

Through ventilation. With the flow of air, the vast majority of uninvited guests will be expelled “over the threshold.”
Vacuum. You need to go over all surfaces on which midges sit with a vacuum cleaner, and all the midges will end up in the container. The main thing is not to forget to clean the container so that it does not become an additional source of their reproduction.
Incense and aromatic oils. The most “unloved” by midges, and therefore the most effective, are the aromas of verbena, patchouli, ylang-ylang, and cloves. They will destroy the midges.
Camphor has long been used to kill midges. For a “killer” effect, the medicine must be crushed and placed in a preheated frying pan. Camphor vapor will spread the smell throughout the apartment, which will be destructive for midges
To reduce the risk of midges coming in from the street, mosquito nets should be installed on the balcony and windows.

How to get rid of midges in an apartment or private house

To remove midges, both industrially manufactured products (sprays, fumigators) and folk methods are used. There are a lot of methods to combat it; you can choose a quick and effective solution to the problem for each case.

Traditional methods

One of the simplest and safest ways to combat flying insects is homemade traps filled with sweet bait. You can easily make such a trap from a plastic bottle. To do this, you need to cut off the neck (approximately at the first third of the bottle’s height).

You need to put bait on the bottom: a piece of apple, apricot, a little sugar or jam. The cut part is turned over and inserted with the socket down.

Charged traps are placed in places where insects gather. The midges climb through the socket inside the bottle, but do not find their way back. When a lot of midges have accumulated in the trap, they are placed in a plastic bag and thrown away.

Many substances used in everyday life have a sharp, characteristic odor that is extremely unpleasant for flies. The use of repellent scents is an effective component of a set of measures to combat these pests. Here are some examples of improvised repellents:

Essential oils of clove, lavender, citrus. Apply 5-10 drops of oil to a cotton pad and place on a hot radiator. In summer, use an aroma lamp.
Vanillin solution (1 g of powder per glass of water). Spray the solution in the kitchen from a spray bottle.
Peels of tangerine or other citrus fruits. An excellent remedy for repelling sciarids. It is enough to put 1-2 crusts in each flower pot to rid the kitchen of fungus gnats.
Camphor. This substance is heated in a frying pan until the smell begins to be felt. After this, the frying pan is carried through all the rooms.
Incense. Several balls of this fragrant resin are set on fire in a saucer and fumigate all rooms with smoke.

Folk remedies are absolutely safe. They can be used in any room. The only restriction is that one of the family members has allergies.

Household chemicals

Household chemicals are a radical solution against annoying midges. These are sprays with a powerful insecticidal effect. The most popular are Dichlorvos, Raptor, and Raid. Before using these aerosols, carefully cover all food and water supplies to avoid contamination with toxic substances. After applying the insecticide, do not forget to ventilate the room.

Other means are fumigators, traps, and sticky tapes. They are capable of quickly destroying a large population of midges. Before using them, read the instructions and strictly follow their recommendations. This will help exterminate not only flying midges, but also larvae.

Folk remedies

And yet, the help of heavy “chemical artillery” should be resorted to last, because there are many harmless folk remedies.

They will not only get rid of boredom, but also fill the air with pleasant aromas. Flies cannot stand the smell:

vanilla, tangerines, wormwood, geranium;
tansy, cloves, camphor;
lavender, lemon, ylang-ylang;
patchouli, incense, pine, fir;
cedar, tea tree, pine and juniper.

Any of the essential oils of these plants can be purchased at the pharmacy. And then it's up to your imagination. You can charge the aroma lamp with fragrant oils.

On a note! You can also choose a composition of several aromas to suit your taste, then the effect of this folk remedy will be much more noticeable and reliable.

If you don’t have an aroma lamp, you can drop oil on the radiator if you’ve already turned on the heating.
You can drop it onto a lampshade or a heated frying pan.
You can simply spray the surfaces of the walls with a spray bottle, dropping a few drops of oil into the water.
Or simply lay out tangerine peels, wormwood or tansy branches.

In the latter case, make sure that children and cats do not reach them. It is poisonous to them in large quantities.

Helping plants

indoor lemon in your home , you will get a lot of advantages:

No midges in the apartment.
Luxurious lemon tree at home.
And hand-grown lemons for tea.

Garlic placed on shelves and near flower pots will also help drive away house flies It's just that not everyone finds its smell fragrant. These same methods will help get rid of many seedling pests .

The incense of this winged evil spirit is unbearable; fumigation with it will quickly drive the annoying midges out of your kitchen. But if there is no incense, then burning twigs of juniper, thyme or pine is useful.

Important! You need to fumigate in the morning or afternoon with the window open to provide uninvited guests with an emergency exit, and they will not be frightened by the darkness outside the window.

On our Yandex Zen channel, we have already written about another very popular method that allows you to very quickly get rid of these pests in flowers using ordinary matches .

Traps

You can also catch these winged creatures using sticky tape. And to make it seem especially attractive to these sweet tooths, it will be enough to lightly sprinkle the ribbon with fruit juice, wine, beer, honey solution or tea with jam.
Another mechanical way of fighting is the construction of traps. To do this, you can take a plastic bottle, cut off the top part of it, turn it over and insert it with the neck down. To avoid any gaps for evacuation, it is useful to wrap the cut area with tape. Before assembling the trap, pour wine, juice, beer, or put pieces of fruit inside.

People have long thought about the problem of how to get rid of small midges in an apartment . And in those days when plastic containers had not yet been invented, glass bottles were usually used. You can also take a jar for this purpose.

Place a piece of any fruit at the bottom of the jar or pour 30-50 ml of juice, compote, or wine. Then roll any sheet of paper into a cone. Insert the narrow end down into the jar and place this treat in a place favored by midges.

Important! Just don’t forget to take the trap away from the house in time, when a sufficient number of uninvited guests have already gathered there. Otherwise, you will not make a trap, but a five-star hotel for fruit flies with a full all-inclusive package, and then an elite maternity hospital.

Now you know where midges come from in your apartment and how to get rid of them.

But the most important thing is preventative measures. Do not leave wet rags and sponges! Clean drain siphons in a timely manner. Wash floors regularly and keep nooks and crannies of the kitchen clean. Dealing with these flying pests is not that difficult.

This and 477 more articles on our Yandex Zen channel .

How to get rid of fruit gnats

The fruit fly or fruit fly does not tolerate clean rooms. This figurative definition suggests that before you take on detergents and dichlorvos, you need to clean up the kitchen. You can get by with folk remedies, but a few simple tips will help you get rid of fruit gnats without unnecessary effort and avoid the appearance of new insects:

The source where the insects have appeared should be discovered and destroyed.
Clean the kitchen thoroughly, especially if there are pets or children in the house.
Garbage must be taken out daily and the trash can must be washed regularly.
Place all food in the refrigerator or store in airtight containers.
The area near the sink must be kept clean at all times.

Types of midges and reasons for their appearance

Midges are two-winged insects that are similar to flies, only smaller in size. There are three types of pests most commonly found in kitchens. Here it’s worth mentioning right away where they come from in the apartment, because they penetrate your life in completely different ways.

Drosophila - they are also called fruit and wine midges. They are easily recognized by their dark yellow, orange, brown or black color. They love rotten remains of fruits and vegetables, waste from the trash can and sweets. They are able to take a liking to wet rags that have been lying around for a long time. You bring them from the market or from the grocery store.
Sewer flies are black in color, their bodies are densely covered with hairs. They live in sewers and other damp and warm places. They appear if food waste has accumulated in the drain.
Sciarides are fungus gnats. In appearance, they really look like small mosquitoes from light gray to black. They attack indoor plants and love waterlogged soil. They end up in a home with poorly cultivated soil, or they can fly through an open window and find refuge in an indoor flower.

After finding out why midges appear, another question arises that worries me, and probably you too: are they dangerous? They themselves are practically harmless, since they do not bite and avoid contact with humans in every possible way, but the larvae can be accidentally eaten, and then unpleasant phenomena from the gastrointestinal tract are likely: nausea, diarrhea, pain, bloating. The development of allergies is possible.

If we talk about sewer flies, they are carriers of dangerous microorganisms, and fruit flies accelerate the process of spoilage of good vegetables and fruits by spreading rot particles from spoiled ones onto them. Sciarid larvae feed on root sap and impair oxygen exchange in the soil, so don’t be surprised that plants wither.

In general, it’s not very pleasant. Add to this the even more disgusting sight of hordes of small insects circling around your home, and the danger of them getting into your nose, eyes and ears. It becomes absolutely clear that unpleasant guests need to be dealt with quickly.

Where do they come from

Onion midges easily fly long distances. Attracted by the smell, they can enter the apartment through open windows, doors, or through ventilation holes from neighbors.

Eggs and larvae can be found in vegetables, fruits, berries purchased in a store, at the market, or brought from a personal plot. Cracks in overripe fruits provide good shelter for them. In these places, the process of rotting begins, which always attracts midges.

Often pests enter the house in a rotten onion when buying a large amount of onions.

Insects can be brought into the house with purchased cereals and flour. Eggs and larvae of the pest fall into them during packaging and weighing. It is almost impossible to find them there.

Attention! Midge eggs and adult insects can be found in the soil of purchased indoor plants. If the soil is constantly wet, it will attract new individuals, and they will quickly multiply in it.

Insect development

There are several types of midges:

Life cycle of a fly

Drosophila, which resemble small flies. They are also called fruit midges.
Sciarids, in other words, flower gnats. They closely resemble small black mosquitoes.
Whiteflies, which look like small light gray or whitish small midges. They prefer to live under leaves.
Delia antiqua, or common onion flies, are 6–8 mm in size, ash-gray or yellow-gray in color, and resemble house flies. She lays eggs on the top of the bulb.

The onion fly damages not only onions, but also other types of onions: leeks, chives, shallots. In addition, the pest is partial to all bulbous plants, tulips, garlic, and some types of lettuce.

Damaged onions have dried and yellowed feather tips. If you pull the plant out of the ground, you can see that the body of the bulb is damaged and begins to rot.

Description and life cycle

The onion fly is small in size and looks very similar to an ordinary house insect.
The body of the pest reaches 6 mm, the color is most often gray with a slight faded green tint. Therefore, the pest is practically invisible on the plant. Eyes are red or burgundy. The insect appears in the beds at the end of April, mid-May, depending on weather conditions. The female can lay up to 15 eggs at a time, from which larvae appear after 3-4 days. Externally, the larvae are white and small in size. The larvae feed on young onion shoots and can sometimes accumulate in large numbers in the bulbs. After 10-12 days they pupate and fall into the soil for several weeks. After this time, new adults appear and spread throughout the area.

Appearance and life cycle

The onion fly is an inconspicuous, small (about 7 mm) insect of ash-gray or yellow-gray color. The pest belongs to the order Diptera and is very similar to the common housefly. The wings are transparent and may have two or three longitudinal veins or without them. At the edges of the wings there is a fringe of thin long hairs.

The onion fly is a small insect (7 mm), very similar in appearance to an ordinary housefly

The female lays from 40 to 60 eggs during her life, and from 5 to 20 at a time. Their size is about 1 mm. The eggs are white and have an elongated oval shape. Embryonic development is promoted by high soil moisture (60–80%). After about a week, larvae up to 10 mm in size emerge from them, which immediately penetrate into the bulb. They are legless and white. The body tapers towards the head, which has black mouth hooks. Larvae born from the same clutch stick together and eat away a single cavity inside the bulb.

The fly lays from 5 to 20 eggs at a time, from which, after a week, larvae hatch, which eat the bulbs and feathers

After 15–20 days, the larvae leave the bulbs, crawl into the ground and pupate there, forming a false cocoon. After 2–3 weeks, young flies of the next generation emerge from the pupae. This usually happens in July. In total, two generations of onion fly develop during the season; in the southern regions, under favorable conditions, a third generation may appear. The pest overwinters in the soil of those areas where the larvae developed, at a depth of 5–20 cm in the form of false cocoons.

The onion fly overwinters in the soil at a depth of 5–20 cm in the form of a pupa (false cocoon)

What harm does the onion fly cause?

The period of appearance of the onion fly depends on climatic conditions and varies in different regions from late April to early June. The main landmark for the beginning of the mass emergence of the pest is the moment of flowering of dandelions, lilacs and cherries.

As soon as the cherry blossoms, the gardener must be on alert - the massive flight of the onion fly begins

Adult flies do not eat onions; they feed on pollen from flowering plants. Their harm lies in the fact that females actively lay eggs during the season in the soil, on protruding parts of the bulbs or between the leaves. Fly larvae cause direct harm. They attack onions of the first and second years of development. In seedlings, the larvae damage the feathers. In onions of the second year of growing season, they crawl through the axils of the leaves into the bulb or penetrate it from the bottom, suck out the juice and eat away the pulp, as a result of which the bulbs rot and the plants die.

Causes of defeat

The fight against onion flies that have already appeared can be quite difficult and not always successful. To carry out timely and correct preventive measures, it is necessary to know the reasons for the mass invasion of the pest on onion beds. Among them are:

violation of crop rotation rules;
incorrect placement of crops in the garden (poor choice of neighbors);
late planting of onions;
lack of deep autumn digging of the soil;
use of infected and untreated seed material before planting.