Varieties of midges and the fight against them

With the arrival of spring, nature comes to life: bright flowers bloom, animals come out of hibernation, trees are overgrown with lush green outfits. A variety of insects are no exception, some of which can ruin even the best summer day. One of the most unpleasant is small midges, which can occupy apartments even on the upper floors, where other insects cannot reach. Its bites are more painful than mosquito bites, and most importantly, more dangerous. The small midges, which reproduce at an incredible rate, carry many dangerous diseases and often cause severe allergic reactions, especially in young children.

Even if small pests are harmless and do not attack the owners of the apartment, their swarming clusters in the rooms are unpleasant. If it turns out to be easy to destroy the midges that have appeared, they will appear again and again until the cause of their appearance is found and eliminated, which can be difficult to find.

Domestic midges cannot boast of their large size: their length rarely exceeds 5-6 mm. The body, like other winged pests, consists of three parts: abdomen, chest and head. The color of the body can be black, brown or dark yellow, and the transparent wings are covered with small tubercles and, when folded, cover one another. There are shaggy antennae on the head, and the width of the frontal part depends on the species and gender. The forehead of females is usually wider than that of males.

The diet of these insects also depends on gender. Males are vegetarians, preferring sweet nectar, vinegar, or any plant juice. Females, on the other hand, prefer animal and human blood from all treats, like ordinary jumping fleas.

The life cycle of midges, like other insects, depends on the way they feed. Species that prefer plant foods live no more than 5-7 days. The life span of midges that bite people or animals reaches 2-3 months. It consists of the following stages.

• Egg. The number of eggs in one clutch reaches 100, and their maturation period is from 4 to 7 days.

• Larva. Thin tiny worms that are difficult to see with the naked eye are the larvae of common fruit gnats. They move due to a small hook on the thoracic region and a suction cup on the tail.

• Doll. A hard cocoon, into which a pupated worm turns, does not need food, only access to air and moisture.

• Imago - This is a sexually mature individual that emerges from the pupa at 2-3 weeks.

The midges survive the autumn-winter period in the form of eggs and sometimes larvae. During her adult life, one female lays up to 400 eggs, so a swarm of midges that have settled in a house or in a country house can grow in literally a matter of days.

These midges are most often called fruit or wine flies, and their color can vary from dark yellow to black. They appear on rotten fruits and vegetables, in a trash can with food debris and, less often, over sour wet rags. Harmless to humans and pets.

Such flies are called mushroom mosquitoes, because outwardly they really resemble tiny mosquitoes.

These midges are called sewer flies because they often appear in pipes and drains that are clogged with food waste and stagnant water. Unpleasant, but harmless to people and animals.

Another colorless translucent midges adjacent to moths in closets with old musty clothes. They prefer to eat jackets and pants, not their owners.

The last species that is carnivorous. It is these black midges that leave painful swelling blisters and bumps, most often preferring the thin, delicate skin of the thighs and wrists.

Despite the fact that apart from the midges, not a single species of midges feeds on human blood, they still pose a certain danger to people.

Without a reason, a swarm of midges will not appear in a city apartment. Of course, in the summer, tiny pests can fly through the window, especially in the evening, when all the insects fly into the light. But if the fly does not find a breeding ground for itself, it will quickly die or leave inhospitable housing. If there are crowds of uninvited guests in the kitchen or bathroom, it means that somewhere a treat has been prepared for them.

• Overripe and rotten vegetables and fruits are a veritable paradise for wine flies. It is not even necessary to put them on the table, it is enough not to take out the trash bin with potato peels or watermelon crusts in time, so that the first midges begin to appear above it. Also, midges can start in an open pack of cereals, sugar or flour.

• Houseplants require watering, especially in winter when hot radiators dry out the air. But even such moisture-loving flowers as orchids should not be over-watered, otherwise, climbing small pests can be found over wet sour soil.

• Pets are always a joy for the owner, but if you take care of them not too conscientiously, a swarm of small black midges will immediately appear over the bowls with food, the tray, the stove bench and especially the aquarium.

• Midges are often found in bathrooms and toilets.if the room is poorly ventilated. High humidity is very attractive to all kinds of insects.

The most important step in the fight against small flying pests is to go on a hunger strike. It is necessary to remove all their food, making the environment uncomfortable. First of all, all spoiled food and cereals infected with flies are thrown away. Newly bought cereals, vegetables and fruits are thoroughly washed in hot water and stored in closed containers in the refrigerator.

Secondly, all surfaces in the apartment are thoroughly cleaned with bleach or other cleaning agents. You need to walk carefully with a broom and a rag in all corners, if possible, move the kitchen cabinets, refrigerator and stove away from the wall. Tighten open windows and vents with a fine-mesh mosquito net.

Treat rooms with high air humidity with special anti-mold agents and ventilate well. If the bathroom has a built-in forced ventilation, you can leave it on overnight.

The next step in the fight against the flying "problem" is to transplant a flooded plant into fresh soil, thoroughly clean the aquarium, bowls and beds for pets. Themselves fluffy pets during this period, it is better to additionally provide a collar from parasites.

And finally throw out of the apartment all the damp rags that were used for cleaning and that were stored before. And for dishes and floors, just buy new sponges and rags. Most likely, after all these procedures, the starving midges will leave the apartment itself, but if cleaning did not succeed in stopping the invasion of midges, you can safely go to buy special products in aerosols, powders or crayons, which are designed to quickly solve especially complex problems.

The first type of fly poison is fumigators, familiar to everyone from the advertised plates and mosquito repellent fluids, for example, Raid or Dichlorvos. The last remedy is poisonous not only for insects, but also for all the inhabitants of the apartment. Before using it, it is necessary to remove all dishes and products from open surfaces, transport them to relatives or friends of pets for a couple of days and leave the room for the period prescribed on the packaging by the insecticide manufacturer.

The drug is sprayed in a room with closed windows, all corners and small cracks, as well as the surface of furniture, are treated with it. After the remedy has worked, wet cleaning is carried out in the room.

Unlike fumigators, these agents do not kill the midges, but force them to leave the premises. That's why, if the owners of the apartment, for one reason or another, are not ready to poison insects, they can use such means as Raptor, OFF or Taiga.

It is also necessary to remove insects with the help of repellents indoors so that the concentration of the drug in the air is maximum. The midges will begin to fly away from the apartment that smells like a remedy immediately during the airing of the room after the procedure. Manufacturers release the drug in the form of an aerosol, cream, emulsion, special plates and pencils. However, it is quite difficult to drive insects out of a large room with a single cream or crayon. It is best to use sprays, emulsions and special coils that ignite and smolder slowly.

You can protect yourself from unpleasant tenants not only with the help of special drugs, but also with some improvised means that midges are afraid of.

• Essential oils are great at helping to escape the invasion of a flying infection. The aromas of lavender, vanilla, patchouli and cloves, as well as any citrus, are a gnat nightmare. You can light a special aroma lamp, an incense stick, or simply put oil-soaked wipes on hot radiators. This category also includes incense and camphor, which, when heated, release a strong-smelling smoke, so hated by small kitchen gnats.

• Strong-smelling spices are another way to scare away fruit flies and sciarida, which is always at hand for any hostess. Vanilla and cinnamon sticks laid out in the corners of kitchen cabinets, pepper, which is generously sprinkled with soil of indoor plants, will do an excellent job.

• Sprinkle the soil in flower pots not only with pepper, but also with ash, left over from burnt logs in a country stove or after going out on a barbecue.

• Various vegetables, fruits and dried plants are able to fight even the bloodthirsty gnat. For example, dried tangerine peel, cloves of garlic and horseradish, or dried twigs of wormwood and tansy. And freshly grown tomato seedlings are able to bring out even a large swarm of fruit midges in just a couple of days, they hate its specific aroma so much.

• If the bulk of the army of midges left the apartment, ordinary ethyl alcohol poured into a spray bottle will help to effectively deal with its single residues. If you spray it directly on the midges, it will instantly destroy them with its vapor.

The most costly and effective means of dealing with gnats are electric light traps, either battery or mains powered. But the purchase of such a trap will hit your pocket. And besides, a specific crackling sound with which the destruction of arriving insects with an electric current occurs, and their dim light can interfere at night. Therefore, it is best to make a silent, and in addition, a free trap for midges with your own hands from improvised means.

One of the simplest traps you can make in a couple of minutes. Put any fly delicacy in an empty plastic cup: tea leaves, a piece of ripe fruit, a drop of yogurt. From above, the glass is tightened with cling film, in which a small hole is made for the size of a midge. Insects attracted by a pleasant aroma will easily penetrate inside, but they will not be able to get out of such a glass-trap.

Another simple option is to use a glass jar or other container trap and a small plastic or paper funnel. At the bottom of the glass container, a delicacy is placed, which is preferred by midges, and a funnel is inserted on top. If there is no special plastic or metal funnel for drinks at hand, you can simply roll up a sheet of thick paper or cardboard with a funnel so that the diameter of the bottom hole is minimal and does not reach the bottom of 1-2 cm.

The main rule in the fight against insects: it is easier to prevent than to win. Therefore, it is best to follow a few simple rules so that midges do not start in the house at all.

• Regular general cleaning - the guarantee of a quiet existence in an apartment without flying neighbors. Garbage should be taken out before the food waste begins to rot, and the sewer pipes should be promptly cleaned with the help of special liquid agents that dissolve organic matter.

• Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly with hot water after purchase. and store in closed containers or refrigerator. Cereals and flour should also be stored in sealed jars and containers after opening the package.

• Install forced ventilation in the bathroom and toilet in case of high humidity. If the purchase of housing is only planned, give preference to those options in which it is already installed.

• Carefully and properly care for plants and pets. Regularly clean aquariums and vases containing fresh flowers.

• Install on balcony and room windows anti-mosquito nets that will save not only midges, but also mosquitoes.

Even if these simple rules are followed, it is better to still stock up on at least a couple of home remedies for insects in order to start the fight against midges in a timely manner if it has flown into an apartment from neighbors or from a common corridor.