How to get rid of midges in the kitchen?

This material is devoted to an examination of the varieties of midges that sometimes appear in the kitchen of a living room, as well as ways to combat them using chemicals and folk remedies.

Small flies flying in an apartment are always unpleasant. You can get rid of them in different ways, but first you need to determine which species the parasites belong to.

The so-called fruit or fruit midges. They are easy to identify by their red eyes and tan coloration. Their size is small - the body of the female reaches a length of about 2.5 mm, while the males are noticeably smaller, the back of their body is darker.

Fruit flies are very fond of eating fruit and vegetable leftovers, food waste from the trash can, and various sweets. Sometimes stale wet rags are chosen.

Black flies, similar to small mosquitoes with an elongated body, settling in flower pots, are sciarids. Adults do not pose absolutely no danger either to humans, or to domestic animals, or to indoor plants, in contrast to their "children". The larvae living in the soil gnaw at the roots of flowers, because of which they wither, their growth slows down, flowering stops, and then the plant dies altogether.

They are also called butterflies, and for good reason: the fly looks like a very small grayish-brown butterfly, densely covered with hairs. The sewer midge, as the name implies, chooses sewer pipes and similar warm and humid places to live. May appear in the kitchen if food debris accumulates in the sink drain.

When insects appear at home, even such small ones, the question always arises: where do they come from? What attracts them specifically to your home? Let's figure it out.

Neither fruit flies, nor sciarids, nor butterflies come from nowhere - in the overwhelming majority of cases, you yourself bring them into the house from the street. For example, you visited an agricultural market and bought a lot of tasty and beautiful vegetables and fruits there, but did not notice that one or several fruits had small wormholes or slightly rotten tails - this is where the fruit fly lays its eggs. The larvae very quickly turn into adults and become parents themselves, increasing the fly population many times over. It is worth noting that fruit flies parasitize on any foodstuffs, laying eggs in them: on bakery products, sweets, drinks.

So, where the fruit midges come from, we figured out. What about mushroom gnats or sewer flies?

Sciarids are able to fly through the window if there is a flooded houseplant on the windowsill, whose rotting root attracts parasites so much - after all, this is where mosquitoes lay their eggs. Sewer flies fly at the smell of a trash can filled with fruit peels, and they are also attracted by the aromas of sour compote, moldy bread, stale jam. That is why it is so important to take out the “trash heap” in a timely manner and keep the kitchen clean by throwing away spoiled food.

Fighting flies of any kind is possible and necessary. There are 2 effective methods: treatment with chemicals and fight using folk methods. Let's consider them in detail.

In order to destroy fruit flies, use the following means.

• Sprays "Dichlorvos", Combat, "Raptor" are very helpful. Pre-remove all open drinks and food from the table, spray with the selected aerosol. The holding time is 30 minutes, after which the kitchen should be ventilated.
• Turn on the electric mosquito fumigator at night in the insect area - it also shows good efficiency.
• You can use a special trap from the "Raptor"consisting of a container with a liquid bait, which is designed like a traditional fumigator, covered with a sticky paper structure. If it gets inside this device, the midge sticks and dies. From the outside, the trap remains clean and inviting.

Sciarid can be poisoned with the following chemicals:

• any insecticide ("Karbofos", "Actellik", "Decis" and the like) to dilute according to the instructions, use the resulting liquid for overhead irrigation of the plant and soil treatment in a pot;
• purchase special agents against sciarids ("Zemlin", "Thunder-2", "Pochin", "Bazudin"), pour the selected drug into shallow grooves made on the soil surface in a container;
• as in the previous case, use a mosquito fumigator;
• spray the soil with natural insecticide BONA FORTE.

If sciarids appeared in the cold season, then all plants (already treated with an insecticidal preparation) are recommended to be taken to a separate room or to the entrance and sprayed with an aerosol on top of the soil in pots. After a couple of minutes, the flowers can be brought back and left, for example, in the bathroom. The room where these plants stood must be carefully treated with the same spray, after 30 minutes it must be thoroughly ventilated (preferably an hour or two, or even more, so that the room is thoroughly cooled). Bring flowers only when the room gets warmer.

Ways to get rid of butterflies.

• The Raptor Trap will help in this case, with the only difference that it will need to be placed not in a conspicuous place, but near a garbage can, near a low-lying drain or sink. Just do not put it in the sink itself - it will get wet there and will not be useful.
• Use Liquid - professional innovative biological product based on bacteria. It is poured into a sewer pipe, where the active beneficial microorganisms that make up it destroy organic residues, scale, etc., as a result of which the butterfly larvae remain without food. Judging by the feedback from consumers, the number of parasites decreases after the first filling, but for the final disposal of them, it is recommended to repeat the treatment at least a couple more times.
• Spray Raid. It is used in places where midges are located, namely under the sink. He, as it were, covers the pipes with a thin veil, which has a poisonous effect on butterflies and their offspring.
• Spray "Raptor". The principle of action of the tool is the same as that of the previous one, the effectiveness is high.

If you are wondering whether it is possible to remove flying parasites without chemistry, then the answer is yes. For this, there are time-tested folk methods.

• Midges are afraid of the smell of essential oils: lavender, vanilla, citrus, eucalyptus, clove, patchouli. You can drop a few drops of the selected scent into the aroma lamp and light it, or spread the cotton sponges soaked in it on the radiators. You will soon see that the number of "uninvited guests" has decreased significantly, and then they will disappear altogether.
• An effective recipe against fruit flies: take 100-150 ml of milk, 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar and ground black pepper, mix.Saturate a paper napkin with the mixture, place it on a saucer and leave it on the kitchen table.
• Spread the vanilla pods around the kitchen or make a vanilla solution: for 1 glass of water, take 1 gram of vanilla powder, stir well, pour into a spray bottle and thoroughly spray all surfaces in the room: cabinets, tables, sink. Pop the mixture and into the air - you will be delighted with a pleasant vanilla aroma, but flies and mosquitoes will leave your home.
• Tangerine skins are successfully used against mushroom mosquitoes in flower pots. They are simply laid out on top of the soil, and they scare away sciarid with their smell.
• Scattering black pepper or wood ash on the ground in a pot will help you with the same pests.

• Fruit flies trap: Take honey (1 part) and saccharin (10 parts), stir until homogeneous. Dampen a paper towel with the mixture. When it dries, lightly sprinkle it with water and put it where the volatile pests like to "crowd": on the table, windowsill. A very effective option.
• Of course, we could not ignore one of the favorite "repeller" means - garlic. Its aroma is able to ward off any fly. Divide the head of garlic into wedges, cut each in half and spread out in the places where the parasites "nest".
• Pour a little camphor into a frying pan, heat it up a little, wait until its aroma begins to spread throughout the apartment. Take a frying pan, walk around the entire living space with it, so that the smell penetrates everywhere.
• Fumigation with incense works similarly.
• An interesting way to fight fruit flies: using apple cider vinegar. Mix it with water and dishwashing liquid. Take small containers (jars of yogurt, mayonnaise, etc.), fill them with the resulting mixture by 1/3. The flies will flock for a treat, but they won't get out.
• Flies do not like the smells of lavender, tansy and wormwood. Dry these herbs, tie small bouquets of them, hang or arrange in the room.
• Trap for sewer midges: pour water, vinegar into a shallow container, put sugar (in a 1: 1: 1 ratio), add 5-10 drops of liquid soap there. Leave the cup by the sink overnight. Butterflies will be attracted by this bait, but they will not be able to get out of the trap.
• Cut the horseradish root, put on a saucer, place in the kitchen. Fruit flies will not be thrilled with its scent.
• The contact method of getting rid of the midges is by spraying the individuals with ethyl alcohol.
• Wash the window panes in the kitchen with water mixed with a few drops of turpentine or kerosene.
• Place a pot of geraniums or a container of tomato seedlings on the windowsill - winged pests don't like their smells either.
• Spread elderberry leaves in the kitchen.

If annoying midges have started up in the apartment, but there is not much time or desire to process the room with chemicals or folk remedies, you can try to simply ventilate the room. Drosophila and their relatives cannot stand cold air (of course, we are now talking about the cold season, when the temperature outside is much lower than in the apartment - this method is ineffective in the summer).

Taking preventive measures in time will allow you not to worry about annoying midges in your kitchen someday.

• Train yourself to do wet cleaning of the kitchen every day: wipe the floor and work area with a wet rag, remembering to look into the nooks and crannies under the cabinets, table and refrigerator. Make sure that no crumbs are scattered anywhere and that there are no uncleaned stains from sugary drinks.
• Store vegetables and fruits in cool places: refrigerator, pantry.The fact is that, under the influence of high temperature, food begins to decompose, and this putrid smell attracts midges like a magnet.
• Do not leave unwashed dishes in the sink, even for an hour. Always wash and remove it on time, and make sure that food residues do not fall into the drain and do not accumulate there. Use pipe cleaners and a plunger from time to time.
• Do not overdo it with watering plants, especially those that do not need frequent moisture - this is a fat woman, violets, orchids. If their root system starts to rot, do not hesitate - Sciarids will honor you with their visit very soon.
• Make it a rule to flush out your cleaning product from time to time, even if you are using plastic waste bags and you feel like nothing can seep through them. Believe me, it can. Therefore, treat the container with at least dishwashing liquid, rinse with clean water and wipe dry.
• In general, train yourself and your family to keep food out of sight, but in hermetically sealed containers. Put the bread in the bread bin. Place the fruit bowl in the refrigerator. Do not leave a glass of unfinished juice or compote on the table.
• If you have a faulty faucet in your kitchen (there is a leak), be sure to repair it. Constant high humidity is another risk factor.
• Storing vegetables and fruits in plastic bags is a mistake, because under the influence of high air temperature, condensation accumulates under the film, which contributes to rotting.
• If you have a large number of indoor flowers that need frequent watering, you can use the pallet watering method to keep the topsoil from getting wet. However, it is very important here to dose the amount of moisture introduced, to make sure that the water does not stagnate in the container, does not sour and does not rot, becoming covered with mud.

See below for ways to get rid of midges.