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Как избавиться от мошек в квартире: лучшие методы и ловушки

Drosophila (fruit, fruit) flies can hardly be called a direct enemy of humans. They do not directly harm the health and life of people. Rather, they are enemies of fruits and vegetables, food warehouses, shops and inexpensive cafes. However, they can seriously annoy any connoisseur of country rest and even a city dweller. Everyone who has come across these small strange insects knows that they are not so easy to get out of the house. First, it is never clear where they come from! Secondly, for the complete destruction of fruit flies, you need to use a whole system of methods and means. And many people are sorry to waste their time and effort on this “system”. So they live for many months and even years side by side with Drosophila. Today we will talk about how to get rid of midges in the apartment.

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Our portal knows how to save energy in this struggle and achieve complete freedom from insects. We will tell you not only about the preventive methods known to many, but also select the best traps for fruit midges!

Content:

How to distinguish fruit flies from other midges?

People often don’t know how to tell fruit flies from sewer flies, biting forest flies, fungus gnats, and other insects. Some even believe that they are all the same creatures. In fact, there is a difference. It lies in the degree of danger of insects, their habitats, the rate of reproduction, as well as in the “favorite dishes” of these creatures:

  1. If the flies fly out of the sink in the kitchen or bathroom , then these are sewer flies (flies). They seem “fluffy” due to the dark hairs that densely cover their torsos and wings. For details on getting rid of these flies, read the material “How to kill sewer flies: 6 best remedies” .
  2. If you notice that small flies swarm in your indoor flowers , and the plants themselves began to wither, mushroom mosquitoes are to blame! They need to be destroyed as soon as possible – find out why and how to do it right in our guide “How to get rid of mushroom gnats in 5 steps” .
  3. If some insects fly out of your wardrobe or from kitchen cabinets – unfortunately, this is a clothes (room) or food moth. These pests can cause much more damage than a spoiled mood. We have already encountered this problem and have analyzed in detail the best methods and means of getting rid of moths.
  4. Some annoying midges strive to get into your eyes or have already bitten you at home – and did it hurt? If these are not mosquitoes, and there is a reservoir near your house, then these are probably single gnats that have flown into your house from the street, and there is nothing to be afraid of. But if they continue to attack your home, then it’s time for an intensified fight – choose the best means in our review “How to get rid of midges: the best traps, sprays and other means”
  5. If the flies settled and breed on spoiled fruits and vegetables, fly over fermented alcohol or sweets , then these are fruit flies – fruit flies, otherwise called fruit flies. We will tell you in detail about getting rid of them in this material.

The fruit fly is one of the most harmless creatures on this list. It is classified as an insect harmless to humans. It just breeds way too fast. And also – little by little it spoils fruit plantations and homemade food supplies … So we still won’t be “friends” with her. We will fight and for this we will get to know the “fruit tree” better.

So, by “fruit flies” we mean dozens of species of insects that have similar qualities. This is a small midge, the size of which is from 1 to 3 mm. It can be recognized by its oval, bulbous body and slow “drunk” flight. There are many types of fruit flies, ranging in size from one to two millimeters. The color of their “carcasses” can be different: more often it is dark yellow and brown shades. Slightly less often you can meet black and orange midges. They have 2 symmetrical neat wings and 6-8 legs.

fruit fly larvae: photo

Drosophila fruit flies lay their larvae only on a nutrient surface. Most often, these are sweet foods like fruits, vegetables, aromatic cheeses. Most of all they “appreciate” the fruits of citrus plants. Scientists have recently found out that there their eggs are not touched by the main exterminators of flies – wasps-riders. The larvae “travel” around the “tasty house” and in 10 days turn into adults. Before that, they are almost invisible to humans: eggs and larvae quickly disguise themselves as the color of the fetus. And only at the very beginning, whitish “seeds” 0.5 mm in size can be seen with the naked eye. By the way, due to invisibility, people more often bring spoiled nursery fruits to their apartment directly from the store. And only then fruit flies appear in their homes. They show up and start to annoy.

Are fruit flies dangerous? What do you need to know about them?

We will immediately answer the main question about any domestic midges. NO, fruit flies don’t bite humans! They simply have nothing to do with it … Moreover, many experts argue that they do not tolerate harmful pathogenic substances at all. Although, theoretically, fruit flies can turn into a carrier of infection. But apparently this doesn’t happen often in their lives (fruit flies don’t travel much and don’t live very long).

Why are Drosophila dangerous to humans?

1. Of course, these are the enemies of food production and catering outlets. In rooms where a lot of food is stored, especially ripe fruits, flies appear quickly. As a result, food products are physically damaged. In some cases, they are ignored. And sometimes the goods come in complete disrepair. As a result, large transcontinental fruit carriers suffer serious losses every year. Small businesses are also suffering. The owners of restaurants and green shops are simply tormented by how to get rid of unattractive insect nests.

fruit midges: photo

2. They harm not only huge warehouses, but also small cellars with food . Farmers and winter stockers find midges in flour and sugar sacks, in potato stores, and on tomatoes and oranges laid out on verandas. The presence of larvae in these fruits does not bode well for their owners and consumers. The sanitary situation here will deteriorate until the owners get down to business.

3. The midge simply gets bored. She flies into the mouth, nose and eyes … stains the wallpaper and snow-white curtains … frightens guests and small children. In general, this is an unpleasant neighborhood.

4 . They also harm the unharvested crop . Gardeners and owners of garden areas around the house know that midges can easily “undermine” the fruits of your plants on the street. The twin brothers of domestic fruit flies will just as willingly populate your favorite apple trees, tomatoes, eggplants, apricots and peaches with their children. Perhaps the damage from them will not even be noticed by the human eye and stomach. But who wants to eat fruits stuffed with insect larvae?

The situation is complicated by some specific features of these insects.

Do you know that:

  1. Fruit flies are extremely prolific . The female Drosophila for one ovipositor leaves offspring of almost 20 insects. Moreover, they begin to multiply within 8 hours after birth. By the way, experts warn: the larva turns into an adult fly in 8-10 days. This is non-stop.
  2. They lay their eggs directly under the skin of ripe or overripe fruits . True, the heroes of this article cannot bite through too dense a “skin”. Therefore, they almost do not settle in whole watermelons, melons, etc. Everything soft is preferred.
  3. “Fruit” are able to lay offspring in decaying organic matter. Therefore, they settle in sinks with clogged drains along with sewer flies. Hence the confusion between the two.
  4. The midge is born early in the morning . A person is sleeping at this time and may not notice how hordes of insects appeared from the emptiness in his house.
  5. The taste preferences of fruit flies are extremely democratic – usually fruits. The Tephritid species alone feeds and breeds on 400 plant species.
  6. They also enter the house through open windows and front doors . The midge loves to live in one location, but still it can make very serious flights on its weak wings if it is deprived of food. This is the basis of the simple principle of fighting fruit flies: leave them without a nutrient medium … and they stupidly fly away!
  7. In nature, there are natural baits for midges. These are manure and lake water, spicy and sweet smells. Flies are attracted even to air fresheners if they smell like orange, lemon or cherry. If insects have not yet appeared in your house, it is better not to overdo it with these smells. And they will definitely come.
  8. Fruit flies are slow but attentive. They capture fast movements well and fly away. Therefore, when hunting midges, move smoothly, like a Japanese ninja.
  9. The midge loves moisture and does not like dry surfaces . She is almost not afraid of severe frost and loves alcohol.

fruit midges in the kitchen: photo

Now that you know everything about them, it’s time to talk about how to get rid of midges in the apartment. Personally, we believe that fruit flies do not need to be killed. After all, they are not set against a person, and the harm from them is accidental. True, to bring them “bloodless”, you need to spend more time. But for those who do not have time to wait, there are more drastic measures. We will talk about those and others below.

How to get rid of midges in the kitchen: basic rules

The most important trump card in the fight against fruit flies is cleanliness. The appearance of minor foci of activity of these insects is eliminated for one or two. The main thing is to find the source of their distribution and destroy it. But if the midge lives in your house all the time, then you need to resort to a whole system of destruction. It combines preventive measures and cleaning methods.

Here are a few items that are included in this “system”:

  • Find the source of distribution and destroy it. Do not spare food: just one rotten apple can spoil your whole vegetable store. Moreover, the product must be completely disposed of. Not just wash or throw in the trash – but immediately take it out of the house. It is advisable to ventilate and moisten the “captured territory”.
  • To quickly get rid of midges in the kitchen, destroy the breeding ground, which can become the “new home” of midges. These are scraps of food, raw meat, rotten fruits and simply overripe fruits. Do not store food in warm open places. Cover them with at least a plate or thick paper. Regularly clean the sink of organic residues.

what attracts midges in the kitchen: photo

  • Any sweetish, sour and vinous liquid in an open vessel or vessel is the best bait  for midges. Wash glasses after drinking juices, wash dishes with leftover honey and tightly cork wine bottles.
  • After such a “general cleaning” take care of the little things. To get rid of midges, regularly wash the rags with which you wipe the dishes and wipe the washed fruit. Wash your floorcloth. Clean the kitchen table from crumbs, sticky stains and any dirt. Remember about gas stoves: their surface must be scrubbed with a special tool at least once a week. Take out the trash regularly! On the second or third day, you already fall into the risk zone. Especially in summer.
  • Create a natural barrier against mosquitoes in your home . e. Do not open a window for a long time or hang a small mosquito net in it. Place a fan in front of your kitchen counter or fruit storage area. It will blow away and destroy insects. Even with a weak “breeze” they will not be able to land on the “bridgehead”.

How to get rid of midges in the apartment: the best remedies

On the Internet, we also found some “folk methods”. Their effectiveness is difficult to verify, so we decided to simply list the most original tips.

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Humidifier

Atomizer and humidifiers. More reliable tool. Insects really can’t fly with wet wings. True, here you have to correctly adjust the humidification mode. Yes, and dried insects will return to your kitchen again.

Price: 3350 rubles.

Manual vacuum cleaner for sucking midges

Vacuum cleaner. Dozens of users love to hunt midges with a vacuum cleaner. A spectacular tool (you feel like a hunter or a killer robot), but ineffective. The next day, you still have to hunt for a young midge. Although devices like this  portable midge vacuum cleaner  continue to be popular – at least it’s fun, well, a few midges will be less.

Price: 2150 rubles.

light trap

Ultraviolet and ultrasonic traps. The midge does not fly very willingly on light “zappers”, but it flies. But the effect of ultrasound against them has not yet been proven. Personally, we doubt the effectiveness of such funds.

Price: 1199 rubles.

adhesive tape

Adhesive tape . To be honest, it is ineffective against midges. They will fly on Velcro only if it smells like their favorite food. Smell strongly. Or if you put the appropriate bait next to it – read about it below .

Price: ~ 100 rubles.

Home Repellents

“Home Repellents”. Different people brag about the effectiveness of the repulsive aromas of horseradish, mint, cloves, laundry soap, vanillin … True, some of these remedies were included in the list of “folk methods” from the methods of combating “biting” midges and mosquitoes. And these are some other insects. However, you can try – after all, we are talking about very penny means.

Comparative table of remedies for midges

Name Purpose Price
Humidifier

20056116b

Deprives mobility – the ability to fly

3350 rub
Hand vacuum cleaner

Sucks up midges

2150 rub
light trap

411463 1

Lures midges with light and destroys

1199 rub
adhesive tape

2692228

Lures, catches midges

~ 100 rub

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Choosing a ready-made trap for fruit flies

If you don’t want to mess around with sweet and sticky liquids, and don’t want to keep rotting fruit in a glass jar in your house, then you should pay attention to branded fruit fly traps.

BOYSCOUT HELP trap for fruit fly

how to kill fruit flies: photo

The well-known BOYSCOUT HELP trap  certainly cannot be blamed for the fact that, in addition to fruit flies, it can also lure beneficial insects – butterflies and moths will not fall into it. The trap is designed specifically for “fruit insects” – it is even made in the form of a ripe apple. That would bite! In all respects, BOYSCOUT HELP resembles BEAPCO. “Apple” is also hermetically sealed, smells good and keeps “alive” for 30 days. It has the same problems and the same benefits. And only the formula of the attractant changes here – it’s just tinted apple cider vinegar.

But these are not all options – fruit flies can be eliminated using sticky traps . But not the usual yellow sticky tapes that we are so used to, but special sticky sheets that come with an effective bait liquid (usually it’s the same vinegar mixed with other ingredients). Note the German “Aeroxon” fruit fly trap. Apples and oranges are not just depicted on sticky sheets – this way you can additionally attract the attention of fruit midges!

Price: from 220 rubles.

A set of six compact transparent traps, sharpened specifically for fruit flies, which costs from 700 rubles. If you believe the description of the product, then the action of each trap is enough for about a month. It is easy to calculate that one set in this case should be enough for 6 months of continuous use.

best fruit fly trap: photoThe traps also come with a non-toxic liquid chemical. So it can be replaced with wine or apple cider vinegar. The BEAPCO operating principle combines the advantages of liquid and conical traps: flies fly into the plastic box through a cone-shaped hole, and there is no way back for them. They don’t die from poisons, they just stay trapped. But, unlike bulky “homemade”, they can be placed throughout the apartment and not be afraid of leaks, turning or bad smells.

According to user reviews, by the fourth day of use, fruit flies literally fill the trap. One of the users writes:  “I set 3 of these traps and after a day 2 of them were completely filled with fruit flies. You can’t even imagine how many there were… After 1-2 weeks, not a single one flew. All in all, it works.”

True, a small group of users believe that the branded attractant acts worse than natural ones. But they love the box. Diana writes: “In the first month nothing was caught, although these midges buzzed everywhere – the trap was empty. But when I poured vinegar into it, these little flyers began to fight over who would fly inside it first. So the container itself is cool.”

Fruit fly trap: photo

Some users complain that all such traps simply do not work. But maybe it’s not about them, but about the wrong definition of a pest? After all, we wrote above that it is very easy to confuse different types of small insects in the house. If the flies are not attracted to the bait in the trap, it is possible that they are simply not fruit flies, but, for example, sewer or “mushroom” flies.

Let’s find out what needs to be done if the flies turned out to be completely fruitless.

How to make a fruit fly trap: 3 best homemade fruit fly traps

Homemade fruit fly traps are very different from traps for sewer flies, mosquitoes, or large flies. We have already said that duct tape against these critters is a bad option. You need to catch them in special ways.

Below we will tell you about the three most popular homemade traps. They all work on a similar principle: insects are attracted to the structure by an attractant, and then they cannot fly out in any way.

do-it-yourself trap for midges: photo

1. “Banana trap” for fruit flies. Fruit midge is very similar to minions :). They are just as small, yellowish and very fond of bananas. This similarity must be taken advantage of. Put the banana peel in an empty plastic bottle or even a bag. Poke holes in the container with a toothpick or small needle, and then place it closer to the habitat of insects. In a day or two, a significant part of their population will fly there. And they won’t be able to fly out – in their chaotic flight they simply won’t find holes. After all, midges fly to the smell of an attractant, and they do not know how to track sources of “fresh air”. Caught midges can be killed or released into the street.

2. Liquid trap. There are several liquid trap recipes on the Internet. In the simplest cases, the authors of these developments recommend simply pouring a mixture of syrup and honey, or beer, wine and juices into a deep plate. Very often, just wine vinegar is poured there. Like, insects will sit on the “water” and drown in it. But we advise readers to complicate this construction. Pour a mixture of white wine and coriander seeds into a bowl (you can use just wine or balsamic vinegar). Put in the peeled fruit. And cover the top with plastic wrap. It remains only to make holes in it with a fork or a toothpick … and the liquid trap is ready. Flies will sink faster with such a transparent “ceiling”.

3. “Trap-cone”. First find an empty glass jar and then put something “appetizing” in it. For example, a piece of rotten fruit or a midge’s favorite orange. Place a sharp paper cone in the neck of the jar. As a result, insects will again be able to fly into the jar, but will not be able to fly out. The number of the catch and its behavior can be monitored visually.

Getting rid of fungus gnats in indoor plants

If you notice small midges in pots with indoor plants, then most likely these are mushroom gnats. Here are a few steps to get rid of these pests:

  1. Stop watering plants – eggs and larvae of fungal mosquitoes can only live and develop in moist soil.
  2. Use chemical or biological insecticides to treat soil in pots. You can use chemicals based on bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, permethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin or natural ones – nematode worms or a special strain of live bacteria Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis). The latter can be purchased as loose granules or pressed discs.
  3. Purchase sticky leaf traps for adult flying fungus gnats.
  4. Adjust the watering regime to prevent waterlogging of the soil . Otherwise, this is a direct road to the return of mosquitoes!

If flies fly from the sewers

Well, if your flies have chosen a sink or other parts of the sewer as their home, then clean the bathroom or kitchen, throw out the trash, eliminate sources of standing water and feel free to buy pipe cleaning gel. It contains orange oil and bacteria that dissolve living organic matter, destroying both sewer midges and their “children”. Gel from Invade does not contain harsh chemicals and can be used as a spray (use a spray bottle for this purpose).

how to kill midges in an apartment: photo

If the blockage cannot be broken through with organic means, use effective chemicals that will cope with any blockages – and thereby destroy the nutrient medium for breeding sewer flies. The Flat “Gel Turbo” drain and sewer pipe cleaner has proven itself well   – judging by the reviews, it cleans really quickly!

Price:  Чек цена на Яндекс МАРКЕТ

Let’s summarize

To be honest, the fruit midge is not the kind of insect that should be tackled with chemistry. To get rid of midges in the kitchen, we recommend that you choose industrial or homemade traps, as well as keep your home clean and tidy. So you will not only destroy the generation of midges, but also save yourself from the reappearance of this small pest. And finally, a couple of valuable tips:

  • Do not leave organic waste in the house for long periods of time, especially in summer. If you go somewhere, be sure to throw it away – even one banana peel left in a bucket will surely lead to the appearance of fruit flies in a few days.
  • When buying fruits and vegetables, check them for integrity and freshness – rotten fruits can become a home breeding ground for fruit midges.

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