How to get rid of midges in the kitchen yourself and professionally

As a rule, midges appear in the kitchen in the summer, which indicates acceptable conditions for their reproduction and existence. They move briskly around the kitchen in numerous flocks, getting into packages of cookies, settling on fruits or vegetables, etc. At the same time, a huge number of them can be seen near the trash can or among house plants.

What to do in this case to get rid of annoying midges? It turns out that in order to get rid of such an unpleasant neighborhood in the kitchen, it is enough to arm yourself with a number of tips and recommendations.

Reasons for the appearance of midges in the apartment

Drosophila, as these small midges are called, prefer to feed on rotten plant matter, which indicates the presence of fermentation processes. These processes release corresponding odors into the air, which attract these insects. The desired food for these little pests is rotten fruits or vegetables, fermented juice, compote or unfinished beer. They prefer to lay their eggs in leftover food.

In addition, tiny insects are attracted to the smell emanating from a clogged sink or from a wet rag that has not been washed for a long time. Therefore, deteriorating food debris combined with high humidity is the fertile environment in which such insects feel very comfortable.

Quite often, midges can be found in flower pots where tea leaves are rotting, which some housewives use to fertilize indoor plants. But they forget to remove it from the flowerpots on time, and in combination with abundant watering, often unjustified, ideal conditions are created for the existence and reproduction of such pests. Such conditions attract not only midges, but also other insects, on whose vital activity the well-being of indoor plants may depend.

Prevention

To avoid problems in the future, you need to strictly observe hygiene:

Throw away trash on time.
Carry out a thorough cleaning of the kitchen at least once a week, wiping the kitchen furniture dry.
A good preventative procedure is to lubricate your kitchen cabinets with apple cider vinegar.
Keep flowerpots dry by removing fallen leaves and sprinkling sand on the soil.
Do not leave old tea leaves behind.
Do not store fruits in a warm place. They should at least be wrapped in paper or covered with a plate. After purchasing fruit, you must wash and dry it before storing it in the refrigerator.
You can put a fan turned on in front of the fruit basket - it will blow away the midges.
Keep your pets' food and drink bowls clean and dispose of kitten feces promptly.
It is better not to use organic fertilizers for indoor plants. Flooding soil in pots is unacceptable.
Old sponges, floor rags and mops should be disposed of promptly or machine washed in a hot wash mode.
If the house is located in a summer cottage area and there are fruit trees on the property, the midge may be entering through an open window. It is better to cover them, as well as ventilation holes through which fruit flies can penetrate, with mesh.

By carefully maintaining hygiene, you can get rid of any pests in the kitchen. If the house is clean and dry, the midge will not like it, and it will definitely go away.

It's nice to be and work in a clean kitchen. But even in apparent sterility, annoying insects can appear. It is impossible not to notice the midges scurrying everywhere, brazenly climbing and drowning in liquid food products. Every housewife has encountered these problems, but not everyone knows how to remove midges from the kitchen.

In this article we will look at the main places where insects appear in the house, the characteristics of midge varieties, chemical and folk methods of getting rid of them, and a master class on making fly traps.

Types of midges

Two types of midges may appear in an apartment, especially in the kitchen or in flowerpots:

Drosophila.
Soil midges.

All types of midges live and reproduce under accompanying conditions, when there is an abundance of spoiled food and moisture. And yet, fruit flies or, as they are also called, fruit flies, appear more often in apartments. Quite often they are called “wine”.

Midge larvae are located in the fruit pulp and, under favorable conditions, they begin to emerge. As a rule, housewives are often surprised at how quickly these tiny creatures appear, as if out of nowhere. Therefore, the more midges in the kitchen, the greater the likelihood of their mass appearance.

Folk methods of struggle

How to deal with midges in the kitchen has been known for a long time, and the main methods will be volatile substances of plant origin, which are so hated by insects.

cloves + lemon peel;
cloves + young pine cones or needles;
eucalyptus leaves + basil;
basil + bird cherry.

It will be enough to pour boiling water over the ingredients described above and let it brew. Use a spray bottle to spray areas where midges tend to pay attention, and after drying, wipe with a damp cloth moistened with alcohol vinegar to remove residual odors.

Slices of lemon, orange or lime with cloves will help against mosquitoes and flies that enter through windows and cracks.

Residents of private houses near the window can allow bird cherry, juniper, castor bean (a source of camphor) or ornamental elderberry to be planted under the window.

Indoor flowers will be protected by matches, steamed garlic or a solution of laundry soap stuck into the ground with the sulfur part.

Orange or lemon peels near the window will effectively repel insects, and after drying they will become a fragrant addition to tea leaves.

How dangerous are midges for humans?

Countless numbers of these tiny creatures move around the home at high speed. They are found either next to the trash can or next to indoor plants. If you leave a few grapes on the table, they will immediately appear above them. Many owners practice storing fruits and berries on the table, in fruit vases, which naturally attracts fruit flies, as the fruit quickly begins to deteriorate. At the same time, it is not difficult to imagine what they could leave on food if their route of movement intersected with a trash can, bathroom or toilet. The result of their vigorous vital activity may be contamination of fruits and other food products with various fungal or infectious diseases.

There is only one conclusion: it is necessary to take all measures to ensure that these little parasites no longer exist in the apartment. If you don’t fight them, they will multiply to such an extent that it will be very difficult to fight them. Despite this, the matter will have to be brought to its logical conclusion. Who would like to see swarms of insects moving around the kitchen or throughout the apartment? They won’t even let you eat in peace!

How to GET RID OF DROSOPHIL flies at home?

How much does it cost to clean a coffee machine from cockroaches?

Since this is not the main type of our activity and is very unpleasant, and many masters do not even take up this matter. Those who still dare to do this charge dearly for it. Due to the fact that the coffee machines are all completely different when disassembled, the price will also vary from 8,000 to 15,000 rubles.

If you are not bothered by the presence of cockroaches in the coffee machine, and you simply want to restore the functionality of the coffee machine, then repairs are carried out according to the usual price list. Whether it’s cleaning the coffee maker from 4,000 rubles or repairing electronic boards from 5,000 rubles. This cleans only those components that need repair.

Rules for getting rid of midges in an apartment

There are many ways to get rid of midges in an apartment, but first you should carefully analyze everything to find out the reason for the appearance of such insects in the kitchen. As a rule, they are attracted to food and moisture, which they need so much. If such paths for existence are blocked for the midge, then it will disappear on its own without wasting effort or money.

If there are a lot of insects, then you will have to help them so that they quickly leave the apartment alone. In this case, you can use primitive traps, special solutions or aerosols.

10 basic rules that will help get rid of annoying midges:

First of all, you should put things in order in the kitchen by storing all food products in special containers, and some in the refrigerator.
Make sure that there are no uneaten food items, as well as unfinished juices, tea, beer, etc. left on the dining table.
Do some general cleaning, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. At the same time, it is necessary to thoroughly wipe or wash all cabinets and shelves on which food was stored, carefully removing their remains.
Regularly and promptly remove garbage from the trash can, washing it afterwards with a cleaning solution.
Wash all rags in the bathroom and kitchen, and also check the sewage system and water supply system for leaks.
Use a “mole” to clean the sewer, depriving midges of an unpleasant but attractive smell for them.
Clean kitchen furniture from dirt and grease, which also attracts such insects. We should also not forget about the area adjacent to the kitchen furniture.
If you have ornamental plants in your apartment, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of their care. It is possible that they do not need abundant watering and they suffer from it. At the same time, it is better to replace the top ball of soil and not practice watering them with tea leaves, or remove the used tea leaves in a timely manner, preventing it from rotting.
For greater efficiency, it is better to wash all flower pots, as well as their trays. In the future, dirt should not be allowed to accumulate here.
Midges are also afraid of attentive housewives who carefully monitor all areas where such insects may appear, leaving not the slightest chance for them to have comfortable conditions.

What to do if the midge does not disappear after cleaning

If general cleaning does not help, it’s time to take drastic measures and kill the midges using bait traps. A piece of something sweet is placed or poured into a plastic jar, then wrapped in cling film, and pierced in several places with a gypsy needle. The bait is left overnight. Having smelled the aroma, the midges will want to feast on the sweetness, they will penetrate the jar, but will no longer be able to get out. It is better to throw a trap full of insects in the trash.

Another trap option is liquid. Honey, wine or juice, and wine vinegar are poured into a deep plate. They put the peeled fruit there and cover the bait with a plastic bag, in which holes were previously made. Having flown into the trap, the midge will not be able to fly back.

Important! If you find a cluster of flies in your kitchen cabinet, you can spray them with soapy water from a spray bottle. It will prevent the fruit flies from flying away.

Since midges do not like strong and pungent aromas, you can buy aromatic oils. By pouring patchouli, ylang-ylang, lemon, and lime oil into an aroma lamp, you can quickly and easily get rid of the misfortune. On the contrary, sweet and spicy aromas attract fruit flies. Another option is to place chopped garlic or dry bouquets of wormwood, lavender, and tansy in the kitchen. A candle with a pine or spicy scent will also help. You can also use one of the chemicals sold in stores.

Drosophila do not tolerate the aroma of geranium, eucalyptus and myrtle, so you can buy a pot of these plants and hang them in the kitchen. This will not only improve the appearance of the room, but also eliminate the problem: the midge will not be able to live next to the flower. Tomato seedlings have the same repellent effect.

The use of chemicals against midges

Is it worth fighting midges in the kitchen with chemical insect control products? Most likely not, but in the bathroom, they can be destroyed with the help of Dichlorvos. At the same time, care must be taken to ensure that the midges do not return, creating unfavorable conditions for them to live and reproduce. You must always remember that results can only be achieved through an integrated approach.

As a rule, chemicals are used when they cannot be dealt with using conventional methods. And so, it is better to use folk remedies, which are safe for everyone living in the apartment.

How to get rid of it quickly?

Ethyl alcohol of 70% or more is considered an effective and almost instant way to get rid of midges in any kitchen. Pour it into a sprayer and spray the room, trying to get it on the fruit flies themselves.

Adults, their larvae and even eggs die instantly - after such a reception, all you have to do is clean the kitchen.

The main advantage of alcohol is its comparative safety for people and animals; such treatment is much less harmful in comparison with chemical aerosols, while being effective when urgent action is needed.

Folk remedies for fighting midges in the kitchen

Based on natural ingredients and other substances, you can prepare effective formulations that can cope with the main task - getting rid of annoying insects. And although they are not as effective as chemical ones, their use is justified in most cases.

Remedies for midges in the kitchen:

Fight with camphor oil. To do this, you need to take a frying pan and heat camphor oil in it until a strong smell and smoke appears. After this, go around the apartment, dousing it with smoke with a pungent odor. As a rule, after such a procedure, all the midges disappear somewhere.
Midges, like many other insects, cannot tolerate the strong aromas of some plants, such as tansy, lavender, wormwood, etc. It is enough to place small bouquets of these plants in the kitchen and other rooms. This will help get rid of annoying midges. At the same time, you need to remember that a plant such as tansy should not fall into the hands of children.
If you light a candle with a pine or spicy aroma and walk around the apartment, lingering a little in each room, then these little “terrorists” are unlikely to like it, and they will begin to look for other places to live.
Essential oils of many plants repel midges and are very effective. These include citrus fruits, lavender, ylang-ylang, patchouli, etc. At the same time, it is enough to add a few drops to the container of the aroma lamp so that the midge can feel who is boss in the house.
If you take a few pieces of peeled garlic and chop them, and then put them in lids and place them in places where insects like to accumulate, this will also help expel tiny pests from the apartment.

Homemade midge traps

Despite the fact that such traps can be made in about 15 minutes, their effectiveness cannot be compared with the costs, since it is obvious. In addition, you don’t have to deal with toxic substances or plants, spending time preparing or purchasing them, which also requires spending money.

How to make homemade traps:

You can catch midges with a beer or wine bottle, filling it with fermented juice or leaving some beer in the bottle. You need to wait until a lot of insects have collected in the bottle, after which, with a sharp movement, the bottle is closed with a cork and thrown out into the street.
You can catch it with a plastic bag filled with rotten fruits or vegetables. At the same time, the bag needs to be covered a little, leaving space so that midges can get to the food. After the entire swarm has flown into the bag, it must be closed with a quick movement and tied. All that remains is to throw the bag in the trash.
The presence of plastic bottles allows you to make a super catchy trap. It is better to take a bottle with a capacity of 1.5-2 liters. After this, the upper conical part of the bottle is cut off and inserted back into the bottle with the narrow part with the neck. The result is a container with a funnel. Jam, beer, sweet syrup are poured into the bottom of the bottle, or rotten foods are placed. The midges will be able to get inside the bottle, but they will not be able to get out of it.
A jar trap works on the same principle. Take a jar with a capacity of 0.5-1 liter and cover it with cling film. The top layer of the film must be stretched, after which small holes are made in the film, but sufficient for midges to crawl through. At the bottom of the jar you can place the same thing as at the bottom of a plastic bottle - slightly spoiled vegetables and fruits, as well as fermented juice or compote.

The easiest way to get rid of midges at home | Life hacker

How to get rid of small midges

There are a lot of “weapons” for fighting. Among them:

chemicals;
folk (non-traditional) recipes;
mechanical methods (traps).

Chemicals

You can easily purchase such substances in specialized departments.

It is worth considering that their use may cause side effects - allergic reactions and others. You need to be very careful when using such kitchen products: there is a risk of poisoning.

The most popular chemicals are:

"Dichlorvos";
"Raid";
"Aktara";
"Grom-2" and others.

The last two are used to eliminate midges in indoor plants. They also contain chemicals, so there is a possibility of harming the flowers.

It is recommended to resort to chemical agents as a last resort, when softer and more gentle methods have already been tried and have not yielded results.

Folk recipes

Unconventional methods have proven themselves in the fight against annoying insects. Unlike the use of chemicals, they are safe and can have a therapeutic effect on the body. Such methods are, for example, aromatizing the air with essential oils or “fumigating” the room with incense.

“Little ones” cannot stand the smell of vanilla, all citrus fruits, patchouli and others. These substances should be used to scent a room. Most often, the process is carried out using an aroma lamp. If there is none, you can add drops of oil to hot radiators.

An excellent and simple method of combating midges, including those that are infested in flowers, is tangerine peel, laid out in pots with plants, on the table and wherever there are insects. The pests will disappear very quickly, and the air will be filled with the aromas of tangerine.

The taste and smell are not very pleasant, but an equally effective “drug” is garlic. The head is cut into several parts and placed in those places where “enemies” most often appear. They cannot tolerate the garlic “aroma” and quickly disappear.

The use of strong odors can quickly “evict” small pests from the kitchen. Wormwood, tansy, and cloves will work as sources. They are perfect for a cooking room. However, it is worth making sure that the tansy does not end up in the hands of a child.

Traps for midges in the kitchen

An excellent alternative to chemicals are insect traps that you make yourself. The use of such structures will eliminate the possibility of a negative impact on the health of those living in the apartment and save the budget. Below are three options for making traps:

To create the first, you will need a small jar or bottle with a wide neck. Apple cider vinegar is used as bait. To enhance the effect, you can add ripe banana pulp. The container is closed with a lid with tiny holes. This is necessary so that the insects “leak” into the trap. Once in the vinegar, the midges die.
For the second homemade design, just take a plastic bottle and cut it into two parts. The top one should be slightly smaller than the bottom one. The upper part, neck down, is inserted into the lower half so that about 2 cm remains to the bottom. The container is filled with vinegar (wine), fermented compote will do. Add a little soap to the liquid. Several similar traps are placed throughout the house.
When you don’t have any of the above at hand, take a regular plastic bag and place a piece of ripe fruit or vegetable in it. When filled with midges, simply throw it away and put in a new one.

Creating homemade traps doesn't require much time or effort, so it's worth giving this method a try.

Preventive actions

To reduce the risk of such insects appearing in your apartment, it is enough to use a number of tips. For example:

Monitor the proper sanitary condition of the kitchen and the apartment as a whole.
Do not leave leftover fruits or vegetables on the dinner table.
Store vegetables and fruits exclusively in the refrigerator.
Immediately throw away rotten fruits and vegetables, not in the trash, but immediately outside.
Keep dishwashing sinks and washbasins in the bathroom clean.
Care for indoor plants correctly, avoiding overwatering in pots, and also often removing the top layer, replacing it with a fresh one.
If numerous flocks appear in the kitchen or apartment, immediately analyze the reasons for their appearance and then solve the problems.

If you carefully study the information presented in this text, then getting rid of midges in the kitchen is not at all a difficult task. And it is not necessary to immediately resort to the use of chemical control agents, especially since their use in the kitchen is generally undesirable. It is enough to get by with folk methods of struggle, making primitive but effective traps for this. But the most important thing is to keep your home clean, leaving no chance for the existence of many pests that are not as harmless as this midge.

Midges often appear in kitchens in apartments or private houses in the summer. As a rule, this happens due to the carelessness of some housewives who provide such an opportunity for insects.

Prevention of occurrence

Getting rid of midges is definitely more difficult than preventing them from breeding in your kitchen. To prevent small flies from tormenting you in the future, follow our recommendations:

Empty your trash can regularly, especially if it contains various fruit or vegetable scraps.
Wash your trash can every time you throw out a bag. Especially if the bag is torn and leaking, do not leave the growing medium in the open for fruit gnats. Wash it, then install a new one. The cabinet under the sink also needs regular preventative cleaning.
Check and close bottles with aromatic liquids: vinegar, wine, juice, compote, beer.
Cover leftover food with a lid and put it in the refrigerator or cupboard; do not leave open plates on the table. Keep not only fruits closed, but also cereals and dairy products.

Advice! Instead of cling film, you can use reusable silicone soft lids or eco-friendly wax napkins - they preserve the freshness of food and reliably protect against midge attacks.

Remove dishes from the table and wash them immediately after eating. Get rid of clogs in the sink if you have such a problem - insects can live, feed and breed in plastic pipes.

Important! To make sure that midges live in drain pipes, glue a film coated with honey on the inside to the outlet hole. If after 1-2 hours you see midges on the trap, it means the problem is in the sewer system. To remove midges from this part of the apartment, simply boil soapy water and pour it into the pipe.

Dry kitchen sponges and rags well, do not leave them to sit.
Remove or throw away immediately if you find rotten, spoiled food - rotting garbage is a real paradise for pests. The same goes for spilled liquid.

Keep the dining table, countertops, and sink clean every day. Now you know the most effective ways and can get rid of small flies in the kitchen in no time. Good luck!