How to get rid of flies in the kitchen: how to fight and remove small midges

At any time of the year, the topic of how to get rid of flies in the kitchen is relevant. These miniature insects feel like absolute masters of the room. They climb into food, fly freely in front of the noses of household members, sit on dishes and indoor plants.

In this article, we will look at where fruit flies come from, how to detect egg-laying sites, reveal ways to combat these small flies, including traditional ones, and also talk about methods for preventing the appearance of insects in the house.

Where do fruit flies come from in the house?

Fruit flies, vinegar flies or wine flies most often appear in homes in the summer and autumn. This is the time when the harvest ripens, and the population goes through a period of intensive procurement. However, their annoying presence can be annoying in winter.

Ways of Drosophila getting into the house:

on pet hair;
through windows;
together with soil taken from the garden plot;
on vegetables and fruits from stores.

What harm can fruit flies cause?

Zoologists say that these flies are harmless. They do not carry parasites. But at the same time they can cause rapid spoilage of food stored in the house.

Their proximity is simply unpleasant. Drosophila immediately precipitate unattended foods. They busily scurry around the trash can and, at the same time, run into plates of fresh food.

DIY traps

Traps that are effective against mosquitoes and regular flies are completely ineffective against fruit flies. But even an old woman can have trouble. Try to get rid of fruit flies by making a “trap” with your own hands using one of the algorithms described below. The operating principle of all three traps is identical. The insect is lured inside the vessel by an attractant - a substance of synthetic or natural origin that forces the fly to move towards it. Once in the vessel, it becomes the final refuge for the flying beast.

Banana

Peculiarity. The smell of banana is one of those aromas that no fruit fly can fly past. And if the fruit is slightly rotten, even more so. To organize a “trap” you will need a piece of banana (along with the peel) and an empty plastic bottle with a lid. In a couple of days, a large number of insects will penetrate inside the bottle, but the flies will not be able to fly back out. They are unable to detect the smell of fresh air, unlike the aroma of an attractant.

What we do

Using a gypsy needle and a thimble (so as not to prick your fingers), we make many holes in the plastic vessel.
Inside the bottle we place bait - a piece of banana.
We close the vessel with a lid and leave it in the kitchen or other place where the midges were noticed for about a day or two.

Liquid

Peculiarity. This trap works better than any aerosol, and there are a great many options for its preparation. Some suggest filling the trap with sugar syrup. Others use regular wine vinegar. Our version is more complex, but also more effective. To implement it, you will need cling film, a deep stainless plate, a tangerine or orange, as well as other food products (coriander and white wine).

What we do

Pour some white wine into a plate and add a couple of pinches of ground coriander.
Place the peeled orange directly into the liquid.
We cover the fragrant “installation” with cling film, forming a kind of dome out of it. We secure the edges of the film to the sides of the plate.
Using a toothpick or a sewing needle, we make multiple holes in the stretched cling film through which the flies will penetrate into the trap.

Cone-shaped

Peculiarity. The orange left over from the previous experiment can also be used to create a cone trap. You will need a liter jar, citrus bait and a regular sheet of white A4 paper. The principle of operation is the same: a fly flies into the smell, but cannot find a way out.

What we do

Place an attractant at the bottom of the jar.
We roll a sharp cone out of paper with a small hole at the peak.
Insert the cone into the jar with its spout facing down.

In addition to fruits, white midges may appear in the apartment due to dampness. They, like fruit flies, are greedy for unsanitary conditions and leftover human food. Especially if this food has already spoiled a little. Another common annoying pest is the onion midge, which breeds in rotten fruits of the onion vegetable. As in the case of fruit, the primary measures to prevent the problem are general cleaning, eliminating rotten vegetables and fruits, and organizing proper food storage.

If not a single remedy for midges in your apartment has helped you, it makes sense to contact the sanitary service. Specialists, “armed” with the necessary paraphernalia and chemicals, will cope with any task. They organize and implement comprehensive insect extermination and will provide a guarantee for the work done.

Video on the topic

Where to look for larvae

You can get rid of the invasion of annoying midges by depriving them of the opportunity to reproduce. You need to know that they leave their eggs in places where there is stale food. They are attracted by the smell of sour food.

Places where you can find wine fly eggs and larvae:

dirty dishes in the sink;
leftover food on the table that is not removed in time;
old tea leaves in a teapot;
containers of juice, wine, beer, and sweet carbonated drinks that were not thrown away on time;
in pots of house plants with excess moisture in the soil;
trash can with rotten garbage;
fruits left for several days in a warm room;
a package with spoiled fruits, vegetables, mushrooms;
sour borscht or soup.

The reason for such vitality of these insects is their unpretentiousness and ability to reproduce almost instantly. A newborn female is ready to give birth to numerous offspring within 8 hours.

Causes of insects

Fruit flies or Drosophila fruit flies are small insects with a black body and two wings. The size of their body is no more than 3 mm. The food for these insects is the juice of fruits, vegetables and other plants. They prefer to feed on rotten parts, which at the same time serve as their habitat and reproduction. There they lay clutches of eggs, from which larvae later hatch.

Fruit flies reproduce very quickly. From the laying of eggs by the female to their transformation into an independent sexually mature individual, 10 days pass. Therefore, you need to take measures to remove annoying insects as soon as they are noticed.

The reasons for the appearance of fruit flies in an apartment are varied. They are attracted to:

The favorite habitat of wine midges is boxes of onions, bags of potatoes, zucchini and pumpkins stored in the pantry. When one rotten fruit appears in a bag or box, this is enough for fruit flies to settle in it and begin to reproduce.

Another name for fruit flies is wine midge. Insects received it for their particular affinity for the wine-like aroma emitted by fermented sweet foods. Therefore, midges often settle in containers with spoiled jam or in alcohol containers.

How to deal with midges

It would seem that it is enough to clear the house of debris and the midges will disappear. But it's not that simple. These insects are very tenacious, sneaky and do not give up their positions.

Once they get into a room, they try to “stay a foothold” there. You have to get rid of both larvae and adults.

Traditional methods

There are traditional methods to combat fruit flies. There are a lot of them, we will only touch on a few.

Traps

The most popular are still homemade traps.

Traditional traps are empty, narrow-necked bottles filled with a mixture of fruit juice and soap or dishwashing liquid. You only need a little of it.

Operating principle: insects acutely sense the sour smell and fly towards it. Once inside, they can no longer get out and die.

Usually several traps are used and placed in different places. The solution is added as it dries.

This method is long and not very effective. Because it destroys only adult individuals. And insects, as a rule, have already managed to lay eggs in secluded places.

There is also a primitive trap made of a plastic bag into which melon or watermelon rinds are placed. Afterwards, it is recommended to tie the package and stuff it into the freezer. The most ineffective way. Some of the flies will still fly away if you just try to tie the bag.

Other folk methods

Since ancient times, the population has used a number of other recipes for getting rid of annoying midges with varying success.

Among them:

Additives to water for washing windows and floors. Turpentine and kerosene are used as additives to help fight flying intruders. When choosing this method, you need to take into account that the house will smell of these substances.
Bay oil. They rub it on jambs and window frames.
Duct tape. Take regular paper tape, cover it with a sticky compound and hang it in visible places. You can buy a ready-made version. But there is one trick. It must be sprinkled with sour, or better yet, fermented wine.
Fresh horseradish roots. They are dug up, cleaned, crushed and left in a bag in the kitchen. They work as a deterrent. After some time, the midge disappears.
Elderberry, fern and tansy leaves are placed throughout the rooms. Insects cannot stand their smell.
Essential oils of basil, anise, eucalyptus. They are dripped into the water and scented the room.
Tomato tops. You can grow seedlings on windowsills or simply lay out leaves brought from the greenhouse.
Tobacco. Cigarettes are unwrapped, tobacco crumbs are scattered on the surface of the ground in flower pots.
Beer. A little beer, preferably soured, is poured into a deep bowl at the bottom. The insects immediately gather in this container, but they can no longer get out of the cloudy heavy liquid.

All folk remedies have one common drawback - they are ineffective because they do not remove the root cause. Having quieted down for a while, the flies begin their attack again.

Smoking

Smoking insects using solid camphor. This smoke is not dangerous for humans and animals. It is unpleasant for flies.

Smoking method:

Take an old frying pan that you don’t mind throwing away.
Crushed solid camphor is placed in a frying pan.
Place the frying pan on the fire and wait until it gets hot.
The smoking container is carried throughout all rooms.

Poison

Do-it-yourself poison will help remove insects.

There are simple recipes for unsafe treats for insects:

Half a glass of milk is mixed with 40 g of sugar and the same amount of ground black pepper.
Saccharin with honey in a ratio of 10 to 1 (in grams).

These compounds are used to moisten napkins or a piece of toilet paper and then place them next to the plates or on the kitchen windowsill. After some time the flies disappear.

Vacuum cleaner

A very simple and very effective method of combating this fly. Especially if poison is unacceptable at home, since there are animals, a collection of domestic insects, and fish in the room that could be harmed.

Fruit flies like to congregate in certain places. For example, on discarded fruit skins, on windows. This feature of their behavior can be used to your advantage. For example, placing a couple of banana skins or squeezed lemon and orange on the table.

The method is that you just need to periodically walk through the places where they accumulate, collecting flies with a vacuum cleaner. At this time, the brush is removed from it.

Even with a large number of insects in the apartment, their population will decrease monstrously after just a couple of such treatments. It only takes a couple of days to eliminate everyone. After processing, the vacuum cleaner bag is shaken out.

Low temperature

Drosophila are heat-loving creatures; when there is a sharp cold snap, they die. Therefore, low temperatures will help fight them. However, in urban conditions with central heating, this method is only partially suitable. For example, you can store fruits and vegetables on a cool loggia, then insects are guaranteed not to get to them.

The advice to open kitchen windows in winter against flies is absolutely useless. But in cold weather it will help you quickly and effectively get rid of indoor flowers. Insects can easily wait out unfavorable conditions by hiding in warm and moist crevices.

Potassium permanganate or matches

Often, indoor flowers are breeding grounds for midges, which are overwatered or fed with “natural fertilizers.” For example, drunk tea or ground citrus peels. A little fly feels like at a resort in them: nourishing, humid, warm, secluded and no enemies.

If it is not possible to change the soil, then the plants can be watered twice a month with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

For the same purpose, household matches are stuck into the flower soil with their heads down. Insects don't like sulfur.

There is no point in fully relying on these measures; their effect is small. Most often, the lump of earth has to be replaced completely.

Geranium and garlic

Drosophila cannot stand the smell of geranium and garlic.

The head of garlic must be chopped and placed next to their habitat.
It is better to place a pot of geraniums on the windowsill.

These measures are nothing more than deterrent.

Orange and clove

Take orange peel and clove sticks. Cloves are stuck into the skin of a citrus fruit and this structure is laid out in insect habitats.

Store products

To get rid of flies, including fruit flies, various effective means are available in hardware stores.

Manufacturers offer:

Aerosols. This includes the long-known Dichlorvos, Combat, Hexachloran, Raptor. They are sprayed in the apartment. After half an hour the room is ventilated. It is necessary to strictly follow the instructions and observe safety precautions.
Glue traps for flies. The Raptor or Aeroxon glue trap lures insects by smell. Before using it, you must assemble the trap according to the instructions.
Plates against flies and mosquitoes. They act in exactly the same way on other uninvited guests. They are attached to the window glass on the sunny side.
Insecticides. Those used against moths or garden pests are suitable. For example, the drug Intavir. When working with it, you must follow the safety precautions indicated on the packaging. After two weeks, the treatment must be repeated.

Chemical agents have shown the greatest effectiveness in the fight against annoying tenants. After treatment, the midges quickly disappear. To prevent their occurrence, this event should be repeated after a couple of weeks.

Fumigator

Fruit flies respond well to a special fumigator designed for flies. The plate with the applied substance or a reservoir with liquid is placed in a fumigator or on a spiral and left in the room for 2-3 hours. Depending on the area of the room, 2-3 devices may be required. Advantages of this method:

the substance does not settle on all surfaces, so there is no need to do general cleaning. It is enough to ventilate the room;
extremely easy to use;
relatively harmless.

It is necessary to remember: it is undesirable to be in the same room with the fumigator turned on. This is the same poison as insecticides, only less toxic.

Prevention

To prevent annoying neighbors from appearing in your home, you need to take preventive measures in advance.

They are very simple and effective:

Flowers are transplanted into pots with fresh soil.
Watering is carried out moderately.
The soil for planting is pre-calcined in the oven.
Decayed flowers and leaves are immediately removed.
Fruits and dairy products are not stored in the public domain. They should only be kept in the refrigerator.
Housing must be cleaned regularly.
The kitchen trash can should be emptied daily. After the garbage is thrown out, the bucket must be washed and disinfected.
Do not leave food in pet bowls. After eating, the dishes of dogs and cats are washed thoroughly.
Rotten fruits and vegetables are thrown away.
Periodically turn on a mosquito lamp or keep an ultrasonic insect trap in the house.
The kitchen sink is filled with boiling water and products such as Mole or Domestos.
The fumigator is turned on periodically to repel insects.
All household utensils are washed immediately after cooking and eating, and work surfaces in the kitchen are thoroughly wiped down.
Avoid dampness in the bathroom. Wet and dirty laundry is not left behind.
The windows are covered with a fine-mesh insect net.
Spontaneous garbage dumps and compost pits are not installed near the house.
Ensures regular garbage removal.

other methods

Ethyl alcohol 70 or 90% will help quickly kill midges. To do this, you need to pour it into a spray bottle and spray it directly on the flying flies. Adult fruit flies will instantly fall to the floor and all you have to do is sweep the floor. This method is good because alcohol is a safer “insecticide” than special products, and it can also kill eggs.

What should you do if midges in the kitchen have started to appear in the sink? You can check whether it is a breeding ground for fruit flies like this: stick a piece of cling film coated with a thin layer of honey to the drain, and then return to the sink after an hour. If you see fruit flies stuck in the honey, your sink is part of the problem. To eliminate it, make sure that the drain is working properly, and then pour boiling soap solution into it. Finally, use a brush to scrub down the sides of the drain.

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Where do small flies in the kitchen come from?

The small midges you see in your kitchen are called fruit flies .
Or in other words, fruit gnats. Appearing on food scraps, fresh plant products or in sink drains, they cause a lot of trouble for people. They seem to appear completely out of nowhere. There is a logical explanation for this. They occur only when vegetables or fruits are left indoors and gradually rot. After the mating process, the flies lay many of their embryo eggs on all available products that are in the house. Then the larvae wait for conditions favorable for their development.

In order for the process of degeneration of an egg into a fly to begin, only one condition must be met - the presence of the process of rotting plant food or fermentation in the room. And then the flies really become active to capture first the rotting product, and then the entire house.