Drosophila flies - how to get rid of an apartment: the best traps and remedies for annoying midges
Many are familiar with black annoying flies with red eyes that appear out of nowhere in large numbers and attack fruits and vegetables. The scientific name for these insects is Drosophila flies. They do not bite, but there are so many of them in the room at the same time that urgent action needs to be taken. There are effective ways to get rid of fruit flies with the help of chemicals and folk remedies, and how to prevent their appearance in an apartment or house.
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Causes of fruit flies
Drosophila, fruit or vinegar flies flock to the smell of spoiled fruits or vegetables, sometimes they start in pots with indoor flowers if the soil is very wet there. They can fly through open windows, into air vents. Their larvae can be found on products bought at the supermarket.
What Do Drosophila Eat?
Fruit flies feed on vegetables and fruits that are stored at room temperature and begin to spoil. They can also appear in a cup with the remnants of sweet tea, drink, juice. They are especially attracted by the aroma of watermelon peels and the remains of melons. Rotting leaves and stems of indoor flowers can serve as food for fruit flies.
How to get rid of fruit flies: basic methods
Drosophila flies are very prolific, and in her short life one female lays hundreds of eggs. And it is important to get rid of not only adults, but also their larvae, pupae. Otherwise, after the destruction of the flies, a new generation will appear, which will look for food. Popular means of getting rid of fruit flies are:
- chemicals;
- folk remedies;
- do-it-yourself traps;
- Velcro;
- insect trap plants;
- The fight against flies should begin with the elimination of the causes.
How to get rid of fruit flies in the kitchen: eliminating the causes
In the kitchen there are places where flies appear first:
- The first step is to conduct an audit in the places where vegetables and fruits are stored and throw away the spoiled ones. Those that start to deteriorate, recycle. From time to time, check vegetables that are stored for a long time: carrots, potatoes, onions.
- Check the soil in pots with indoor plants, if there are larvae or pupae on the soil, then the top layer can be replaced. Remove fallen leaves, wash trays, and pots outside with detergent. Spray the flowers with a pink solution of potassium permanganate and water the ground.
- Keep the trash can clean, do not leave garbage for a long time, take it out more often. Wash the bucket regularly with a disinfectant.
- Keep dishes and drinking bowls with water for pets clean, do not leave food on a plate, but rather put it in a container with a lid.
- Make a general cleaning in the kitchen, wash the refrigerator, cabinets, stove, microwave. Drain sinks should be cleaned of product residues, rinsed, disinfected with any available means.
Drosophila traps
Traps can be made with your own hands from improvised means and placed where most fruit flies are.
How to Breed Drosophila Using Low Temperatures and Smells
Fruit flies are heat-loving insects, they die at temperatures below +10 degrees. You can get rid of them if you open the windows in the morning or evening, when the temperature outside is below the maximum allowable.
Drosophila can be prevented using strong smelling agents:
- the smell of camphor is not tolerated by insects; it must be warmed up before use;
- the smell of wormwood, citrus peels, drives away flies, chopped grass or crusts are laid out in the kitchen;
- light candles with coniferous, lavender aroma;
- the smell of tansy and elderberry repels fruit flies, you can make a bouquet of them and put it in a vase or hang dried twigs.
Drosophila midge: how to get rid of chemicals
Some of the most affordable chemicals for fighting fruit flies.
How to deal with Drosophila folk remedies
Folk remedies are effective and are used in cases where chemical agents cannot be used. Poison agents can be prepared from available agents:
- dilute 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of black pepper in a glass of milk, moisten a cloth, spread out in the place where fruit flies accumulate;
- mix sugar with black pepper and arrange in saucers on the windowsill.
Drosophila live trap: the use of carnivorous plants
Exotic lovers are advised to plant carnivorous plants. Insects sit on a leaf that attracts with a sweet liquid, stick. The leaf closes and feeds on flies. The disadvantage of this method is that the plant digests the caught insects for a week.
Fruit flies do not like the smell of geraniums, and if this flower grows on the kitchen window, then Drosophila will scare away its smell.
Prevention of the appearance of fruit flies in the apartment
Fruit flies will not appear in the apartment if you follow these simple rules:
- take out the trash often and wash the bin with disinfectant;
- do not keep vegetables and fruits on the table, but hide in the refrigerator;
- do not leave dirty dishes in the sink, try to wash them immediately after eating;
- wipe water from the surface of the table, sink;
- wash the stove after cooking;
- do a general cleaning in the kitchen once a week;
- check vegetables harvested for future use and spoiled immediately process;
- do not flood indoor plants so that there is no water in the pallets. Remove dry and rotten flowers and leaves in time;
- make sure that there is no food left in the bowls from which pets eat, wash them regularly.