How to get rid of fruit flies in the kitchen, ways to remove midges from fruit

Is midge dangerous for humans and how does it enter the kitchen?

Drosophila flies, vinegar flies and wine flies, which is what small black midges are called, in the kitchen harm your prestige and disturb peace of mind. They are not dangerous to human life and health. These annoying creatures are found almost everywhere, with the exception of regions with a harsh cold climate. If you look at this little thing under a magnifying glass, you will find that it looks like an ordinary fly.

These creatures prefer to live in a group, so the midge swarms over food that is attractive to it

Where do these insects come from in the apartment? It seems that the doors and windows are closed, the windows are protected by a fine mesh, and the midge is there, flying like a cloud over your flowers or trash can. There are main sources of insects entering your apartment:

box with vegetables and fruits. As soon as some fruit becomes slightly spoiled, it becomes a tasty bait for midges. If eggs were laid on an apple or grape in a store, the insects will appear in a matter of hours, even the temperature of the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator will not stop them;
The trash can is the most favorite place for these creatures. Spoiled foods are ideal soil for reproduction and nutrition;
sink drain - food waste accumulates in the glass or sump. You may not see them, but know: the midge finds this dirt and uses it to feed and reproduce;
ventilation systems with exits to neighbors. Rarely does anyone protect the internal exits to the ventilation ducts with a fine mesh, so it is not difficult for insects to move to you from less clean neighbors;
indoor plants - midge eggs are often found in the soil and wait for favorable conditions for them: heat and humidity.

You may accidentally buy contaminated soil or bring a flower from the store that is infected with Drosophila.

Basic principles: how to get rid of midges in an apartment or private house

We figured out where wine midges come from and listed the main reasons for their appearance. Now it's time to talk about how to get rid of midges in the kitchen. Don’t rush to look for the phone number of the pest control service. Start by reviewing your habits, because they are often the main reason for the proliferation of harmful insects. Find the source of the problem and eliminate it: get into the habit of washing fruits and vegetables brought from the store, take out the trash more often than you usually do, and do not leave dirty dishes in the sink for too long.

If you deprive a midge of food, it will not actively reproduce in your home

But if the problem has already appeared, there are several ways to quickly solve it.

Related article:

How to get rid of cockroaches in an apartment forever : homemade products and industrial insecticides, why cockroaches can settle in an apartment, what to do to prevent this from happening, tips for making traps with your own hands and recipes for preparing insect repellent mixtures, reviews of the effectiveness of different methods - in our publication.

How to withdraw correctly?

The appearance of midges should under no circumstances be associated with cleanliness in the room. Their presence does not depend on the amount of dust and dirt. To prevent midges from breeding, it is necessary to thoroughly wash vegetables and fruits before putting them in the refrigerator or putting them on the table. As soon as the products are processed, it is necessary to dry them thoroughly, since when wet they begin to rot very quickly.

In order not to wonder how to get rid of fruit flies in the kitchen, you should follow these prevention recommendations:

As soon as it becomes noticeable that vegetables and fruits are beginning to deteriorate, they should be disposed of immediately.
You should not leave foods that can quickly spoil on the table; this also applies to fruits that are cut, such as apples, watermelons, melons.
Fruits and vegetables should be stored in the refrigerator. The fact is that heat is destructive for fruits, which undergo rapid rotting.
Vegetables that are stored for the winter should be stored in a cool place; ideally, you can use a refrigerator or cold cellar.
It is important to take out the garbage in the kitchen on time, as midges can also appear in food waste that has stagnated. If the bucket contains products that quickly deteriorate when exposed to air, then in just an hour you will observe a whole colony near the trash can.

Folk and industrial remedies for midges in the kitchen

So you've noticed a swarm of tiny insects in your kitchen. First, identify the place that attracted them. If it's a plate of fruit, sort it out, wash it and throw away any that have spoiled. You already know where midges on fruit come from; most likely, you brought them from the store. Cover the plate with a napkin or, better yet, put it in the refrigerator.

The trash can must be urgently taken out and washed with powder so that the smell does not remain in it

The sink drain should be filled with cleaning liquid or a solution of soda and vinegar.

There are very effective folk recipes on how to get rid of small midges in the kitchen. Let's take a closer look at them.

Folk recipes: what helps against midges

A person can use many methods to combat annoying insects, and most of them are based on the use of improvised means. So, how to get rid of midges at home, several options.

Remedy 1: Fresh Horseradish Root

The fruit fly does not like the pungent odor of this plant. If you place pieces of horseradish on shelves and cabinets, the flies will panic and seek refuge. Leave the window open for them.

Remedy 2: camphor oil

If there is an aroma lamp in the house, pour camphor into it and place it indoors. You can simply heat the oil in an iron mug over a burner. You can use essential oils of fir, eucalyptus, clove, lemon and lavender with the same effect.

Remedy 3: smoke

If you have tobacco, juniper pine, incense or fir cones on hand, light it in an ashtray. Close the door to the kitchen, but don't forget to open the window. The smoke will drive away the midge.

Remedy 4: Vinegar and Soapy Water

Add a glass of warm water, a little dishwashing liquid, apple cider vinegar and sugar. Instead of vinegar, you can add wine. The smell will be similar to the favorite delicacy of insects. Cover the top of the glass with vacuum film and make a small hole. The midge will rush into the trap and drown. Place these traps in places where insects gather.

Remedy 5: wormwood and wheatgrass

A decoction of wormwood or wheatgrass weed is sprayed in places where fruit midges appear. By the way, this method will also save you from mosquitoes in nature; apply the composition to exposed areas of the body.

Remedy 6: vanillin

Vanilla aromas are very appropriate in the kitchen, but fruit flies do not like them. Sprinkle vanilla bean solution around the kitchen or place vanilla sticks on the shelves.

Remedy 7: Garlic

Crush a few cloves of garlic and soak in water for a couple of hours. Use the prepared tincture for watering plants.

Remedy 8: Geranium

Place a couple of pots of geraniums on your kitchen windowsill. The fly really does not like this fragrant flower and will avoid your kitchen.

Factory products: how to poison midges

We have studied options on how to get rid of midges using folk remedies. Household chemical stores offer chemicals in aerosol packages and various types of Velcro to combat midges.

Tool 9: Velcro

Simple and safe means for people. These are simply tapes with a layer of glue on which insects sit and stick. This tape, strewn with the corpses of flies, does not look very pretty, but it works very effectively. The main thing is to place it in a place where you won’t accidentally touch it, or your cat or dog won’t fall into such a trap.

Remedy 10: Aerosol insecticides

These chemicals can be harmful to people and pets, so they are sprayed in an unoccupied area. Don't forget to cover the aquarium if you have fish in your kitchen. After spraying the chemical, the doors to the room are closed, and after an hour the kitchen is thoroughly ventilated. Popular products include Raptor, Dichlorvos, Deta, Raftamid, Cobra and Moskitol.

Other ways to get rid of midges

Drosophila don't really like the smell of orange and cloves, so if you have orange peel and a spice like cloves in your house, they can be used in the fight against midges. It is enough to boil a little peel together with cloves; this aroma will quickly repel annoying flies. You can also use vinegar and soapy water. Having diluted everything in one container, place it in places where there is a large concentration of fruit flies, the smell will attract them, and they will begin to drown in the trap you set.

How to get rid of midges in the kitchen mechanically

Various types of Velcro are an effective remedy. It's easy to make your own sticky trap.

Remedy 11: cardboard and honey

Cut out a strip of yellow cardstock. If you don't have it on hand, use thick yellow paper. Brush it with honey, secure it with tape on a wooden skewer and stick it into a flower pot or apple in a fruit bowl.

Tips and tricks

Take 100 grams of milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 tsp. pepper Soak toilet paper in this mixture and place it on a saucer.
Place a piece of rye bread in a plate and pour the following solution over it : 3 tbsp. spoons of milk, 4 tsp. baking soda and ½ tsp. formaldehyde.
Place a napkin soaked in 10 g of honey and 1 g of saccharin on the windowsill.
Stick a match into the flower pot , sulfur into the soil, the fruit flies will die.
An ultrasonic trap and cleaning the room with ultraviolet light , with a frequency of use once every 7 days, help a lot.
Leave the kombucha overnight.
Caught flies must be placed in the freezer for a while ; they die instantly.
In order not to throw away the glass jar with flies , you can place them in the microwave and turn them on for one minute (power 600). The flies die, and wash the dishes thoroughly with detergent.
Mix apple cider vinegar with water and detergent and pour into a jar. Leave for several hours. Vinegar strongly attracts insects, and detergent will not allow them to get out. Renew the solution periodically (once every 7 days).
Place the raptor plate in a sunny place. When heated, a pungent odor will be released, which is poisonous to fruit flies.
Put the remaining horseradish in the bag , the midges will all disappear.

There are many and quite simple methods of dealing with uninvited guests. Choose what you like.

How to get rid of house flies in the kitchen, depending on their origin

Tiny flies can swarm around fruits, onions, settle in cereals and flour, and live in sewers or flower pots. Depending on their habitat, you should select the appropriate product.

How to quickly get rid of fruit gnats

If a swarm has settled above a fruit basket, prepare a simple trap for it.

Remedy 12: syrup and soda

The trap will require a bottle. Sweet syrup, fruit soda or juice is poured into the bottom. Roll a piece of paper into a ball and insert it into the neck of the bottle. The flies will get inside through a tiny hole at the tip of the bag, and will not be able to get out back. The caught flies are doused with soapy water and poured into the sewer or onto the street. Insects hatch from eggs on day 8, so to completely destroy the colony you will have to update the trap for at least two weeks.

How to get rid of onion midge

If you do not remove the onion from the plastic bag, it will suffocate and begin to rot. The smell will certainly attract midges. How to remove onion midges from the kitchen?

Remedy 13: sawdust

Sort through all the onions, remove spoiled onions. Then put the onions in a box and cover with dry sawdust. This way, you will preserve root vegetables for a long time and get rid of insects that do not like the smell of sawdust.

How to get rid of insects in cereals

Insects in cereals are truly a disaster. It often happens like this: you open a box of porridge, expecting a healthy breakfast, and there are these small parasites with wings. Appetite disappears completely. Let's look at how to get rid of annoying midges in cereals in the kitchen.

Remedy 14: Freezer

Conduct a complete audit of all bulk products. It's a pity, but contaminated cereals will have to be thrown away. Some people advise calcining them in the oven or rinsing them with water, but you understand that such procedures do not improve the quality of the product. Don’t put off going to the trash container: while you are busy in the kitchen, small invaders may leave the selected boxes and move into clean ones.

You will do a good deed if you feed these cereals to the birds, you can put them in a sealed bag and go to the park after cleaning

Place all boxes that are not infested with parasites in the freezer. This procedure will kill the eggs. And be sure to have airtight boxes at home to store such products.

How to effectively get rid of midges in indoor flowers

Most often, the cause of insects in a flower pot is contaminated soil. If such a suspicion arises, it is better to replant the plants. How to get rid of midges in flowers at home?

Remedy 15: potassium permanganate

Water the soil in the pots with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Do not overdo the concentration, otherwise you may destroy the flower.

Remedy 16: matches

How to get rid of sewer midges forever

Sewer flies are very small - only a couple of millimeters. They are especially active closer to night, when people do not stop them from swarming around drainage holes. The most unpleasant thing is that such insects, after traveling through drains, can also sit on food in the kitchen. So it is imperative to deal with such unwanted guests.

Remedy 19: boiling water

To kill eggs and larvae in drains, pour boiling water over them. You will need at least 4 liters of hot liquid. To be more confident in the results, after spilling, add some cleaning chemical to the drain, for example, “Mole”.

Tool 20: fly swatter

Everything ingenious is simple. In the end, the most common way to get rid of small midges in the kitchen is to physically destroy them. Arm yourself with a fly swatter or just a rolled up newspaper - and go into battle!

Why do insects appear?

It should be immediately noted that fruit flies are not capable of causing significant harm to human health, but they can cause a lot of trouble due to their annoying nature. The annoying midges appear where there is always something to eat, so the kitchen becomes the favorite place. Midges feed on the juice of fruits and vegetables, so as soon as the process of rotting begins in them, they immediately appear. Another characteristic of fruit flies is that they multiply very quickly, and after just a couple of hours the midges become twice as large. If you don’t fight them, they will scatter throughout the room and cause you a lot of trouble.

The question immediately arises: how do midges get into our house? Everything is very simple, they are already present in plant foods, and to be more precise, the eggs, once laid by an adult, are found on fruits and vegetables. Midges can also appear in flower pots, since their eggs can be found in the soil.

Naturally, having noticed fruit flies in their kitchen, every person asks the question: how to quickly get rid of fruit flies? Let's figure it out.