Fruit midges are not capable of biting humans and do not cause any harm to health. But the appearance of these annoying insects causes discomfort. Usually the cause of their invasion is spoiled vegetables or fruits. To remove fruit flies from your home, you need to destroy the source of infection and do a thorough cleaning of the apartment. Then you need to destroy the remaining individuals and take measures to prevent the subsequent penetration of these insects.
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:
- roots and stems of indoor plants rotted from excessive moisture;
- rotten vegetables and fruits not thrown away in a timely manner;
- a large accumulation of cereals or nuts stored in the pantry;
- dirty trash can.
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.
Important! 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.
Where do fruit flies come from in the house?
There are several ways for a fly to enter an apartment:
- The insect chooses soft, slightly or severely spoiled fruits as a place for laying eggs, since their peel is easier to bite through. Since both the fly itself and its eggs are small in size, it is almost impossible to notice that a vegetable or fruit is infected.
- Fly larvae and eggs can appear in the house along with soil for indoor plants.
- Open windows without mosquito nets or open doors are another way for an insect to get into the apartment. Midges fly to the smell of fruits, indoor flowers or spoiled food.
How to get rid of fruit flies in an apartment
Drosophila can appear even in a perfectly clean home if it has a valuable food source for them. Therefore, to get rid of them, you need to audit all stocks and destroy all rotten products. Only after eliminating the source of the insects do they begin measures to remove the remaining individuals.
How to get rid of wine gnats using traps
One of the popular simple methods of catching individuals remaining after the destruction of the breeding source is traps. These devices are used in rooms where chemical treatment cannot be performed.
Glass bottle trap
To make such a device you will need a bottle or a tall narrow jar. Sweet bait is placed at the bottom. This could be fruit that has begun to rot, a spoonful of jam, honey, sweet syrup, apple cider vinegar, or leftover wine. Then roll a piece of paper into a funnel, leaving a small hole in the narrow part, and secure it with tape to maintain its shape. The resulting cone is inserted into the jar, with the narrow part down so that it does not touch the bait.
The resulting trap is installed overnight in a place where a significant part of the insects accumulate. Attracted by the sweet smell, they climb inside the trap, but are no longer able to get out.
The next day, without removing the funnel, pour hot water mixed with liquid soap into the jar. After a few minutes, all the insects collected inside the trap will die. Then you can open the jar and throw away the contents. It is better to open the trap outside. Then the remaining living individuals will not be able to get back into the house.
Bowl trap
Here use a large or medium bowl. A sweet liquid is poured onto the bottom and pieces of rotten fruit or other suitable bait are laid out. Cover the bowl tightly with cling film on all sides so that there are no gaps. Then small punctures are made on top with a toothpick or fork. The holes should be small so that the flies cannot escape back.
The trap is set overnight in a place where insects accumulate. In the morning, a bowl filled with fruit flies is taken outside and filled with water with detergent dissolved in it. Soap will make the surface tension less and the insects will drown in the liquid.
Important! Do not open the trap indoors. Otherwise, the flies will scatter and you will have to catch them again.
Aerosols
Products for getting rid of midges in the house can be purchased at the hardware store or made independently. To do this, pour a mixture of water with alcohol or glass washing liquid into a regular spray bottle. The product is sprayed onto the accumulation of insects. Once their wings get wet, they will no longer be able to fly. Then they are simply swept away with a broom and thrown away.
Store-bought mosquito repellents are more effective. They quickly kill insects, but the use of such drugs carries a certain danger. It is important to remove children and pets from the house before spraying. Spraying chemicals can be dangerous to their health. Before spraying, indoor flowers must be protected from chemicals. Otherwise they will dry out and die.
Before spraying the aerosol against midges, put on a respirator or protective mask. Hands are protected with gloves.
How to remove fruit flies using oil
Wine midges do not tolerate strong aromas. Therefore, the fight against them will be successful if you use essential oils. Although the scent won't kill them, it can drive away annoying insects. The best use case would be to diffuse the scent using an aroma lamp. If you don’t have such a device, you can simply place cotton pads soaked in essential oil in places where midges accumulate.
How to get rid of midges using a vacuum cleaner
This method of eliminating insects is controversial, but some people use it quite successfully. After eliminating the main source of spread, the remaining flies are simply sucked up with a vacuum cleaner. Then the bag or container is shaken out into the trash. It is better to do this outside so that the surviving insects do not get back into the house.
Zappers
These devices kill fruit flies using an electric current. The following zappers are popular:
- Electronic Indoor Insect Killer Zapper-15.5 Inch is quite effective against flies. Its disadvantages are its large dimensions and significant energy consumption. Therefore, it is not advisable to use it for an ordinary apartment.
- The Executioner Fly Swat Wasp Buq Mosquito Swatter Zapper is smaller in size than the previous model. Therefore, it is well suited for an ordinary apartment. This zapper only effectively eliminates fruit flies that fly very close to it. Therefore, to get a good result, you need to ensure that the midges fly towards the device. Its advantage is its autonomy. The device runs on batteries, so it does not require electricity.
Repellents
In this category of insect repellent products, the Hot Shot 5580 No Pest Strip model works well. It consists of a strip of cardboard enclosed in a small plastic container, impregnated with substances that destroy this type of insect. The repellent is hung in the room where the fruit flies need to be destroyed. The cardboard emits chemical vapors that kill the midges, and they leave the apartment.
Important! A person does not smell the chemicals, but ventilation is still needed.
Out of sight or how to remove floaters?
First of all, you need to determine the reason for their appearance. A comprehensive examination will help you do this. If the appearance of floating spots or blurred vision is associated with overwork of the organ of vision, you need to give it a little rest. Gymnastics will be useful, as it helps improve microcirculation and eliminate muscle spasms.
Treatment of eye floaters associated with a lack of corneal hydration can be based on the use of eye drops. But it is important to understand that such solutions only temporarily eliminate the symptoms of dry eye syndrome, and have no effect on the very cause of the development of the disease.
Taking Delfanto® capsules helps provide natural hydration to the eyes by increasing tear production. This tool will be especially useful for people whose activities involve visual stress.
Only a doctor can tell you how to treat spots before your eyes in other cases. Sometimes laser treatment or cryotherapy (for retinal detachment), vitrectomy (for destruction of the vitreous body) is required. If the appearance of dots and spots drifting in the field of view is caused by diseases of the cervical spine, a course of physiotherapeutic procedures and the help of an orthopedist may be required.
How to remove fruit flies using traditional methods
A good remedy against these insects is ordinary table vinegar. To do this, all cabinets and shelves for storing food are washed with soapy water. Then all surfaces are wiped with a solution of table vinegar. Additionally, strong-smelling substances are placed in areas where fruit flies accumulate. Garlic cloves, orange peels, and lavender leaves are suitable for this.
Camphor aroma works well against fruit flies. Camphor is crushed into pieces and fried in a dry frying pan. When smoke starts, remove the container from the heat and carry it through all the rooms. In rooms where flies accumulate more than other rooms, it is worth staying longer. Camphor is not dangerous for people and animals. Therefore, there is no need to remove anyone from the apartment before such treatment.
Why do floaters appear before my eyes?
Most often, this symptom indicates destruction of the vitreous body.
This is a gel-like substance that fills the back surface of the eye. At birth, the vitreous body is tightly adjacent to the retina and has a homogeneous structure. But as the body ages, it is divided into two fractions (fibrous and liquid substance) and gradually peels off from the retina. When the vitreous body is detached, floating opacities and light flashes appear in the field of vision. Black spots before the eyes occur because the opaque fibers of the vitreous body cast a shadow on the retina. Flashes of light are a reaction of the retinal photoreceptors to the mechanical irritation that the exfoliating vitreous body exerts on it.
The appearance of floating spots and spots may be associated with other pathological conditions. For example, a foreign body entering the eye, retinal injuries, minor hemorrhages, visual fatigue. Sometimes floaters appear in the eyes due to inflammation of the eye tissue (uveitis), changes in blood pressure, cervical osteochondrosis, diabetes mellitus, and traumatic brain injury.
Prevention
After all the small midges have been removed from the apartment, you need to make sure that they do not appear again. To do this, it is important to prevent food waste from accumulating in the trash can. It is advisable to take out all garbage daily. It is advisable to wash the trash can every week, even when using bags.
The drain in the kitchen sink is periodically cleaned using household chemicals. It is advisable to do this 1-2 times a week. Additionally, it is worth pouring boiling water into the sink. Products stored in the pantry and cupboards are checked periodically. All spoiled fruits should be thrown away immediately, without waiting for them to become food for insects.
Tips and tricks
To summarize, we can give the following recommendations that will help get rid of midges in the house:
- Recently, ultrasonic repellers have become widespread , but their use is not recommended due to their low degree of effectiveness. They work well in removing rodents, but their effect on flying insects has not been proven.
- When using zappers to kill midges, it is necessary to place scented baits in the traps, since, unlike other insects, they are reluctant to respond to light.
- It is necessary to wash dishes immediately after drinking honey, sweets and alcoholic drinks, as they can also attract midges. Bottles with unfinished drinks must be tightly corked so that alluring aromas do not escape.
