How to get rid of midges in indoor flowers using chemical and folk remedies

If midges appear in indoor flowers, you need to choose the right way to get rid of them. For the selected composition to work, you need to determine the type of insect and the stage of damage to the flower. A whole list of unfavorable factors leads to the appearance of pests. First of all, it is necessary to make adjustments to the main points of care. The drugs are sold ready-made, or the composition is prepared independently according to folk recipes.

Indoor midges

There are more than 1,500 species of flower midges. Several of them are often found in house flowers. To save the plant, you need to start fighting as soon as the first signs are discovered.

Drosophila

Drosophila are small fruit flies with a small body no more than 2.4 mm long, yellow-brown in color. The eyes are distinguished by a rich reddish tint.

In the house, pests infest food scraps, rotten vegetables and fruits. They often settle in flowers and suck all the juices from the plant. The appearance of Drosophila is also associated with poor-quality soil.

Sciarides

Sciarides are small flying pests that settle at the root part of flowers such as aloe, orchid, ficus, violet, and azalea. The adult has an elongated black body no more than 1.4 mm long.

The female lays eggs in the soil, between the root branches. Sciarid larvae look like white small worms up to 4.5 mm long; a black spot is clearly visible in the head part.

Whiteflies

Whiteflies are a small butterfly, no more than 3 mm. The body and wings are painted white, and powdery pollen is visible on the surface.Most often, whiteflies appear on plants that have soft leaves (for example, begonia, fuchsia). The pest sucks the juices from the tissues of the flower, which causes its death.

Reasons for appearance

The appearance of midges at home is associated with many unfavorable factors:

• The main reason is improper watering. Frequent and abundant soil moisture leads to active reproduction of insects.
• Another reason is to transplant the flower into a larger pot. During irrigation, water is retained in the lower tier of the soil. Therefore, if the roots of the plants do not reach the bottom of the pot, the humidity increases. As a result, favorable conditions are created for the development of parasites.
• Improper feeding, for example, excess organic matter, contributes to the appearance of midges. It is also not recommended to use tea leaves for watering.

There are many other unfavorable factors that lead to the appearance and spread of parasites.

Purchased land

Low-quality store-bought soil may contain larvae of various pests. Under favorable conditions, new individuals emerge from them. Therefore, to prevent flies from appearing, the soil is disinfected before planting. It is poured with boiling water, calcined in the oven or poured over with a solution based on potassium permanganate.

Fly into the window

There is a high probability that the midge flew into a window, door or through a ventilation passage from another apartment. Insects immediately find a plant suitable for them and settle in it. To prevent flies from flying into the house, it is advisable to hang a mosquito net with small mesh on the windows.

Wet, overwatered soil

Houseplants often get flies due to improper watering. In warm and humid conditions, eggs hatch faster into larvae. Therefore, it is important to consider the dosage and time interval between waterings. In addition, each type of flower needs a certain amount of moisture. For irrigation, only warm, settled water should be used.

Damage caused

Midges slow down the growth and development of plants, in some cases they can lead to their death:

• Midges lead to compaction of the soil, as a result of which air and moisture do not penetrate well to the roots.
• The leaves begin to wither, turn yellow, dry out and fall off.
• Insects can carry various diseases that are dangerous to flowers.

Flower insects do not pose a danger to humans. They do not bite and do not carry diseases dangerous to human health.

Fighting methods

As soon as the pest is discovered, rescue actions need to begin:

• the infected flower is moved to another place, away from other plants;
• it is advisable to transplant the flower into new, treated soil;
• before transplanting, the roots of the plant are quickly washed under running water;
• It is better to dry the soil; for this purpose, do not water for several days.

Chemical and folk remedies will help quickly destroy midges.

Folk remedies

Traditional methods of getting rid of insects are considered safe and effective. It is recommended to set traps or prepare compositions for treating soil and foliage.

Allow 2 cm layer to dry

If you dry out the soil, there is a high probability that the midges will die. It is enough to wait until the soil dries to a depth of 20 mm (insect larvae do not live deeper than 2.5 cm). The dry, damaged layer of soil is replaced with new soil. All flying individuals must be caught using homemade traps.

Catch adult midges

Installed traps will help to catch adults. A vacuum cleaner is also used.

Traps

Devices for catching midges are sold in stores, but they are easy to make yourself. It is enough to use any material soaked in sweet syrup.

Special

Annoying flies crawl into your eyes and mouth. To catch them, just buy sticky tape at the store and hang it around the room. The tape is impregnated with a special solution that attracts you with its smell.

Homemade

It's easy to make your own trap. There are many options for their manufacture:

• Cut long strips of fabric or paper, soak them in sweet ingredients (jam, honey) and hang them near the window.
• You can make a trap from a plastic bottle. You need to cut off the bottom of the bottle and put an apple core inside. The upper part of the cut part is covered with film and small holes are made. Through the holes, midges easily penetrate into the container, but they cannot get back out.
• Some types of midges can be caught using potatoes. Potatoes are cut in half. Half is placed in a flower pot. After some time, the larvae will stick to a fresh cut of potato.

Vacuum cleaner

When the pests sit on the leaves of the flowers, you can try to suck them up with a vacuum cleaner. This method should be repeated several times and is best combined with other methods of combating flyers. After each procedure, the bag should be thrown away.

Cultivate the land

If pests are detected, the soil should be watered with special solutions.

Garlic infusion

Garlic has a detrimental effect on many insects. Garlic infusion will be useful for this work:

• chop the cloves of three heads of garlic;
• pour the gruel with a liter of boiling water;
• for the component to infuse, leave for 3.5 hours;
• then the composition is filtered;
• Water the damaged soil with the prepared solution and spray the leaves.

Potassium permanganate solution

If midges are found in flowers, watering with potassium permanganate will help. A small amount of potassium permanganate is diluted in water (the water should turn pink) and the plant is watered. To prevent pests from appearing again, treatment is carried out two days later.

Soap solution

A soap solution will help remove indoor pests:

• grind laundry soap;
• soap shavings (25 g is enough) are dissolved in 900 ml of boiling water;
• Treat the leaves with the prepared solution and water the soil around the flower.

Sulfur

Match sulfur repels pests:

• matches (gray down) are pushed into the ground around the flower;
• moisten the area around each match;
• After a day, the matches are replaced with new ones, as the sulfur quickly dissolves.

After just 3-4 updates of matches, the midges should disappear.

Anthelmintic drugs

For soil treatment, any anti-helminth products purchased at a pet store (for example, Pirantel) are suitable. The solution is prepared according to the recommendations specified in the instructions. To ensure that all insects die, the plant is watered with the solution twice at an interval of six days.

Toxic greenhouse

A toxic greenhouse is easy to make. The method is effective and economical.

Drain the soil

First, wait until the soil dries thoroughly after the next watering.

Loosen the soil

The next step is to carefully loosen the top layer of soil.

Place the pot in a bag and spray a little Dichlorvos

You need to take a large plastic bag and place the entire flower inside. All actions are carried out carefully so that the branches of the plant do not become wrinkled or broken:

• Dichlorvos is sprayed inside the bag.
• The flower is left in this state for 3.5 hours. During this time, all individuals manage to die.
• The flower is moved away from other plants and the bag is removed.Return to the old place is carried out after 12 days.

“Dichlorvos” can be replaced with “Raptor”, “Reid” or solutions made on the basis of insecticides such as “Karbofos”, “Grom”, “Aktara”, “Aktellik”.

Hang the traps

Made traps are hung near the window. They will help to catch adults that did not get inside the bag.

Repeat after 8 days

To prevent midges from appearing again, the entire procedure with spraying Dichlorvos and hanging adhesive tape is repeated again.

How to remove whitefly

It is more difficult to remove whiteflies from home flowers, since they are resistant to many compounds. Unfavorable conditions for its development are low temperature and drought. Therefore, the plant should be moved to a cool place and not watered until the soil is completely dry.

Using Traps

You need to hang traps near the windowsill that will help catch annoying insects.

Washing leaves

After most of the flying pests are trapped, you need to wash all the twigs and leaves of the plant. The flower is placed in the bathroom and the leaves are washed to remove any remaining midges and their larvae.

Spraying plants with a solution of systemic insecticides

The next step is to treat the soil and leaves with insecticides. The prepared solution is watered into the soil and sprayed onto the green part of the plant.

"Aktellik"

It will be possible to destroy midges using the Actellik insecticide. The death of pests begins from the first minutes after treatment. To prepare the solution, you need to dilute the ampoule with the drug with two liters of water. After spraying, the room should be ventilated.

"Confidor"

The effective drug "Confidor" helps to cope with many pests of indoor plants.Only 2 g of the substance needs to be dissolved in 9 liters of water. Over the course of a month, the treatment is repeated at intervals of 4 days. This is done with the aim of destroying all earthen larvae.

"Mospilan"

The insecticide allows you to quickly forget about the existence of midges in the apartment. To prepare the solution, you will need to dissolve 1 g of the drug in two liters of water.

"Fufanon"

The insecticide “Fufanon” helps to cope well with insects. 1 ml of the drug is diluted in one liter of water. The finished solution is poured into a container with a spray bottle. Spraying is carried out on the leaves on both sides. Every other day, the flower pot is put back in its original place.

Toxic greenhouse

Effective use of a toxic greenhouse:

• Wait until the soil dries out.
• The soil is loosened.
• The pot is covered with a bag so that it covers all the branches.
• A small amount of the selected insecticide (“Dichlorvos”, “Grom”, “Aktara”, “Aktellik”) is sprayed onto the ground and the inner walls of the bag. It is important not to allow the composition to get on the green part of the plant.
• The package is removed after 3.5 hours.

A toxic greenhouse contributes to the death of not only adults, but also larvae.

Transfer

If there are a lot of larvae in the soil, it is better to transplant the flower into fresh, treated soil. The soil is loosened and the flower is pulled out, being careful not to damage the roots. All root branches are washed and cleaned of contaminated soil with a brush. After transplantation, it is recommended to apply fertilizer.

Prevention

Preventive measures will help prevent the reappearance of insects:

• it is important to follow the watering regime;
• the next day after watering you need to loosen the soil;
• before planting, the soil must be calcined, poured with boiling water or another disinfectant;
• You need to use only high-quality fertilizer, strictly observing the dosage;
• it is necessary to do drainage;
• The room where the flowers are located must be regularly ventilated.

Moderate watering

When caring for flowers, it is important to set a watering regime. It is not recommended to moisten the soil too much. You need to water the flower when the soil dries to a depth of 2.5 cm.

Good drainage

You can avoid stagnation of moisture in the pot thanks to the drainage layer. Before pouring soil into the pot, you need to make holes in the bottom and fill it with a layer of stones. These measures will allow excess water to escape.

Loosening the soil

Loose soil is less susceptible to the development of rotting processes. Therefore, after each watering it is recommended to loosen the soil, especially if the soil is dense.