Onion midges: how to get rid of, how to remove onion midges from an apartment, how to remove from a house

The onion fly is a parasite that is distinguished by its fertility and gluttony. If you do not start a timely fight against the insect, it will quickly destroy the bulbous plants. It lays larvae inside the bulb, which quickly develop, and in the process completely eat the plant.

Therefore, before planting, you should think in advance about how to get rid of onion midges so that their appearance does not come as a surprise. The appearance of the creatures can easily be confused with an ordinary fly, but the harm from them will be much greater.

Who are onion midges?

Midges are small flying insects. There are several species of midges that parasitize plants, mainly fruit midges (Drosophila) and soil midges (Sciriadae). The body of the midge is golden in color with black stripes, has an oval shape, the length of which does not exceed 1.5-3 mm. Females are larger than males. The insect has six legs and two wings. Midges have a slow flight, not as fast as that of ordinary flies.

Pests multiply at an incredible rate. Females lay eggs only on perishable fruits and vegetables, which serve as food for the larvae. Onion midges live 20-30 days, during which time they go through all four stages of the life cycle: adult, egg, larva, pupa.

What do they eat?

Most types of onions serve as food for midges: onions, leeks, shallots, chives. The insect uses all bulbous plants for food: garlic, tulips, lilies, and some varieties of lettuce .

In the kitchen, midges are attracted by the smell of spoiling vegetables, berries, and fruits. Spoiled foods are not only food for midges, but also a suitable place for reproduction, since larvae develop from laid eggs in the rotting pulp.

Insects instantly settle in open jars of homemade preserves: salted, pickled vegetables, compotes, jam. The left food of domestic animals and birds will also provide food for insect pests.

Video

Experts and experienced gardeners share their recipes for fighting onion flies in the following videos:

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Author: Maria Sukhorukikh
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Where do they come from

Onion midges easily fly long distances. Attracted by the smell, they can enter the apartment through open windows, doors, or through ventilation holes from neighbors.

Eggs and larvae can be found in vegetables, fruits, berries purchased in a store, at the market, or brought from a personal plot. Cracks in overripe fruits provide good shelter for them. In these places, the process of rotting begins, which always attracts midges.

Often pests enter the house in a rotten onion when buying a large amount of onions.

Insects can be brought into the house with purchased cereals and flour. Eggs and larvae of the pest fall into them during packaging and weighing. It is almost impossible to find them there.

Attention! Midge eggs and adult insects can be found in the soil of purchased indoor plants. If the soil is constantly wet, it will attract new individuals, and they will quickly multiply in it.

Are they dangerous, what is their harm?

Onion midges appear in late spring. They lay eggs on young onion shoots. After 8-10 days, larvae appear and penetrate inside the bulbs for food, as a result of which they deteriorate and disappear.

In kitchens, insects spoil food lying on the surface. They lay eggs on fruits and vegetables. Winged insects are carriers of various diseases. An onion midge bite can cause a severe allergic reaction accompanied by swelling. This is especially true for people prone to allergies.

Pests lay eggs on unpackaged products, which can end up in human food. Midges stain the surface of furniture and walls. During flight, they can enter the human respiratory tract.

What to do if they appear in the apartment

To get rid of onion midges, you first need to find places where they feed and actively reproduce.

Important! The main principle of the fight is to leave insects without food and a favorable environment for their reproduction.

To do this you need:

review and discard spoiled bulbs;
put the stored onions in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator;
If there is a large quantity of onions, store them in well-ventilated nets;
do not leave vegetables, fruits, berries, citrus fruits on the table unnecessarily;
throw out garbage on time: midges flock to the smell of food waste;
do not leave dirty dishes in the sink, especially cups containing fruit juice;
block access of insects to water: wipe sinks, do not leave dishes with water uncovered;
use disinfectants to clean siphons, drain pipes, and sewers;
Monitor the cleanliness of pet food bowls, remove excess food in a timely manner, and clean cages.
review and hermetically seal containers with cereals and flour;
If midges are found in flower pots, reduce watering and replace the top layer of soil.

How to get rid of midges

When onion midges appear in the kitchen, take action immediately, without waiting until the number of insects increases several times. To get rid of pests, chemicals, traditional methods and homemade traps are used.

Chemical methods

In the fight against onion midges, chemicals are the most effective. But keep in mind that they are much more harmful than traditional methods. There are a large number of insecticides that can be used to spray onion plantings, but most of them are used only in open areas. Their action is aimed at damaging the nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death of the pest.

Such drugs include:

"Aktara" acts on adults and larvae. Dilute in water: 1 g of powder or 1 ml of liquid per 10 liters of water, and spray the plantings twice a season.
“Alatar” (10 ml per 10 liters of water) – also affects both adults and larvae. They treat the beds twice a season.
“Zemlin”, “Fly-eater” (granules) are poured onto the beds when planting bulbs.
"Karate Zeon " destroys harmful insects at all stages of the life cycle.
"Terradox" is applied to the soil when planting bulbs.
“Maxim” - prepare a solution from 20 ml of the product and 10 liters of water, treat planting material and adult plants.

After applying insecticides, the fruits can be eaten no earlier than three weeks later.

At home, aerosols such as Raid, Odorless Dichlorvos, Raptor, and Neo-Dichlorvos are used to combat midges. These drugs, if they come into contact with the skin and mucous membranes, can cause allergic reactions. Therefore, after treatment, the room must be ventilated.

Important! Insecticides in the form of aerosols are used in the home with extreme caution, since their particles, when sprayed, can end up on the dining table, kitchen utensils, dishes, or foods consumed by humans.

Traditional methods

To prevent midges from infesting stored onions, housewives and owners use safe folk methods.

Laundry soap is grated and poured with water until a homogeneous solution is obtained. The prepared solution is lightly sprayed onto the stored onions. During onion growth, onion beds are sprayed with this solution.
Carrots are planted next to the onions; midges cannot stand the smell of this plant. At home, when storing a small amount of onions, place a few carrots between the bulbs.
Horseradish – its smell repels insects. The plant is cut into pieces and laid out in several places in the kitchen, and the windows are opened slightly. Pests will quickly fly away from the room.
Tobacco, juniper - small pieces of twigs are set on fire in a metal container. Smoldering plants emit a scent that repels midges.
Pests also cannot tolerate the smell of camphor oil, lavender, lemon, and cloves. Open containers of essential oils are easy to place in the kitchen.
Wheatgrass infusion is used to spray kitchen surfaces and wipe the floor with it.
Pests are repelled by the smell of vanilla. Its pods can be placed in a glass. The room is sprayed with a vanillin solution.
Chop the garlic and add hot water. This solution is sprayed onto the soil in flower pots in which pests are hiding.
Geranium - the smell of its leaves repels the onion pest.

Traps

Taking up residence in the kitchen, onion midges multiply at high speed. Sometimes getting rid of rotting fruits does not bring quick results. In these cases, housewives take more serious measures by preparing baits and traps for flying insects.

Place a piece of any fruit at the bottom of a plastic disposable cup or pour a little juice or compote. The top of the glass is wrapped in cling film and several small holes are made in it. The trap is left in the kitchen overnight. Insects will flock to the smell, and through the holes they will penetrate into the glass. In the morning, the cup with the midges is tied into another bag and taken out of the house.
Pour a little juice into the jar or put pieces of overripe fruits. The top of the jar is closed with a funnel made of paper, placing its neck inward. The trap is left in the kitchen overnight. In the morning, the jar with the midges attracted to it is filled with water and poured into the sewer.
Pour some water into a wide container and add a few drops of liquid detergent with a citrus aroma. The smell will attract pests; they will land on the water, but once in the solution, they will lose the ability to take off. The liquid containing the midges is poured out.
Baits are made from plastic bags by placing pieces of overripe fruit in them and twisting the bag so that only a small hole remains in it. In a short time, a large number of midges will accumulate in the bag. The bag is tied tightly and thrown away.
Apple cider vinegar, table vinegar, leftover wine, sour compote, juice, poured into any container overnight, also serve as bait for midges. Insects will flock to such smells and die in vinegar and wine.
One of the most effective traps is sticky fly tape. The effect of the sticky tape is enhanced by sprinkling it with drops of wine.
The fruit pulp is impregnated with insecticides, placed in disposable containers and left overnight. In the morning, traps with dead midges are thrown away.

Biological portrait

Photo of onion fly

Appearance

Like many pests, the onion fly is a small insect, not exceeding 7 mm in length. The color is gray closer to ash. Visually, the insect is very similar to an ordinary fly. Its years begin with the establishment of consistently warm weather, that is, the last ten days of April or the first days of May. Another external marker that gives the farmer a signal to be vigilant is cherry blossoms. It is at this time that the insect begins its seasonal development.

A fly may have wings with or without 2-3 longitudinal veins. But in any case, the edges are “shaped” by a fringe of their thin long hairs. The abdomen is segmented - 11 parts.

Reproduction

Reproduction occurs through egg clutches, which the female lays nearby onion plants. They are elongated white, up to 10 mm long. Hatching occurs after 3-8 days depending on external conditions. The eggs hatch into larvae that immediately bite into the bulb. The routes of penetration can be different - through the base of the leaf, through the bottom where the roots grow. The larvae of the onion fly, remaining in this form for the entire period, live inside the bulbs, devouring the internal tissues. It is interesting that if many individuals come out at the same time, then they stay in a group and critical damage is caused to the plant. During the transition period from a stationary larva to an adult, there is an intermediate stage of development when the insect remains in the analogue of a pupa with the rudiments of wings.

The female is very fertile - if detected, emergency measures are needed

Exit of young animals

The insect stays in larval form for about 3 weeks. After this period, the larva leaves the plant and goes into the ground next to the eaten bulb to pupate. This phase lasts 20 days, after which young flies emerge from the pupa. Based on these data, the logical conclusion is updated that the fight against onion fly should begin as early as possible. In practice, there are cases when this parasite destroys 100% of the plants on an onion plantation. By the way, it also attacks garlic.

How to prevent onion midges

To prevent insects from appearing indoors, create conditions to prevent their appearance and reproduction:

First of all, clean all drain holes by pouring boiling water over them.
Pour a tablespoon of soda into the plums and add vinegar. The resulting mixture cleans drains well.
Stored cereals are carefully inspected; suspicious, spoiled, or with traces of cobwebs are thrown away.
Do not leave rotten fruits, fruits cut into pieces, or sweets on surfaces.
Pay due attention to high-quality disinfection of the trash can.
Do not leave tea bags in cups overnight.
Make sure that kitchen cloths, sponges, and napkins are clean, since when washing dishes a large amount of invisible food residue accumulates on them.
Food is put in the refrigerator overnight.
Particular attention is paid to proper storage of onions.

If vegetables are kept in a warm, dark place, in a closed plastic bag, the process of rotting begins in them. Bags with rotten onions are an ideal place for pests to breed.

To prevent the appearance of insects, stored onions are periodically sorted, rotten ones are thrown away, and high-quality ones are stored in open nets.

We draw a conclusion

To prevent Drosophila flies from appearing in your apartment, you need to adhere to the following rules, including how to store onions correctly:

Place only dry onions in boxes, without damage. Once or twice a month, go through your onion stocks, throwing away spoiled product.
Do not keep onions near central heating radiators, and avoid high humidity.
In braids, onions are better ventilated and rot less.
Storing onions in bulk assumes that the layer thickness does not exceed 20-25 centimeters.
You also need to monitor the cleanliness of your home, do the cleaning on time, getting rid of the remnants of sweet and starchy foods.