How to get rid of midges in indoor flowers, a description of drugs and folk remedies
Owners of indoor plants often face various challenges when breeding them. The flowers are often attacked by harmful insects. Drosophila, sciarid, whitefly are most often found in plants. Such pests can not only seriously harm the crop, but also lead to its death. Therefore, many growers are interested in how to get rid of midges in indoor flowers.
Indoor Midges
Today, about 1,500 species of flower midges are known. Some pests are more common in houseplants. To deal with the problem, it is recommended to start treating it as early as possible.
fruit flies
They are small fruit flies that have a small body with a maximum length of 2.4 millimeters. Insects have a yellow-brown tint. In the house, midges grow in rotten vegetables and fruits.They often settle in indoor plants, sucking up all the juice. Poor quality soil often leads to the breeding of fruit flies.
Sciarids
These insects are small flying insects. Adults have a black body, the length of which does not exceed 1.4 millimeters. They settle near the roots of indoor plants. Most often, sciarids affect aloe, azalea, violet. Ficus and orchids are also attacked by pests.
The females lay their eggs in the ground. They are localized between the branches of the roots. Insect larvae are small white worms. Their length is 4.5 millimeters. A light black spot can be seen on the head.
whiteflies
These insects are small butterflies. Their size does not exceed 3 millimeters. Body and wings are white. Dusty pollen can be seen on the surface. Whiteflies usually appear on plants with soft leaves. These include fuchsia and begonia. Pests suck the juice from the plant, which causes its death.
Reasons for the appearance
The appearance of midges can be caused by a number of factors. The most common are:
- Violation of watering technique. Frequent and excessive soil moisture provokes active reproduction of pests.
- Transplant a plant into a spacious pot. This leads to the accumulation of water in the lower soil layer. If the roots of the culture do not reach the bottom of the container, the humidity parameters increase. This increases the risk of developing parasites.
- Violation of the rules of fertilization. Excessive amounts of organic agents provoke the reproduction of midges. It is also not recommended to water the flowers with tea leaves.
Land purchased
In poor-quality soil, the larvae of harmful insects can accumulate.Under the influence of certain factors, the emergence of new individuals is observed. To prevent midges from starting, the soil should be disinfected before planting the crop. It must be poured with boiling water, placed in the oven or poured with a solution of potassium permanganate.
It is important that the decomposition processes are completely completed in the soil structure. If there is humus in the soil, midges will certainly appear.
Fly out the window
When opening the windows for ventilation, flies and other insects can fly into the apartment. Midges try to hide from the heat. To do this, they choose the coolest place - a pot with a houseplant.
Wet and overflowing ground
Some people tend to push the houseplant too hard, which leads to overwetting of the soil. As a result, stagnation of fluids is observed, which leads to the accumulation of midges.
Caused damage
Midges cause stunted crop growth and development. As a result, there is a risk of death:
- insects cause soil compaction, which interferes with the entry of moisture and air into the root system;
- the leaves begin to wither, turn yellow and fall off;
- parasites can be a source of dangerous diseases.
For humans, flower flies are not dangerous. They do not bite and do not lead to infection of a person with dangerous diseases.
Control methods
To cope with pests, it is worth using folk remedies and chemicals.
Folk remedies
There are many effective recipes that successfully deal with insects.It is best to set traps or make formulations to treat foliage and soil.
Leave to dry in a layer of 2 cm
Drying the earth will lead to the death of midges. It should dry to a depth of 20 millimeters. The larvae usually do not dive more than 2.5 centimeters deep. Instead of a layer of dry earth, it is worth pouring a new one. Flying insects are caught using special devices.
Catch adult gnats
To catch adult insects, it is worth setting up special traps. A vacuum cleaner is also perfect for this purpose.
Pitfalls
It will be possible to buy products for catching midges in the store. However, such devices can be made with your own hands. Any material saturated with sweet syrup is suitable for this.
Special
To catch pests, you need to buy duct tape in the store and hang it around the room. This device is impregnated with a special solution. It attracts flies by its smell.
Home made
You can make the traps yourself. Today, many variants of such devices are known. To do so, follow these steps:
- Cut long strips. They can be made from paper or fabric and then dipped in a sweet product. Honey or jam are perfect for this purpose. The finished device hangs near the window.
- It is quite possible to make a trap from a plastic bottle. To do this, simply cut off the bottom and place an apple core on it. The top of the cut element is covered with a film in which small holes are made. Thanks to them, midges easily get into the container, but cannot get out of it.
- Some types of gnats can be caught with potatoes. It must be cut into 2 pieces.It is recommended to put half of it in a pot. After a while, midges will begin to accumulate on the roots.
A vacuum
If pests accumulate on the leaves of a flower, they can be sucked out with a vacuum cleaner. It is recommended to use this method several times. It is best combined with other problem solving techniques. It is recommended to discard the bag after each handling.
To work the land
If pests are detected, it is recommended to water the soil with special solutions.
Garlic tea
Garlic is harmful to many parasites. To make a useful tool, it is recommended to follow these steps:
- chop 3 heads of garlic;
- add 1 liter of boiling water to the porridge;
- leave for 3.5 hours;
- filter the composition;
- water the soil with a ready-to-use product and sprinkle the foliage.
Potassium permanganate solution
If midges are identified, you can water the plant with potassium permanganate. For this, a small amount of the product is mixed with water. The result should be a pink liquid. Water the culture with the obtained solution. To avoid the appearance of pests, the plant must be retreated after 2 days.
Soap solution
To remove pests, you need to use a soapy solution. To do this, it is recommended to perform the following actions:
- grind laundry soap;
- take 20 grams of chips and mix with 900 milliliters of boiling water;
- treat the leaves and water the soil.
Sulfur
This substance repels harmful insects. To deal with the issue, you need to follow these steps:
- insert gray matches into the soil around the plant;
- moisten the ground around each game;
- within a day, new matches should be inserted - this is due to the rapid dissolution of sulfur;
- this remedy will work 3-4 times.
Anthelmintic drugs
For soil treatment, you should use any anthelmintic drugs that you can buy at a pet store. Pirantel is considered an effective drug. To prepare the solution, you must observe the proportions indicated in the instructions. The plant should be watered twice with an interval of 6 days.
toxic greenhouse
It is quite easy to make this device. With this economical method, insects can be eliminated quickly.
Drain the soil
First, you need to drain the soil. For this, it is necessary to wait until it dries well after the previous watering.
loosen the soil
At the next stage, it is recommended to loosen the soil. This should be done as carefully as possible, without affecting the root system.
Put the pot in a bag and spray some Dichlorvos
At this stage, you need to take a spacious plastic bag and put a flower in it. All manipulations should be carried out very carefully so as not to crumple or break the branches of the culture.
Spray Dichlorvos inside the bag and leave the plant for 3.5 hours. During this period, all harmful insects will die. Then it is important to move the flower away from the rest of the crops and remove the packaging. It is allowed to return the plant to its original place after 12 days.
Instead of Dichlorvos, you can also use other drugs - for example, Reid or Raptor. Insecticidal solutions are also suitable - Actellika, Thunder, Karbofos.
Hang traps
It is recommended to hang ready-made traps near the window. They help catch adults who weren't included in the package.
Repeat after 8 days
To prevent pests from appearing again, the manipulation must be repeated again. To do this, it is necessary to repeat the spraying of Dichlorvos and hang the tape.
How to remove a whitefly
It is quite difficult to get rid of the insect, since it is resistant to many compounds. Unfavorable conditions for the whitefly include low temperatures and drought. Therefore, the culture should be transferred to a cool place and do not water until the soil is completely dry.
Use traps
First of all, it is worth hanging traps near the windowsill that will help catch pests.
Leaf washing
When most insects are trapped, all branches and leaves of the crop should be washed. The plant should be placed in a bath, and the foliage should be rinsed from the remaining larvae and insects.
Spraying plants with a solution of systemic insecticides
Then you need to treat the foliage and soil with insecticides. The prepared solution should be watered and sprayed on the green part of the flower.
Actellik
To cope with the whitefly, you can use Actellic insecticide. It will be possible to literally destroy parasites in a few minutes after treatment. To make a useful solution, the ampoule with the substance must be mixed with 2 liters of water. After using the product, it is recommended to ventilate the room.
confidant
It is an effective remedy that helps get rid of many dangerous insects. To destroy soil larvae, you need to take 2 grams of the substance and mix with 9 liters of water. It is recommended to process the plant within a month. This is done at 4 day intervals.
Mospilan
This tool helps to quickly destroy dangerous insects. To make a useful solution, you need to take 1 gram of the product and mix it with 2 liters of water.
Fufanon
The drug Fufanon helps to successfully cope with pests. To make a useful solution, you need to take 1 milliliter of product and mix it with 1 liter of water. Place the finished composition in a spray bottle. Spray the leaves on each side. A day later, the pot with the plant should be returned to its original place.
toxic greenhouse
To get rid of pests, it is useful to use a poisonous greenhouse. To do this, it is recommended to perform the following actions:
- wait for the soil to dry;
- loosen the soil;
- cover the pot with a bag so that it covers all the branches;
- spray a little insecticidal preparation on the floor and in the package - Actellik, Aktara, Dichlorvos are suitable;
- it is important to ensure that the product does not penetrate the leaves and branches of the plant;
- remove packaging after 3.5 hours.
With the help of a poisonous greenhouse, it is possible not only to cope with adult insects, but also to destroy their larvae.
Transfer
If there is a large accumulation of larvae in the soil, it is recommended to transplant the plant into fresh, treated soil. First, the soil in the pot should be loosened and the plant pulled out, avoiding damage to the root system.
All suckers should be rinsed and brushed to remove infected soil. After replanting the culture, it is worth adding fertilizer to the soil.
Prophylaxis
To avoid the appearance of problems, you need to provide the plant with comprehensive and high-quality care.
Moderate watering
It is important to monitor the frequency of watering and control the amount of liquid. It should be borne in mind that the maximum amount of water is used in the summer.The rest of the year, the plant does not need this amount of liquid. You can water the crop when the soil dries to a depth of 2.5 centimeters.
Good drainage
High-quality drainage contributes to the enrichment of the culture with moisture. Thus, it is possible to avoid soil acidification and prevent the decomposition of organic matter.
Soil loosening
The soil in the pot should be loosened periodically. This contributes to the saturation of the soil with oxygen and serves as a reliable prevention of soil rot.
Gnats in houseplants often start. If measures are not taken in time, there is a risk of a significant deterioration in the condition of the culture and even its death. To avoid such troubles, you need to use folk recipes and chemicals in time.