Fight against flower midge on houseplants. Midges in indoor flowers - how to get rid of at home? Chemical agents for the fight against midges

Every flower grower is familiar with this small flying misfortune. Sooner or later, a flying trifle starts up in flower pots, and sometimes it is not easy to survive it from there. To successfully control a pest, you need to understand the reasons for its appearance. It is not enough to think of how to bring out flower midges. We must learn to avoid its appearance.

Flower midge: who is she?

Do not confuse flower midges with fruit ones. The fruit fly, or Drosophila, is somewhat larger, looks plump and businesslike. Drosophila feeds on yeast cultures, starts in rotting fruit, wine and beer residues, and sour food residues. She is indifferent to flowers and carries absolutely no danger to them on her wings.

A completely different matter is the flower midge. Tiny, little black dots stupidly pushing near flower pots, the adult fly itself is safe for plants. But from the eggs laid in the soil, voracious larvae of flower midges hatch, which feed on young plant roots.

With a strong infection, the larvae can completely destroy the roots and the flower will die.

Reasons for the appearance

There are only two reasons:

poor-quality soil infected with larvae;
over watering the plant.

You can bring an infected plant from a flower shop, or transplant it into poorly cultivated soil. Midges can start in any pot if the soil is constantly moist.

If you do not notice the appearance of flower midges in time, after a while a whole swarm of unpleasant insects will curl around the flowers.

Folk pest control methods

The people, as you know, are much more inventive. Not all ways to get midges out work flawlessly, but in most cases, folk notions justify themselves.

Dry the soil. In dry soil, the larvae die, and adult flies will not lay new eggs in dry soil. If the plant infested with gnat larvae is a succulent, you just need to stop watering it until the soil is completely dry. Then the surface is sprinkled with clean calcined sand or glass granules, after which you can water the plant with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. A layer of sand on top of the soil is generally capable of preventing the ground from laying eggs by the flower fly.
Take a few ordinary matches and stick them head down into upper layer soil, water lightly. As the head dissolves, replace the matches with fresh ones. Usually 4 changes of matches are enough.
Spread fresh garlic cut into thin slices on the surface of the soil or pour garlic infusion over the soil.
Water the plant with a mild soap solution. Only to prepare the solution, you need to take not liquid or toilet soap, but the simplest household soap.
Use your favorite folk remedy for everything in the world - Vietnamese Asterisk balm. Midges terribly do not like its pungent smell. Lubricate the edges of the pot with balm, and put a few pieces of paper soaked in odorous substance on the surface of the soil. It has a similar effect on flower midges essential oil tea tree.
If none of the suggested methods helped to get the midges out of the flowers, transplant the plants. When transplanting, thoroughly clean root system from the soil and rinse in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. Throw away the old soil. Change the vase. Warm fresh soil well in the oven. Water gently afterwards to avoid over-wetting.

Agrochemicals

The chemicals offered in flower shops for pest control are quite effective. But they have one major drawback - they are harmful not only to midges, but also to people.

Majority chemical substances require caution when using, the use of protective equipment and excellent ventilation.

You can spray your flowers with any of the flying and crawling insecticides. You can cover the plant plastic bag, after spraying, tie tightly and hold for a day.
From special means the most effective are Grom-2, Aktellik and Mukhoed. "Aktellik" is used for spraying and watering, the granules of the drug "Grom-2" are mixed with the topsoil. When using all agricultural chemicals, you must strictly follow the instructions!

And in order to timely notice the appearance of harmful flying trifles, place pieces of sticky tape for flies near indoor flowers.

It is difficult to imagine an apartment in which there would not be at least a few pots of flowers - they are in almost every house. But besides the pleasure of contemplating your favorite green pets, there are also problems associated with caring for them. One such problem is the flower midge, which causes significant damage to plants, leading them to disease.

And now the owner of the home greenhouse faces the question of how to get rid of midges in indoor flowers.

Why do midges start in flowers

Caring for plants at home is not as easy as it seems. It is necessary to follow the rules defined for each flower, attention to detail and a great love for flowers. Some people believe that they have a "heavy hand" and are not able to grow flowers. But this is not the case if you carefully study the issue and follow the recommendations. First of all, you need to decide whether you are ready to properly water, fertilize in a timely manner, replant plants correctly, or will there be no time or reluctance to do this? If you are ready to pay attention to plants, if you want to create additional comfort in your home with the help of green pets, then you must be ready not only to receive joy from them, but also to protect them from various pests such as the flower midge.

Important! Most of these insects do not harm the flowers "personally", but lay their larvae in the ground or the plant itself. But the juice from the roots or leaves, causing great harm to the flower, causing rotting and death of plants.

Seeing that midges have started up in indoor flowers, you should not say goodbye to the plants, preparing to take them to the trash - it is not at all difficult to save them. To remove midges on your own, it is important to find out why they arose. Most often this happens for the following reasons:

High soil moisture. In the heat, many housewives water the flowers more often than usual, assuming that he does not have enough water. Water stagnates, are created favorable conditions for the appearance of midges;
window open. Indoor midges can get into the house through the window. Having found suitable conditions, they happily celebrate a housewarming party;
The soil has not been disinfected.. Poor-quality soil is characterized, among other things, by the fact that the decomposition of all components has not been completed in it and undecayed foliage remains in it. Such soil is an excellent place for the development of larvae.

Types of flower midges

Midges in flowers are visible even to the naked eye. In indoor plants, two types predominate.

White midges

Most often, white midges (pords, fruit flies,) live in flowers. You can find them at the surface of waterlogged soil or at the very foot of a flower pot. Their various types can be seen in the photo.

Porods are small insects up to 1 mm long. Most often white or yellowish-brown. Active pests jumping on sheets. The larvae cause irreparable harm to the plant if they are not dealt with in time. These midges on flowers appear mainly in winter time or in early spring, when moisture does not evaporate so quickly from the ground.

sciarids

Sometimes black midges are visible in the flowers. Most often these are sciarids flying over the plant. They are not harmful to humans, but they are very annoying, flying around the house, falling into food and drinks. Despite the harmlessness to humans, they are very dangerous for a flower. A huge number of larvae damage the roots, compact the earth, making it difficult for air to penetrate into it. The plant turns yellow, the leaves curl, the appearance becomes “crumpled”. If almost transparent worms up to half a centimeter long are visible in the soil, then it is infected with sciarids, which must be destroyed as soon as possible.

Black midges start up in the soil if you fertilize the flower using "old-fashioned" methods: tea brewing, humus, and other organic waste. Pests can get into the house with purchased soil which is poorly sanitized.

Flowers loved by midges

Experienced breeders say that not all plants are attacked by midges. So, springtails settle only on those plants in which soft leaves: begonia, fuchsia, etc. Sciarids love to live on flowers that have a dense green structure: azalea, violet, ficus, Decembrist and the like.

Aloe midge almost does not touch, she does not like tobacco and mint flavors.

How to deal with midges in indoor flowers

Folk methods

This is the most safe ways for a person. The most common are those that do not require the purchase of complex ingredients.

Chemical remedies for flower midges

If all known methods have been tried, but the result has not been achieved, it is time to get rid of flower midges with the help of chemicals. In any hardware store you can find a large number of different ones. Any consultant will advise which one is better to purchase.

Most commonly used:

Dichlorvos: Raid, Heo, Raptor. All these remedies are suitable for any kind of flower midge.
Solutions: Aktara, Fitoverim, Agravertin, Kinmiks, Inta-Vir, Karbofos, Aktellik.

Before starting the treatment of the plant, it is necessary to study the instructions attached to the product, since the application of each of them has its own characteristics. If the midges in the ground are destroyed by the solution, then after using it, you can not water the flower for at least three days.

If in indoor flower midges are bred, and you decide to use chemicals, it is important to adhere to safety recommendations. When working, always wear gloves, goggles, a gown and a respirator.

Prevention

In order not to wonder what to do if midges are wound up, it is important to carry out prevention, preventing the appearance of a pest. Feedback on the behavior of insects makes it possible to draw conclusions about the most important steps for prevention are the following steps:

Do not overfill. The most important thing is to adjust the frequency and volume of watering. Keep in mind that in summer the plant requires a little more moisture, but there should not be a “swamp” in the pot either.
To prevent small midges from starting, it is important to timely and regularly loosen the soil. This will supply the roots with oxygen and prevent soil rotting.
Humidity. Before watering the flowers, you need to make sure that they really need it.
Drainage. It allows you to enrich yourself with water, preventing the soil from sour and the organic matter remaining in the pot to rot.

If you suspect the appearance of "guests" at the flower, you should use one of the folk remedies or purchase suitable remedy in the shop. Most importantly, it is necessary as soon as possible to destroy the midge before it causes irreparable harm.

Midges in the ground of indoor plants or in their flowers may appear if you do not follow the basic rules for their care. Such insects not only spoil appearance flowerpots, and can cause their death. Therefore, if you have identified midges on your windowsill, try to get rid of them using folk remedies or special substances from well-known manufacturers.

Why do these pests appear on flowerpots?

Midges in flowers and on the soil surface of flowerpots may appear in the following cases:

poor quality soil for planting flowers. It may contain particles of not completely rotted plants, which will later become a breeding ground for insects;
use for watering tea or other liquids other than water;
transplanting flowerpots into too large a pot. In this case, in its lower part, the soil is too moist, since the roots of the plant cannot absorb water at this level;
intensive watering of the soil. Stagnation of water in the soil provokes putrefactive processes that attract insects;
use of organic endorsements.

It should also be borne in mind that insects do not appear on all house plants. These pests love indoor flowers that have soft leaves. These include begonia, fuchsia and others. And some varieties, on the contrary, prefer flowerpots with fleshy leaves - violet, ficus, azalea.

Midges on indoor flowers

Varieties of midges

The following types of insects can start on flowerpots:

white midges are springtails. These insects most often appear on the surface of the soil or near the bottom of the stems of plants that have been watered too abundantly. Most often they are found in winter or in the first half of spring, when moisture from flowerpots does not evaporate so intensively;
black midges are sciarids. Not dangerous to humans, but can cause poor growth or flower death. They lay larvae in the ground, which negatively affect the root system of the flowerpot.

How to deal with these insects folk remedies?

If you have black midges or other types of insects, getting rid of them is quite simple. To do this, you can even use improvised tools that can be found in any home.

The most popular methods of dealing with such annoying pests are considered:

How to overcome insects with purchased products?

If midges are wound up, it is not always possible to get rid of them folk remedies. In this case, purchased preparations will be more effective, which will quickly and without harm to plants and people kill all insects. The most popular means against midges are:

Prevention methods

To prevent the appearance of midges, you must adhere to the following recommendations.

If, while watering your biological kingdom, you suddenly find flying midges, then a feeling of annoyance immediately arises, and then the question is how to get rid of midges in flowers? In this article, I will talk about the most effective ways struggle. And by following the instructions, you will save your blooming pets.

Midges - a threat to plant life

Almost 30 genera of midges in indoor flowers are a threat to plants. The white midge harms the ground part of the flower, and the black one (its larvae) destroys the roots. Therefore, if the plant has stopped growing or has lost its healthy appearance, we will look for pests.

Let's shake the pot. They will scatter from an infected plant. If not, then examine the soil. To do this, pour water into the flowerpot so that it stands a centimeter above the ground. And, if midges appeared in the flowers, then a little later their larvae, eggs will emerge.

Why do midges start

If on indoor plants If you find insects, you must first eliminate the cause of the problem, and then start fighting the midges.

Let's see why midges can settle on their favorite plants:

Came from outside: flew in from the street or from the basement. And, perhaps, you have acquired an already infected plant.

These pests are brought with purchased flowers. This means that new plants should be quarantined, even ifground surfaceclean.

Arose from acidification of the soil. The soil was already infected with larvae, but it was not disinfected before planting. And acidification of the soil is caused by a lack of drainage.
Waterlogging: Plants should be watered in moderation.
Close standing plants become infected from such crowding. After all, the air circulates badly here. And ventilation is a preventive measure.

Organic fertilizers accelerate the reproduction of pests. So don't abuse them.
Humid air from fumes, temperatures over 20 degrees are also the causes of the appearance of insects.

How to get rid of black flies

If black small insects appeared on indoor plants, we start the fight immediately! These are sciarids, flies, mushroom mosquitoes of the Diptera order. And while still larvae, they feed on roots.

Mosquitoes have an elongated dark body (4 mm), long whiskers. The female in flower pots leaves 300 translucent whitish eggs. They turn into larvae - white 5 mm worms with a black head and no legs.

Effective ways

Isolation of an infected flower will protect the rest of the houseplants. It is with this that we will begin the fight against mushroom mosquitoes and other harmful trifles. However, one-time preventive treatment for plant neighbors is also necessary.

And here is how to get rid of midges in flowers already infected:

One-time water the soil with any insecticide (Aktelik, Aktara, Fitoverm, Tanrek).
Also, flower growers recommend granules of the special preparation "Flycat". And the instructions will indicate the amount needed for the soil.

If there is an indication on the package "for combating soil flies" - it means that the composition is designed specifically for this problem.

It is better to get a young plant out of the pot and rinse the roots. Then replace the soil in the pot. Larvae die (all!) at -15 degrees. In winter, we can disinfect the soil by taking it outside.
In places where pests fly, we will hang sticky tapes. This is how we catch adults.

When midges in indoor flowers are already flying in clouds, Raptor and Dichlorvos aerosols will cope with them.
We mark the edges of the pot with crayons from cockroaches. Sprinkle the same product in the form of a powder with a thin layer on the ground.
Water the diseased flower as little as possible. The larvae of black midges and other pests disappear from the drought.

Folk methods for the destruction of midges

Try to apply recipes from improvised folk remedies that exterminate pests:

Potassium permanganate (a pinch) with 2 tablespoons of baking soda is soluble in 10 liters of water. We water the soil with this solution of potassium permanganate for 2 weeks, then the larvae will die. But we spray the plant only with clean water!

With a soapy solution (100 g of laundry or green soap and 500 ml of water), moisten a napkin and wipe the affected leaves and trunk home flower. Adult pests will die.
Alkaline solutions from laundry soap afraid of sciarids and miner flies. Soap covers the plant with a film of acids that are harmful to insects. At the same time, be sure to water the plant with a manganese solution in order to simultaneously destroy the larvae.

Laundry soap - effective remedy from insects

Small midges do not tolerate sulfur. Just arrange matches in a pot so that the heads rise 1 cm above the ground. When watering, a sulfuric smell frightening sciarids will appear. But here, manganese irrigation is also necessary.

Citrus peels, chopped and dried, will also scare away flying pests. Just stick the crusts into the pot.

Sliced garlic cloves pressed into the ground will also help.
Dill twigs or seeds on the ground will release home plant from harmful flyers.
Sprinkle ground hot pepper on the ground.

Tobacco infusion will exterminate adult mosquitoes. They need to spray the affected house plant for a month. Pour 50 g of tobacco into 1 liter of water, leave for 2 days and add another liter of water to the filtered infusion.

How to deal with white midges

200 species of these pests are known. Formerly living in warm climates, these white midges have now adapted everywhere. They spoil our vegetables, flowers, especially greenhouse ones.

Small (2 mm) white moths have wings, as it were, covered with wax and flour. Their gray oval and slightly flattened larvae rush around non-stop for 15 hours in search of food. It is dangerous if midges of this species are wound up, because the wax shell protects the larvae from insecticides. So it's pointless to fight them.

Coolness and drought are their enemies. When the wax capsule swells, it means the insect is maturing. Now we must defeat midges in indoor flower beds.

So, if white insects are wound up in the land of indoor plants, we act in a complex way:

we hang fly traps near the infected flower;
remove areas inhabited by larvae;
wash with soapy water from the surviving leaves of the egg;
loosen the top soil.

Then with our own hands we will process the flower with insecticides or folk remedies.

Effective insecticide control methods

I'll tell you how to get midges out of indoor flowers with insecticides:

You can pour shampoo into the insecticide solution. And greenhouse workers advise to diluteweak solutionlaundry soap to prolong the effect of the insecticide. Shampoo or soap will stick this drug to the leaves.

Folk methods from white midges

At the beginning of infection from a fly in a flower pot, folk recipes will help:

Yarrow (100 grams) steamed with a liter of boiling water. We insist for a day, filter and spray the leaves.
Wormwood (3 tablespoons) is steamed with a glass of boiling water, and after 2 hours we wash the affected leaves with a decoction.
Dandelion (30 g of its roots and 40 g of leaves) is poured with a liter of cold water, and after 6 hours we spray it with infusion of the plant - 1 time in 2 weeks.
Garlic (10 g crushed) for a day, insist in a liter of water and spray the affected leaves.

With a soapy solution (100 g of laundry or green soap and 500 ml of water), moisten a napkin and wipe the affected leaves and the trunk of a home flower. Then adult pests will die.

whitefly attracts yellow. This means that we will smear the yellow paper with Vaseline, in which the flies will get stuck.

Prevention

So, having learned how to get midges out of indoor flowers, we understand that it is easier to prevent infection:

frequent inspections of greenhouse pets;
watering only after the top layer has dried;
constant draining of excess standing water from the pan;
loosening the soil for oxygen access;
treatment with a manganese solution or boiling water of a container for planting.

Purchasing a new copy:

we calcine the soil in the oven or freeze it in the freezer, from which the larvae will die;
the bottom of the pot is lined with crushed expanded clay, pebbles or coarse sand;
we will free the drainage holes;
wood ash in pots will repel pests.

We take care of it like this:

we remove dried and fallen leaves;
fertilizing, we are not fond of organic matter;

Tea leaves and coffee grounds are a dubious fertilizer that accelerates the reproduction of flies!

if necessary, frequent watering will cover the ground with coarse sand, which dries quickly, and with it - laying eggs;
Treated plants are kept cool and dry.

Conclusion

Now, after reading this article, you can easily deal with midges and free your green pets from them. Information from the video in this article will also be useful. And all questions on our topic ask in the comments - I will answer!

Modern flower shops offer a huge selection of indoor plants, from the most common violets to rare imported flowers with obscure names. All of them are designed to decorate rooms and delight the owners and guests.

But sometimes plants get sick, one of the most common causes is black and white midges that start in the soil. In this article, you will learn why midges start in the ground of indoor plants and how to rid flower pots of these insects.

Why do midges start in the land of indoor plants

Before deciding what to do if midges are wound up in the ground near indoor flowers, you need to find out the reason for their appearance. The reasons may be:

Too frequent watering of flowers. For midges, the ground is too wet - an ideal place for life and reproduction.
Infected soil brought from the store. And this may be new ground for transplanting plants or soil in a pot with a new flower.
The presence of components in the soil that retain excess moisture.
Watering plants with liquids not intended for this. For example, the well-known tea brewing.
Opened window. One of the types of midges (black midges) can easily fly in from the street.

Two types of midges can live in flower pots: black and white. Black midges (sciarids) fly over the pot and all over the room. The midges themselves do not harm the plant, their larvae, which are in the ground, damage the roots.

White midges (podura, earthen fleas) "flood" the entire surface of the earth in a pot. If such midges are wound up in a flower pot, it is difficult not to notice them.

How to get rid of midges in flower pots

Allocate physical, chemical and folk remedies for midges in flower pots. Physical disposal of midges involves:

Complete replacement of the soil in the pot with a new one. In this way, you can immediately and completely get rid of midges in the ground of indoor plants, but this must be done very carefully so as not to damage the roots. In addition, it is necessary to treat the pot with boiling water and soapy water.
Partial soil replacement. If there are few midges, only the topsoil can be replaced.
Using adhesive tapes to kill flying midges.

Chemicals midge control - these are special preparations sold in flower shops. The use of such tools allows you to quickly and completely get rid of midges. But potent substances can harm plants, so you need to strictly follow the instructions.

In the fight against midges in pots of indoor plants, insecticides such as Mukhoed, Inta-vir, Thunder-2, Aktara, Fufanon, Agravertin, Fitoverm will help. In addition to the fact that the use of chemicals to combat midges gives good result, residues of substances in the soil do not allow new pests to appear and multiply.

Folk remedies for midges in flower pots

There are many recipes for how to get rid of midges in flower pots with folk remedies. One of them is watering the plants with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Another widely used remedy for getting rid of midges in flower pots is a solution of laundry or tar soap.

An interesting way to deal with midges is to use ordinary matches. They need to be placed in the ground with their heads down so that the sulfur dissolves into the ground.

In addition, to combat small pests use:

wood ash, which is sprinkled on the surface;
tobacco - also distributed over the surface of the soil;
chopped cloves of garlic, placed cut-side down on the ground;
orange peel.

And in order to prevent the appearance of midges in pots with indoor plants, you need to properly water the flowers without flooding, remove dead leaves and inflorescences in time, periodically loosen the top layer of soil.