The appearance of midges in indoor flowers. How and with what to remove small midges from indoor flowers: methods

Main favorable condition serves for the appearance of midges high humidity soils from which they flow possible reasons their appearance:

1. Frequent watering and waterlogging of the soil.
2. Contaminated soil or pot after replanting or purchasing in a store.
3. Purchased infected plant.
4. Features of the soil or pot that help retain moisture.
5. Watering the soil with various liquids that provoke rotting processes (tea brewing, coffee grounds).
6. A constantly open window through which infection occurs.

You need to know that midges feed on rotting products, which occurs only in the presence of moisture. Sciriads lay larvae only in moist soil; they die in dry soil.

All methods of control and prevention are based on this. If midges fly over indoor flowers, then do not rush to say goodbye to your green friend.

It is necessary to determine what could influence their occurrence. The most common cases:

• overmoistening of the soil - in the hot season, most housewives often water the plant, thinking that it is drying out.

That’s why water stagnates, and the presence of excess moisture turns into a favorable climate for the appearance of unfortunate pests;

• an open window means flying fungus gnats can fly into your home. Having discovered wet soil, they will happily settle in a flowerpot;
• undisinfected soil is one of the important features of low-quality soil, which lies in the fact that all rotting processes in the substrate have not been completed (the presence of leaf humus residues in the soil).
Such soil is an excellent source for the laying of larvae by pests.

Such midges do not cause any harm to humans. They can neither bite, like flies and mosquitoes, nor suck, like ticks. In humans, they can only cause a feeling of discomfort by flying around the apartment, getting into cups and plates.

But for the plants that you carefully care for, this is a real threat. And it’s not the adults that are scary to them, but the larvae that hatch from eggs laid in the ground. The larvae can damage the roots of flowers, as a result, the process of rotting and slow withering of the plant will begin.

A large population of larvae is quite capable of making the soil in a pot or flowerpot airtight and dense. And then the question of how to combat pests arises most acutely.

Knowing the reasons why midges can appear, you can prevent their appearance, and not then get rid of uninvited guests. Let's look at the most common ones:

1. Waterlogging of the soil.

Stagnation creates a favorable climate for the growth of pest populations. This is especially true in summer time when plants need frequent watering and housewives heartily moisten them without waiting for the soil to dry out.

2. Open windows.
Fungus gnats easily fly into an apartment through an open window and choose a place to live flower pot.

3. Poor quality soil.

Often the soil for houseplants contains remains of leaf humus, i.e. the decay processes are not completed. And this favorite treat for fungus gnat larvae.

4. Using home remedies to fertilize the soil, such as tea leaves or coffee.

The fact is that increased soil moisture is a favorable condition for the maturation of larvae and their further reproduction. Often contaminated soil is sold in stores.

Well, of course, midges can appear in flowers if a window is open in the house and insects have free access to flower pots. That is why many professionals advise installing in the summer Mosquito nets, which prevent the appearance of sciarids and other harmful insects in pots.

Types of midges on flowers

Emerging pests can be detected with the naked eye. The most common are white midges (porodids or springtails). They can be observed on the surface of the flooded soil or at the foot of the flowerpot. Porody small size(0.2-1mm) predominantly white or yellowish-brown in color.

They are very active, constantly jumping on the leaves of their green friend. Their deposited larvae can cause irreparable damage to the root system house plant. White midges on indoor flowers mainly appear in winter or in early spring when moisture does not evaporate very quickly from the surface of the earth. In addition to white pests, black midges can also appear.

Sciarids are small midges that fly annoyingly over green spaces.

They are harmless to humans, but cause great discomfort, as they fly throughout the living space, constantly getting into plates of food and cups of tea. But for the plant and soil, they are very dangerous. A large number of larvae can cause damage to the root system of the flower, as well as make the soil airtight and more dense.

If you see translucent worms 2-5 mm long in the ground. with a black dot on the head, then these are sciarids. Black midges in flowers may appear if you prefer to fertilize plants with folk remedies, such as tea leaves, rotted leaves or other organic matter. Pests can also be introduced by using undisinfected soil for replanting flowers.

Plant species favored by pests

Experienced flower growers claim that midges do not attack all varieties of flowers. For example, springtails prefer plants with soft leaves, such as fuchsias, begonias, etc. Sciarides, on the contrary, take root at the roots of plants with dense leaves: violets, azaleas, ficus, and others.

This problem is often encountered by indoor plant lovers. Midges are not only aesthetically unpleasant, but also harm the root system of the flower. If the fight is not started in time, the plant may die.

Types of midges living in indoor flowers

Most often we are forced to deal with two varieties of these insects:

White midges (poduras, springtails)

These are insects white, whose body dimensions do not exceed 1 mm. They are very active: and although they cannot fly, they jump very quickly on the leaves of the plant. They love high humidity, so they are easy to spot on the surface of the filled soil, in the tray of the pot. Pathogenic fungi may appear from the waste products of white midges left on the back of the leaf. These insects carry and infect flowers with viral infections, and their larvae damage the root system of the plant.

Sciarids (fungus gnats)

These small black flies flying over the flower are harmless. The plant is destroyed by larvae located in the soil and feeding on the sap of the roots. They also cause deterioration in the quality of the soil: its compaction, insufficient oxygen saturation due to reduced air permeability. Externally, the larvae look like small worms, up to 3 mm in length, translucent with a black dot on the head.

Reasons for appearance

1. Usage purchased soil already infested with larvae. The same applies to flowers purchased along with the pot.
2. Possibility of entering the home. A midge flies into the house from the street through open windows or from the basement through various cracks, as well as from ventilation holes and hoods.
3. Excess moisture in the soil. High humidity– a favorite environment for the reproduction and life of small insects.
4. The presence of a rotting process. Midges love soil fertilized with mullein infusion, organic fertilizers, including the much-loved coffee and tea supplements.

How to get rid of flower midges

There are 2 ways to solve the problem: use special chemicals or apply traditional methods. The effectiveness of the chemicals is quite high, but they can be dangerous to others. If people prone to allergies, small children or pets live in your home, then it is better to use traditional methods.

How to remove midges using special means

Manufacturers offer a wide range of chemicals to control various pests. How to use the drug is described in detail in the instructions for it. Among universal remedies, effective against any type of midges, can be called “Dichlorvos”, “Raptor”, “Raid”, “Neo”. Solutions prepared from such drugs as “Grom-2”, “Aktara”, “Bazudin”, “Aktellik”, etc. also cope well with their task.

There is one interesting and effective way. You can use both a spray and a prepared solution for it. If insects are found only in the soil, then place the flower pot in plastic bag, spray the selected product onto the surface of the soil and tie the bag tightly, completely covering the flowerpot. After 5 hours the midges will die. The same method is also suitable when harmful bugs have attacked the entire plant. Here you will have to take a large bag so that the flower can fit in it. Treat the soil with a chemical and also inner part the package itself, but not the plant! Tie the bag tightly, you will get something like a small greenhouse. The insects will be destroyed in 5–10 hours.

Traditional methods

Here are the simplest and most common methods:

1. Gently wash the leaves and trunk of the plant with a solution of laundry soap, or better yet, tar soap.
2. Chop 3 cloves of garlic, add 1 liter of water and let steep for 4 days. Ready solution water the soil in the pot and spray the green part of the plant.
3. Water the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
4. Stick cut cloves of garlic or pieces of orange peel into the ground.
5. Place matches around the perimeter of the flowerpot, place the sulfur head in the ground, and water the plant. For an average pot, 4 pieces will be enough. After 1-2 days, check the matches: if the sulfur has disappeared, put on new ones. Repeat the procedure for a week.
6. Dill twigs or seeds will repel pests.
7. Hang fly sticks near the flower. All adults will be caught on them.
8. Scatter wood ash over the surface of the soil.

If there are too many midges, and none of the methods helps, then you should replace the soil in the pot. Throw away the contaminated soil, completely emptying the flowerpot, and treat the container with a disinfectant solution. Wash the plant with soapy water and inspect it to ensure that no adult specimens remain on it. And the last step is to plant the plant in new disinfected soil.

Preventive measures

1. Do not overdo it with watering, avoid stagnation of water. Water the plants only when the top layer of soil becomes dry. Drain the water from the pan in a timely manner.
2. Periodically loosen the soil in the flower pot. This helps saturate the earth with oxygen and also prevents the process of decay.
3. Don't get carried away with feeding plants with organic matter. Remove dried and fallen leaves.
4. Before planting a plant in a pot, be sure to disinfect the soil, even ready-made soil from the store.
5. Inspect your plants regularly. At the first sign of the appearance of midges, immediately begin fighting them.
6. If there is a high risk of midges, treat the area around the flower with a special chalk for cockroaches such as “Mashenka”.

Video

Which method helped you? Write to us in the comments.

Now in any city there are dozens of flower shops that provide the buyer with flowers at different price, size and uniqueness.

Everyone in their home has at least a few flowers needed to decorate their apartment. But it often happens that plants get sick. The cause of such ailments, as a rule, is black midges in flower pots, which grow in the soil of the plant. From the article you will learn how to quickly get rid of midges in flowers.

Why do midges appear in indoor plants?

Just like with people, before you start “treatment”, you need to find out the cause of the appearance of midges.

Such reasons may be:

• Excessive watering of flowers, as midges multiply quickly in wet soil.
• Often stores sell already contaminated soil; this may be a flower ready for you in a pot.
• The presence of certain components in the soil that maintain too much moisture.
• Black midges can fly into your house, and later into a flower through an open window.
• Watering the plant with liquids not intended for this purpose.

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Types of midges in indoor flowers

There are two types of midges in flower pots - black and white:

1. White midges. White flies accumulate on the surface of the pot, making them difficult to miss. It won’t be difficult to see the midges, as they are quite impressive size and stand out for their light color. Such white midges are usually called springtails. This type of pest is very active. They constantly move around the plant from one place to another. Such midges appear either in winter or spring, due to the fact that at these times the atmosphere is very humid.
2. Black midges. Black midges can fly both on the street and around the apartment. For flowers, midges are harmless creatures. Their larvae harm the plant and cause damage to the roots. It is already more difficult to notice them, since they are not very noticeable in size. But they can be detected when they fly around the plant, and they do this often. They will not bring harm to humans, but from such midges we will feel constant discomfort in the apartment, since these pests periodically get into human food or eyes. Black midges cause great harm to flowers. Their larvae are capable of short term damage the root system of the plant.

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Favorite plant species that are affected by midges

It is customary for qualified gardeners to notice that each type of midge has its own preferences for plants.

For example, black midges love flowers that have dense leaves. These are flowers such as violet, ficus and others. Springtails, on the other hand, prefer plants with soft foliage, such as begonias. But if midges have already appeared in the soil, then it is worth noting that they will continue to multiply in it, regardless of whether the soil is favorable for them or not.

How to get rid of fruit and flower midges?

People often believe that the appearance of midges in an apartment directly depends on how dusty it is, but this is not true.

To prevent the appearance of midges, it is necessary to wash vegetables and fruits before putting them on the table. After such disinfection, it is necessary to wipe the products with a towel. But detailed instructions about that in home colors will be a little lower.

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How to get rid of whiteflies?

Methods to combat whitefly:

• The flower on which you found pests must be set aside from others and your entire collection inspected, since midges may also be found on other flowers.
• The top soil in the pot needs to be changed.
• Before treating with one or another product, it is necessary to treat the leaves of the plant with a special solution.

Plants that cannot be wiped this way should be spray chemicals. Even if you find a pest on only one flower, it will still be necessary to treat absolutely every flower.

In addition, you need to frequently wipe windows and window sills. You also need to constantly inspect the plants, throw out pest eggs and catch the whiteflies themselves. These rules must be followed for 70 days.

Insecticides

To get rid of midges, the following drugs, called insecticides, are used:

1. Fly eater– this is one of the best in flower pots. It rids the plant of larvae and adult individuals; midges die very quickly: within two days. Distinctive feature The benefit of the drug is that it does not cause any harm to the soil at all.
2. Inta-vir is a drug widely used against pests such as black and white midges. Inta-vir has a deadly effect on nervous system pest, causing it to die. A plant can be treated with this preparation only if you are 100% sure that it has midges.
3. Grom-2- Very effective drug to get rid of midges. Experts recommend this particular product to control pests in your flowers. The drug is most effective, all because it is produced in granules. The fight against insects takes about five days.
4. Aktara- a well-known insecticide that is most effective when sprayed. By using such a drug, you will block the insects’ source of food within the first 30 minutes. The effect, destructive for pests, occurs within 24 hours. The product does not cause any harm to flowers.
5. – designed to get rid of midges from flowers and soil. This drug is effective for 24 hours. Before use, you will need to adjust your sprayer to such an extent that very fine droplets are produced. It is strictly not recommended to mix with other products; discard the packaging after use and rinse the sprayer thoroughly.
6. Agravertine- One of the best means to combat whiteflies. Paralyzes both eggs and adult midges, subsequently having a fatal effect on pests. It is not recommended to take a dosage less or more than what is indicated on the package, since too low a dose will not give the desired effect, and too large a dose can destroy the plant.

Folk remedies

In the fight against midges, many folk remedies are often used, sometimes they can even have a greater effect than the chemicals you buy in the store.

Most used traditional methods- This:

1. Soap solution. In order to prepare this solution, you will need laundry soap. Using a regular kitchen grater, or any device convenient for you, grind the soap. After which, you need to mix soap and water in a ratio of 1:6. You need to beat the resulting liquid well, and to such an extent that it becomes foam. Then take a dish sponge or something that can absorb various liquids, dip it in the resulting solution and wipe the plants with it. It is also recommended to treat the upper level of the soil with this substance. After such treatment, the effect is noticeable within the first day.
2. Wood ash. Experienced flower growers recommend and praise such a folk remedy as wood ash. Grind the wood ash and mix it with five liters of water. The infusion needs to stand for about five hours. Then take 50 grams of soap and mix it with the resulting infusion, then all that is required of you is to spray all the plants with the resulting preparation. You can also use another recipe for preparing an infusion of wood ash: pour boiling water over 250 grams of zala. After the liquid has cooled, you need to strain it and spray the flowers.

Soap solution and wood ash are some of the most effective folk remedies for midges, but not the only ones.

If you are not satisfied with these remedies for any reason, then here are a few more popular methods:

1. Garlic infusion. Take 2-3 garlic cloves and chop them, then mix with a liter clean water and remove the broth to a place where it will be in the shade. After a day, you need to strain the infusion and spray the plants.
2. Tobacco infusion. Shake out all the tobacco from regular cigarettes and fill it with a liter of warm (but not hot) water. This liquid must be placed in a dark place and waited for five days, then strained, and the product will be ready for spraying. It is worth noting that you can spray flowers in this way only once every three days. If you follow the recipe, the midges will disappear in the near future.

Prevention

One of the most well-known and effective preventive measures is loosening the soil and monitoring the increase or decrease in humidity levels.

We must not forget that a humid environment for midges is perfect place for settlement and reproduction, so you don’t need to water the flowers too often, as this will cause the soil to rot. When the top layer of soil is dry, the midge larvae simply die. You need to drain the soil, then the liquid will not be absorbed in the upper layers. This will protect your flowers from rotting and various precipitations.

Many gardeners recommend loosening the soil as often as possible. This will allow the roots located on the lower layers to get enough air. If you comply this rule, then you can forget about soil rotting forever. You can tell if the soil is bad by white plaque on its surface.

Naturally, If you find midge larvae and already adult individuals, then the most sensible thing to do would be to change the soil. But without using the above chemicals You should not replant, as they will protect the plant.

It would also be quite reasonable to treat plants by various means(a list of them can be found above), which you can buy in specialized gardening stores.

According to the instructions, such substances cannot be used for preventive purposes, but in fact, the use of such drugs will only protect your plant.

Conclusion

So we can say for sure that midges in flower pots can and should be fought with both folk and chemical means. But before you start “treating” your plant, you need to carry out preventive methods, which are also indicated in the article.

People often wonder: Do flowerpot midges bite? These are all myths, in fact they are harmless creatures for humans, but, as is already known, they can cause great harm a plant or your huge collection of flowers.

The main secret in the fight against midges in flowers- this means that everything needs to be done strictly in the order listed in the article, using only well-known drugs or experienced folk methods.

Not good experienced gardeners They are often afraid for their plants because midges have appeared in them, but there is nothing wrong with this if you notice it at first, and it is very difficult not to notice clusters of these pests.

If you know that this or that plant from your collection is often subject to “attacks” of insects, then for the purpose of prevention it would not be superfluous to treat the flowers with all sorts of preparations, but strictly in the dosages indicated on the packaging.