Drosophila are small fruit flies. Most often, their habitat is the kitchen, because these pests feed on vegetables, fruits and their juices, and rotting plants.
Even though fruit flies do not bite people or pets, they are still a nuisance. In addition, flies carry many diseases that a person can become infected with through fruits and vegetables eaten by insects.
You can get rid of fruit flies using both folk and professional means. This is not an easy task, but if you act correctly, removing pests will not be difficult.
Where do fruit flies come from?
Before you get rid of fruit flies, you need to know the reasons and ways of their appearance in the house.
All year round, pests live mainly in warm regions of the country. However, in summer, flies are ubiquitous, and even in winter, residents of the middle zone are not immune from their invasion.
Spoiled fruits and vegetables become food for fruit flies, so flies live where there is an abundance of food, and rotten ones at that. Insects do not disdain animal feces, which poses a particular danger to humans. The main habitats of fruit flies are:
- garbage cans, landfills, landfills;
- greenhouses, gardens, vineyards;
- fruit bases;
- places where livestock gather;
- houseplants.
Drosophilas usually don’t settle in houses just like that; this requires favorable conditions. Open juices, wines, spoiled fruits, vegetables, their improper storage, improper care of plants, non-compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards, irregular cleaning in the apartment - all this can lead to clouds of flies, which are very difficult to get rid of.
Drosophila appear indoors in the following ways:
- through ventilation;
- together with fruits, especially spoiled ones;
- on the fur of pets if they walk outside;
- through windows, vents, doors;
- with soil for indoor plants, brought flowers.
It is worth noting that fruit flies do not fly far, so adult flies can appear in an apartment only if there are food depots, landfills and greenhouses near the house. Most often, these pests enter a person’s home in the form of eggs, reaching a size of no more than 0.5 mm, on vegetables, fruits, clothes, wool, etc. Therefore, it will not be possible to completely protect the apartment from insect invasion.
Advice! To prevent the appearance of fruit flies in the house, you need to carefully select products in the store and buy only fresh fruits and vegetables.
Traps from improvised means
Simple devices that will attract fruit flies and prevent them from flying away can be made in 10-20 minutes. Almost everyone has everything needed for this at home. The most popular traps are:
- Glass jar. You need to take a small version of this dish, up to 1 liter (even a glass will do). Pour some juice, wine, beer, liquid jam inside, or place pieces of sour tomato or stale apple. Stretch cling film over the neck and tie it. Use a toothpick to make several holes on top so that the flies can find the entrance to the alluring treat and install it where they accumulate the most.
- Plastic bag. The easiest way to catch fruit flies. Leftover food is also placed in it, and when the main swarm flocks to them, the bag must be quickly closed and tied. If some flew out or simply did not have time to get there, we repeat the procedure. The package and its contents should be immediately taken away from the home. Polyethylene breaks easily and you can lose the collected “treasure”.
- A disposable plastic cup or similar container that you won’t mind throwing away. You need to roll a small cone out of paper and glue it along the seam. Then cut a little paper from the sharp end to make a small hole and insert this structure into the glass with the narrow part down. It is advisable to seal the edges of the container so that insects do not crawl out. The glass also needs to be filled with attracting residues first. If they are in the form of a liquid, you need to make sure that the paper cone does not reach it.
There can be different variations of such traps; it’s easy to come up with them yourself. The main thing is that the “food” is suitable.
Appearance and activity
Drosophila or fruit flies live next to people in apartments and houses, since the most favorable conditions are created for them there.
Flies have several subspecies, but most of their characteristics are the same:
- Length. It does not exceed 3 mm, females are slightly larger than males.
- Color. Most insects are light brown in color, but black, dark brown, yellow and orange individuals are also found. They also have red eyes, dark stripes on the back of the abdomen, and transparent wings that are longer than the body.
- Reproduction. A female Drosophila can lay up to 400 eggs in her life, so the insects reproduce very quickly.
- The lifespan of a fly under favorable conditions is about 2.5 months.
- Larval development. About 10 days pass from the moment the egg is laid until the adult appears, provided that the temperature is above 25°C. Otherwise, the duration of this cycle increases by 2 times.
- Already on the second day after metamorphosis, insects become reproductive, females begin to lay eggs.
- Drosophila don't bite.
- Flies do not tolerate cold. They are able to live only at temperatures above 18°C.
Description
Drosophila flies are very small insects with a body length of 1.5-3 mm. The eyes are red. The body color is yellow-brown with black stripes across the abdomen. In Drosophila, sexual dimorphism is pronounced. Males are much smaller than females. But a young female may also be a small individual. If you manage to catch flies, their sex is determined using a magnifying glass: in males, the tip of the abdomen is completely black. In the paired photo of fruit flies, the distinctive features of the male are clearly visible.
Interesting!
When flying, a female Drosophila sometimes emits a thin squeak, similar to the squeak of a mosquito, but a tone higher.
Are fruit flies dangerous?
The flies themselves are not dangerous to humans: they do not bite, since their jaws are simply unable to bite through even the thinnest skin.
Flies are annoying with their flickering, they constantly come to hand.
However, this is not the most unpleasant consequence that an insect invasion leads to; the danger of fruit flies lies elsewhere. Pests feed on organic matter, including waste from landfills and animal feces, and their sweat. They can contain dangerous bacteria, which flies carry on their legs or proboscis and then leave on food.
Thus, a pathogenic bacterium can enter the human body, which, if the immune system is weakened, will lead to intestinal infections. In addition, eating food with fruit fly eggs on the surface causes diarrhea and nausea, accompanied by a rise in temperature.
Habitat
Before the advent of civilization, fruit flies lived in tropical and subtropical areas, where it was warm and there were a lot of rotting sweet fruits. With the development of civilization, flies retrained as synanthropic species, accompanying humans everywhere. Both adult flies and their eggs spread throughout the world.
Due to the fact that much of the planet is too cold for this type of fly, fruit flies prefer to settle in buildings built by humans. Moreover, people always have food for flies. In the southern regions, flies live in huge numbers in gardens and vineyards. Nobody pays attention to them there, since these flies do not harm healthy fruits. But after the harvest, fruit flies, along with fruit boxes, leave for different parts of the world.
Drosophila have a fairly wide food range. They eat more than just rotten fruit. They easily multiply in dishes with sour food. There are always a lot of them in vegetable warehouses, wineries and beer factories, bakeries, and fruit canning factories. The smell of fermenting yeast attracts flies there.
On a note!
Wine and beer pulp are of interest as a breeding ground for flies. Heaps of wine pomace are a paradise for fruit flies, which, because of this, even received another name: “wine fly.” But flies do not drink wine and beer, although they actively drown themselves in them.
All places favorable for the life of fruit flies are quite far from human habitation. But the flies themselves fly poorly and do not fly further than 200 meters from their place of birth. But fruit flies manage to appear out of nowhere in any home.
Drosophila flies
How to get rid of fruit flies in an apartment?
You can get rid of fruit flies using folk and special remedies. It is best to take a comprehensive approach to solving the problem, otherwise the invasion of flies will repeat itself after a while.
To effectively get rid of insects, you should:
- Figuring out where flies breed and live is where you need to make the most impact.
- Clean the kitchen: throw out spoiled food, clean out trash cans and drains.
- Comply with all food storage conditions.
- Remove fallen, dry leaves from indoor plants, and put rotten flowers in the trash can.
- Wash pets' bowls thoroughly, especially if they contained plant-based foods.
- Treat the kitchen with anti-fly products, paying attention to their habitats.
Attention! The most important step when trying to breed fruit flies is to eliminate their source of food, because without food they cannot survive for long.
Traps
You can get rid of flies using traps; this is one of the simplest and most effective ways. To fix the problem, you need to do the following:
- Choose bait. It can be any spoiled fruit, but it is best to take bananas, apples, honey, and berries. Drosophila are also not against enjoying juices and jams, apple cider vinegar. An excellent solution would be to use fruits that have already been eaten by flies for the trap, because in any case you will have to throw them away.
- Next, you need to place the selected bait in a plastic bag and leave it open in the kitchen, preferably in the place where insects fly most.
- For greater efficiency, you can close the bag, but make small holes in it so that pests can get inside. It will be difficult for them to fly back.
- When a large number of individuals are trapped, you should quickly close the bag if it was open.
- Then you need to throw the trap in a landfill; do not leave it in the trash. If the bag accidentally breaks, the flies will become free and the fight will have to start all over again.
You can make a trap in another equally effective way:
- Cover the bottom of a glass jar with a thick layer of jam or honey.
- Place a sheet of paper rolled into a cone inside so that the narrow end comes out of the opening of the jar.
Attracted by the smell of “goodies,” the flies will crawl into a small hole, but will not be able to get out of it.
There is a third method that will help get rid of annoying flies. It is necessary to mix equal amounts of sweet liquid bait and any detergent, for example, for dishes. Cover a cardboard or an unnecessary plate with this mixture and place it in the kitchen. The flies will eat the bait, and the dishwashing liquid will act as poison.
Chemicals
Professional means will help destroy fruit flies much faster and more effectively than traditional methods and traps. However, some types of chemicals are quite toxic and can cause allergic reactions. Therefore, before using such drugs, carefully read the instructions.
There are many means to help get rid of fruit flies, among them are:
- Raptor. Works on the same principle as traps. It is a sticky tape, the surface of which is treated with a sweet odorous substance that attracts flies. Once on the Velcro, the Drosophila cannot get out of it. This product perfectly helps to get rid of both flies and other types of insects: ants, house flies, mosquitoes.
- Dichlorvos. It is produced in the form of an aerosol, which is sprayed in the habitats of fruit flies. It is noteworthy that Dichlorvos is odorless and is also suitable for getting rid of other types of pests. Before using the spray, you should remove any products that may be exposed to particles. After completing the procedure, you should thoroughly ventilate the room.
- Combat is a fumigator that comes with insect repellent liquid. For the device to start working, you need to connect it to an outlet. Toxic fumes have virtually no effect on humans, but they are good at getting rid of house flies, mosquitoes and midges. However, you should not leave the fumigator near the bed, in the bedroom while sleeping, or in the nursery.
Since most chemicals are quite toxic, do not forget about the following precautions:
- Wear thick protective rubber gloves and a mask when using sprays.
- Keep the sprayed product at arm's length, as far as possible from the respiratory system and mucous membranes.
- If there are symptoms of poisoning (nausea, dizziness, weakness), quickly remove the clothes in which the treatment was carried out, wash your hands thoroughly, rinse your mouth and drink 3-4 tablets of activated carbon.
- If your condition worsens, consult your doctor immediately.
Repellers
Repellers are the most humane, but not the most effective way to combat fruit flies. Such devices use electromagnetic frequencies to which humans are immune, but insects are very sensitive.
Pets also cannot tolerate such radiation, so if you have them in your apartment, you should look for other ways to get rid of pests.
To remove fruit flies, turn on the repeller where they live most often. It is advisable to buy several devices if the room is large or flies have taken over the entire apartment, since the repeller has its own range of action.
There are several brands that have proven themselves:
- EcoSniper;
- EMR;
- WeiTech;
- Hawk.
Folk remedies
Folk remedies help remove fruit flies just as well as professional ones. You can find them in any home, and preparation does not require much effort. In addition, most of these products do not cause allergies.
Smells
Like many pests, fruit flies cannot tolerate the odors of certain plants. Particularly effective will be: tomato tops, geranium, tansy. They need to be placed around the apartment or pots with plants should be placed in the room where flies have appeared. You can also use oils or incense sticks, candles. Flies especially do not like the smells of camphor, ylang-ylang, patchouli, verbena, and cloves.
Indoor flowers can be saved by burying a clove of garlic in the ground. Its smell also helps get rid of flies.
Manganese solution
If fruit flies are infested in plants, you need to wipe the infected flowers with a weak solution of manganese every 2-3 days. Pour the active ingredient with water to obtain a slightly pinkish liquid.
Additional methods
If there were few insects or there was no desire to make something, you can drive out fruit flies with the help of pungent odors. Essential oils and other aromatic agents will help “smoke” them. Midges cannot tolerate :
- pine needles, lavender, citrus fruits (oil should be used in an aroma lamp);
- the smell of heated camphor;
- incense;
- the aroma of dried herbs like wormwood, tansy or lavender.
If you have dried bouquets of similar plants on your farm, you should lay them out or hang them up.
Prevention of Drosophila
To prevent fruit flies from appearing in your apartment, you should follow some rules:
- Carry out both dry and wet cleaning regularly.
- Observe the storage conditions and terms of food products.
- Dispose of food waste immediately.
- Wash dishes immediately after eating, do not leave crumbs or open food in the kitchen.
- Store fruits and vegetables in separate packages in the refrigerator.
- Throw out garbage in a timely manner and prevent it from accumulating in the apartment.
- Periodically wipe houseplants, remove dry leaves, cut off rotting shoots.
- It is important to monitor the water regime of the flowers: do not overdry them or overfill them with liquid.
- Clean and wash pet bowls regularly.
Life cycle of the midge
An insect goes through three stages of development. During growth, the larvae molt twice: 24 and 48 hours after formation. At this time, they feed on the substances of the decomposing fruit and microorganisms involved in this process. After 4-5 days they pupate. They spend another 4-5 days in this state, during which metamorphoses occur that change, develop and prepare the organs for transformation into an imago.
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The first mating in females occurs no earlier than 12 hours after final development. Only from the second day they lay eggs, 50-80 eggs at a time.
Depending on the air temperature, the answer to the question of how long fruit flies live differs. In the warm period - 10 - 20 days, in the cold - up to 2.5 months.
Lemon
Fruit flies are attracted to sour smells. If you have a lemon on hand, use it to catch insects. Trim the edges of the fruit so that it can be placed horizontally when cut.
Take a plastic or glass container with a lid. Squeeze a little lemon juice into it, and place the citrus itself on top. Make a small hole in the lid of the container - large enough so that the fly can easily crawl through it, but small enough so that it cannot find its way back.
Close the container and place it in a place where there is a high concentration of insects. Once there are enough fruit flies inside the trap, pour water into it (through the hole in the lid) and place it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.
Red wine
These fruit flies are such gourmets - they love to pamper themselves with fruit, and they will not refuse red wine. If you have some left at the bottom of the bottle, use it to fight off pesky insects. Place the open bottle in the area where the largest number of flies have accumulated and wait a little.
The smell of wine for fruit flies is like an exquisite aroma of perfume. Once they feel it, they will immediately head inside the bottle. And all you have to do is close it in time and throw it in the trash.
Paper funnel
Place a piece of rotten fruit or a banana peel soaked in beer at the bottom of a glass jar (alcohol attracts flies no less than the aroma of fruit). Make a funnel out of carbon paper and place it in the container with the sharp edge facing down.
This is the simplest version of a fruit fly trap. Attracted by the pleasant smell, they will get inside the jar and will not be able to get back out.
Source: goodhouse.ru/home/najdi-vremja-dlja-zhizni/plodovye-mushki-kak-bystro-izbavitsya-ot-nadoedlivyh-nasekomyh/
