No, I will not convince the reader of the dangers of drinking beer - those who have been visiting the Tavern for a long time know that I am not averse to drinking a glass or two myself from time to time good beer. Oh, and here is the first keyword - “good”. What is it, good beer? It is impossible to answer unequivocally. If only because there are a lot of criteria for good beer, including taste. I really want to sort them all out one by one, it’s worth a try at least. But today I’ll dwell on perhaps the most important question for many - do they sell real beer? And under the present, everyone is free to choose - “non-poisonous”, “correct”, “no preservatives” and so on.
Unfortunately, the current regulations for beer products are such that the manufacturer is not required to indicate on the label the full component composition of the drink - as a rule, he hides everything that does not exceed 0.5% by weight. I have so far met only one fairly honest brewing company whose product boasted the preservative sodium benzoate in the list of ingredients. Others believe that the buyer sleeps better if he knows less.
The worst thing is that it is very problematic to carry out the analysis yourself at home, contacting commercial laboratories is expensive, and government laboratories will respond to your request only if there is a fact of violation. And if, say, for sour cream it is not difficult to find such a fact, then for beer, alas, it is more difficult.
I am following with interest all the news about the imminent appearance of personal food quality testers, and even took part in a startup to create one of them, but for now it remains to be used available funds to suggest whether a particular beer is “right” or not.
What, exactly, are we risking?
Indeed, why do we need to know what the manufacturer is hiding from us and does not write on the label. Beer seems to be like beer, you drink it, you get drunk and make you happy. But here there are several options:
- The beer is real, original, does not contain anything superfluous, only natural ingredients. Everything seems to be fine. Just don't overuse it.
- The beer is real, but genetically modified components were used in the preparation process. It’s time to write a serious article about myths and the real possible harm from GMOs, relying not on popularized populist facts, but on knowledge of genetics and biochemistry (I’ll try to publish it before the New Year). For now, let’s just note this point and keep it in mind for all subsequent ones (if the manufacturer hid the use of a preservative from us, he could also hide the fact of using GMOs).
- The beer is real in the sense that it is brewed using technology. But then, to increase shelf life, preservatives are added. Possible harm variable - from the simple feeling that we were cheated by something not indicated on the label full composition to possible harm to the body ( allergic reactions, addiction of microflora to antibiotics, gastrointestinal problems, and so on - for more details, if interested, read the appropriate section).
- The beer was brewed in violation of the technology, then the manufacturer tried to give it the “correct” taste, color and smell by adding various “left” components (foaming agents, taste improvers, colors, etc.). Possible harm is even wider than in the previous paragraph, for additional information- again in our special section.
- Not beer at all, but a “beer drink” that only resembles real beer in taste, color and smell. Can be produced however you like. Accordingly, the harm from it depends on the composition: from minimal to serious.
Methods for determining preservatives
Many compounds may be present as preservatives in beer and food additives. The most common are benzoates, ascorbic acid, sulfur dioxide, nisin, etc. Can we try to determine their presence in beer? With the exception of sulfur dioxide, which you can easily recognize (but is rarely used), it is not so simple.
Of course, the most reliable is analysis in the laboratory, for example, chromatography. But it is not available to most beer lovers, so we will assume the presence of preservatives in beer in other ways, not 100% reliable, sometimes indirect, but allowing us to at least determine which beer is better. I know a person who determines the quality of beer in a very specific way: in a few hours of the evening he tries to drink at least three liters of beer with a modest snack. I will leave aside the expediency of this method, I will only say about the criteria in the direction of increasing quality (the author's style is preserved):
I will not offer you such a method, I will simply tell you about possible home methods of comparison, and I hope you will offer your own.
First, let's look at the label.
I repeat, I only once saw a mention of a preservative on the label of a beer bottle. But how many times he was not there is an interesting question. But the label itself sometimes contains enough information, in addition to indicating the composition. Firstly, if the inscription is not “Beer”, but “Beer drink”, then the likelihood of preservatives and other additives in it increases. Secondly, if the beer is unpasteurized (the label says so), and the shelf life is more than two weeks, then the beer clearly contains a preservative. Thirdly, any shelf life of more than six months requires the presence of preservatives.
And again the Drosophila fly guards our interests
The idea of inviting an outside expert to taste beer for additives did not arise from empty space. Once, while leaving on vacation, we forgot a potato in the kitchen under the sink. It began to rot and when we returned home we found a happy swarm of fruit flies in the kitchen. We, of course, threw out the potato when it was discovered, but gave up on the flies: there would be nothing to eat, they would hatch on their own. In the evening, friends came to visit and brought beer with them to celebrate our return. The holiday, as usual, dragged on past midnight; I no longer wanted to wash the dishes... In general, a couple of mugs with half-drunk beer at the bottom were left standing in the kitchen. Imagine my amazement in the morning when I discovered drowned fruit flies in beer mugs. The whole flock decided to end their lives in such an interesting way.
Since then, we have often used this approach if we suddenly needed to get rid of fruit flies somewhere, and we advised it to others, until one day, having gone on vacation again, we forgot some fruit on the windowsill. The fruit flies are scurrying around in the kitchen again. I go to the nearest store (at that time beer was still sold in stalls), the choice was small, and I bought a can of Baltika No. 3. I don’t like it myself, so I just poured it into several glasses and mugs and left it overnight. Alas, in the morning no one was swimming in beer, and the flies continued to fly around the kitchen, as if mocking me. I was surprised and, since my profession had long taught me to establish the cause of the incomprehensible through experiment, I walked to the pub and bought my favorite beer at that time. I poured it into mugs and glasses in the same way and left it standing next to the Baltika. The next morning, you probably guessed it, there were no flies in the kitchen - they were all drowned in beer, and all of them - not at Baltika-three rubles.
I decided to complicate the experience. I didn’t want to introduce Drosophila flies again through rotten fruit or vegetables, so I simply stopped by my friends’ laboratory where they raised these flies for their experiments, the benefit of substandard flies, as well as large desiccators, in which we observed the drowning of Drosophila flies, there were a lot of them. I also bought Baltika, now “kopeks” (No. 1), took a couple of varieties of local beer (the Victoria brewery was still operating at that time, who among my fellow countrymen remembers) and brought with me sodium benzoate, which, as I then believed, could be the only preservative for beer. We placed chemical cups in the desiccator, poured beer into them, and what we got was this: two cups of Baltika, two cups of Baltika with benzoate (for the purity of the experiment), two cups of light local beer, two cups of it plus benzoate and so on. The result was disappointing both for the fruit flies, which again drowned everything, and for the “Baltika” and for those glasses of beer into which we added benzoate: a maximum of 1-2 flies drowned in them, all the rest were drowned in local beer without adding benzoate.
This is how Drosophila flies again demonstrated their irreplaceable role in biological experiments :). And since then, I periodically indulge in testing beers that I had not drunk before, thus checking for lice. It should be noted that every year the probability that fruit flies will not go for a swim grows and grows. Alas and a pity. I’ll tell you, if you suddenly have fruit flies, you can use this fact to check your favorite types of beer: whichever one drowns you in will probably have fewer additives.
Of course, such an experiment cannot be called a full-fledged test for preservatives, but the results make you think and ask questions to the manufacturer.
Beer sour test
Lately I've been favoring unpasteurized beer from a local German brewery. It is not strong (4°), with a pleasant pronounced taste (two varieties: one with a more pronounced hint of hops, the second slightly sweet), non-carbonated. It's a pity that this brewery does not produce dark varieties. So, the guaranteed shelf life of the bottled version of this beer is half a month. At the same time, I would like to note that already on the 5-6th day from the date of production, a subtle sourness is felt, and I would not recommend purchasing this beer with an age of more than 8 days (it, however, does not linger). It's in a sealed bottle! And, on the other hand, I have a fresh memory of a bottle of beer half drunk by my graduate students (I don’t remember the type and manufacturer of this beer), which was capped and stood there for a month, not only without turning sour, but also practically without changing its taste. Do you think there were no preservatives in it?
This leads to one of the simplest tests, but it requires some courage. Pour beer into a small glass so that it fills half the capacity. Place in a warm (35 - 40 degrees) place, covering with a piece of paper. Every 8-10 hours, check the smell and taste of the beer (literally tasting a little at a time. This is what requires a certain dose of courage). Unpasteurized beer without preservatives will acquire a sour taste and/or characteristic odor after a maximum of 12 - 16, pasteurized beer will last 6 - 8 hours longer. Beer with preservatives will either last longer than a day (my record so far has been more than 4 days without changing taste or smell), or it will acquire a bitter, slightly oily taste (in this case, most likely, an antibiotic was used as a preservative).
You can dip strips of indicator paper into cups to check for acidity. But it’s still safer to try :) If you don’t have enough courage, take a look at the next test, which is a little more difficult.
Joint milk-beer test
For this test you will need natural milk that you trust. It should sour normally in a warm place, and not acquire a bitter or oily taste (you can read more in the material “Why are dairy products bitter?”). Then everything is simple: you place in a warm place in identical containers (also half a container, I use plastic test tubes for microbiological studies, they are convenient to label and arrange on a tripod, but, as they say, everyone uses what is at hand), covering them with a piece of paper, milk and a mixture of half and half milk with degassed beer (just stir some beer in a glass with a teaspoon for 3-5 minutes to degas). And periodically check for souring. Your milk and beer mixture should sour at about the same time as just milk (well, maybe half an hour to an hour later or earlier). If this happens, the content of preservatives in the beer is minimal or absent. In all other cases, you should assume the worst.
I tested many types of beer (it’s not difficult - it’s a quick test if you bought or were given a type or subtype of beer that you haven’t drunk before), many did not pass this test. The test is far from 100%, but it is not difficult to carry out. By the way, beer produced outside the Russian Federation also contains preservatives, and I often came across this.
Let's stop for now
Unfortunately, laboratory tests suitable for accurately detecting preservatives in beer are practically unavailable for home use. Even TLC (thin layer chromatography) requires equipment and reagents. Therefore - these are the tricks with the ears. I admit the possibility of error in some cases, but my experience as a chemist and biologist tells me that in most cases the tests work correctly.
Sometimes, having noticed several midges in our home, we do not pay attention to them, believing that they will soon leave it themselves. This often happens, but it can also happen that these uninvited “guests” not only do not leave, but they become more and more numerous. This leads to the need to fight them.
Today you can find many products on sale that will help remove midges from your home, with instructions on how to do this. People have been familiar with insects for a long time, that’s why folk remedies There are also many that allow you to effectively combat them.
Why are “winged guests” dangerous?
Despite their apparent harmlessness, these small insects may cause harm:
All the inconveniences that midges can cause in the house are especially dangerous and unpleasant when there is a child in it. The baby can play with them, put them in his mouth, and become infected.
The presence of such neighbors in the apartment is also unaesthetic and unhygienic. They leave their waste products in the form of small black dots that can be seen on furniture, windows, mirrors, i.e. absolutely everywhere.
The opinion that these unpleasant “guests” can only visit a home that is not kept clean is erroneous. The reasons for their appearance and how to remove midges depend on where exactly they found refuge.
Getting rid of midges in the kitchen
Many people are surprised at how these insects can appear practically out of thin air - windows and doors are closed, and the kitchen area can be flooded with them in a few hours. As a rule, fruit flies (fruit flies) appear in the kitchen.
When you bring fruits and berries into your home, you usually bring with you their larvae, which the adult lays on them while the fruit is ripening. When the remaining fruit begins to deteriorate and rot, the larvae develop into adult insects. This explains their sudden appearance, and even in large quantities.
Drosophila can also take root in the bathroom - they love moisture, and there is plenty of it in this room. In addition, they may appear from sewer pipes, especially if the latter are in a condition requiring repair or replacement.
Is it possible and how to get rid of midges in the kitchen if they are infested? Can. Previously, aggressive agents such as dichlorvos were used for this, but today this is not necessary.
If you decide to use by industrial means, you can find ones that don't sound harsh unpleasant odor, do not have negative impact on children and animals. Nevertheless, many housewives prefer to cope with the problem with folk remedies.
Fill a 0.5 liter jar with any rotten fruits, covering the inlet with regular film. Do a few things in it small holes, through which fruit flies will fall into this trap. Having flocked to their favorite smell, they will end up in the container, but will not be able to get back out.
When the “trap” has fulfilled its role, pour boiling water into the jar, and then pour all its contents into the toilet. Instead of a jar, you can use a plastic bottle using the same principle.
If there are not very many insects in the apartment, you can use a vacuum cleaner and treat all surfaces with it. You need to clean the dust collection bag as far as possible from your home so that the “guests” do not return again.
Camphor will also help get rid of midges. Finely chop the substance, heat the frying pan and place it on it. When steam starts to release, take the frying pan in your hands and walk around the house with it. These insects cannot tolerate the odor emitted. At the same time, it is absolutely harmless to humans.
Pour into a glass a liquid that midges like - compote, apple cider vinegar, jelly, wine. Place the vessel in the place where the insects have chosen, not forgetting to add liquid soap or any liquid detergent. It will reduce the tension of the surface of the environment, so the annoying “neighbors” will not be able to take off after tasting the delicacy. Place the contents of the glass into the toilet and rinse it.
You can “invite” insects to taste sweet syrup or compote in the sink, but in this case it is important to have time to wash them off with water.
After taking these measures, thoroughly wipe down all kitchen surfaces, making sure that nowhere in open access there are no fruits and their remains, liquids and other substances that attract insects.
The fight against uninvited “guests” will be ineffective if you do not treat all places where they accumulate with a rag and detergent.
Clearing the bathroom of uninvited guests
Here, too, you can often find winged “guests”. They are attracted by the smell of moisture and rot, and often end up here, initially living in the flowers that grow in the apartment.
A common reason for their appearance is blockages in the sewer system. Various edible and inedible substances can accumulate and rot there, which become provocateurs of the problem.
Getting rid of the unpleasant “tenants” of the bathtub should begin with cleaning the sewer. For this you can use special chemicals. It is advisable to pour them into the drain hole boiling water - it disinfects perfectly.
If the blockages are serious, and no matter what you try to remove the midges, there is no result, you can and even need to contact a specialist who can disassemble the system and clean it. You can get rid of a small number of winged ones using ordinary adhesive tape - over time, they will all flock to it and remain with us forever.
You can also use the method of pouring syrup into the bath and quickly washing off the insects with a shower. Their habitat is often places where moisture accumulates. After treating the bathroom, be sure to wipe the floor under the bathtub and sink dry and in the future make sure that it always remains dry.
You need to fight midges not only by reducing humidity, but also by removing all contaminants. The bathroom should have perfect cleanliness. Please pay attention special attention when cleaning the toilet, sink, trash can, and pet trays, if they are located in this room.
If neither you nor your household are allergic to chlorine, treat all bathroom surfaces with a product containing this substance - insects cannot tolerate it, so they will disappear very quickly.
How to clean indoor plants from them?
If you notice even one midge flying out of the pot, take immediate action. Before purchasing chemicals that can also harm the plant, try traditional methods.
Treat the soil with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate. Remember that you will have to treat all the flowers in the house, and not just the one near which the midges swarm.
A good way to get rid of unpleasant “neighbors” are matches. They need to be inserted into the soil with the sulfur facing down, changing every two days. Experienced flower growers It is recommended to use steamed garlic. The vegetable must be treated with boiling water and inserted into the soil.
Due to their small size, the Drosophila is called a midge, but they are flies, are 2 - 3 mm in length and have many subspecies. It lives almost everywhere where it is warm. There are especially many fruit flies in humid tropical climates. He lives in the apartment even in winter, if there is a power source.
Little flies love sweets
The main food of small flies consists of sugar and alcohol. She lays eggs on rotten food. The larvae can be completely immersed in the liquid and only swim to the surface before turning into an adult fly.
Drosophila flies do not bite. But their appearance in the kitchen is unpleasant. They rise in a cloud above the trash can, cover the bitten apple, desperately rush into the owner’s food and die in it. After such a meal with undetected small midges, a person experiences an upset stomach and may develop intestinal diseases. It is especially difficult for children to tolerate nutritional supplements in the form of fruit flies and their testicles.
There are places where flies are specially bred. Given their size and fertility, this is an excellent food for aquarium fish and home anthills.
Drosophila - excellent food for fish
Scientists have been studying Drosophila for over a hundred years. It is of interest to geneticists because it is the only insect that has 8 chromosomes. This allows the mutation to be investigated. Virologists test the reaction of flies to various microorganisms and drugs. The agreement between the results and the human body is very high. It is easy to breed experimental creatures and they do not take up much space.
Narcologists were interested in the ability of Drosophila to resist the effects of alkaloids. After all, it feeds on fermentation products, sugar-containing alcoholic drinks. The fly has taste buds and perfectly distinguishes between types of beer and understands its quality.
A distinctive feature of Drosophila is its 24-hour activity. She never sleeps, constantly eats a lot and reproduces. Already on the second day, after turning into a fly, the Drosophila reaches reproductive age. After 2 days it begins to lay eggs, from 40 to 90 eggs every day.
During the warm season, fruit flies live outside. Their closest garden relative prefers to spoil fresh vegetables. The food house midge prefers sweet fruits and berries, and does not disdain pet feces and sweat. Places of its accumulation:
- garbage dumps;
- basements;
- fruit bases;
- animal habitats;
- pots with indoor plants;
- store warehouses.
Drosophila can get into an apartment in various ways:
- with fruit from the store, especially spoiled and leaking ones;
- fly through the ventilation;
- live in a trash can;
- come with pets;
- with soil for flowers;
- fly into the door and window.
Most often, the fly appears in the form of testicles, the size of which is 0.5 mm, on bananas, grapes, strawberries, and apples.
Fly testicles can be brought into the house along with apples or other fruits
Like fruit flies, Drosophila primarily follows the smell of sweets. But getting it out is more difficult. She quickly scatters, lays many eggs in different places, and is not limited in movement.
The fly can live in flower pots, feeding on succulent leaves. It actively settles on plants without a pungent odor that are abundantly watered. Doesn't like the smell of geranium.
How to get rid of fruit flies in an apartment forever. First it must be destroyed, then preventive measures not to let her settle again.
Fruit fly doesn't like fresh air. It is enough to open the window, especially in sunny weather, and the number of midges will be significantly reduced within an hour. At temperatures below 10 degrees, the fruit fly will simply die. But its numerous testicles and larvae will remain.
It is necessary to deprive the fly of food:
- Throw away all rotten food.
- Put the rest in the refrigerator.
- Wash store-bought fruits immediately and pour boiling water over them, rinse off the eggs attached to their surface.
- Always take out the trash, wash the bin and cover it with a lid.
- Do not leave food on the table.
- Disinfect pets' litter trays and throw away anything they haven't finished eating.
- Make sure that water does not accumulate in the flower trays. Wash plants regularly by watering them with a spray bottle containing mite repellent.
- Soil for planting indoor plants buy ready-made, processed. Do not take it in the front garden or in the country.
- Keep the kitchen clean.
Keep your kitchen clean
Gradually, the fruit fly will die without food. It can live up to 3 months, depending on temperature and conditions. Therefore, you will have to wait a long time. We need to get rid of midges in other ways.
Do not forget that the persistent midge will fly to the smell of wine and beer through the ventilation and open window. She is easy to kill because she has poor vision, is almost blind, and uses her scent to pave her way. Small size allows you to crawl everywhere and into small quantities remain unnoticed.
We must remember that Drosophila is a fly. Her immunity against poisonous substances is much weaker than that of her winged sisters. Any means are suitable for getting rid of midges.
You can additionally glue a small piece of rotten banana onto the adhesive tape, or add a drop of apple cider vinegar. Determine the location of the greatest concentration of midges. Remove all food items from there. If it hangs over the sink, wash and dry it. Hang Velcro over this place as bait. Most flies will stick overnight. Change the adhesive tape regularly until the midges become so few that they are difficult to notice.
You can buy any aerosols for domestic insects, especially flies. It is enough to spray a little product in the air and ventilate after an hour. The midges will disappear. Repeat this periodically with the new generation until the small flies are completely exterminated.
Drosophila are killed by mosquito repellents
Drosophila dies from the smell of plates and mosquito liquids. It is enough to plug in the fumigator and the midge will die. On a clear day, the record can simply be placed on the windowsill. sun rays will heat it up and kill the flies.
The advantages of traps are their environmental safety. They do not emit volatile substances. Most often used:
- Raptor store Velcro;
- a jar with a cone;
- low glass and film;
- wine vinegar with dishwashing detergent.
The Raptor, which says it is a fruit gnat repellent, is a piece of cardboard with a sticky side. Taking off protective film, the trap is assembled like a house. A balloon with liquid is placed inside to attract fruit flies. They fly to the smell and stick:
- the device has an aesthetic appearance;
- corpses annoying midges do not irritate the eyes because they are located inside;
- There is no need to deliberately spoil the bait products.
You can purchase Raptor against flies in the store
You don’t have to spend money on a purchase and make a trap yourself.
A bait made from a piece of overripe banana or grape is placed at the bottom of the jar. An inverted cone of thick paper like a funnel with a hole at the narrow end. Drosophila do not see; they follow the smell through a narrow passage. They can't get back out.
Pour some bait, such as malt beer, into a low glass. Tighten from above cling film. Then take a thick needle, called a gypsy needle, or an awl, and make several holes. The holes should be up to 1 mm. Then the fly will get into the glass and will not be able to get out. You can use disposable dishes and throw them in the trash. A transparent glass allows you to see how many victims have accumulated there. For a fly, light doesn't matter.
DIY fruit fly trap
Pour wine vinegar into the bottom of a disposable plate. Lubricate the sides with dishwashing detergent. The bait is ready. Change more often.
To combat fruit flies, poisons made from home remedies are used.
- A mixture of ground pepper and sweet juice is poured into flat trays. The drug is placed in places where flies accumulate. Black pepper is poisonous to fruit flies.
- Dissolve the same amount of honey in a tablespoon of water. Crush 2 tablets of saccharin and mix everything. Replace the flies' regular food with treats.
- A tablespoon of small crumbs rye bread, sugar and baking soda pour into a glass of milk.
- You can add sugar and ground pepper to the milk.
The poison can be placed in a shallow, wide bowl or moistened with rags of thick fabric and place them closer to the places where midges accumulate.
Getting rid of Drosophila also includes the use of substances with a pungent odor that is unpleasant for midges.
Geranium will help get rid of annoying midges
You can place geraniums on the windowsill in the kitchen. A fly will leave the apartment if you spread out the leaves:
- horseradish;
- tomato;
- bay leaf;
- eucalyptus.
Horseradish can be prepared as a reserve in case of unexpected guests. Grate its root on a coarse grater, put it in a jar and close it. When midges appear, place it next to their favorite place and open the lid.
When cleaning, add to the water you use to wash floors, windows, tiles, a little kerosene or turpentine. One tablespoon of the substance is enough for a bucket of water. The person will not hear the smell, but the flies will leave the apartment.
It is good to wipe countertops, cabinet shelves and trash cans with water and a few drops of bay oil.
Ground pepper, bay leaves and geraniums placed in the microwave for a few minutes will drive away the fruit fly. Strong smell will disperse throughout the apartment, forcing small flies to leave your home.
Every housewife has encountered the appearance of flies in the kitchen. Tiny creatures suddenly appear in a whole cloud: yesterday there was no one there, and today the annoying neighbors are leading a cheerful round dance. And they don’t seem to do much harm, but still their presence doesn’t make anyone happy. Today we'll talk about how to get rid of small flies in the kitchen. Of course, first of all, you need to identify the cause of their appearance, and then determine ways to combat them.
Quite often, tiny creatures bother residents of apartments and private houses in the fall and spring. And sometimes there are so many of them that you involuntarily grab your head. Let us hasten to reassure you right away: the Drosophila, also called the fruit fly or fruit midge, is a completely harmless species of insect. These creatures do not bite or carry infection, and are also very gentle. Therefore, having learned how to get rid of small flies in the kitchen, you can easily do it.
There is also bad news. Drosophila reproduces very quickly. Therefore, if you do not take action in time, then you will have hundreds of small flies in your kitchen, very annoying with their presence.
Where to attack from
Before looking for a way to get rid of small flies in the kitchen, let's figure out where they come from. Maybe it’s easier to prevent a problem than to solve it later. In fact, it is difficult to prevent the appearance of these tiny creatures. There are three options in total:
- Drosophila can fly in from the street. Won't stop them mosquito net. They may be attracted by some spoiled product. Most often these are vegetables or fruits. Therefore, before learning how to get rid of small flies in the kitchen, you need to carefully check whether anything has fallen behind the table.
- Midge eggs can “come” to your home along with fresh vegetables and fruits bought at the market.
- They can start in a flower pot standing on the windowsill.
Floral or fruity
One more thing. When talking about how to get rid of small flies in the kitchen, we must not forget that they can be different. If insects hover around flower pots, these can be fruits or flower sciarids. Both are quite small, but can be distinguished quite easily. Flower midges look like black mosquitoes. They fly in flocks and do not fly far from the pots. Drosophila are not very interested in the ground, so they rarely stay for long near the pot in which they hatched. Today our focus is on these little flies in the kitchen. How to get rid of uninvited guests? Let's look for ways together.
Development with metamorphoses
We are dealing with insects, which means we must take into account the full development cycle. Flying individuals are only half the problem. There are also eggs and voracious larvae. Therefore, the fight against flying insects must be comprehensive, excluding the birth of a new generation. If the breeding site was chosen flower pot, you will have to change the soil to get rid of the laid eggs.
Task No. 1
“Search and destroy” is exactly how it can be formulated. So how to get rid of fruit fly in an apartment, you can only completely stop its life cycle, you need to look for where it lays eggs. Otherwise, you will only destroy flying individuals, which will be replaced by others. They are known to like to lay eggs in ripe, beginning to decay fruits and vegetables. But not only that. Any place where there is food and moisture can attract insects.
Please note
- If you keep compost for indoor plants at home, then you need to take a closer look at it: it is usually an excellent breeding ground for these insects. Many gardeners use this method of preparing fertilizer. IN small box collect grass growing in pots, tea leaves, eggshells and much more.
- Garbage container. Even if you regularly throw away the bag, there may be a breeding ground for flies on the sides.
- Beer and wine, apple cider vinegar - these liquids attract insects like a magnet. If it's lying around somewhere open bottle, they will definitely appear.
- The source of reproduction can be almost any food product. Mushrooms, cereals, fermented milk products, cheeses, if they were stored improperly, can easily become the object of attention of fruit flies.
- Clogged wet sponges and rags, mops - all this is a source of moisture important for midges.
- If the source was never found, the insects may have arrived from the street. Or a little nutritious liquid (jam or syrup) was spilled into an inaccessible place behind the countertop.
This is the first answer to the question of how to get rid of flies in the kitchen. How to destroy a nest? It’s very simple: we put it in a bag and take it away from the house.
Putting things in order
After the nest has been found, you need to take care of the adult insects. The most important thing now is to deprive fruit flies of a place for reproduction and food. In this case, they will die even without your help. Therefore, we hide all products that may interest them. Carefully cover jam, honey, vegetables and fruits. It is best to put all this in the refrigerator to deprive the fruit flies of their chances of survival.
Ideal cleanliness in the kitchen is, in some cases, a sufficient measure so that you no longer have to think about how to get rid of small midges in an apartment or house. Within ten days in the warm season, all individuals, including existing clutches, may die. In winter, the process can last for several months, since the development of the larvae will be delayed.
Bait traps
No one wants to share an area with flies for a long time, which is why the question arises of how to quickly get rid of small flies in the kitchen. A bait trap is a great method that works 100%. The principle is very simple: insects are lured into a container with the help of aromatic bait, but cannot get back out. Leave such a trap in the kitchen in the evening, and in the morning you will find it in it large number living and dead insects.
How to make it yourself
Nothing could be simpler. You will need a regular glass jar and a sheet of paper. You need to twist it into a cone and secure the tip with tape. Now place the funnel in the jar, after placing something attractive to insects at the bottom. This could be ripe fruit, a few spoons of jam or apple cider vinegar.
Experts say that a cone works best orange color. Despite the fact that the bait is the same, much more always flies into a jar with colored paper. more insects. This fact can be explained by the similarity color range with orange. Citrus fruits are very unloved by the main enemies of these insects - riders. The proximity of such a fruit suggests relative safety.
How to use traps
Today our goal is to consider the most effective ways. How to get rid of flies in the kitchen? There is nothing simpler: place traps in high-risk areas. This is a sink and a windowsill with flowers. After a couple of hours, without removing the funnel, you need to pour it into the jar aqueous solution to drown the insects. After this, it can be “charged” with bait again and placed in the room.
How to get rid of flying insects
Fruit flies are not very fast. Therefore, hunting them is not particularly difficult. To do this, fill a spray bottle with ethyl alcohol and spray directly on the flying flies. They instantly drop dead. Alcohol is a completely safe insecticide. In addition, it will not cause harm if it gets on food (of course, it is better to cover baked goods).
Using a fumigator
If, after leaving for several days, you forgot a few bananas on the table, then when you return, you risk seeing a whole swarm of these little creatures in the kitchen. Since no one wants to waste time catching insects, you can turn on the mosquito fumigator and leave the apartment for a few hours. When you return, ventilate the rooms and sweep the flies off the floor. Aerosols are no less effective. They can be sprayed in midge habitats and easily get rid of them. Adhesive tapes also help a lot. You can buy ordinary ones, from flies, and lubricate them with wine.
Midges in the drain
Kitchen drains often become clogged with food debris. In this case, the water begins to drain slowly, leaving unflooded areas that become spawning grounds for flies. If you see that insects are constantly getting out of the drain hole, then you definitely need to solve this problem. First, call a plumber and clean out the system. After this, pour a bucket of boiling water with soap dissolved in it. The final chord will be the use of alcohol. No more than 100 ml will be required. Just pour it into the drain hole and do not turn on the water for 30 minutes.
Midges, despite their fragile appearance and small sizes, can cause a lot of trouble residents of apartments and private houses. At first glance they seem harmless, but in fact they are one of the main carriers of various diseases.
To every owner I would like to know how to get rid of midges in an apartment in order to protect yourself from annoying insects and the risk of contracting infection.
Midges - who are they really?
They refer to Diptera family. A representative of the species reaches a length of about six millimeters, characteristic difference– short length of legs and antennae. The habitat of these creatures, which resemble flies in appearance, is quite extensive, and they can be found on almost any continent, with the exception of very cold terrain.
Where do they come from? uninvited guests? A “visit” of midges can most often be provoked very simply - the owner of the apartment simply does not close the window or vent in hot weather, and then the kitchen or room becomes a haven.
Why does this happen, why do they appear? midges in the apartment? The thing is that fruit flies, which is what scientists call fruit flies, prefer a more humid climate, they can often be found near bodies of water, or in the park in summer, when the sun stops burning.
If you are faced with this problem and you need to know how to get rid of midges in the house, then the next point is a must read.
How to get rid
Are you still looking for methods to get rid of fruit gnats in the apartment? Then here are three folk ways– no chemicals and guaranteed results.
Method 1 – Jar of Rotting Vegetables
The contents are left in the jar for one night, the next day you need to pour boiling water into the midge trap. We pour all this into the sewer and repeat the experiment until the insects disappear from the apartment.
Method 2 – Beer bottle
It turns out that midges, like people, are partial to intoxicating drink. Is there any beer container left? Then here is another method for your attention on how to deal with midges in an apartment! It can be used as bait. Just leave it overnight in the area where the insects swarm, and in the morning, cover it and dispose of it.
Method 3 – Cloves
Spices- that's another thing effective remedy from midges in the apartment, in our case, cloves - best option. You are required to take 5 grams of dried cloves and place them in a glass of water. The contents should be boiled for at least 2 hours.
After that put glass with clove liquid where the flies appear. This will scare them away, as they cannot stand such a strong smell.
What to do to prevent pests from returning
Let's say we are not bother small midges in the apartment, how to get rid of which is already known, but what needs to be done so as not to meet again uninvited guests? There are a number of rules that, if followed, can successfully prevent the appearance of insects:
- timely removal of garbage, keeping the waste bin clean;
- washing dishes without the “Leaning Towers of Pisa” in the sink;
- fruit storage, vegetables and other perishable foods in the refrigerator;
- weekly wet cleaning of the apartment, in particular in the kitchen. Keep sinks, stovetops, and counters dry;
- watering house plants without fanaticism, cleaning up fallen leaves, sprinkling the soil with sand or decorative stone.
Useful video
We recommend use traditional methods, telling how to get rid of midges in an apartment and which do not endanger the health of your family or pets; if using aerosols, read the instructions.
