How to get rid of midges in flowers

A swarm of small flies around flowers is not only unpleasant, but also harmful, especially for potted plants. Insects often infect indoor flowers, since they need soil for reproduction: it is in it that pests lay their eggs. But sometimes midges also attack bouquets of cut plants. We will tell you why this happens and how to deal with insects.

Where do midges come from in bouquets and houseplants

Midges can grow in flowers for several reasons:

• Excessive humidity. In the case of potted flowers, we are talking about waterlogging the soil, and in the case of bouquets, it is just about stale water. For example, fruit flies (aka fruit flies) can settle in a tray of stagnant water or fly in to the smell of water from a vase.
• Poor ventilation. It is convenient for insects to breed in stagnant air, so a room with insufficient ventilation is the best condition for midges to live. The risk of the appearance of pests increases significantly if there are stale fruits in the same room.
• Contaminated soil. For potted flowers, the risk factor is untreated soil collected outdoors. In bouquets, midges can appear if the soil on which the flowers were grown was infected. The risk of buying flowers with larvae is especially high in spontaneous markets.

External factors. Mushroom mosquitoes can appear in an apartment located above a warm, damp basement, or enter the house through ventilation or an open window.

There are several ways to get rid of insects: treat plants with solutions, set mechanical traps, or use specialized means. The choice of control method depends on what kind of flowers you want to cure.

Treatment with solutions

This type of midge control is more suitable for potted flowers. The following types of solutions are used for processing:

• Manganese – the solution should be weak, light pink. The diseased plant is watered twice instead of regular water.
• Garlic – a liter of water is mixed with 2-3 crushed cloves, keeping for 24 hours in a dark place. Sprayed for a month at weekly intervals.
• Tobacco, consisting of 20 strong cigarettes infused for 5 days in hot water. Store the solution in a dark place, spray with the strained liquid for two weeks every 2-3 days.
• Soapy, which is prepared without observing proportions. It is rubbed or sprayed with the leaves of the infected plant every day until the pests disappear. It is better to choose tar soap.

Traps

This method of fighting insects is the most gentle, therefore it is suitable for treating fresh bouquets.

A trap can be made from any container, on the bottom of which you put ripe fruit, apple cider vinegar or sweet wine, as well as a drop of liquid powder or any detergent. The container is covered with film or foil, and then small holes are made in it and placed next to the bouquet. The midges must get inside and not find a way to get out, so the holes in the lid of the trap must be made very small.

An alternative is fly sticky tape, which you can buy from a store or online. The price of such a tape is not high, and the effectiveness is noticeable: insects stick to it quickly and willingly, and in a day or two they will not remain on the flowers.

Special equipment

Gnats can be repelled with insect sprays, mosquito and fly fumigators, and systemic insecticides available at flower shops. Aerosols should be especially carefully applied to flower shelves and window sills, and fumigators should also be installed as close as possible to the place where the infected plants are located.

It is better to choose insecticide preparations after establishing the type of pest that has affected the flowers. You can use common poisons, but this way the likelihood of getting rid of insects after a single treatment is reduced. Suitable dichlorvos (and other substances with a particle “phos” in the name: for example, Karbofos), Aktara, Fitoverm. Use these products strictly in accordance with the instructions and remember that they can be toxic not only to pests, but also to humans.

How to avoid infection

To keep home flowers healthy, follow the rules for caring for them: do not allow moisture to stagnate in the soil, calcine the soil collected in the air well, or rather buy ready-made in stores; regularly ventilate the premises and treat flowers with solutions against pests in time. To avoid the appearance of midges in bouquets, do not forget to change the water in the vase and order flower delivery only in trusted stores – for example, in STUDIO Flores. We work with plants grown in reliable nurseries, so we guarantee the quality of every bouquet sold.