Suddenly they appear in flocks in the apartment, small black mini flies, which are also known as fruit flies. Sometimes even the greatest precautions cannot prevent flies from getting into your own home. Then, in addition to sensible prevention, which should not be ignored, the only thing left to do is to fight it. The following article explains what helps against small mini flies in the house.
Table of Contents
Minifliegen – Definition
In order to know how the small flies can be successfully avoided or fought, the habitat and way of life should first be examined carefully. Because if only one of these insects is seen in the apartment, it can quickly become a plague. The so-called fruit flies usually like to sit on damaged open fruit or vegetables, especially when the temperatures are warm from summer to autumn. This is also where the female fly lays her eggs. This can be up to 400 eggs per shelf. Since these are very small, they cannot be seen with the naked eye. After that, it can explode as follows:
- Larvae hatch from the eggs after a short time
- are in the larval stage for about a week
- four to five days after pupation, the fly hatches
- from egg laying to the finished fly about 10 to 14 days
- 400 mini flies buzz around the apartment
- Females again lay 400 eggs
- large population in a short period of time
Possible causes
The fruit flies feed primarily on rotting and fermenting food that is left open on the kitchen counter or a table. But also open wine, ketchup, beer, milk, vinegar or jam magically attract the fruit flies and serve as a food source for them and their larvae. The main causes of a mass infestation can be found in the following:
- in the fruit bowl
- in the trash can
- used dishes
- unprotected leftovers
- on open sweet drinks, juices, soft drinks
- drain in the sink
Small flies are therefore usually the first to be found in the kitchen or dining room, and they can also find food and places to lay their eggs on the balcony or terrace if there is used crockery or fruit there.
prevent infestation
It is ideal if the mini flies are prevented from the start. So that the small flies are not drawn into the apartment from outside and settle here on fruit or in the rubbish bin, there are various options for effective prevention. These look like this:
- Always cover fresh fruit and vegetables
- especially between May and September
- put in the fridge if tolerated
- otherwise use special coverable bowls
- Nets are usually too big for fruit flies
- they still get through
- Empty and clean trash cans regularly
- only use buckets with lids
- do not leave any leftovers uncovered
- always close sweet drinks
Especially plates, cups and glasses that are not washed off immediately or put in the dishwasher are a big attraction for the mini flies. Once they have found their way into the apartment, attracted by the smell, look for suitable breeding grounds.
Effective control agents
If the little flies were discovered in your own home, the first thing to do is keep calm. Because the fruit flies are not a reason to panic. Nevertheless, they should be combated quickly so that the population does not continue to increase. First of all, it is important to find the food source for the little pests and to dispose of them. But even if the garbage bag is closed well or infested fruit and vegetables are disposed of in a closed bag, only the eggs and larvae that are already there are destroyed. The adult flies usually escape during disposal. But against this there are the following simple means to remove the animals:
fall from the trade
Various traps for fruit flies are commercially available, which either have to be filled or simply set up. However, the following traps also work very differently:
- Fill funnel trap
- fill in juice or something similar as a lure
- Animals fly in, don’t come out again
- UV illuminant as a trap
- plug into socket
- Light attracts and kills mini flies
- Fill live traps with fruit
- Expose mini flies outside again
vacuum cleaner
Especially with a heavy infestation, the flies can be sucked in. Of course, you won’t catch all the animals this way, and for the rest you’ll have to set up one of the traps presented below to completely remove all fruit flies from the house.
Build your own trap
A very effective way to get rid of pesky fruit flies is to build your own trap . All you need is one part water, one part vinegar and a little washing-up liquid. These home remedies are mixed together in an open bowl and placed in a spot where most fruit flies are found. The fruit flies are magically attracted to the vinegar smell. Because the detergent breaks the surface of the water, the animals will sink immediately. The trap will quickly fill up with the unwelcome pests. Therefore, the bowl should be cleaned and refilled regularly. Once all the animals have disappeared from the house, the trap can be removed.
