Cats in the country: the most effective means to combat harmful insects

When planting seedlings on their personal plot, each summer resident wants to get a rich harvest. But unfortunately, insect pests often interfere with this: they gnaw at the roots, spoil the fruits and suck out nutritious juices from plants. The midge belongs to such parasites, and despite its small size, it can quite severely damage both seedlings and those crops that have already managed to gain growth. So, let's see what is dangerous midges in the country, and in what ways you can get rid of them.

What midges start on personal plots

Under the term dacha, two types of pests can be hidden:

• black midge, which summer residents call melon aphid;
• white midge, better known as whitefly.

Representatives of both species are very prolific, harmful and the fight against them can be very difficult.

Black midge

This type of pest includes two subspecies of midges: with wings and without them. They live mainly on tomato beds, sitting in dense bushes. As it was already said, such midges reproduce very quickly and also quickly disperse throughout the garden. Damaged bushes wither and die over time.

In order to prevent black gnats from entering the garden, experienced summer residents advise planting plants around the perimeter of tomato beds that will attract its natural enemies: wasps, ladybugs, little beetles and lacewing. In addition to fragrant herbs, it is advisable to plant dill, garlic, onions and calendula in the plot - midges do not like their aroma, and therefore it rarely settles near them. It also does not hurt to inspect the territory and destroy the anthills found on it. This measure is necessary due to the fact that the ants feed on the secret secreted by black midges, and therefore protect them from other insects.

White midge

White midge is distributed mainly in greenhouses. She settles on the back of the leaves, where she lays her eggs. Over time, larvae emerge from the eggs, which, eating plant juices, cause great harm to them.

To determine that a culture is infected is quite simple - for this it is enough to pay attention to its appearance. On plants affected by white midges, the leaves begin to curl, the fruits ripen unevenly and many inside become white, a whitish bloom is visible on the foliage, which blackens after a while, and despite proper watering, the green parts of the bush turn yellow. In order to make sure that the plant was attacked by the white midge, it is enough just to touch it, and the pests located on it will immediately fly apart.

Important! The whitefly-affected bushes quickly weaken and become vulnerable to the causative agents of viral, bacterial and fungal diseases!

Since the white midge is very fond of moisture, it rarely appears in the garden. This parasite settles mainly in greenhouses, where there are always comfortable conditions for it.And in order to prevent the spread of the pest, it is necessary first of all to plant seedlings not very densely. In addition, in the greenhouse it is very important to ensure good air circulation and without fail to strengthen the beds with fertilizers.

Folk remedies to combat midges

If the infection happened, and midges were found on the site, then in this case, you must immediately think about how to get rid of this pest. Moreover, measures must be taken as soon as possible, because in a week or two there will be much more parasites.

With small accumulations of midges, sometimes it is enough to use a regular watering hose - the pest is washed off with plants with a stream of water, after which the plantings are thinned out and watering is slightly reduced. But such a method works extremely rarely, and in most cases it is necessary to use more effective means. Some summer residents are immediately inclined to favor chemicals, however, since it is undesirable to carry out such treatment during the fruiting period, it is better to use more gentle methods - folk methods.

So, what recipes are usually used in the fight against midges?

Decoctions and infusions

To process stems, leaves and soil, infusions and decoctions of various plants are often used. They cope with their work very effectively and often help get rid of midges both in open ground and in greenhouses.

• A decoction of celandine. For its preparation, it is recommended to use only the green parts of the plant: foliage and stems. We collect the necessary raw materials (we need about 400 g) and fill it with a liter of water. Cover our infusion and leave for 24 hours. After the specified time, the product must be brought to a boil and boiled for half an hour over low heat. Let the broth cool and filter it through cheesecloth. The finished preparation is diluted in a bucket of water and left for another two days. The resulting product is used for spraying plantings. Processing is carried out 2-3 times every five days.
• Infusion of dandelions. In this case, the raw materials will be the leaves and rhizomes of the plant. We collect a dandelion - you need about a kilogram of grass and pour boiling water (10 l). We cover everything with a lid and leave it warm for a day. After the specified time, add to the infusion a tablespoon of red ground pepper and 50 g of chopped laundry soap. We mix until the last ingredient is completely dissolved and use to spray infected bushes and soil throughout the garden.
• Mustard infusion with garlic and pepper. To prepare this product, it is necessary to grind 5 garlic cloves, add to them 20 g of red pepper in powder and about 3 tablespoons of mustard powder. Mix everything and pour 5 liters of water. Leave for 3 days, after which we filter and use for processing plants and substrate.
• The infusion of tobacco. Here we need a pack of cigarettes, it is better to take strong tobacco, for example, "Prima" or "Flight". You can also use regular tobacco, which is sold by weight. So, 3 tablespoons of raw materials and the contents of one pack are poured with a liter of warm water and left in a dark place for 5 days, then filtered and used to treat infected plants. Spraying is carried out every three days until the parasites are completely destroyed.
• Infusion of onion husks. It is necessary to collect 200 g of onion husks and pour all three liters of boiling water. The product is left for a couple of hours, filtered and used to treat infected beds.
• Garlic water. A tablespoon of chopped garlic cloves is poured with a glass of boiling water and left for a day. After the specified time, we infiltrate the infusion and spray the aerial parts of the infected bushes.

On a note! In the same way you can cook onion water. It works no less efficiently than garlic water!

Herbal remedies help pretty well in the fight against midges on the site, but remember that if you increase the concentration of the infusion somewhat, you can burn the leaves and shoots of young plants. To avoid this, you should not deviate from the recipe.

Solutions

Along with herbal preparations for the destruction of midges, it is quite possible to use soap-based solutions.

• Detergent. To prepare this solution, you need to take three tablespoons of any detergent and dilute it in half a liter of water. Stir everything and add a glass of vegetable oil. We use the finished product for spraying the stems and leaves of infected bushes.
• Laundry soap. For 10 liters of water, you need to add 20 g of laundry soap and a glass of ash. All are mixed. The finished product is treated every bush from all sides.
• Liquid soap. In a liter of water, 4 tablespoons of any liquid soap are bred, the same amount of vegetable oil and 5 cloves of garlic passed through a press. Stirred and left for an hour, then filtered and used to treat the site.
• A solution of vinegar. In this case, an acidic environment, which is harmful for these parasites, helps to successfully combat midges. However, the solution should be made weak so as not to harm the plants themselves. So, to prepare this remedy, you need to dilute a tablespoon of vinegar in a liter of water. We process the beds with the finished preparation.

Other means and methods

You can fight midges in the country with infusions and decoctions, as well as with the use of special checkers and candles. Such fumigation is carried out twice a year: in the spring - before planting the crop and in the fall - after the entire crop has been harvested. This procedure is applicable exclusively to greenhouses and allows you to destroy not only the whitefly, but also other pests that settled here. Before applying checkers and candles, it is necessary to close all windows, the door of the greenhouse and plug the cracks. We light the greenhouse and close it for the night. Using such means, it is possible to destroy not only adults, but also larvae and pupae.

If you did not fumigate, then it is very useful to ventilate the greenhouses in the winter. Whitefly does not like the cold, and this measure will destroy the larvae that remained in the ground. In addition, do not allow the accumulation of plant debris, as it is there that midges enjoy wintering. It is better to arrange a place for compost heap away from the greenhouse, ideally outside the site.

Glue traps can also be used to combat midges. To do this, you need to take sheets of plywood, paint them in an attractive color for insects yellow, and then treat them with adhesive. These traps are placed in beds and in greenhouses. Color-attracted midges will sit on a bright surface and stick.

Chemicals

With an abundance of insects, treatment of the site from midges is carried out with chemical preparations. It can be both organic insecticides and mild pesticides. For spraying bushes and soil, you can use such preparations as:

• "Actellik";
• “Aktafit”;
• "Aktara";
• "Fufanon";
• Confidor Extra;
• "Fosbetsid";
• "Pegasus";
• Mospilan.

At the first detection of midges, it is necessary to process plantings with one of these means as soon as possible. It is advisable to use the composition in the early morning or evening in calm weather. Moreover, at the time of processing, the site should not have bees and other insects that are involved in pollination of plants.

Important! Rain significantly reduces the effectiveness of many insecticides!

Chemicals very successfully cope with midges on both seedlings and adult plants. However, in order for the treatment to give the desired result, it is necessary to spray the entire bush, including the back of the leaves, because as you know, it is there that the bulk of the parasites are concentrated. In addition, do not forget that you will have to use an insecticidal solution two to three times at weekly intervals. You will find all instructions and application features in the instructions.

Important! If processing from midges is carried out in closed ground conditions, then after it it is advisable to cover the greenhouse with a dense cloth to create a shadow.

With the larvae parasitizing in the soil, Bazudin perfectly copes. Apply this tool as follows: remove the top layer of soil around each bush, pour the granules of the drug and cover them with earth. At each watering, the active substances will penetrate the substrate and destroy the pests.

Prevention

As a prevention, experienced summer residents are advised to observe crop rotation and not to plant the same crop on the same bed for more than 4 years in a row. In addition, in the spring before planting and in the fall after harvesting, it is desirable to introduce manure or peat into the soil - this will significantly reduce the number of pupae and larvae.

And remember that using the same chemical is always extremely undesirable, since the parasite will develop resistance to it and the drug will no longer have the desired effect. As for folk remedies, it is better to use them in the complex: decoctions, traps and agricultural measures.

The main thing is not to start the problem and take steps in time to eliminate midges from the site. Have a good harvest!