Causes of midges on tomatoes

Many inexperienced gardeners, growing tomatoes, notice midges swarming on plants, but are not too worried about this. Having a vague idea of ​​their appearance, gardeners can’t even imagine how dangerous harmless-looking insects can be.

The reasons for the appearance of midges on the tomatoes

The moths on the tomatoes are parasites that feed on the plant’s sap, whereby he he loses his vitality, ceases to give a bountiful crop and may even die. That is why, having found insects on tomatoes, urgent measures must be taken to eliminate them.

White midge – what is it

A mining fly or whitefly, as this parasite is called, often settles on tomatoes, beginning active reproduction. Not having time to appear, she immediately lays a lot of eggs, from which small larvae are born.

The source of life for them is the juice of stems and leaves, as well as the roots that insects get, destroying the plant itself. Having such “guests” on it, the seedlings begin to lose viability, and its productivity gradually disappears.

How to detect

To find that small white midges appeared on tomatoes is very simple. First of all, you can notice the swirling butterflies of a small size, as well as the larvae that it lays. If you touch the tomatoes on which midges propagate, you can see that the insects will fly apart. In addition, plants affected by whiteflies have the following symptoms:

• the leaves look dry and twisted, and they often form a white coating that blackens over time;
• inside the fruit white;
• the stem and other green parts of the plant may suddenly turn yellow, as if they lack moisture;
• the tomatoes ripen unevenly.

If If you find such signs on your plants, you need to immediately save the tomatoes to prevent their death.

How to get rid of the squirrel ki

Intrigue this petty gnats is that it is very resistant to chemicals and deferred its eggs quite tenacious. And yet, despite the difficulties, it is possible and necessary to fight whiteflies using various methods. Among the most common options for getting rid of parasites are:

• fumigation;
• chemicals;
• bioactive fertilizers;
• folk methods.

When growing tomatoes in a closed greenhouse, note that white midges on tomatoes can be destroyed by fumigation with sulfur candles. For this purpose, you need to take special checkers and, closing the cracks in the room, fumigate the greenhouse. This will help to get rid of not only existing whitefly butterflies, but also those that are in the process of developing pupae with larvae.

Together with this method, insecticides or chemicals are perfectly combined, especially in greenhouse conditions. An ideal choice would be those in which pyrethrum or pyrimiphos-methyl is present. These include: Confidor Extra, Aktara, Pegasus, Fosbezid and others. Use the product strictly according to the instructions indicated on the package, using a hand sprayer. It is recommended to carry out the procedure twice to ensure the improvement of the condition of the tomatoes and the successful fight against whiteflies. Having chosen a warm and dry day, you need to carefully spray the diseased plants with a chemical substance, and then cover them, creating a shadow. You can repeat the procedure with a different composition, since even the smallest midge on tomatoes has the ability to develop immunity to the same drugs.

As for the biological method, its essence lies in the use of insects that eat parasites, but with this does not harm the tomatoes. According to experienced gardeners, this option is the most environmentally friendly and works no worse than a chemical attack on pests.

Popular proven methods

Folk remedies

are suitable for controlling insects. Considering the fact that chemical preparations are often dangerous for humans, many gardeners choose folk remedies for getting rid of white-winged midges on tomatoes. One of the options may be glue traps – sheets of plywood, which are painted in a yellowish tint and treated with a composition with a sticky base. The arriving midge sticks and no longer poses a threat to tomatoes.

A solution based on garlic can also be an excellent method. To do this, take 150 g of peeled garlic cloves and chop them, and then mix with 1 liter of water. Having infused the product for 5 days, it must be combined with 6 liters of water and sprayed with plants. Careful attention is required under the leaves, as larvae and pupae often hide there. Puppies on tomatoes really do not like tar or laundry soap, the foam of which can be used to fight them. To do this, grate a bar of detergent and dilute in water. Using a manual sprayer, it is necessary to properly treat all affected plants and allow the product to dry. You do not need to wash it off, but you can repeat it quite often.

Black midges

In addition to whiteflies, other insects can also parasitize on greens, so you should beware of the appearance of uninvited “guests” in the leaves of plants of a dark color. Black midges that appear on tomatoes, just like white-winged midges, feed on the juice of stems and foliage, actively destroying the plant.

Signs of presence on tomatoes

If black pests began to multiply on tomatoes, you can notice the following changes that occurred with plants:

• the leaves look lifeless and dry, despite regular watering;
• the stunted type of stems;
• poor productivity or complete loss of the ability of the diseased plant to bear fruit;
• the appearance of ant paths that protected they eat black midges, eating their waste products.

Very often insects can be seen with the naked eye, especially on a sunny day – they like to sit on the bottom of leaves and eat juicy areas.

To stop the “feast” of parasites and protect your plants, you will need to treat them as soon as possible and fight insects.

Existing methods for controlling black midges

As in the case of whiteflies, mosquitoes can be defeated by chemical exposure. “Aktafit”, “Aktara”, “Fufanon” can come to the rescue.Due to their composition, it will be possible to drive black midges out of plants quite quickly, especially in a greenhouse.

True, safety precautions must be observed when working with drugs, therefore, a person must have a mask, gloves, a hat and a respirator. Observing the dosage, it is necessary to carefully treat the plants three times, taking a break of about a week.

Alternative methods

Among the alternative methods that solve the problem of how to get rid of black midges , many of which are highly efficient and safe for humans. For example, a mixture of vegetable oil and liquid soap. It is enough to simply mix these two components with ordinary water in the amount of 100 and 150 g, respectively, and then spray the plants in the greenhouse using a spray gun. If we are talking about open ground, the best option would be a warm evening when the likelihood of rain is minimized, or earlier in the morning. It is better not to apply the product to freshly planted plants, since it will not work.

Gardeners also use tincture per and with garlic. To prepare the solution you will need:

• 200 g of garlic;
• 50 g of mustard;
• 20 g of hot red pepper.

Chopped garlic in water for several hours, and then add to this “composition” a mixture of pepper and mustard. By thoroughly mixing the solution, you can begin to eliminate pests and smolder them. It is enough to water the tomato twice a day and scare away the midge so that it never comes back.

Having understood the methods of getting rid of midges on tomatoes, you can protect your crop and be sure that it will never be a victim winged pests.