The appearance of bedbugs in an apartment is not the most pleasant event. To live and reproduce, bedbugs find hard-to-reach places and settle in them. They hide in places inaccessible to light, in cracks in the walls, in the joints of wallpaper, carpets, books, in furniture, often in soft furniture such as sofas, beds and mattresses. Bed bugs are active most often at night, but sometimes during daylight hours. The presence of unwanted insects can cause allergies or become a source of various infections. Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly fight them. If pests appear behind peeling wallpaper, in the joints, under the wallpaper, then simple surface treatment of the wallpaper will not bring results. The best way is to make cosmetic repairs by re-gluing the wallpaper. The answer to the question “What to add to wallpaper glue against bedbugs?” you can find in this article.
Recommendations for using dust against bedbugs
Unlike other powdery products, dust is used only in dry form, not otherwise.
Sequence of processing actions: 1). Preparing the space for processing. Remove everything unnecessary from the rooms, securely pack food in film, limit access to the room for children and animals. Provide personal protection: use rubber gloves and a gauze bandage or respirator.
2). Since we are dealing with powder, you can use a brush to spread it. You need to start sprinkling from the back side of carpets, baseboards, thresholds, and don’t forget the facing panels.
Next, sprinkle cabinets, chests of drawers, doorways, ventilation grilles
Pay special attention to shedding of upholstered furniture. Try to spill the powder into the joints, crevices, joints, gaps between parts of the body
3). When the entire room has been treated, the dust will need at least 3-4 hours to complete its task of killing bedbugs. It is recommended to leave the premises at this time. Also, be sure to wash your hands and face, change clothes (wash your work clothes). When you return, start airing the rooms and start cleaning.
To clean smooth and other surfaces, you can use a soda-soap solution; this should also be done while wearing gloves. Use a vacuum cleaner to clean upholstered furniture. As for small cracks, spaces under thresholds and baseboards, the dust should be left here so that it continues its protective and preventive function.
4). The dust is not particularly toxic and is practically safe for people. But since inhaling even minimally poisoned air is still undesirable, it is still better to leave the treated premises for a while.
Features of wall treatment depending on their material
Before achieving the desired wall surface for wallpapering, it is necessary to carry out a number of works that will help bring the surface to ideal condition . The specifics of preparing walls for wallpaper largely depend on what material the wall is made of.
Nuances when processing walls made of different materials:
- Drywall has a smooth surface, but it is porous and not strong enough. During processing, special attention should be paid to leveling the surface, taking into account joints and screws.
- Concrete walls are the most durable. Since their structure has minimal porosity, sometimes it is enough to apply only a primer for preparation.
- Brick walls are not strong and level enough, so to process them it is necessary to go through several stages (leveling, puttying, priming).
- Chipboard walls have screws and joints. They need to be covered with oil paint. Next, the surface is treated in the usual way.
- Treating OSB walls for wallpaper is practically no different from preparing brick walls. Only the first stage is sealing the seams with the mixture and covering the wall with serpyanka.
Almost any covering can be prepared for gluing in such a way that the quality of the wallpaper will no longer depend .
What to do
Getting rid of parasites is not easy. It takes time, persistence and patience. The best option is to call a special service. But you can take action on your own.
A vacuum cleaner will help get rid of bedbugs. It is used to process: upholstered furniture, mattresses, carpets and bed linen. In this case, not only the bedbugs will suffer, but also their eggs.
It is important to carefully treat all cracks. The vacuum bag will have to be thrown away. If some items cannot be cleaned, they will have to be destroyed.
Sealing all cracks helps prevent bed bugs.
It is important to glue up sagging wallpaper. Parasites can also hide in them.
Bed bugs are combated by treating bedding. Most often the parasite sits in clothes, linens, carpets and curtains. The spray can be used in any room. You can also wash clothes and linens in hot water for 20 minutes. Steam treatment is used against bedbugs in shoes and soft toys.
Recently, the effective destruction of bedbugs has become an increasingly urgent and labor-intensive problem.
The presented methods do not give the desired effect the first time. It is advisable to carry out activities weekly until the parasites are completely eliminated. To fight more effectively, you should learn about the structure and lifestyle of bed bugs.
Protecting your apartment from bed bugs
No one is immune from the appearance of such unpleasant insects as house bugs. But if you try to follow the simple, most effective tips, you can protect your home from bed bug infestations.
— When planning a trip, do not choose the cheapest hotels possible, always inspect the bed and mattresses, and if you find insects, ask to change your room. When you return home, inspect all your belongings.
— If you know that friends or relatives have bedbugs in their apartment, try not to visit this house until they are completely destroyed. If this cannot be avoided, then when you come into an infected room, put your outerwear and bags in sealed bags, put on shoe covers, and better yet, do not take off your shoes.
— If you spent the night in an apartment infested with bedbugs, then upon arriving home, immediately take off all your clothes and pack them in a bag. Wash everything at a high temperature of 48ºC, then iron.
— Never bring into your home furniture found on the street or in the entrance; it may have been thrown away precisely because there were bedbugs in it.
- If bedbugs get to you from your neighbors, you definitely need to fight together, you don’t need to be afraid or embarrassed. Well, if an agreement did not work out, then systematic treatment of the apartment will be required every time insects appear.
— To significantly protect your apartment from “neighborhood” bedbugs, try to isolate the room as much as possible. Seal all the cracks on the floor and ceiling, replace the old wallpaper with new ones, install a fine mesh for ventilation, replace ordinary sockets with sockets with protective covers.
— If there is a large infestation of apartments, call a specialized pest control service as soon as possible to treat the entire house.
Traditional methods
If bedbugs appear, how to get rid of them at home? Folk remedies can also be used for this. But they are usually used when there are a small number of parasites in the house. The most commonly used substances are:
- Vinegar. Having chosen it as one of the methods of how to get rid of bedbugs using folk remedies, you should know that this substance does not destroy insects, but only repels them with its pungent odor. Combine vinegar (9%) with water in equal quantities, wipe the surfaces of furniture, slopes, window sills, doors with the solution, pour it into places where parasites nest;
- Turpentine. This substance is toxic, so you can get rid of bedbugs using home remedies prepared using it. Combine 0.3 liters of alcohol and turpentine, add 15 g of camphor to the composition. Another recipe is to mix turpentine and kerosene in equal parts (0.2 liters of each ingredient), add 150 ml of boiling water to the mixture. Use the prepared product to treat areas where insects nest and all places where they may be present;
- Scented herbs. These include mint, tansy, and wormwood. It is recommended to place herbs around the apartment, and especially in places where insects nest.
It is not a fact that folk remedies used at home will help get rid of bedbugs quickly and forever. Today they are used less and less, because while ineffective methods of exposure are used, parasites can continue to intensively infect homes.
Why do cockroaches grow under paper and vinyl wallpaper, but not under glass wallpaper?
If you make a list of the most unpleasant moments of life in a city apartment, then among other urban troubles the forced necessity of living next to extremely unpleasant creatures - cockroaches - will certainly be named. Cockroaches are a scourge that is almost impossible to get rid of. But there are truly effective methods that help avoid flooding your home with hordes of these vile and harmful creatures.
The incredible complexity of the procedure for getting rid of cockroaches in an apartment is associated with the specifics of people’s lives in the city. Apartment buildings are an excellent refuge for cockroaches: expelled from one apartment, they crawl into neighboring ones, from where they can easily move back to their previous positions. In-house garbage chutes and ventilation shafts, which are familiar to city residents, are also breeding grounds for cockroaches, connecting all the apartments in the building into one vertical chain. “Infestation” of apartments with cockroaches is also often observed among unscrupulous property owners, many of whom are antisocial elements (alcoholics, drug addicts, etc.) and in most rental apartments. And you yourself are unlikely to wipe the bathroom and sinks in your apartment dry at night, providing the cockroaches with a generous watering hole in the form of drops of water.
Desperate owners of city apartments in which cockroaches have settled are buying tons of various aerosols, pastes, gels, crayons and other remedies for cockroaches, quietly poisoning themselves and their pets with microdoses of poisons and insecticides. But the next generation of cockroaches turns out to be quite resistant to chemical influences, so all the money and effort spent is wasted. What will help you keep your apartment safe from the cockroach kingdom and how to reduce the likelihood of cockroaches appearing in your apartment? As paradoxical as it may seem, quality repairs will help us in the fight against cockroaches!
High-quality repairs significantly reduce the likelihood that cockroaches will take up residence in your apartment for a long time. Indeed, as part of the renovation, various internal cavities are usually opened (under the finished floor, in ventilation, in storage rooms), old wallpaper is removed and all the cracks and cracks, which are the favorite habitat of cockroaches, are carefully sealed. Thus, there are not many places left for cockroaches to enter your apartment, and they can be reliably protected. So, you can put a filter with a fine-mesh structure in the hood, and a new entrance door with seals will not allow cockroaches to get into the apartment from the garbage chute.
It is especially important to remove old wall coverings as part of the renovation, since it is under ordinary paper and vinyl wallpaper that cockroaches live and actively reproduce! This happens due to the fact that ordinary wallpaper is glued to the walls with a smooth plane of the canvas. And over time, when wallpaper glue loses its functions and the adhesion of the wallpaper to the wall is disrupted, comfortable living areas for cockroaches form under the wallpaper. Many people are familiar with the situation when, having torn off a piece of wallpaper in an old apartment, you jerk your hand away in horror from the terrible picture of scurrying cockroaches and black blots of cockroach nests. If, as part of the renovation, you make the right decision and install glass wallpaper in your apartment, then you can protect yourself from this horror for many decades!
Why can’t cockroaches settle under glass wallpaper? It's all very simple: the fact is that glass wallpaper is glued to the wall differently than all other ordinary wallpaper. When gluing glass wallpaper, a special glue is applied to the surface with a thick “glue coat”, and the woven glass wallpaper is pressed into it with a plastic spatula. Thus, each thread from the fiberglass canvas is enveloped in an adhesive mass and firmly attached to the surface, eliminating the appearance of free space between the wall and the glass wallpaper. The process of gluing glass wallpaper to a wall can be illustrated with a simple example: if you press a piece of gauze into a small “puddle” of sour cream spilled on the table, the mesh fabric will literally “immerse” in the thick mixture, fastening to it with every thread. It is important that even over time, glass wallpaper does not peel off, because it is held on the wall not by a plane, but by every thread of its canvas. That is why, by making high-quality repairs with glass wallpaper in your apartment, you will reduce the likelihood of cockroaches and other insects in your home to almost zero!
You can decorate walls in different ways: by gluing wallpaper, painting, covering with ornaments, artistic painting, decorative plaster.
The most common decoration method and the least troublesome is wallpapering. Preparing walls for wallpapering includes several steps that should not be neglected.
Signs of the presence of insects
You should think about how to get rid of house bugs if you find the following signs of their presence:
- The appearance of bite marks. They can be found on any part of the skin, but more often the parasites bite in places where the skin is thinner - arms, buttocks, neck, elbow bends. You can distinguish bites from the bites of other insects by the presence of their accumulation in the form of a path. One parasite can make several punctures in a row to get enough blood. The bites are red in color and swelling may appear in their place. Women and children have thinner skin, so they are exposed to it more often;
- Traces in the bed. You can often hear from people suffering from this problem that they formulate their problem as follows: how to get rid of bed bugs. They actually live primarily in beds, as they are nocturnal, and they feed actively at night. However, their speed of movement is not too high. A person can crush the parasite with his body, and then traces in the form of blood stains are found on the bed linen;
- Waste products. You can find small balls of dark brown color in the apartment and, in particular, in the bed. These are insect excrement, and you can find them in furniture, under cabinets, sofas, beds, under wallpaper, in cracks. Chitin particles in the house are another sign of the presence of these parasites;
- Eggs. There can be about 20 of them from one female. They are oval in shape, translucent in color, and medium in size;
- Smell. It resembles the smell of nuts that have begun to rot. It may also resemble the smell of rotten raspberries. It appears because insects secrete a secret that allows them to navigate in space and find other individuals.
Where do bedbugs hide?
They mainly live in the bed, but if there are a lot of them, they can hide in other places. To get rid of bed bugs in the house, they need to be detected in all places where they are found, and most often they hide here:
- Seams of chairs, beds, pillows, blankets;
- Curtain folds;
- Drawers of bedside tables, tables, cabinets, furniture seams;
- Electrical appliances, sockets (one of the favorite places of these insects);
- If in some places in the apartment the wallpaper comes off even a little, parasites can nest there;
- Carpets, under carpets;
- Joints of ceilings and walls, baseboards;
- Books;
- Pictures, spaces behind them;
- Decorative elements of the interior.
How to detect bedbugs yourself?
The fight against trouble should begin with finding the nest of parasites. It contains larvae, eggs, and adults. In these same places there is always insect excrement and shed chitin. Speaking about how to get rid of bedbugs forever, you must definitely find such places, otherwise it will not be possible to completely remove them.
Please note that if there are a large number of parasites in the house, there may be at least several such nests, and it is important to detect and destroy them all. You need to look for such “breeding grounds” in places where these insects most often hide
Why do bedbugs appear in the house?
Bedbugs can enter an apartment in various ways. Most often, they enter houses with random guests, pets, crawl over neighbors, or are brought with luggage by household members themselves from travel or business trips. Sometimes apartment residents know about the existence of this problem, but do not take any measures to destroy insects, which can harm other residents of an apartment building.
The most likely reasons for the appearance of bedbugs in a home are:
Unsanitary condition of the apartment
Despite the fact that bedbugs are not interested in the presence of garbage in a bin, crumbs left on the table or a dirty floor, most likely they will prefer to live in a home with unsanitary conditions.
The carelessness of people living in an apartment contributes to the appearance and reproduction of bedbugs in it. Among two identical apartments, insects are most likely to choose an untidy home. Therefore, before looking for the cause of the appearance of parasites in your apartment, pay attention to its sanitary and hygienic condition.
The neighbors are dirty
You keep your apartment perfectly clean, but you still notice the presence of bedbugs in it. Of course, you are asking a reasonable question: where do they come from in your home? Perhaps it's all about your neighbors. If they are not clean and their apartment is infested with bedbugs, then they will certainly crawl into neighboring apartments. In this case, fighting them is pointless, since they will still crawl towards you.
Getting into the apartment along with other things and objects
Insects can get into the apartment along with other objects. By purchasing used furniture or appliances, you increase the risk of introducing pests into your home. You cannot know in what sanitary conditions these items were previously.
With luggage from long trips
When returning from a vacation or business trip, you can unnoticed and bring home several parasites along with the rest of your luggage. At home, insects get out of suitcases, then begin to settle in a new place and quietly reproduce. To prevent this, all clothes must be washed upon return and bags must be treated with anti-bedbug spray.
Introduction of parasites by other people or pets
Anyone can become a carrier of insects. This could be the household members themselves, their occasional guests, or workers called to provide any services. Bedbugs can hide in the folds of your clothing, or they can jump on you while traveling on public transport. In the same way, parasites can jump on a pet running near a garbage container.
When moving into a new home
When buying an apartment on the secondary market, there is a risk of finding a whole colony of bedbugs in it that you inherited from your ex. After all, no one guarantees that the previous residents kept the apartment clean.
What to add to glue?
On the shelves of specialized stores today there is a wide range of chemicals that provide effective disposal of blood-sucking insects. They can be added to wallpaper glue to rid the walls of bedbugs and prevent their further appearance. Among such drugs, there are several that are the most popular.
Chlorophos
Among the components of this means for killing bedbugs there are very toxic substances. In this regard, to store it, it is necessary to use an airtight container, which is recommended to be kept out of the reach of children and pets.
This product is added to wallpaper glue in a ratio of 1:4
When using this chemical, one must not forget about precautions. That is why during repairs it is recommended to work in a gauze bandage, safety glasses, rubber gloves and special protective clothing
After the glue has completely dried, you should ventilate the room by opening the windows.
Folk recipes
Of course, no folk remedy can compare with chemistry, but it’s still worth trying similar recipes against bedbugs. There are many methods that can prevent the reproduction of reptiles.
Mustard
Mustard powder will be an excellent means of control. Add dry mustard to the wallpaper glue, after which it will turn a little yellow. During the process of wallpapering, an unpleasant acrid aroma will make itself felt, and it may even cause a sting in the eyes.
So, if you prefer mustard, do not forget to arm yourself with a gauze mask and gloves. When the glue is completely dry, open the windows wide and let the room ventilate. A significant disadvantage is that unsightly stains of the corresponding color may remain on a light finish.
Evaporation
You will need boiling water. Boil water and treat furniture seams, cracks between baseboards and in the floor. Now you can start gluing wallpaper using the usual method.
Vinegar essence
Treat all those areas that parasites love with a solution of vinegar essence. There will be no stains or stains, and you can be absolutely calm about your floor coverings and pieces of furniture.
Karbofos
This is a highly effective product, but it also has some disadvantages. One of them is the presence of a very unpleasant and pronounced odor. To one liter of wallpaper glue you need to add 7 grams of Karbofos and mix everything thoroughly. Then you can move on to wallpapering.
Upon completion of work, it is necessary to open the windows for 4–5 hours to ventilate the room. It is imperative to get rid of the clothes and gloves in which the work was performed by throwing them away.
Chemistry
Chemical products demonstrate high efficiency; in specialized stores you will find numerous preparations and you can choose the ideal option for mixing with wallpaper glue. This is an excellent choice for effectively eliminating pests in your home.
Mikrofos
This product is intended for professional use only. It does not harm human health and has low toxicity. The chemical provides effective assistance in the destruction of such unpleasant insects as bedbugs, cockroaches and ants. Microfos has a fairly long shelf life. A huge advantage of the drug is that its effect lasts for 6 months.
The chemical and bedbug glue are mixed in a ratio of 1:20. After using the product, no unsightly marks remain on the wallpaper, which is another undeniable advantage of microphos.
Tetrix
First of all, we note that Tetrix belongs to the category of expensive drugs, since its country of origin is the Netherlands. However, the high cost is compensated by the fact that the product is highly effective and has a very quick effect on parasites. The chemical is sold in 250 ml jars. For 1 liter of wallpaper glue you need to take 100 milliliters of product
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the drug has a pungent and unpleasant odor.
Advantages and disadvantages of homemade glue
In addition to the obvious advantages in the form of an economical solution and ease of manufacture, DIY wallpaper adhesive has a number of additional advantages:
- Versatility. The finished mixture is great for gluing any type of wallpaper, except heavy ones ! In terms of its strength characteristics, dried glue is practically not inferior to its industrial analogue;
- Excellent adhesion. The paste allows you to quickly glue canvases to any surface, even if there is oil paint or drying oil on it;
- Not noticeable. The finished adhesive mass has a slightly cloudy-whitish tint, which completely disappears when completely dry. Thanks to this, even the adhesive mass that gets in will not be visible on the material;
- Environmental friendliness and safety. What can we say, if the glue components are not only safe, they are practically edible! The finished composition can easily be used for wallpapering a bedroom or children's room. The paste will not cause an unpleasant odor or allergic reactions; it does not emit harmful substances. In addition, the mixture is absolutely safe to use and does not pose a threat if it comes into contact with the skin;
- Not aggressive. Glue made from starch or flour does not cause the wallpaper to become wet, nor does it destroy the paper structure of the material. All this reduces the risk of tearing the canvas during operation;
- Easy to remove. Despite its high strength, removing the canvas will not be difficult - just wet the wallpaper.
However, in addition to its advantages, a homemade paste also has several disadvantages that are worth mentioning. Based on the last point, we can say that the main disadvantage of homemade paste is its fear of water , and therefore you should not use such a composition for pasting rooms with high humidity.
You can increase resistance to moisture by using PVA glue. For this purpose, it is worth adding the purchased composition in a proportion of no more than 100 ml per 5 liters of a homemade analogue!
Now you know how to make wallpaper glue with your own hands. In conclusion, I would like to remind you once again that the shelf life of the finished mixture should not exceed 24 hours; after this time, the paste loses its original properties.
What to remember
- The fight against blood-sucking insects is effective when it is carried out jointly by all residents of an apartment building.
- Preventive procedures are carried out carefully and comprehensively using household chemicals and folk remedies, with the involvement of professionals.
- General cleaning to prevent bedbug infestation should be carried out once every month or two.
- Check purchases made in stores or delivered by courier for the presence of ectoparasites of humans and warm-blooded animals.
- On vacation or on a business trip, you should carefully check the premises so as not to bring home a bedbug.
See you in the next article!
Where do bedbugs come from in an apartment? Routes of entry
Unfortunately, none of us are immune from the appearance of bedbugs in our apartments. There is an opinion that bedbugs live only in dirty, unsanitary rooms; this is far from true; they can inhabit absolutely any apartment. Even if you do a thorough cleaning of your home every day, these “guests” can come to you at any time, or you can bring them into your home yourself.
So where do bed bugs come from? This question is asked by most people who have suffered such a misfortune. There are several common options for the appearance of domestic bedbugs.
- No matter how strange and ridiculous it may sound, it is really possible. Without knowing it, you can bring a bug into your home in a new, just purchased sofa or mattress, in clothes, or in a soft toy. This can happen if the store you shop at is infested with these insects.
— When going on a trip or a business trip, be careful, you can easily “pick up” a bedbug on trains; they can hide behind shelves or in the upholstery of a mattress. In a hotel, especially cheap motels, in a rented apartment, carefully inspect your bags, suitcases, and clothes before returning home.
— House bugs can also come to you from your neighbors. This may be their natural migration, since bedbugs like to travel from apartment to apartment looking for a source of food. Also, if the neighbors left their home for a long time, thereby depriving the bug of food, then the insects will begin to move into the apartment next door. If you smell chemicals, or find out that parasites are being poisoned nearby, then be prepared to meet uninvited “guests”. A bedbug only needs a small gap in the wall, floor, or ceiling to enter your home.
— Your friends, acquaintances, relatives, whose apartment is infested with insects, can also bring a bedbug into your home when they come to visit you. It is possible that, having been in such a house, you will bring yourself a parasite in your belongings or clothes. Bedbugs in the apartment
may remain from the previous owners or tenants of the premises. Hospitals and kindergartens, health camps and sanatoriums, these places can also be infested with bedbugs.
Remember that the bug is a synanthropic arthropod, that is, individuals live in residential premises, populated areas, and on the human body. Bed bugs do not like to remain without food for a long time, so they travel with humans. They are able to cover long distances in a short time. The appearance of a domestic bug in an apartment is fraught with various troubles, such as sleepless nights, nervous shock, bites, rashes, allergic reactions; it has also been established that pathogens of diseases such as the hepatitis B virus, typhoid, Q fever can remain in the insect’s body.
Preventive measures
Preventive measures include regular cleaning of the apartment using detergents, cleaning furniture and sealing cracks and crevices. After purchasing new furniture, inspect it carefully. If you find any sanitary defects, ask the manufacturer to fix them. Damaged furniture has more conditions for insects to appear.
Carry out systematic sanitary cleaning using a vacuum cleaner. Change bedding regularly and wash immediately. It is not recommended to store it. Inspect furniture, loose wallpaper, carpets, paintings, cracks. If parasites are found, immediately take measures to destroy them.
Traces on the bed
On the bed, traces of bedbugs are visualized in the form of bloody spots formed after a parasite bite when blood oozes from the wound. Usually they are minor. But if you crush the bloodsucker, the stain can be large.
On the bed you can find chitinous membranes after molting nymphs and feces of parasites . These are clear signs of bedbugs in the apartment. If they are found, you should carefully inspect the apartment.
Important. During baiting, bloodsucker eggs do not die, since the protective layer protects the insect’s body. To completely get rid of pests, repeat disinfection is carried out after 1-2 weeks.
It is very difficult to remove bedbugs from your home, since adult bedbugs live for about a year, and during this time they can lay up to 500 eggs. Under unfavorable conditions, the parasite can go into suspended animation, which then extends its lifespan.
The most effective method of control is heat treatment of the room.
Starch-based composition and mixed appearance
Pour the starch mixture into hot water in a thin stream
Starch-based glue at home is made in a similar way to the flour type. Proportions for its preparation: 1 to 10, i.e. To prepare 1 liter of paste you will need 100 g of potato or corn starch.
You can improve the composition by mixing flour and starch. This paste is prepared by brewing:
- in a small bowl, mix 1 cup flour and 2 tablespoons starch;
- boil 2.5 liters of water and leave on low heat;
- when the water in the pan has boiled, pour cold water in a thin stream into the bowl with starch and flour and mix thoroughly;
- Pour hot water into the resulting mixture, stirring constantly, let it boil and remove from heat;
- After cooling, the composition must be strained. For more information about cooking, watch this video:
Before pasting the walls, be sure to prepare the necessary tools and read the tips on how to properly glue wallpaper.
Wallpaper glue made from flour
What is the procedure for making a paste from flour with your own hands? The classic recipe for making wallpaper glue from flour at home is very simple. In this case, for 1 liter of adhesive mass you will need about 200 grams of flour.
You can avoid unnecessary material and time costs if you adhere to the following order:
- The flour is first carefully sifted through a fine sieve;
- Next, it is dissolved in cold water to end up with a flour solution;
- One liter of water is placed on the fire until it boils;
- Dilute the flour solution with boiling water in a thin stream, then put the resulting mixture on low heat and wait until it boils, remembering to stir the mixture;
- After the adhesive mass boils, remove it from the heat, let it cool slightly and remove the film formed on the surface;
- Finally, strain the flour paste through a sieve.
This way the wallpaper glue will be ready! Check the composition: wet your fingers and unclench - if they stick together slightly, then the glue is prepared correctly. Too thick consistency can be diluted with water. Ideally, the adhesive solution should flow easily from your fingers.
For cooking, it is better to take first grade flour , not higher grade. In this case, the coarse mixture will provide the finished paste with better adhesion to the working surface.
Important point ! It is necessary to prepare wallpaper adhesive immediately before using it, since the shelf life of the adhesive is very short. After a day, the adhesive properties of the mixture are significantly reduced.
The operating temperature of a paste made by yourself should be about 30-40 degrees. In addition to its direct purpose, the finished composition can also be used for priming surfaces. In the latter case, it is better to use a hot mixture.
Preparing walls for wallpapering
Removing unwanted insects largely depends on how thoroughly you treat the room. It is recommended to start disinfection by treating the walls and ceiling. Before re-pasting the wallpaper, we prepare the walls. Initially, you need to get rid of the old wallpaper, remove it from the wall and take it out of the room as quickly as possible. Then dilute the solution for treating the walls in a basin. To do this you will need:
- one alkaline 72% laundry soap,
- 1 teaspoon of soda,
- 1 liter of hot water.
Grate the soap on a coarse grater and fill it with hot water, then add soda. Mix everything and leave for 20-30 minutes until the mass becomes homogeneous. With this solution you need to thoroughly wipe the walls, ceiling and all places where bedbugs have been found to accumulate.
What should the surface be?
If you carry out the preparatory work correctly before wallpapering, you can meet the necessary requirements for the wall for wallpaper:
- Uniform color and cleanliness of the walls (if the wallpaper is light in color or not dense enough, any stains on the wall can show through).
- Strength (a wall is considered strong if, when running a key or similar object across it, dust and small crumbs do not fall off).
- Dryness (glue will not be able to absorb into a wet surface, due to which it will lose its adhesive properties).
- Without lime stains (places where lime accumulates may be damp, therefore, do not absorb the glue: in these places the wallpaper will peel off).
Features of the pest
Officially, insects of this species are called forest tree shield insects. The insect is popularly called the stink bug. This name comes from the strong odor that remains wherever the bug crawls. Moreover, the smell remains for quite a long time. Tree stink bugs do not eat berries, but their smell becomes the reason that it is impossible to use the crop: if a green bug settles on a raspberry, the aroma and taste of the fruit will be completely spoiled. The body of an adult tree shield is oval and wide, and the head is small, with long antennae and a proboscis. The dense shell, which consists of individual scales, reliably protects the insect. The color of the bug changes depending on the season: in early spring it is light green, like young leaves on trees, towards autumn it becomes dark green, and when the leaves begin to turn yellow, its color changes to brownish-yellow. Thus, the color serves as protection from predators.
Advantages of homemade glue
The shelf life of this glue is very short.
In addition to the obvious advantages of simplicity and economy of preparation, homemade wallpaper glue has many other advantages:
No. Excellent adhesion Using paste, you can glue wallpaper to any type of surface, even if it is treated with drying oil or oil paint.
1 | Safety and environmental friendliness | All components of the paste are not only safe, they are actually edible. This glue can be safely used in children's rooms and bedrooms. It will not cause allergic reactions, does not emit harmful substances or unpleasant odors. Absolutely harmless if it comes into contact with the skin during operation. |
2 | Versatility | Suitable for use with any type of wallpaper with the exception of heavy types. Dried glue is not inferior in strength to industrial mixtures. |
3 | Easy to remove | Despite its strength, wallpaper glued with paste can be easily removed from the wall, just wet the canvas. |
4 | Not aggressive | The paste does not destroy the structure of paper wallpaper and does not cause soaking, which reduces the risk of damage to the canvas when sticking to the wall. |
5 | Not noticeable | The paste solution has a slightly cloudy whitish color; it disappears when it dries. Once on the wallpaper, it leaves no traces. |
Home-made paste also has disadvantages, which would be unfair not to mention. The main problem is the fear of water.
Do not use glue based on flour or starch in rooms with high humidity.
To make it more resistant to moisture, you can add PVA glue to the paste at the rate of 100 ml per 5 liters of finished glue. This composition can be used to glue non-woven or paper wallpaper.
Chemical means of destruction
A productive option for destroying blood-sucking parasites is the use of pesticides. They contain special substances - pyrethroids, which are used by manufacturers around the world in products against bedbug infestations. Chemists have obtained a new generation of pyrethroids that are superior in strength to their predecessors.
To increase the killing power of the product, without increasing the concentration of pyrethroids in the drug, all kinds of insecticidal additives are introduced. In most cases these are organophosphorus compounds. They have a total effect on insects, with a long-lasting effect.
Their only drawback is increased toxicity to humans and animals. Next, we discuss in detail effective chemicals that help fight parasitic hordes.
Klopoveron
The effectiveness of this product is recognized not only in Russia, but also abroad. Its chemical composition has not yet been studied exactly, although it has been produced since the 80s. last century. Known components in the composition:
- reagents of biological nature;
- cells, animal origin;
- insecticide – C51H32N208.
The smell of cells and reagents attracts bedbugs, after which they have a nerve-paralytic effect on them. Within a few minutes the parasites die.
The product is available in the form of powder, microgranules and liquid concentrate. Designed for preparing solutions according to instructions. The powder can be used in its original state, scattered in places where bedbugs are most concentrated. One package is enough to treat a room.
Executioner
A concentrated emulsion containing up to 25% cypermethrin is a low-toxic substance. Sold in 10 ml bottles, which is enough for sanitation of 5-8 square meters. m. For a 2-room apartment you will need at least 20 bottles, which depends on the density of bedbugs.
The product is from a German manufacturer and has a quality certificate. After use, a persistently pungent odor remains in the room, quickly disappearing. Several treatments will be required to be effective.
Insecticide
The key active ingredients in this product are cypermethrin and permitrin. Sold in the form of aerosols, in 300 ml cans. One bottle is enough to spray three rooms.
Kills blood-sucking parasites and larvae in half an hour. Maintains harmful effects for a month. When working with it, strictly adhere to the instructions and observe personal safety measures.
Medilis
Russian anti-bedbug drug, with a number of identical analogues:
- Super.
- Antiklop.
- Tziper.
It is based on second generation peritroids. The active substance in the composition is fenthion.
Presented in the form of: liquid solution, concentrate. The disadvantage is the heavy odor that lingers on things and furniture surfaces for a long time after disinfection.
Other means
When contacting them, SES specialists will provide competent advice on medications against bedbugs. They will be able to professionally assess the situation and offer acceptable options for exterminating insects in a particular situation.
Effective chemical compositions, in addition to those discussed, include:
- Raptor.
- Raid.
- Cucaracha.
- Dichlorvos.
- Battalion commander
They are able to completely destroy adult bedbugs, but have no effect on eggs.
How to kill bedbugs: popular techniques
Bed bugs are not the most pleasant neighbors. Their bites, in addition to allergies, cause severe psychological discomfort. The biggest mistake you can make when your home is infested with bedbugs is to do nothing. Bed bugs multiply at a tremendous speed - if you do nothing, the house will soon become unlivable due to the unpleasant odor and constant night attacks.
But how to get rid of bedbugs? Over the entire period of human confrontation with these annoying insects, many methods have been invented to combat them. In this article we will talk about the most popular methods of disinfestation, as well as their real effectiveness.
Effective
Effective disinfestation methods mean actions that cause the death of bedbugs and their eggs. That is, you need a product that can easily kill bedbugs. These include freezing, chemical treatment, steam treatment and room heating.
The freezing method is one of the oldest ways to kill house bugs. The essence of the method is simple - you need to wait until the temperature outside drops below -20 degrees and open the windows indoors for 2-3 hours. It is possible to carry out freezing even at -7, but in this case the insects will have to wait two to three weeks for death. Under favorable conditions, this method is the cheapest and most convenient, but these favorable conditions are extremely rare.
First of all, freezing cannot be used in apartment buildings - this is fraught with an accident in the heating system and sewage system. Another obstacle is the weather. Unfortunately (or fortunately), temperatures of -20 in winter are rare - unless, of course, you live near the Arctic Circle.
If freezing did not work, then you can go the other way - kill the parasites with high temperature. Despite their endurance and vitality, at temperatures above 55 degrees, bedbugs die within 2-3 hours.
Warming up, also called burning, is carried out using special equipment - powerful heaters that can warm the air to the required temperature even in winter. The burning method is 100% effective, but is much more expensive than others. You will need to call a service that has such equipment and bear the cost of electricity - during processing, the electricity meter will “twist” at enormous speed.
Hot steam, heated to a temperature above 60 degrees, kills parasites almost instantly. Therefore, treating a room with a steam generator has become a very popular method of disinfestation. But this method is characterized by a number of disadvantages. First of all, you need to buy a steam generator - professional exterminators almost never use them. The expense of purchasing your own machine can only be justified if you need to carry out pest control regularly. The other catch with steam is that you have to find every bedbug nest and steam it. This is very difficult, because due to their size, bedbugs can hide anywhere. In an apartment or private house, the method is relevant if the house already has a steam generator purchased for cleaning or washing the car.
Chemical treatment with insecticides is the most affordable, effective and widespread method of removing insects that have settled in an apartment. Spraying a special poison indoors not only kills insects, but also creates a protective effect that lasts for a long time.
There are many different insecticides on the household chemicals market - it will not be difficult for you to choose the best option. These can be products based on malathion, pyrethroids, neonicotinoids and many other poisons.
The disadvantage of this method is the need to carefully observe safety precautions, which is not always possible for inexperienced and careless people. The toxicity of insecticides combined with negligence can lead to poisoning and allergies. It is better to call a specialist who will carry out high-quality and safe disinfestation.
Outdated insecticides, such as Karbofos, are characterized by a strong odor that does not disappear even after a long time. It is better to choose modern drugs that are odorless, or equipped with special fragrances and flavors to mask it. If there are small children or allergy sufferers living in the house, take a closer look at non-toxic products based on abrasives and hygroscopic substances.
Ineffective
There are a number of products that are positioned as effective methods of disinfestation, but are not. This category includes both the notorious folk methods and various kinds of fraudulent machinations.
The myth that you can get rid of bedbugs using wormwood or tansy is actually not without foundation. These plants release phytoncides into the air, which repel bedbugs with a strong odor and disrupt their natural mechanisms for searching for victims. The key word here is scare away. No herb can kill insects - after a few days they will starve and stop responding to the smell.
You can use wormwood and tansy to fight bedbugs only for preventive purposes, or to briefly reduce the intensity of night attacks.
This category includes various “scented” products that are available at home. These are vinegar, turpentine, denatured alcohol, naphthalene, kerosene, etc. The mechanism of action here is similar to the method with herbs - bedbugs, which are guided by smell, do not like such an “odorous” atmosphere at all - after treating the room with the means described above, they will stop attacking for some time. However, they are incapable of killing the insect population, so they are not suitable for full disinsection - no matter how strong the chemistry may seem.
Another broad category of ineffective methods that involve searching for bedbug nests and destroying them using a hair dryer, boiling water, steam from a kettle and other complex, dangerous and ineffective means. You are unlikely to be able to kill all the bedbugs using this method, but you can easily ruin furniture or wallpaper and get a couple of burns.
The success of ultrasonic repellers in the fight against mosquitoes and rodents has prompted many manufacturers to launch similar devices designed for bedbugs. But in this case, such devices are pure fraud. The fact is that bedbugs are not able to perceive ultrasound - they navigate by smell. Therefore, a product that perfectly repels rats or mosquitoes will not work on them. The ineffectiveness of ultrasonic, magnetic and electronic repellers is evidenced by numerous reviews left by deceived buyers.
Superstitions are a personal matter, but using them to remove pests would be extremely unwise. Rituals, conspiracies and spells will in no way prevent parasites from harassing you and your loved ones.
Now you know how to kill bedbugs and drive them out of your home forever. There is no need to skimp on calling exterminators or buying good insecticides - this is a matter of health and comfort.
A little about bedbugs
House bugs are blood-sucking parasites. There is no other type of food for them. The main source of food for these insects is humans, but bloodsuckers can often attack domestic animals or birds.
The adult has a flattened, oval-shaped body, without wings, 3-8 mm long. Bed bugs are predominantly brown in color, but there are some dirty yellow ones. Females are always larger than males.
Increased activity of small bloodsuckers is observed at night, from 3 to 8 o'clock. During this period, the insect is able to repeatedly attack its prey, drinking up to 7 mg at a time. blood. During the day, parasites prefer to hide in secluded, dark places, such as blankets, mattresses, pillows, upholstered furniture, household appliances, closets with clothes, space under wallpaper or in cracks in walls.
A well-fed bug increases in size up to 9 mm. In this state, it can easily be crushed, while the hungry insect is reliably protected by a dense chitinous shell.
Life cycle of a bed bugReproduction of bloodsuckers occurs according to the principle of traumatic insemination - the male fertilizes the female with the help of a special organ, often causing damage to her. Soon the female lays small oblong eggs that resemble grains of rice. On average, she manages to produce up to 5 pieces per day.
Traces on the human body
So what traces do bedbugs leave on the human body? According to doctors, after an insect bite, a red bump remains at the site of penetration. It is very itchy, swollen, and painful.
Therefore, a large red spot makes people think that mosquitoes have settled in the house. Residents begin to actively fight flying bloodsuckers, while bedbugs continue to increase their population.
In some people, bedbug bites cause an allergic reaction, then it is difficult to correctly differentiate a harmless wound . After insects, red spots resemble bumps, but not pimples.
The swellings are very painful, itchy, and inflamed. If you scratch the penetration site, there is a risk of infection, which complicates treatment.
When pests settle, the number of bites gradually increases, being located chaotically on the body in places accessible to penetration. The allergy covers areas of the skin completely, it is smaller and is localized not only in open areas of the body.
Bites
To understand that it is a bug that bites and not another insect, it is worth examining the wound. Bloodsuckers leave a kind of trail. They produce 2-5 bites about 5-10mm apart. After drinking a sufficient amount of blood, the insects retreat to their nest.
Bedbugs attack in colonies, so in the morning there may be several grooves, but all of them are located only on open areas of the skin, since the pest is not able to bite through clothing. It also does not touch skin that is heavily covered with hair.
Parasites attack only at night, although if there is a large infestation, bloodsuckers can come out during the day. Adult bedbugs have a proboscis with two sections, through one they suck in blood, and through the other they inject a secretion that blocks nerve endings, which causes an analgesic effect. Thus, a person does not feel pain and notices the appearance of bite marks only in the morning.
Bloodsuckers love to attack children because they have delicate, thin skin that has no specific odors. The duration of the meal can be 15-20 minutes, during which time the bloodsucker receives 0.5-7 ml of blood.
Bedbugs do not attack every night; the dose of food they receive lasts for 5-7 days, after which they return to the victim. The female requires more frequent feeding to lay eggs.
Bedbugs drink human blood; parasites do not harm animals except for the lack of food.
Features of the pest
Officially, insects of this species are called forest tree shield insects. The insect is popularly called the stink bug. This name comes from the strong odor that remains wherever the bug crawls. Moreover, the smell remains for quite a long time. Tree stink bugs do not eat berries, but their smell becomes the reason that it is impossible to use the crop: if a green bug settles on a raspberry, the aroma and taste of the fruit will be completely spoiled. The body of an adult tree shield is oval and wide, and the head is small, with long antennae and a proboscis. The dense shell, which consists of individual scales, reliably protects the insect. The color of the bug changes depending on the season: in early spring it is light green, like young leaves on trees, towards autumn it becomes dark green, and when the leaves begin to turn yellow, its color changes to brownish-yellow. Thus, the color serves as protection from predators.
How to make quality wallpaper glue
Most often, people buy wallpaper glue from the same place where wallpaper is sold, and sellers/consultants recommend a specific glue for the selected wallpaper. Depending on what kind of wallpaper you are going to buy, you will be offered a certain type of wallpaper glue. In principle, they are all the same type and their differences are only in the method of dilution and density. The thicker the wallpaper you buy, the more firmly the glue should hold the strip of wallpaper. For paper wallpaper, glue is cheaper, you need less of it and the density of the glue diluted in the bucket will be low.
For thick wallpaper with embossing, vinyl, non-woven or metallic wallpaper, the adhesive must be thick and strong so that the strip does not peel off. It is stupid to save money when buying wallpaper glue, especially if you bought good, expensive wallpaper. After all, if you buy cheap glue or buy little of it, hoping to dilute it thinner with water, then it will be difficult to glue the wallpaper strips, and then the wallpaper may come off. Why do we need such savings? If you are already doing repairs, then do it conscientiously, after all, you are doing repairs for yourself, and redoing it will be even more expensive and troublesome.
Specialized services
No one has yet created a unique remedy against bedbugs. But other drugs and folk remedies cannot get rid of the scourge 100%. If you don’t have the strength and patience to fight insects on your own, then you should seek help from a specialized service.
Modern organizations that remove parasites process premises using a ULV generator. This allows you to significantly reduce the volume of toxic components due to the generated mist, which is evenly distributed over all surfaces. Special services will quickly rid any home of bed bugs. Moreover, the effectiveness of the result and duration depend on how the disinfection was carried out
Therefore, the choice of organization should be approached with special attention.
Glue Alt (alt) as a means of combating bedbugs
This moisture-resistant pest control product is odorless and non-toxic. It exhibits its adhesive properties within half an hour after application to cardboard, tape or any other area with a smooth surface. The anti-insect product must be applied at least 0.2 centimeters wide.
Once the insects enter the substance, they die and the platform should be discarded. You should not apply glue to an empty surface - the floor, table or baseboard, as after application and drying, it is very difficult to remove. If the product gets on your skin or clothing during application, it can be removed with gasoline or any organic solvent.
The advantages of Alt glue are:
- relative cheapness of the drug;
- does not require much time;
- the effectiveness of bedbug traps when properly organized.
Preventive measures
Preventive measures include regular cleaning of the apartment using detergents, cleaning furniture and sealing cracks and crevices. After purchasing new furniture, inspect it carefully. If you find any sanitary defects, ask the manufacturer to fix them. Damaged furniture has more conditions for insects to appear.
Carry out systematic sanitary cleaning using a vacuum cleaner. Change bedding regularly and wash immediately. It is not recommended to store it. Inspect furniture, loose wallpaper, carpets, paintings, cracks. If parasites are found, immediately take measures to destroy them.
Habitats
The favorite habitats of bed bugs are secluded, warm and quiet places. These include sofas and beds. When settling there, insects are guided by only one principle - to be close to the victim (human). In addition, parasites do not have a big appetite: only one meal a week is enough for them to satisfy their hunger. If it wants to get enough of blood, the pest will leave its hiding place and calmly get to the sleeping person.
The drug "Executioner"
This remedy is also considered effective. It helps fight bedbugs. Moreover, the composition is safe not only for humans, but also for pets. To obtain a solution, you need to dilute one bottle of the drug in ½ liter of water, preferably warm. In this case, the solution must be stirred well. It is best to treat surfaces with a spray and with the windows closed. You should also use protective equipment: gloves and a respirator.
Among the advantages of this drug it is worth highlighting:
- Rapid destruction of adults, larvae and eggs.
- There are no stains on the furniture after treatment, slight odor.
- Relatively low cost.
Safety
When choosing what to add to wallpaper glue against bedbugs, do not forget about safety measures. Always use a special suit, hand protection, gauze mask, and respirator. All this must be thrown away after work; reuse is not allowed.
If you choose a toxic composition, remove children and animals from the room before starting the procedure. If the product is insecticidal, marks may appear on the wallpaper, but such cases are not common.
Bugs on the ceiling - what they do there and how to get rid of them
As you know, bedbugs live near places where people sleep and relax. Insects leave the shelter at night, feast on blood and return to the shelter. But bugs on the ceiling are not uncommon; in practice, there are cases when insects made nests directly in the cracks of the ceiling or settled inside the tension fabric. There are several reasons for this - it could be poor-quality disinfestation, overcrowding, ongoing renovation work, or simply because bedbugs are warmer and more comfortable on the ceiling.
Hungry bed bugs head upward as this is the path to a food source or if you see bugs on the ceiling, they have probably migrated from neighbors above.
Conditions under which bedbugs live on the ceiling
Since the ceiling is not a typical permanent habitat for bedbugs, certain conditions are needed for them to settle there. It is impossible to imagine a cluster of insects on a smooth ceiling in a corner, in front of people. The main condition is the presence of cracks, hidden places, shelters where pests can hide.
Bugs are hiding on the ceiling:
Even if the ceiling is smooth and airtight, insects settle in lighting fixtures and chandeliers.
As a rule, suspended ceilings are completely sealed, the chance of bedbugs appearing there is minimal.
Bugs on the ceiling
Very often, these harmful insects settle in suspended and suspended ceilings. Wingless creeping pests climb onto the ceiling and jump from there directly onto the bed. But if there are cracks or holes in the ceiling, it can easily become a habitat for nasty parasites. The small size of insects still allows them to be noticed with the naked eye. They are often located near a person’s sleeping place, in a dark and warm place. This is where they lay their larvae. If you can't get rid of bedbugs within the first few weeks after you feel the first bites, they will breed throughout the house.