What can you do if there are cockroaches in your apartment?

The appearance of insects such as cockroaches in an apartment cannot, of course, be called a pleasant phenomenon.

These are one of the most common pests - insects in human homes and commercial premises.

Longhorned beetles are carriers of several dozen pathogenic microorganisms and spoil all the products available in the house.

The result of your fight against cockroaches will depend on how quickly you reacted and took a number of necessary measures.

What actions should you take if you see Prussians in your apartment? What methods and means exist for their effective destruction? This article is devoted to these issues.

Where do cockroaches come from in an apartment?

The first question that comes to mind for the owners of the apartment in which these vile insects were found is: where did they come from in the apartment?

There are several options for how cockroaches could get to you. Let's look at the most common of them.

From neighboring apartments

Often cockroaches come from neighboring apartments where there is unsanitary conditions. This is the environment that is most comfortable for these insects to live in.

Insects crawl through ventilation ducts, garbage disposals and cracks in the walls. An open front door also facilitates their entry into the apartment.

Initially, one cockroach comes to the apartment, which is a kind of scout. He explores a new territory, checks whether there is access to water and food, whether the air temperature and humidity level are suitable.

If the scout is satisfied with everything, then he informs his relatives about it. And the next day, whole hordes of barbels are already attacking your apartment.

But what makes the Prussians leave their homes, because just recently they felt great in neighboring apartments? This may happen for the following reasons:

1. there are so many insects that at a certain point they no longer have enough space, and they are forced to look for a new habitat;
2. the neighbors have treated the apartment and the parasites, in order to avoid their death, hastily leave the areas that pose a danger to their lives. Usually in this situation there is a mass migration of Prussians from apartments, where it becomes uncomfortable for them to live and reproduce. Therefore, barbels that managed to survive can infest your home in a very short time.

With shopping

Cockroaches can appear in an apartment thanks to the household members themselves. They can bring a female German along with their purchases from the store.

It is impossible to see exactly when a cockroach crawls into a bag. Soon you will be able to observe adult insects scurrying throughout the apartment.

It's easy to explain. The female that comes into your apartment begins to lay eggs, and after just a few days, young barbels are born.

And Prussians are very prolific. Therefore, one female brought from a store can give birth to an entire population of insects.

With things from trips

If you returned from a business trip, then there is a high probability that the Prussians could have arrived, getting into your things. We all know that not all hotels have ideal living conditions.

This also applies to third-rate hotels that people stay in during their holiday at the resort. Here, too, you can easily grab a barbel and bring it to your apartment.

In postal parcels

Today, more and more people prefer to make purchases in online stores, which are delivered by mail. It is in parcels from other countries that cockroaches are very often transported and end up in our homes.

Scout cockroach. Let's defeat the Prussians! Safe ways to control cockroaches

My mother-in-law's apartment is infested with cockroaches. For some reason you can’t see them during the day, but at night it’s scary to go into the kitchen: they’re just swarming. And where are they hiding?! There are even white ones: probably some kind of mutants? Everywhere you look, there are traces of them in the form of dark spots, maybe excrement? I'm afraid that my mother-in-law will bring cockroaches to the dacha with her things. The problem is that she categorically refuses to fight them with the help of “chemistry”. Are there other ways?

S. A. Gulyaeva, Naro-Fominsk

— Our homes are most often inhabited by red cockroaches - Prussians. They find shelter in a variety of places: behind central heating radiators, under a gas stove, in walls and in hoods, behind peeling plaster, tiles and wallpaper, under sinks, behind baseboards, in table drawers, in stacks of papers, newspapers and magazines, and even inside any equipment. And in hot years, until the first autumn frosts, they can “rest” in natural conditions - in nature.

Cockroaches live in groups. Inside each there are scouts who can go far from the main habitat to find food and additional shelters. Cockroaches are active at night and early in the morning, as they suffer from photophobia. There is a rule: for one cockroach seen, there are from 200 to 1000 that are still invisible. Then consider for yourself...

Female Prussians lay eggs every 1–1.5 months in a special elongated ooteca capsule. The female carries this ooteca with her until the larvae hatch from the eggs. The discovery of a large number of such capsules indicates an impending proliferation of cockroaches. The larvae emerging from the eggs are similar in appearance to adults, but differ in their smaller size and white body color. They darken only after 6-7 hours. Young cockroaches that have just molted are also white (then they gradually darken). And stories about escaped mutants from secret laboratories are just rumors.

There is a joke that cockroaches divide people into slipper killers and chemical killers. Insects, it seems, have no idea what various and sophisticated methods of killing their worst enemies can resort to (see table).

Safe ways to control cockroaches

Mechanical methods

1. Clean the house, thoroughly wash all found areas where cockroaches accumulate, and carefully close the trash can at night. Try to deprive them of any food.
2. Cut off the cockroaches' path to water. Repair all leaking taps and connections, wipe the sink dry at night, and plug the drain. If possible, do the same in the bath (even if cockroaches get into the toilet, they most often drown). Water your flowers before dusk.
3. Seal any cracks where cockroaches are crawling out with adhesive tape.
4. In winter, try to freeze your home (if there are no batteries in the room, they may burst). The Prusak dies at a temperature of -7 °C after 1 minute. So, if your dacha is not heated during the cold season, there is nothing to worry about: not a single cockroach will survive there.

Lures:

• calcined, crushed and sifted borax, thoroughly mixed with equal parts of flour and powdered sugar, is scattered in a dry room, avoiding contact with moisture;
• the yolk of a raw chicken egg is mixed with 25–30 g of boric acid and the resulting mixture is laid out on pieces of laminated paper, small lids, etc.;
• In a glass of hot water, stir 2 teaspoons of boric acid and 3 teaspoons of granulated sugar, pour the solution into small caps and place in the evening.
• Liquid baits are renewed every evening for a month.

Cockroach in a rented apartment

If you live in a rented apartment, have entered into an official agreement with the owners and paid them for your stay, then they are responsible for ensuring that the living conditions in the apartment are acceptable.

Cockroaches in an apartment are a serious reason for terminating the rental agreement and returning the money paid to the tenants.

But the situation can be resolved peacefully. You should inform the apartment owners about this problem and try to solve it together.

There can be many options here. One thing is clear: we need to start destroying them as soon as possible.

Can cockroaches jump? Do cockroaches fly?

Usually, when people hear the word “cockroaches,” they have not very pleasant associations: omnivorous pests that smell specifically, run fast, and live at someone else’s expense. The most famous of them are synanthropic, cohabiting with humans - large black cockroaches and “Prussians”. They are the ones who successfully support the established unflattering stereotype. In fairness, it is worth noting that this common view of numerous arthropods is rather narrow.

In reality, the biology of cockroaches is incredibly diverse. As well as their appearance and habits, which are not at all limited to existing stereotypes.

Cockroaches are a large class of representatives with a similar body structure. They are distinguished by a powerful gnawing apparatus, which allows them to feed on any solid food. Their thin mesh wings are folded like a fan under dense, parchment-like protective wing covers. In many species, wings are rudimentary or absent altogether.

! Today, more than 4.6 thousand species are known from the suborder of cockroaches proper. And more than 7.5 thousand species of the cockroach class. About fifty species representatives live in the countries of the former USSR alone. Moreover, only a few of them come at the expense of people.

Synanthropic cockroaches, as a rule, do not fly. In rare cases, males can make short flights or dive from a height using their wings spread to soften the impact of the fall. But there are also species whose representatives use their wings for their intended purpose: they flutter like butterflies and even make voyages over considerable distances.

Flightless cockroaches

1. Among them, the Philippine cockroach Prosoplecta semperi stands out - a master of camouflage. It is quite easy to mistake it for an ordinary “ladybug”. Cunning mimicry helps it avoid the threat of being eaten by its natural enemies - birds, spiders, rodents, etc. In the tropics, it feeds on plant foods and lives in the soil litter, only occasionally climbing to the surface.
2. The tiny, about 3-4 mm long Texas ant-loving cockroach Attaphila fungicola lives exclusively in ant nests. Females, as a rule, are wingless, and males have brachypterous (significantly reduced, reduced) wings. The species feeds on mushrooms raised by ants, and travels on winged female hosts when they go on their mating flight.

For reference ! The phenomenon of brachypterism is especially common in insects and birds inhabiting mountains, deserts and polar regions. In conditions of constantly blowing winds, insects move in space along with air currents, and birds simply walk on the ground. Therefore, their wings are greatly shortened, practically undeveloped or absent altogether.

Philippine cockroach

Winged cockroaches - “turtles”

1. In the dry, hot climate of Asia, desert “turtle” cockroaches live and thrive. One of them, the Egyptian Polyphaga aegyptiaca, lives in Dagestan. Females of this species are much wider than males and have denser covers. The rounded body shape of the miniature female “turtles” gives them a clear resemblance to known amphibians. They are characterized by sexual dimorphism - the presence of a flying machine in males and the absence of such in females. During its life, the Egyptian “turtle” makes 3–5 clutches and lives up to four years, which makes it a long-liver among arthropods. Cockroaches have adapted to survive differences in day and night temperatures from +40 to 0 C and even lower. Egyptian cockroaches feed on organic remains of various origins: dry leaves, animal feces, etc. During the day, “turtles” escape the heat in the burrows of gerbils and jerboas or burrow into the soil under bushes.
2. A close relative of the Egyptian cockroach is the Central Asian cockroach - “Turtle” of Saussure (Polyphaga saussurei). It is sometimes called the sand (velvet) cockroach. The species is interesting because in extreme conditions it reproduces parthenogenetically, without the participation of a sexual partner. This is a fairly large insect - almost 5 cm in size. When frightened, the cockroach develops white shoots along the edges that emit a smell.

What can you do right away?

If the appearance of cockroaches in the apartment could not be avoided, then it is necessary to begin fighting them as soon as possible.

Prussians are usually active at night, and during the day they prefer to sit out in secluded places hidden from view.

If their numbers reach incredible proportions, then there is no longer enough shelter for everyone, and the cockroaches come out.

Therefore, a longhorned beetle scurrying around the apartment in broad daylight indicates that their colony has reached enormous proportions.

The priority measures that owners should take:

1. do a general cleaning of your home and thoroughly wash the kitchen area using detergents;
2. then hide all the food so that insects cannot get to it. After all, it is on them that mustachioed pests like to crawl. All food should be packed in tightly sealed containers. First of all, this applies to flour products and various sweets. The use of plastic bags is not recommended, since cockroaches can easily chew through them;
3. The garbage must be packed in a special bag, which must be placed in a trash can with a tight-fitting lid. If there is no lid, you can tie the bag. Cockroaches love to dig into waste bins, so you need to make sure that they cannot get to the garbage;
4. Whiskered parasites do not tolerate lack of water well and can live in such conditions for no more than one week. This means that it is necessary to limit insects’ access to various liquids as much as possible. All taps must be in good condition and must always be tightly closed. The sink should be wiped dry after use. Such actions will lead to the fact that the living conditions for cockroaches in the apartment will become unbearable, and all the barbels will inevitably die.

Upon completion of the preparatory work, you should begin to fight the Prussians as soon as possible in order to exterminate every single one.

White cockroaches

White cockroach Larvae always differ from adults in being lighter in color.
Immediately after molting, the chitinous cover is white. The shell quickly hardens and acquires a dark color, but when you see such a cockroach at home, it may seem that it is a completely different species. White cockroaches are not at all the result of a mutation; they have not developed resistance to poisons, and are even more vulnerable than other members of the family. Since they molt 5 times, their size may vary. Gradually the small individuals grow up.

Search for nesting sites

To rid your home of these unpleasant insects, you must first of all find all their nesting places.

The most effective and easiest way to detect Prussians is with bait. Place some food on a plate, place it in the kitchen and turn off the lights. A little later, when you turn on the light, you will see insects crawling in different directions.

You can find the location of cockroaches along the paths of dark brown dots - these are excrement left by barbels.

Dried skins (chitinous coverings), which can be seen on or near food, under the sink, on dishes or wallpaper, will also help you find out where Prussians may nest.

If the population of cockroaches is large, you may notice the appearance of a specific smell in the apartment.

Having discovered longhorned beetles in your home, you need to start removing them as soon as possible, because they are very prolific and their numbers are growing every day.

Insecticidal sprays and aerosols

Also a large group of insecticides. It has the form of a liquid placed in a can and is sprayed pointwise under pressure. Don't know what to do if you come across a nest of cockroaches and want to destroy them all en masse? That's right, use the aerosol before your wife sees the cockroaches before you, and it would be nice to have such a product on hand. For a serious fight against red colonizers, sprays are not suitable. In addition, they also have a serious drawback: high toxicity for people and animals. However, even a respirator does not guarantee complete protection from toxic fumes. Therefore, it is better to choose a more versatile and safe product. If for some reason you need a spray or aerosol, here are the most popular brands:

• Dichlorvos;
• Raptor;
• Combat;
• Baron;
• Raid;
• Clean house.

When using aerosols, remember safety precautions: use rubber gloves and a respirator, and thoroughly ventilate the room after treatment.

Insecticidal traps

Cockroach poison in the form of traps is perhaps the most versatile and safest remedy. It is designed as follows: poison with a food attractant that lures cockroaches is placed in a plastic container, which is attached to the surface using double-sided tape.

Read on the topic: Cockroach larvae or why insects come back after disinfestation

Even if just one individual tries the deadly treat, the rest will die, as the cockroach becomes infectious. The resulting epidemic will wipe out the entire population in a couple of days, all you have to do is collect and throw away the dead insects. The undeniable advantages include the following:

• Efficiency.

Usually a couple of days is enough to completely rid a home of red-haired conquerors. This is the most important advantage, since it will not be possible to remove nasty insects using other methods as quickly as using traps.

• Safety for people and animals.

The product does not emit toxic fumes, and the design of the plastic trap makes it impossible for pets or children to extract and eat the poison.

• Long lasting effect.

The traps remain active for two to three months. This period is usually enough for your neighbors to also have time to poison their cockroaches, so you don’t have to worry about new mustachioed visitors. For those who do not want to put the health of family members at risk and resort to chemical insecticides, there is another way to combat insects. True, this method is not suitable for sensitive people - you will understand why later.

So, the essence of the method is as follows. You need to take a jar, coat the inside of the walls with Vaseline or oil, put bait on the bottom, and wrap the outside of the jar with paper so that it is convenient for cockroaches to climb up. Attracted by the smell of the bait, the insects will be drawn into the jar, but they will no longer be able to get out - the slippery walls coated with Vaseline will not allow them to do this.

Of course, the method is safe and effective, but it’s too disgusting. Few people would want to see, much less touch, a jar infested with nasty insects. You can't do without allies in the war against cockroaches

As mentioned above, it rarely happens that cockroaches inhabit only one apartment in an apartment building. They almost always migrate and settle throughout the entire entrance. For this reason, it is pointless to fight them alone - sooner or later they will come again. The best solution would be to join forces with neighbors and carry out insecticidal measures across the entire entrance at once. In addition, it makes sense to leave traps or other means in common areas - near garbage chutes, on stairs, and so on.

Folk remedies for Prussians

Method No. 1

The most common folk method of getting rid of barbels is the use of baits made on the basis of boric acid.

Prussians love to eat granulated sugar, liquid yeast, boiled egg yolk and mashed potatoes.

Boric acid is combined with a tasty and aromatic bait, small balls are formed from the resulting mixture and placed wherever there are concentrations of mustachioed “invaders”.

Method No. 2

Cockroaches are cold-blooded creatures. Air temperatures below +5 C˚ cause insects to lose their ability to reproduce and ultimately die.

Therefore, since ancient times, people have often resorted to “chilling out” their homes. This method is quite effective for getting rid of these unpleasant roommates.

But in city conditions, its use is unlikely, since you can easily damage the heating system of not only your apartment, but also an entire multi-story residential building.

Method No. 3

Prussians hide in their shelters during the day, and at night they begin active movements throughout the entire apartment.

Turning on the lighting in this situation is an absolutely meaningless measure, since cockroaches have no fear of it.

They can only be frightened by the noise of approaching steps; upon hearing it, the Prussians immediately take to their heels.

Therefore, you can try to make a trap for Prussians yourself. You need to take a glass or enamel bowl and place a tasty bait on its bottom.

Lubricate its edges using Vaseline or any fat. Trying to get to tasty food, the cockroach climbs inside the container, and it will never be able to climb back out.

Insects caught in this way can be destroyed by pouring boiling water on top.

The configuration of the body of cockroaches gives them the opportunity to penetrate into cracks in walls, inside furniture, under wallpaper and under baseboards.

Only a vacuum cleaner will help remove the Prussians from these hiding places. However, keep in mind that the Prussians do not die inside the dust collector.

Black cockroaches

Black cockroach They rank second in infestation of residential buildings and apartments. This species is called the sewer oriental prussian. Black cockroaches prefer to live in basements and sewer hatches. Their appearance in the house occurs mainly through pipes.

On a note!

The presence of a black cockroach in the kitchen means the presence of cracks in the sewer system, faulty pipelines, and severe infection of the basement.

Adults especially reach a size of 3 cm. Larvae of different ages are even smaller. The body is dark, closer to black, with a greasy sheen. The female differs from the male in body structure: a wider abdomen.

Chemicals

Cleaning and folk remedies alone are not enough to rid your apartment of cockroaches forever.

To combat Prussians, you will certainly need to use various insecticidal preparations. Let's talk about the most popular chemicals.

Aerosols and sprays

Today, people use aerosols less and less to kill barbels, since there is a risk of the sprayed product getting into the human respiratory tract and the likelihood that cockroaches will be able to adapt to it.

You will have to use different aerosols each time so that the insects do not become accustomed to the same composition.

Gel preparations

Such products are the most widely used means to combat cockroaches.

The gel necessarily contains a toxic active substance and a fragrant bait, which attracts pests. It is applied in the form of solid strips or tracks of drops in places where insects are most concentrated.

A number of gel preparations are bitter, which can scare away pets. But it is better to refrain from using the gel in places accessible to them.

Traps

Today, you can buy various types of cockroach traps in specialized stores.

Or you can make it yourself from small boxes in which you need to make one small inlet hole.

Inside such a device you need to put a fragrant bait. Every day, caught cockroaches need to be shaken out. A toilet is best suited for this.

An industrially manufactured electric trap kills all Prussians entering it with a discharge of electric current.

Glue houses

This device looks like a house, inside of which there is a tasty and aromatic bait.

But its walls are covered with adhesive tape, to which all the paws of the long-horned beetle, attracted by the pleasant aroma, are glued.

As a result, the insect dies. It is surprising that the parasites that came later are not afraid of the corpse of their relative in the house.

They also stick to the tape and die. Having placed such a device in the evening, in the morning you can see that it is filled to the top with dead cockroaches.

Chemical weapons against mustachioed colonialists

When insects appear in the house, it is necessary to use special means - insecticides. These are pesticide-based chemicals designed to rid your home of bruins. You can buy such drugs at any hardware store, market or in a specialized department of the supermarket.

Ask a sales consultant, he will select the appropriate product and explain how to get rid of pests with it. Today, manufacturers produce a variety of products, and the average consumer can easily get lost among all these boxes and jars of insecticides. Insect repellent can be presented in the following forms:

• gel;
• chalk or powder;
• spray;
• trap.

Insecticides are also divided according to the route by which they enter the insect’s body:

• fumigators (respiratory tract);
• intestinal (edible poison, oral route);
• contact (enter the body through the skin);
• systemic (used in agriculture and not suitable for home use).

Regardless of the form, the principle of action of these substances is based on the following: one individual, upon contact with an insecticide, is poisoned and, returning to the nest, infects others. Let's try to figure out how insecticidal preparations work and which one is better to give preference to.

Insecticidal powders

Powders are popular because of their relative safety for people and animals. However, before treating the premises, it is better to play it safe and limit children and pets’ access to cockroach poison. The most famous insecticidal powders are the following:

• Boric acid.

An affordable drug, you will find it at your nearest pharmacy. The method of application is quite interesting: the acid is scattered in the sink, toilet and bathtub, while the drops are wiped off and the water is reforged. Cockroaches can go a long time without food, but not without water. And boric acid, scattered in all sources of moisture, makes it impossible for insects to drink, and they die. This method has one significant drawback - the processing time. It will take more than one week to kill all the individuals with thirst.

• Pyrethrium.

This beautiful word refers to ordinary chamomile flowers, dried and crushed. This powder has a detrimental effect on pests, paralyzing their nervous system. In addition, pyrethrium repels new cockroaches. The product is perfect as a preventive measure if your neighbors have parasites and you don’t want them to settle in yours too.

• Borax.

Reading on the topic: Argentine cockroach

To control pests, borax is mixed with powdered sugar, which attracts insects, and scattered in places where cockroaches may be. If you don’t want to waste, you can pour the resulting mixture onto a piece of paper and leave it in the kitchen.

• Medilis Cyper.

A drug based on cypermethrin is an insecticidal substance that was discovered back in the seventies of the last century. The drug was widely used to control pests in agriculture, and later began to be used to kill household insects, and quite successfully. Among the advantages of powder insecticides are the following:

• efficiency;
• safety for people and their pets;
• versatility.

Of course, there are also disadvantages. For example, the duration of the process of exterminating insects. Any of the above remedies will require several weeks, or even months, to completely get rid of the mustachioed conquerors. Places where Prussians may live will have to be treated regularly and very carefully. When it comes to such vile roommates, you want to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Daylight negatively affects powders, reducing their activity. Thus, pyrethrium left in the sun becomes safe for pests, which means it is necessary to ensure that the poison is not exposed to sunlight and daylight in general. If a couple of neighbor's cockroaches wander in, the powders will help, but, unfortunately, they won't be able to cope with an entire population.

Boric acid

This is an absolutely safe substance for people and pets, but it has a detrimental effect on Prussians.

When Prussians come into contact with this product, their whole body begins to itch very much. This subsequently leads to their death, but each poisoned insect manages to return to the nest, where the infection of the rest of its relatives occurs.

Such a chain reaction leads to the destruction of the entire pest population. Boric acid is used to treat all spaces near water sources, the area near the trash can, and baseboards.

You can mix it with food, roll it into balls and place it where cockroaches most like to gather.

Professional Services

If, despite all efforts, it was not possible to remove the Prussians on your own, then you need to entrust this matter to professional services.

Today, cockroach removal services are provided by numerous companies with special equipment and qualified personnel. The list of disinfestation measures includes:

1. an initial survey aimed at determining the extent of contamination of the premises;
2. choosing a method for exterminating insects;
3. carrying out disinsection.

All companies engaged in such activities must use only approved drugs.

During disinfestation measures, all windows in the room must be open, and there should be no people in the room.

Before starting work, you need to hide all food and personal items to avoid contact with chemicals. Upon completion of treatment, the apartment must be ventilated.

There is no doubt that pest control performed by professional companies will bring greater results than exterminating insects yourself. Often, processing is carried out in several apartments and common areas at once.

How to get rid of cockroaches forever

If you live in a private house, it will be enough to thoroughly poison the insects once, and then regularly take preventive measures so that the insects do not come to visit in the future.

But if you are the happy owner of a home in an apartment building, you cannot do without coordinated actions with your neighbors. Agree with all residents and carry out pest control at the same time. Otherwise, it may happen that cockroach troops from another floor will enter your neutralized apartment again and again.

conclusions

To prevent the reappearance of longhorned beetles in the apartment, it is necessary to maintain cleanliness, especially in the kitchen area.

Make sure that there is no food or crumbs left on the table, and there are no dirty dishes in the sink. Cockroaches love to live in apartments with unsanitary conditions.

Periodically carry out treatment in the kitchen using special gels or traps with bait.

Often, cockroaches appear again, crawling from neighboring apartments, so all measures to destroy them mustache pests must be carried out simultaneously by all neighbors.

Fast reaction

Unfortunately, hoping that this is a “vagrant” cockroach is at least careless. Usually one cockroach that catches our eye means that these pests have already settled in the apartment. But there is no need to panic. There are effective and safe methods that allow you to get rid of cockroaches in simple and fairly quick ways.

The most effective way is to seek help from a professional disinfection service in your city. They have the appropriate equipment and drugs, the effectiveness of which has been confirmed not only by the manufacturer, but also by dozens of successful treatments. Disinfection services will not only destroy cockroaches, but will also take measures to prevent further reproduction and increase in population size. After all, the larger the population, the more difficult it is to fight it, and the costs of removing cockroaches become higher. Therefore, quick action is crucial here.