You shouldn’t wait until leather beetles finish your last pair of boots or gnaw away the upholstery of your sofa. Against skin beetles, the one who wins faster is the one who is ready to use everything that is effective against them. But many things are effective, and each remedy (especially non-chemical, preventive) acts on one side, i.e. After applying one measure, the result may be incomplete. Therefore, only an integrated approach is 100% justified.
When processing, you need to cover the space to a height of 1.25 - 1.5 m from the floor. Carpet beetles are localized, like fleas, within these limits. What methods of disposal can destroy them?
- Freezing your home is one way to get rid of insects in your home. The leather beetle dies at 11 degrees below zero, but some individuals can hide or hibernate, so it is better to maintain a temperature of 20 degrees for at least three hours. It is better to repeat the procedure, and alternating temperatures will kill a large number of insects.
- A 0.005% solution of the pyrethroid permethrin will protect things and interior items. After such treatment, neither the skin beetle nor the moth will touch things for a year. In general, the tactics for getting rid of skin beetle larvae and destroying moth larvae are largely similar.
- Using well-known anti-moth preparations (professional Mittox-Antimol or anti-moth aerosols like RAID), you can easily and quickly get rid of beetles within a couple of days.
- Preparations in powder form are rubbed in with a broom or brush, where there are a lot of larvae, this can be the cracks of the parquet or baseboard. The drug is applied into the cracks of the cabinet using a rubber bulb.
- Liquid preparations are used to irrigate cabinets, baseboards, drawers and walls. Their use must strictly comply with the instructions on the label, otherwise you may not get rid of insects or harm your health.
Skin beetles in apartments and their larvae lead a secretive lifestyle, so the fight against them becomes noticeably more difficult. The optimal period for their extermination is May or from October to November. At this time, the larvae, due to their “young” age, are sensitive to the insecticide.
Among contact-acting drugs, the most effective are:
- "Foxid"
- "Supronit"
- "Morimole"
- "Diphos"
- "Mittox"
Fumigants in the form of tablets and wafers:
- "Dezmol"
- "Antimol"
- "Nimol"
- "Molemore"
Aerosol preparations are usually used to clean affected items. The item is placed in a plastic bag and processed. Half of a large Difox cylinder is enough for one square meter of the surface of the object. The bag is sealed and left for a day at a temperature not lower than +14 degrees, after which things can be taken out of the bag and ventilated.
Instead of Difox, you can use Antimol-Contact tablets.
The tablets have a pronounced smell of bitter almonds. With this method, it will take a lot of time to destroy the larvae, but in two weeks all the pests in the bag will die. To destroy beetle larvae, you will need 3-4 tablets; they need to be placed on top of things, since paradichlorobenzene, a substance contained in the preparation, is much heavier than air. The tablets permeate clothing with the smell, so people with allergies should be careful.
Repellents of all kinds are a short-term way to repel bugs, and are completely ineffective at killing them. Repellents can only be used as a temporary solution.
Before using chemicals (they are toxic), clothing and belongings must be inspected, cleaned and dried. In winter, after keeping them on the balcony, you may not need to use strong agents.
And now a step-by-step plan of what to do if the beetle beetle has settled in the apartment.
Insects in the house - a plan for exterminating the carpet beetle
First you need to make sure that it is this pest that is ruining things in the house.
Insects can be seen both in larval and adult form. Adult beetles are brown or black and about the size of a pinhead. They move slowly and turn over when touched. The larvae have brown stripes and hair-like formations all over their bodies.
Where to look for insects? Larvae hide in the following places:
- under the carpet;
- under baseboards;
- in clothes;
- in ventilation ducts.
Processing rules
The most suitable processing times are May, October-November. During these periods, the skin beetle larvae do not have dense cover after molting, which makes them vulnerable. Before starting disinfection, it is necessary to close windows, doors, and ventilation ducts. Remove children and animals. Despite the low toxicity, treatment should be carried out in thick clothing with sleeves, rubber gloves and safety glasses.
Aerosols and emulsion solutions are sprayed at arm's length, at a distance of 20-25 centimeters from the surface. The walls are processed from top to bottom from a height of 1.5 meters.
Sequence of insecticide application:
- walls up to the baseboard;
- behind the baseboards;
- window;
- doors;
- lampshades;
- cushioned furniture;
- pile surfaces;
- in closets;
- ladder.
At the end of the procedure, ventilate the room.
Video about skin beetles in an apartment
The next stage is cleaning the apartment . Upholstered furniture and carpets should be vacuumed every day for a week. Ideally, damaged clothing should be thrown away, and other fabric items should be washed in hot water; fur coats and old, stale clothes should be taken to the dry cleaner. If possible, treat furniture and carpets with hot steam.
There are cases where these pests have lived in the pillow, eating feathers there, so it doesn’t hurt to carefully inspect the bed. If you suspect bugs, it is better to get rid of the pillows or send them for treatment (dry cleaning).
If the skin beetles in the apartment have firmly taken their positions, you cannot do without an insecticide. Insecticides containing allethrin, bendiocarb and chlorpyrifos are ideal for carpets. During their application, it is recommended to add PPH, insecticides that control the birth of beetles, preventing their reproduction.
When working with chemicals, you must remember about protective measures - special clothing, gloves, personal hygiene. The treated room must be left for some time, because the poison dissipates in the air. How serious the problem is in the room and how many beetles inhabit the apartment will be indicated by glue traps with hormones placed near the source of infection.
In a private house, the use of insecticide is important around the entire perimeter of the building. Particular attention should be paid to window frames, doors and ventilation pipes. It would be good to get rid of bird and bee nests around the house. Insects sometimes lay eggs in these very places, which means the source of infection is the nests.
Objects that can be damaged by the leather beetle must be protected in all possible ways. Starch clothes and store them in bags, ventilate closets regularly, make sure that things do not linger. If necessary, the solution to the problem will be to call a professional.
The use of effective and powerful agents ensures thorough eradication in case of severe infestation. Carpet beetles live not only in apartments and houses. Their appearance in factories and warehouses is a real disaster.
Liquid MediLIS Super
MediLIS Super is a concentrated insecticide for universal use. It contains lambda-cyhalothrin, a chemical that destroys pests when they enter the body through the gastrointestinal tract. The drug has a repellent (repellent) effect and is twice as effective as the strongest second-generation insecticides. The knockdown effect that lambda-cyhalothrin causes in insects is irreversible. Quickly penetrating the tissue, the drug changes the potential of the nerve cell and blocks the nervous system. The death of the population occurs within 24 hours. The insecticide is capable of completely destroying pests and protects the room from the reappearance of the skin beetle. The product is sold in the following packages:
- plastic bottles;
- glass or plastic ampoules;
- polymer containers with a volume of up to twenty liters.
Before use, it should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:100, and then sprayed in insect habitats. MediLIS Super is excellent for use in advanced infestations, as it remains effective for a long period of time (up to 1.5 months) and is a more powerful poison compared to others. The estimated cost of the drug is 450 - 500 rubles. Hazard class three (moderately dangerous). Gloves, overalls, goggles, and a respirator should be used as protective measures. The drug does not leave stains on treated surfaces and is invisible to an outside observer. The consumption rate is indicated in the instructions.
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How to deal with leather beetles in warehouses
Carpet beetles live in bakeries, granaries, grain processing plants, and warehouses with cereals, flour and animal feed. They contaminate and eat food, creating unsanitary conditions around them. As a result of research, it turned out that at the first degree of contamination of a room, up to 10% of the grain is damaged! Without a doubt, something urgently needs to be done about this.
The complex of protective measures against pests includes the treatment of all warehouses and outside warehouse reservations. Particular care must be taken in areas where pests have all the conditions for development and reproduction. The fight will be successful only under the condition of a strictly sanitary regime and compliance with all food storage rules.
The leather beetle in the granary is destroyed by wet disinfection. Unloaded warehouses are sprayed with a solution of fufanon, karate, standard - actellik, 200 ml of liquid is consumed per 1 square meter. The storage areas are treated with the same drugs, but doubling the liquid consumption.
Grain products and grains also undergo fumigation treatment. This is done in fuming chambers, cars, under film, freight cars, and sealed warehouses. Quickfos, magfos, agfos and dakfosal are used as fumigators.
In enterprises and warehouses, complete protection of products from beetle attacks is achieved only through a set of measures that complement each other.
It is extremely difficult to remove insects both in warehouses and at home. What difficulties await those who decide to wage an independent “war” against pests?
Liquid GET Total
GET Total is a pesticide that effectively kills skin beetles. The active ingredient of the drug is chlorpyrifos - a strong insecticide that affects the nervous system of the insect. The drug is diluted in water in a ratio of approximately 1:10, and then sprayed in a dense layer on the surface of objects and on the floor. It can be used both indoors and on the porch, veranda, steps of a private house and beyond. After spraying the product, the water dries naturally and microcapsules remain, which will fight pests. These capsules are resistant to humidity, temperature changes and sunlight, so GET Total can be used in almost any conditions. In this case, no visible marks remain on the surfaces. The drug is sold in 100 ml bottles. and costs about 1000 rubles. As a rule, the consumption rate is 100 ml. for an absorbent surface and half as much for a non-absorbent one. An important advantage of GET Total is that it is harmless to people and pets. It has the fourth, lowest hazard class. Important! It acquires this class only after drying, so work with gloves and while spraying, remove small children, animals and anyone to whom you cannot clearly explain the dangers of the insecticide from the room. The drug has a very slight odor and the aroma quickly disappears. If you are not allergic to any scents, GET Total will not be a cause for concern.
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Temperature control method
Carpet beetles exhibit sensitivity to sudden temperature changes. Indicators below zero are lethal for these insects. This factor is only beneficial in the fight against parasites. The affected items are taken out into the cold and left there for at least 5 hours.
Important! To achieve the cherished goal, contaminated objects must be kept at a temperature no higher than -15, -20 degrees.
You will need to freeze things more than once, and you will need to alternate with above-zero temperatures. By the way, this method will help get rid of any insects.
Some things are placed in the freezer compartment for several hours. This method will also give the expected result. After freezing, items should be washed in soapy water.
A microclimate with a temperature of +5 degrees Celsius is also destructive for skin beetles at different stages of development. The carpet beetle falls into a state of torpor, stops feeding, and then dies completely.
High temperatures are also contraindicated for this insect. At +60 degrees or more it dies. If the affected materials are resistant to elevated temperatures, then you can get rid of the annoying pest through disinfestation with heated air. The duration of processing is set in accordance with the characteristics of the material properties. So, for example, things made of felt should be processed for 3 hours, no less.
Temperature exposure is an effective method, but does not guarantee a 100% result. To remove insects, an integrated approach is required, combining a similar method with chemical methods.
Development and reproduction
To understand how long it can take to combat these pests, let's look at the stages of development of the leather beetle. Females can lay their larvae anywhere: on the surface of various materials, in cracks in the floor and walls, in furniture, and so on.
Depending on the room temperature, the period for the birth of a new population can range from two to fifty days. The drier and warmer the room, the faster the process goes. Each female is capable of laying about a hundred eggs during her life, and under the temperature and humidity conditions of an apartment, leather beetles can produce 4–5 offspring per year.
The larva of the leather beetle molts 6–7 times with an interval of 5–9 days, and before the pupation stage it can gnaw out long (up to 10 cm) passages even in those materials that are not used for food. Thus, it is the larvae that cause the greatest damage to the premises and people.
Spray Clean Home Super
The drug has a very convenient release form - a spray. The manufacturer claims that one such bottle is enough to disinfect 2800 square meters. m. At the same time, the protective layer that forms when applying the Clean House Super product lasts about three months and, while destroying existing skin beetles, does not allow new ones to enter. The active ingredient of the drug is beta-cyfluthrin. It effectively copes with more than a hundred types of pests, including skin beetles. At the same time, both the substance itself and the spray are odorless, do not leave visible traces and, in general, only disturb dying pests. Aerosol Clean House Super belongs to the fourth hazard class, that is, it poses virtually no harm to people, animals, fish, etc. But care should be taken when applying. As with any pesticide, you need to work with it wearing gloves, a protective mask, goggles, and you should also put on a work coat first so that your clothes are not saturated with spray splashes. Keep the bottle as far away from your face as possible. Important: If you have ever noticed an allergic reaction to beta-cyfluthrin or any substance from the pyrethroid class, you should stop using this spray. In any other case, you can use it to combat skin beetles. A clean Super house is inexpensive. One can of aerosol will cost you about 300 rubles.
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Preventive measures
It is very difficult to get rid of the bark beetle completely and quickly. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out prevention, which consists of certain measures.
Skin beetle larva.
- Keep the room clean, carry out wet cleaning regularly, and if possible, treat hard-to-reach areas with a steam generator.
- Place moth repellents in places where things and food are stored.
- Carry out regular audits and get rid of old, unnecessary things.
- Cover windows and ventilation holes with mesh.
