Carpet beetles, flour beetles, bread grinders - it’s hard not to notice them against the white background of a plastic window. Brownish pests are somewhat similar to ladybugs, but smaller in size. At first glance, harmless creatures, however, cause trouble for the owners of modern apartments: they eat food, damage furniture, and the bite of bugs is unsafe.
If brown pests appear on the windowsill, the useful information from the article will help you immediately begin the fight. For those who do not want to encounter them, prevention can help. The main thing is to understand what insects are and how they can get into the house.
Types of brown bugs and features
There are several types of insects with a diameter of 2-4 mm: there are individuals that eat flour and cereals, others prefer wooden products and books. A separate species is the carpet beetle, which is harmful to human health.
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The following types are adapted to apartment conditions:
- Brown carpet . Its larvae are considered dangerous; the adult beetle uses its own reserves.
- Ham look . It has an oblong shape - a black creature with a yellow mustache; most common.
- Kozheed Smirnova chooses window sills and lamps as her abode.
- beetle is the most harmful of those listed above. Spoils food.
Uninvited guests can be spotted on the windowsill at any time.
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Methods of disposal
You can eliminate such a problem as beetles living on the windowsill or elsewhere in the apartment without resorting to expensive chemicals. It is enough to discover the breeding ground and get rid of it.
You should move all the furniture and carefully inspect it for cracks, crevices, and rotten areas. Next, you need to go through all the books, and especially old copies. Conduct an audit of products: cereals, flour, crackers, dried fruits, etc.
Small bark beetles love sweets the most, so you should check there first.
Once an insect nest has been discovered, it should be eliminated along with spoiled food. Cereals, dried fruits, flour, etc. must be thrown away immediately. If bugs are found in furniture, the damaged area must be thoroughly cleaned of debris and treated with a special wood protection agent. It is also better to get rid of books or bake them in the sun if they are of value.
To eliminate pests, you can also use chemicals, for example, boric acid, which should be rubbed into the affected areas. There are other substances sold in stores in the form of sprays, aerosols, gels, etc. The procedure should be repeated several times a month, and the treated areas should be washed a day after each manipulation.
Why do they appear and where do they live at home?
Most often, skin beetles enter a home in the summer through an open window. They are brought from another room when transporting upholstered furniture, books, herbariums, and other collections. When buying flowers in a pot, you also run the risk of acquiring a pest straight from the store.
Depending on the species in the apartment, they can live anywhere. Carpet beetles do not choose a specific corner for themselves. Hard-to-reach places become their refuge, where they lay larvae that feed on dust. Kozheeda Smirnov can be found not only on window sills, but also in lamps. Bugs love dry air; they thrive in dresser drawers, cabinets, sofas, and mattresses.
Reasons for the appearance of bugs
The reasons for the appearance of bugs can be both external and internal factors.
External factors include:
- reduction of the nutrient medium in natural conditions;
- changes in climatic conditions (decrease in temperature and increase in humidity);
- ability to move long distances.
Internal factors can be:
- presence of a nutrient medium in the room;
- comfortable conditions for living and reproduction;
- placing stuffed animals or birds in the apartment;
- storage of a collection of insects (beetles, butterflies);
- home library (especially if you have old tomes);
- presence of pets (especially long-haired ones);
- neglect of preventive measures to combat the skin beetle.
Good to know! The summation of internal and external causes leads to the rapid spread of this pest in residential areas.
What danger do brown creatures pose?
Insects destroy skin, fur, wool, fluff, felt, silk, and will not refuse food products and cereals. So, in the kitchen they feast on cheese, dried meat or fish. Powdered milk and cereals will spoil. Pests will happily attack old books with glue binding.
Brown bugs damage wires, furniture upholstery, parquet floors, picture frames, wallpaper, etc. The danger to the human body lies in the transmission of various diseases. A skin beetle bite can cause allergies and provoke the development of infections; there is also a danger of contracting worms through them.
Folk remedies and chemistry
First of all, cleanliness in the kitchen is important. Carpet beetles cannot tolerate the smell of moth repellents, so you can lay out the appropriate tablets and plates on the cabinet shelves. Of the folk methods in the fight against such insects, lavender and wormwood have proven themselves well. The strong aroma of herbs will repel adult insects from the bookshelf.
Cabinets are wiped with water and vinegar. They also fight with chemicals. A permethrin solution will be needed to treat seasonal clothing before storage. The substance is not dangerous for humans, but it is effective against parasites, destroying both adults and larvae. Prevents their reappearance.
Chemical aerosols of the following brands will help get rid of brown bugs:
- "Clean house";
- "Raptor";
- "Armol";
- "Raid" and others.
A group of insecticides is effective against adults and larvae; white powder (popularly known as dust) is poured under the parquet and near the baseboard, you can make a solution and treat objects, rub it into furniture upholstery. Good old Dichlorvos will also be effective in this case.
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Conclusion
Now you know how to get rid of insects that appear on windows, and you can solve this problem once and for all. Additionally, I recommend watching the video in this article. If you have any questions for me, ask them in the comments, and I will be happy to answer you.
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January 31, 2022
House,Windows,Walls
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Lifehacks for getting rid of brown bugs
There is a more humane way of fighting, but it applies not to insects, but to food. For many, throwing away cereals is an unaffordable luxury.
If pests have left their mark on it, you can do the following:
- Sort and sift well through a fine sieve.
- Heat in the oven or place bags of cereal in the freezer for several days.
- You need to use it first.
- Treat the surfaces of the cabinets with vinegar, boric acid or laundry soap (rub it and make a solution).
- Pour boiling water over the cracks.
- Wash the dishes to completely get rid of derivative bugs.
The vacuum cleaner will suck out hidden parasites and their larvae from all the cracks. After the procedure, the dust collector or garbage bag is thrown away or, once emptied, frozen for 3-4 days to prevent re-infection.
As soon as the cereal is placed in the boxes again, “traps” are installed. To do this, pour a little sunflower oil into small containers; the remaining beetles, which will drown in it, will definitely come for a treat.
How to get rid of uninvited guests?
If a problem with beetles does appear, then you can get rid of it easily. To do this, you do not need to purchase expensive chemicals. It is necessary to monitor the bugs to understand where their breeding ground is and simply get rid of it.
In this case, you need to look around the apartment or house, move away the furniture, check for cracks and rotten places. It is also necessary to focus on books; old books should be carefully reviewed. After this, you need to go to the kitchen and take a good look at all the crackers, cereals, flour and dried fruits.
These beetles love to eat sweets, so you need to analyze and check everything for the presence of baked goods, sweets, and so on.
If you manage to find a nest of bugs, then you need to completely eliminate it. Don’t forget that you also need to get rid of spoiled products. If beetles were found in flour, cereals, dried fruits, or sugar, then they should be thrown away immediately. If pests are infested in a certain part of the furniture, then you need to work hard on the affected area. Here you need to use a special chemical that is intended for furniture, and you also need to clean the dust well. If the nest is found in books, then it is best to recycle it. If the book is valuable, then you need to bake it in the hot sun.
To get rid of pests, it is best to use chemicals. In this case, boric acid will become irreplaceable. It needs to be rubbed into the places where bug nests were found. Other substances such as aerosols, sprays, gels can also be effectively used; they can be easily purchased in stores. These substances must be applied several times a month. After 24 hours, you need to rinse each treated area.
Prevention methods
To prevent the skin beetle from entering the room, a number of measures are carried out:
- Ventilate regularly and do wet cleaning. Insects seek dry environments.
- Twice a year they go through clothes in closets. Lavender, wormwood, tansy, tobacco, and camphor are left on the shelves.
- In the kitchen, surfaces are often treated with vinegar, the garbage is taken out and the bucket is treated.
- Wash the floors thoroughly with the addition of cleaning products to wash away the larvae from the cracks.
- Mosquito nets are hung on the windows.
- Create conditions for storing cereals and other food products.
Washing powders, bleaches, ammonia, and chlorine have no effect on kitchen pests. If you were unable to get them out of the house yourself, specialists will come to the rescue. To clear your apartment of uninvited guests, you may have to leave your home for several days.
Prevention
Everyone knows that it is much easier to periodically carry out preventive measures than to get rid of already established parasites. At least several times a year, you should do a general cleaning, move away large furniture, wash behind and under it, wipe off dust from objects and vacuum thoroughly. Books also need periodic revision.
Any cracks or chips found on furniture must be treated and sealed. Cereals should be stored in glass or plastic tightly closed jars or well-tied plastic bags. If food is stale, it is better to get rid of it immediately so that brown bugs do not appear there later. The shelves on which food is stored also need to be periodically wiped and dried.
If you find small brown insects on the windowsill or anywhere else in the apartment, you should not panic. Most likely, these are carpet beetles or borers. They do not pose a serious danger to humans, but you should get rid of them as soon as possible so that they do not cause damage to furniture, books, clothing or food.
