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Few people want to see cockroaches in their home. Honestly, no one wants to deal with these insects in their cozy corner. The thought of them alone can disturb peace and cause discomfort. And when these little creatures enter your home and form their own colonial settlement there, it is as if they are establishing their own rules in your own home.
At the beginning of everything, it seems that these are just little things - two or three cockroaches, which you can either simply drive out with a slipper, or successfully kill off, and you think that the problem is solved. If everything were that simple, this article would not exist. After such annoying episodes, your apartment suddenly finds itself filled with cockroaches - relatives of those unlucky individuals that you met earlier. Where do they come from and why does your home become their refuge? These and many other questions will be discussed in this article.
What kind of cockroaches are these?
Those two or three cockroaches that you noticed were not random guests. They are scouts in the cockroach world. This is not just like that - they have a serious role in the colony: collecting information and finding suitable places for the entire cockroach clan to live. The appearance of these scout insects means that the remaining cockroaches have already begun to look for a new shelter, and are currently actively exploring the environment. This also likely means that cockroaches may be invading your premises in much larger numbers in the near future.
Why only “may mean”? There is a small chance that a cockroach scout will not find suitable living conditions in your apartment and will transmit information that your space is not suitable for development. However, as mentioned earlier, such cases are extremely rare. Cockroaches are unpretentious creatures, and the appearance of scouts can be considered a kind of warning: this is a hint that it is time to take action. But first, let's look at the basic information.
Who are cockroaches
Cockroaches, which have adapted to living in human homes, are synanthropic insects. This means that they find their home in areas where people live and are largely dependent on human activity. If you notice a cockroach in your home, even if it was found on another floor or in a neighboring apartment, this may be a warning sign. The situation is aggravated if the neighbors have already turned to the sanitary and epidemiological service for help, since cockroaches can easily move from them to you, inspecting new habitats.
Why should you worry even if the problem started with your neighbors? The fact is that in cockroach colonies there are always scouts, and there are several of them. When the number of cockroaches in a colony grows (and this happens very quickly; in a matter of months the number can increase hundreds of times), it becomes impossible for everyone to live together in one room. Therefore, cockroaches begin to spread throughout the apartment, then move to other apartments. The role in finding a new home is played by scouts who look for possible routes to get to people.
Cockroach: biology
Cockroaches are social insects that live near humans. They live in colonies where each cockroach has its own role. A scout is a special category of cockroaches that are the first to appear in apartments, then return to the group and transmit information. It is interesting that in appearance the scout cockroach does not differ from other individuals of the colony. All cockroaches retain the same size, color, gnawing mouthparts and antennae.
Cockroaches are incompletely metamorphosed insects, meaning that their larvae resemble adults. The larvae hatch from eggs that female cockroaches carry in a special “container” - an ootheca. During development, the larvae molt seven times and shed their old skin. This process takes three to four months, but under favorable conditions can take as little as 75 days. The larvae try to stay within the colony during molting.
Cockroaches prefer warmth, humidity and darkness, which makes a bathroom with a leaking sink one of their favorite places. They are also active in the kitchen, especially if food and water are left open there. Cockroaches eat everything: sunflower oil, raw meat, bread, etc. If there is chaos and garbage in the apartment, this will attract cockroaches and increase their interest in your home.
In addition, cockroaches can damage appliances and furniture by leaving their excrement on them. They are also carriers of dangerous infectious diseases that are dangerous to both people and animals. All this makes cockroaches unwelcome guests in our home.
Here are some of the diseases that can be transmitted by cockroaches:
- Anthrax: a bacterial disease transmitted through contact with infected tissue or fluids.
- Cholera: an infectious disease caused by bacteria transmitted through contaminated water or food.
- Plague: an acute infectious disease transmitted by fleas that live on infected rodents.
- Salmonellosis: an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract transmitted through contaminated food.
- Meningitis: an inflammatory disease of the lining of the brain and spinal cord that can be caused by a variety of microorganisms, including those that can be carried by cockroaches.
These diseases can pose a threat to human health, especially if there is insufficient hygiene and the presence of cockroaches in the house.
In the listed diseases, we have mentioned only a part of those that cockroaches can carry! And even if a person does not see dead insects (for example, they die in a colony, in shelters or behind wallpaper), this does not mean that they do not exist. Dried insect bodies and shed larval skins serve as food for mites, which, in turn, can cause various respiratory diseases - from allergic reactions to rhinitis. All these threats can become a reality if the sources of cockroach infestation in the apartment are not identified and eliminated.
How cockroaches get into an apartment
The appearance of pests in the house is due to the possibility of free access of insects to the territory of the home. If there are no cracks or other hiding places in the house, insects will not be able to get inside. Therefore, it is important to block all access routes to prevent possible invasions. Here are some of the likely methods of entry:
- Gaps in the floor, walls and joints of structural elements.
- Ventilation holes.
- Connections of pipes and floors between floors.
- Leaks in door blocks and window frames.
- Drain holes in bathtub, sink and sink.
In addition, there are other possible ways that insects can enter a person's home. Among them, random methods of spreading cockroaches should be highlighted:
- Inside items delivered by couriers.
- Together with the parcels (insects can get there at the packaging stage).
- Inside suitcases used to transport things.
How to get rid of cockroaches
When trying to return an apartment back to its rightful owners, various methods and strategies are used. There are many approaches that can be taken in this context. Let's look at the most common of them.
Folk methods
Traditional methods of fighting cockroaches continue to improve from decade to decade, and many effective methods can be found at your nearest pharmacy. Here are several methods to combat these parasites without using special insecticides:
- Cucumber in an aluminum bowl: Although the cucumber itself is not dangerous for pests, sliced slices in an aluminum container drive away cockroaches with their smell. This method does not kill insects, but only repels them.
- Phytoncides of honeysuckle, garlic, wild rosemary and other aromatic herbs: Plants such as honeysuckle, garlic and wild rosemary emit scents that can repel cockroaches. Herbs can be used both fresh and dried, placing them around the house. In addition, wild rosemary can be used to fumigate an apartment.
- Essential oils of lemon and lemon balm: Essential oils have a strong odor that repels cockroaches. A few drops of lemon or lemon balm oil can be applied to those places where insects are supposed to be hiding, and also treat the legs of furniture.
- Baits made from bread with yolk, to which boric acid is added, are used to reduce the number of cockroaches in the colony. To do this, prepare balls of bread dough with yolk, giving them the consistency of a mass reminiscent of plasticine. Add boric acid and, if desired, vanillin to give the baits a stronger flavor. The richer the smell, the more effective the bait will be. It is important that the cockroach eats a sufficient amount of boric acid, so it must be added inside the insect.
- It should be noted that this method has its drawbacks. Boric acid must build up in the cockroach's body, a process that can take up to a month. During this time, you will have to endure the presence of pests in the house.
- Another method of controlling cockroaches is to use ammonia. Dissolve ammonia in water in the proportion of one spoon of alcohol per liter of water and wipe all accessible surfaces with this solution: floors, window sills, pipes and other places that can be reached. Carry out similar cleaning two to three times a week until the cockroaches disappear from the house.
Chemicals
Folk remedies are convenient because they can be found in a pharmacy or used at home, but their effectiveness is often questioned. In most cases, they only give the cockroaches extra time instead of taking action. To reliably get rid of pests in an apartment, it is best to turn to proven chemicals that will provide a guaranteed result.
Here are some of the most effective and popular products that can be purchased in stores:
- Chlorpyrifos,
- Silica,
- Deltamethrin in combination with fenthion,
- Fenthion without additional substances,
- Cypermethrin,
- Lambda-cyhalothrin.
These names, which are more reminiscent of spells, are indicated directly on the packaging, so finding the right remedy will not be difficult. However, the use of such products can be difficult, because what does not kill the scout cockroach (and the colony can survive at temperatures of 50 degrees and even background radiation) can be toxic to people. That is why it is important to carefully read the instructions and take care not only of your safety, but also of the safety of others: for example, many products from this list are strictly prohibited from being poured down the drain.
Destruction of larvae
No less dangerous are cockroach larvae, often forgotten after successful disinfestation. In fact, disinfestation cannot be considered completely successful until the larvae are destroyed.
Larvae can pose a greater threat than adults: they leave the nest more often, collecting more dirt and bacteria. In addition, they are dangerous because when they shed, they leave shells that can cause allergies and irritation of the respiratory system. There is even information that most children's runny noses that are not accompanied by fever are due to an allergy to such abandoned skins.
After the adult cockroaches die, there is always the possibility that some of the eggs laid before disinfection survived. This means that if larvae hatch from them, which subsequently become cockroaches capable of reproducing, the residents will face a new problem. Therefore, effective disinfection must be carried out in two stages: the first time, the “most mass” of pests are destroyed, and in the second stage, the surviving and hatched individuals.
F.A.Q.
In this section we have collected the most frequently asked questions that have not yet been answered in the main text.
Do cockroaches bite? According to all available data, cockroaches do not bite people. There are anecdotal reports of red and black cockroaches biting, but such cases are rare and difficult to verify. If you have cockroaches in your home and notice bites, there may be other blood-sucking insects in your home, such as bedbugs or mites.
Which insecticides are safe for animals? No insecticide can be completely harmless to all living beings. Imidacloprid is considered one of the safest components for humans and animals, however, safety rules must be followed when using it.
Can cockroaches fly? Cockroaches have wings, but they cannot fly in the full sense of the word. Their “flights” consist of short-term gliding from a high surface to a lower one. Usually such “flights” do not exceed several meters.
What is the difference between an adult cockroach and a larva? There are few differences between a larva and an adult cockroach. Larvae, or nymphs, look like smaller versions of adult cockroaches without wings. The differences lie in a slightly different pattern on the back (the stripes on the back of the larvae are wider). All cockroaches that scatter when the light is turned on are nymphs.
Cockroaches in the house: conclusion Cockroaches are considered one of the most unpleasant neighbors of humans. They can damage furniture and appliances, transmit diseases and spoil food. However, thanks to proven remedies that have been tested for generations, you can cope with this problem and protect your home from these pests.