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Kozheedy in an apartment and a private house: where do they come from and how to deal with it

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Sometimes bugs appear in the premises. They can fly, and it seems to us that there is no more harm from them. They can sit in corners, in closets, under baseboards, or in food storage areas. These insects belong to the species of leather beetles - dangerous pests that damage almost everything: furniture, carpets, food, etc. In museums and repositories, leather beetles can damage valuable exhibits, stuffed animals, valuable old books, herbariums, and products made from natural silk.

Skin beetles: photo

Leather beetles.

Description of skin eaters

Name: Kozheedy
Latin: Dermestidae

Class: Insects - Insecta
Squad: Coleoptera - Coleoptera

Habitats:everywhere except in damp places
Dangerous for:products, furniture, supplies
Means of destruction:chemicals, boric acid

There are several types of kozheedov beetles known in the world. They may differ from each other in appearance, size, color, but their life cycles are the same.

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The length of their body is from 1,3 mm to 12 mm, it is oval, round, the top is convex, and the bottom is flattened and covered with hairs and scales. Skin beetles are mostly dark brown or black in color, but some members of this species may have red or yellow bands on their wings.

The pattern of the cuticle and the hairs and scales that cover it can be very bright in some beetles. They fly during the daytime, some species of kozheed beetle cannot fly. Adults of some species do not eat, but live off the reserves of fat that they accumulated during the larval stage. Insects live for about a year.

Distribution

Kozheedy prefer dry warm regions. They live in deserts and semi-deserts, in forests and mountains. In the tundra, this type of beetle is not found, in tropical regions they are almost absent, since they do not like wet places. In nature they settle:

  • in the dried corpses of animals;
  • bird nests;
  • burrows;
  • hollows;
  • on the trees;
  • on the branches of shrubs.

Reproduction

The female beetle is capable of laying more than a hundred eggs over the entire period of her life. Larvae appear after 2-50 days, depending on the temperature regime. In warm, dry rooms, 4-5 generations may appear per year. Most often, the kozheed lays its eggs in dry and warm places:

  • in mattresses and furniture;
  • under the wallpaper;
  • under skirting boards;
  • in window frames;
  • in flower pots;
  • lamps.

Before pupation, the larvae of the skin beetle molt 5-7 times, and can gnaw through passages up to 10 cm even in those materials that are not suitable for food. They are very mobile. The larvae pupate, and after 4-20 days, beetles emerge from the pupae.

The harm caused by kozheeds

Beetle kozheed in the house.

Beetle kozheed.

If kozheedov are found in the premises, urgent measures must be taken to destroy them.

  1. Different types of kozheed damage crops, furniture, wallpaper.
  2. They eat food such as dried meat, dried fish, cereals.
  3. Things made from natural materials, wool, silk, fur, feather pillows and blankets are also damaged by the skin beetle.

For the larvae of this beetle, there are very few things that they would not eat.

Common types of kozheedov

Different types of kozheedov differ in size, habitat and culinary preferences.

Ham skin-eater
The most common species found throughout much of Europe and Asia. Body length 7-9 mm, on the anterior part of the back in adults there are spots of yellowish hairs. Both beetles and larvae cause harm, they feed on dried meat and dried fish, animal skins and grain products. The beetle settles indoors and in dry places, and the female lays more than 100 eggs over the entire period of her life.
Carpet beetle
This species includes 3 subspecies of beetles, the size of which is within 2-4 mm. They are brown in color and live indoors. The food for them is the smallest particles, crumbs, pieces of cat hair, skin flakes. Only larvae of the carpet beetle are able to feed, they accumulate reserves, which then feed on adults.
Fur coat
The body length of this beetle is 4-6 mm, it is black with brown elytra with white stripes. It feeds on food products, and is considered the most harmless among its relatives.
museum beetle
This species of kozheed has a round short body, 2-3,5 mm long. The elytra are covered with black scales with three yellow bands. Beetles can be found on flowers, larvae damage dry animal carcasses in zoological collections.
Kozheed grain
It is also called the kapro beetle. The body of the beetle is 2-3 mm, it is oval, brown, covered with light yellow hairs. It feeds on cereals, peanuts and copra.
Spotted skin beetle
Beetle 5-10 mm long, elytra dark brown, covered with yellow hairs. It feeds on the decaying remains of corpses. The larvae are very voracious and can eat pupae of their own species.

Methods of struggle

Ways to get rid of skin beetles depend on the number of animals and their localization.

Order in the room

You can get rid of leather beetles if twice a day, for 10 days, you pass with a vacuum cleaner in places where they are supposed to accumulate, under baseboards, in corners, in cabinets. The bag of the vacuum cleaner must be thoroughly shaken out after work. It is even better to use a disposable paper bag.

How to get rid of beetle larvae

Temperature effects

  1. Things infected with larvae should be well frozen in winter, and roasted in the sun in summer.
  2. Treat all hard-to-reach places with a steam generator for several days in a row.

Special drugs

The simplest and most inexpensive method of getting rid of kozheed is boric acid. To destroy, you need to scatter boric acid powder under skirting boards, carpets.

Using chemicals against moths is the easiest and most effective way. These can be insecticides, aerosols and fumigators.

Folk methods

These methods can be used as a preventive measure or for minor damage. Sometimes they are used in combination.

preventive measures

Getting rid of the bark beetle completely and quickly is very difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out prevention, which consists of some measures.

Kozheed larva.

Kozheed larva.

  1. Keep the room clean, carry out regular wet cleaning, if possible, treat hard-to-reach places with a steam generator.
  2. Spread out in places where things and products are stored, moth remedies.
  3. Conduct regular audits and get rid of old, unnecessary things.
  4. Cover windows and ventilation openings with mesh.

Conclusion

Leather beetles live in wildlife. But they cause particular harm if they settle in people's homes, in warehouses where grain is stored, in museums. If you find black or brown beetles, you need to get rid of them as soon as possible, as they are very prolific, and their larvae do great harm. Prevention measures will help prevent the appearance of these dangerous insects.

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