Only one silhouette of a cockroach with a moving mustache already makes a person feel disgust and horror. Humanity has been trying to drive these parasites out of its home for more than one millennium, and many ways have been invented to fight cockroaches. And recently they have really practically disappeared from human dwellings. But still, in some buildings, especially old ones, as well as in catering places, they can still be found, so the fight is not over yet.
Who are cockroaches
These are insects from the order of cockroaches. Actually, those insects that are classified as cockroaches, among them are about 4.6 thousand species. But on the territory of Russia and the countries of the former CIS, there are only 55 species, most of which are synanthropic, that is, dependent on human activity. All of them got here on ships and planes along with travelers and traders from tropical countries and successfully took root even in such harsh conditions. The rest of the vast majority lives only in the tropics, and thisit is good that they could not adapt to the harsh conditions, since there are truly monstrous flying and huge individuals of cockroaches. The good news is that with the beginning of the new millennium, their depopulation, confirmed by biologists, is taking place in Russia.
Cockroaches are very unpretentious creatures, but some conditions are still necessary for their survival:
- water;
- food;
- secret place;
- temperature above 15°C.
As for food, warm places and a secluded place, you should not flatter yourself, it is completely impossible to deprive them of cockroaches in an ordinary apartment. But blocking access to water is real. Then the new arrivals will not stay for a long time, because they cannot live without water. It is necessary to close all watering cans, the toilet bowl, cover the drains, wipe up spilled water immediately and do not leave liquid in glasses. But in order to get rid of those that have already taken root, they need to be poisoned. The most affordable and effective means are gels, traps and an electronic repeller. But you can also call professionals.
Cockroach gel
In the 90s of the XX century, cockroaches were mainly fought with the help of Masha chalk, but it is ineffective for modern individuals and not as attractive to eat as gel.
Outwardly, the cockroach gel looks like the remains of something sweet and smells accordingly. In composition, it is an insecticide mixed with a thick sweet syrup, flavorings and oil so as not to dry out for a long time. The composition is constantly being improved and changed, as cockroachesquickly get used to it. Cockroaches die after treatment about the next day. And within a week, the corpses of these insects will appear on the floor.
The gel-like form is very successful: the poison in it is easily applied, does not dry for a long time, sticks to the paws of cockroaches, and so they take it to their holes, infecting others.
And the most convenient gel in a syringe. With it, you can miss the most hard-to-reach cracks and skirting boards without getting your hands dirty. If cockroaches run away from neighbors, then for prevention, you need to treat the apartment every 3-6 months. There are dozens of such gels on the market, and almost all of them are very effective. What is nice, such syringes cost no more than 100 rubles. The main thing is to buy in a safe place and not run into a fake.
The taste of the gel is bitter, so that the pet does not accidentally get poisoned by eating a lot of it. But still, after processing, you need to be careful that pets and, of course, small children do not have access to the treated areas.
Cockroach trap
This form of poison for cockroaches has appeared relatively recently. The first samples were without an adhesive base and the simplest configuration. But now they are self-adhesive, and once inside it, it is difficult for a cockroach to get out of there. And if he gets out, he will carry the poison on his paws to his lair and poison others.
In terms of application, this cockroach remedy is very convenient. You just need to place the traps in hard-to-reach places, such as the cabinet under the sink, ventilation, under the bath and the area near the pipes. Nothing elsethere is no need to do it, only periodically change them to new ones. At the same time, there is no danger that the pet will eat the poison, since it is inside a trap into which only a small insect will get through.
Another plus of traps is that you don't need to wash the apartment from poison, just throw away the used one. You can make a budget trap yourself by applying cockroach gel on pieces of cardboard.
But they are not as effective as gels and aerosols, since it is impossible to place them in hard-to-reach places like baseboards. Traps are more suitable as a preventive measure after the established colony is destroyed. But you should not count on the total destruction of cockroaches after putting up several traps.
Aerosols
This is far from the most successful form of cockroach remedy. During processing, a person can inhale this poison, and after it you need to leave the room for at least 8 hours. When processing the room, you must wear a respirator and spray at a distance of at least 30 cm, avoiding heating elements.
At the same time, the efficiency is not higher than that of the same gels. The main advantage of aerosols is that they act almost instantly. And you don't have to wait 24-48 hours like with gels for cockroaches to start dying.
The most famous and long-produced similar aerosol is the well-known Dichlorvos, and it costs about 100 rubles. More modern ones, such as the Combat Superspray, already cost about 400 rubles.
Tofor sure not to inhale poison, you can use a more modern tool, such as an aquafumigator. You need to put it near the alleged place of accumulation of cockroaches, pour 20 ml of water and leave the room. If water gets into it, after 2 minutes a reaction will begin, and steam that is detrimental to cockroaches will slowly be released, which will easily penetrate into all the cracks. After a few hours, you can return and watch how half-dead cockroaches will crawl out for another week. But the price of such an aquafumigator is at least 500 rubles, and at the same time it is disposable, and on a large area one will not be enough.
Electronic Repeller
Can be found on sale for fighting cockroaches in the apartment and an electronic repeller. The principle of its operation is that it spreads ultrasound at such a frequency that a person does not hear it at all, and for cockroaches it is unbearable. Insects can hear sounds and see the light of those spectra that are inaccessible to humans. Bees, for example, see ultraviolet light.
The advantage of using such devices is that they are harmless to humans and easy to use. You just need to turn it on and you can forget about it. Cons in a decent price - they cost at least 1 thousand rubles. - and a lot of negative reviews. Some users, for some reason, do not see any effect, moreover, cockroaches even take a fancy to the device due to the fact that it exudes heat. But in some homes, the repeller works and the cockroaches don't come back while it's working. On what it depends, it is difficult to say. Either users purchased a fake, or cockroaches inthis house acquired resistance to ultrasound.
Boric acid
Despite the fact that now there are many professional ways to deal with cockroaches, folk remedies are still relevant. Their advantages are in the availability and low cost of the ingredients used in them. One of the most popular folk recipes for cockroaches is boric acid. Moreover, it is officially considered an insecticide and is used in professional treatment by sanitary and epidemiological stations. For cockroaches, this is a terrible poison that causes severe damage to the nervous system that is incompatible with life.
Boric acid is sold in the form of an alcohol solution, ointment and powder. To fight cockroaches, you need it in powder form. A small bag is sold in any pharmacy and costs about 50 rubles. But in its pure form, boric acid has a strong and unappetizing smell. If you just scatter it in the corners, then it will not work, the pests will not want to eat it. Therefore, luring substances are added to recipes for cockroaches with boric acid. For example, such as boiled egg and sugar. On a bag you need to add one egg and 2 tbsp. spoons of granulated sugar. And already this mixture is laid out in the corners and crevices. It is believed that unrefined oil and honey help to beat off the pungent smell of the product, and flour is also used for viscosity. In principle, you can experiment with the products that you have at home. The main requirement for them: that they have an attractive aroma and viscosity.
But since the life cycle of cockroaches is very fast, they adapt instantly, after somewhile surviving individuals may give birth to a new generation with resistance to boric acid.
Professional processing
But the most effective method of dealing with cockroaches is to call a specialized service. The specialist will come and process the apartment in no more than an hour in accordance with all the rules and in all hard-to-reach places. Since the remedy for cockroaches is pumped into a special can with a long nozzle. At the same time, he will distribute enough funds without fear for himself, since he himself will be in a protective suit at that time. Today, specialized cockroach extermination services promise no odor and a one-year warranty.
After a few hours, or better for a day, the apartment will need to be left so that all possible dangerous fumes disappear. But upon returning, you can find a home clean of cockroaches. But this method is also the most expensive. Processing a one-room apartment will cost about 2 thousand rubles.
The difference between black and redheads
Black cockroaches in apartments and residential buildings these days are almost impossible to meet, they turned out to be not so resistant to modern insecticides. But they did not die out, they all went to the garbage heaps, basements and sewers. Occasionally they can be found crawling out of the sewers. Therefore, their appearance causes a special panic, especially since they are larger and can reach 5 cm in length, their shell is more solid. They are more unpleasant and exude a disgusting smell. And therefore it is very good that they cannot crawl through everywhere, they reach the sexualmaturity and reproduction. But on the other hand, the fight against red cockroaches is much more exhausting, as they are faster, smaller and more tenacious.
Red cockroaches are called Prussians, American cockroaches and many other species. They are mostly found in apartments. But even in one apartment you can meet several of them.
There is an eternal confrontation between red and black cockroaches, if red cockroaches live in an apartment, then they will immediately destroy any accidentally wandering black cockroaches, and vice versa. And judging by the fact that black cockroaches, redheads survived from the apartments, this confrontation was won almost dry.
The role of cleanliness in the fight
It is not for nothing that the presence of these pests in the dwelling causes the opinion that its owner is extremely unclean. And despite the fact that modern means of combating cockroaches are quite effective, they alone may not be enough, an integrated approach is needed. If there are a lot of untreated cracks left in the house, and with unclean neighbors the ventilation is open, then the cockroaches will return very quickly. And you need to take care of this before bullying. Namely, do the following manipulations:
- Make a general cleaning.
- Throw out all the old and unnecessary things.
- Make up all gaps if possible.
- Make available for processing all the cracks in the house that cannot be sealed, including baseboards.
- If the wallpaper does not fit snugly, re-paste it.
- Put an extractor hood on the ventilation in the kitchen, and a fan in the bathroom and toilet.
- On windowsput a fine grid.
If you do all this and only then treat the house with drugs to fight cockroaches, then success is almost guaranteed. The main thing is not to relax and maintain all this "defense" in the form of inaccessible ventilation, sealed cracks and mesh on the window. After all, if the neighbors are not subject to craving for cleanliness, then no matter how you get out, cockroaches will come running from them. And they, as you know, will always find something to profit from.
Why is it so hard to get rid of cockroaches
They are one of the most adaptable creatures in the world. They existed long before humans, their remains are still found in the excavations of the Paleozoic period, that is, in the period that began on Earth more than 500 million years ago. And judging by scientific research, cockroaches will continue to exist even if humanity dies out.
They can go weeks without food. In nutrition, they are as unpretentious as possible: they can even eat paper and glue. All they need is warmth and water, they can wait for the rest. Their breeding cycle is lightning fast, and in order to constantly become pregnant, the female needs to mate only once. The rate of their evolution is hundreds of times higher than the rate of human evolution. And each new generation develops resistance to what killed so many of the previous one.
There is a myth that even radiation is not terrible for them, but this is not entirely true. They can die from radioactive radiation, but they will survive a dose 15 times higher than the norm for a person. It sounds truly terrifying, but if they were not insects, but animals, they would have been destroyed long ago.humanity. Therefore, until now, the issue of combating cockroaches does not consist in their complete destruction. It's impossible. It is only possible to try to drive them away from human dwellings into their natural habitat - tropical forests.
