In ancient times, cockroaches were treated with respect. Mustachioed insects were considered a sign of prosperity in the house. Today the situation has changed dramatically. Everyone knows that dangerous pests not only spoil food, but are also capable of carrying harmful bacteria and microbes. A cockroach can crawl into an ear, bite a person, and even damage electrical wiring.
The saddest thing is that breeding insects is half the trouble, you must definitely take care of their offspring. Otherwise, a couple of weeks after the destruction of the pest, a cockroach larva will crawl out of the egg hidden by the female. And all the problems will start again.
What do cockroach larvae look like?
All "whiskered saboteurs" go through three stages of development:
- egg;
- nymph;
- sexually mature.
Eggs are carried by an adult female until they mature. Then he lays them out in a secluded place (for example, under the plinth). After a few weeks, nymphs hatch from the clutch. These are cockroach larvae. The photo shows that young pests are born white, but after a couple of hours they darken.
Nymphs livealong with adult insects. Their food is the same, their behavior is similar. The only difference is that they don't breed.
It is possible to reduce the population of "kitchen raiders" by destroying the younger generation. To do this, you need to know what cockroach larvae look like. It turns out it's very simple. They look like adults. Only the nymphs are smaller and darker in color. Moreover, during growth, they shed their shell, that is, they molt 5-6 times.
Adult cockroaches become 2-3 months old, depending on their species.
Red pests
In our latitudes, red cockroaches are most often found - Prussians. Although initially these are tropical insects. They even have wings. What pleases - mustachioed pests do not fly. At most they can balance with their help when falling from a height.
The larva of the red cockroach also has wings and whiskers. By the way, it is the whiskers that allow insects to receive information about the outside world. If this tactile organ is damaged, the insect will not be able to fully live.
Adults usually grow to 1-1.5 centimeters in length. Nymphs, respectively, are even smaller. It is the diminutiveness that allows the "mustache" to quickly hide from human eyes. Skirting boards, cracks in the wall, ventilation, space under the stove are ideal places for red pests.
Like an adult, the larva of a domestic cockroach feeds on leftover food, bread and sugar crumbs. During the day, the insect "hides" in a shelter, and goes out to "hunt" at night.
Currentlyred cockroaches are common on all continents. The main condition for their survival is above zero temperature.
Black cockroaches in the kitchen
Black cockroaches are much less common in living quarters. They are also called American or Kitchen.
These insects are almost twice as large as Prussians. They also differ in charcoal color. The larva of the black cockroach is also larger than the red nymph.
"Americans" also have small wings. Juveniles and females do not use them. Males, in turn, have rather long wings, they help them jump over long distances.
It is believed that it is easier to destroy black cockroaches than Prussians. Females, laying eggs, leave offspring unattended. After two weeks, larvae should appear from the masonry. If during this time the eggs find other types of cockroaches, they will feast on their "relatives".
By the way, black insects, like red ones, prefer to breed indoors. Although they may well live in nature. The main thing is that the temperature does not fall below 0 degrees.
How many larvae to expect from one insect?
People say: "I saw one cockroach, so there are at least ten of them." It is the rapid reproduction of mustachioed pests that frightens. To understand the scale of the problem, you need to know the answer to the question: how many larvae does a cockroach lay?
It is impossible to calculate the exact amount. With an average standard of living, the number of nymphs in the clutch will correspond to the number of eggs. If it seems to the female that the conditionsunfavorable for procreation, then she discards capsules with offspring in advance.
With good temperature and sufficient nutrition, several insect larvae can ripen in an egg. In addition, cockroaches are able to regulate the number of offspring themselves.
The number of clutches depends on the type of insect:
- Prussians lay 25-50 eggs at a time, during their life they are able to leave offspring up to 12 times.
- Black cockroaches break off almost 2 times less eggs - 12-18, but leave 22 clutches in their life.
The most dangerous insect is a pregnant female pest. Dying herself, she manages to discard the eggs, which are almost impossible to destroy. Another sad fact is that a cockroach larva is born into the world as an independent individual. Thus, the fight against kitchen saboteurs turns into an endless marathon.
Why are cockroaches so tenacious?
Scientists believe that cockroaches appeared on Earth more than 350 million years ago. And probably the same number will live.
The vitality of insects is explained by the following facts:
- To continue the race, it is enough for heterosexual cockroaches to mate once. The germ cells of a male can be stored in the body of a female for up to 4 years.
- Without water, a pest can live a week, without food - a month. A drop from the tap is enough for a full-fledged life, and they can eat ordinary paper or cardboard.
- A cockroach may not breathe for about 40 minutes.
- Insect can live withtemperature down to -5 degrees.
- A cockroach is able to live and carry an infection, even if its head is torn off. Such an individual dies of thirst and hunger.
- They are not afraid of radiation. Ancient pests have a very slow cell division cycle.
Everyone who has ever tried to catch a cockroach remembers that this is a very fast creature. And no wonder, insects run at a speed of almost 5 kilometers per hour. Among other things, adults have learned to pass on their life experience to relatives.
The picture becomes even more hopeless if you remember that eggs are almost impossible to destroy. Neither cold nor chemicals take them.
Getting rid of the larvae with store supplies
It turns out that first you need to get rid of adults, wait 2-3 weeks until the nymphs hatch from the eggs. And only after that start the fight against the younger generation. It is worth figuring out how to get rid of cockroach larvae and adults. There are several methods.
First of all, it is recommended to try a variety of insect traps. It can be a box with 2-3 outlets. A bait is placed inside, the pest eats it, becomes infected itself, runs to its relatives and already in its colony spreads a deadly infection.
Sticky and electric traps can only kill insects that run into them. However, these methods are considered the safest.
What can not be said about sprays against cockroaches. Chemicals can be used only if there are no children and pets in the room. You should also protect yourself by wearing gloves in advance,mask and goggles.
Poisonous gels and powders are considered effective. Nymphs go missing in less than a week. At the same time, the famous crayons cannot get rid of a large number of cockroaches and their larvae.
Ultrasonic repellers help well. People and animals cannot hear them, but insects cannot tolerate ultrasound. The price, however, for such funds is quite high.
Folk methods of pest control
Those who are afraid to use store "chemistry" will come to the aid of folk methods. It turns out that the cockroach larva and the adult insect do not tolerate ordinary chamomile flowers. It is recommended to grind the plant to a state of powder and scatter around the apartment.
A more radical method would be to freeze the apartment. Cockroaches die at temperatures below -5 degrees.
In addition, pests have a developed sense of smell. They cannot stand the smell of gasoline and ammonia. Flammable liquid can be coated with skirting boards and corners. And wash the floors with ammonia.
Boric acid against larvae
For several generations, they have been getting rid of larvae and adults with boric acid. This is an efficient and cheap way. An apartment will need about 100 grams of acid.
Powder can be scattered near the sink and around the perimeter of the baseboard. An infected cockroach will not only die itself, but will also have time to infect several relatives from the colony.
True, insects quickly realize that this powder should be bypassedside. Therefore, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers once came up with a little trick. They took chicken yolks, mixed them with boric acid powder and molded them into small balls. The bright new bait attracted nymphs and cockroaches, the insects ran to the "food" and died.
Of course, ideally, you should call specialists to your home, they will be able to disinfect the room completely. Unfortunately, none of these methods guarantee that cockroaches will not return, but they will get rid of pests for a while.
Prevention of barbels
To prevent uninvited guests from appearing in the house, it is recommended to follow preventive measures:
- keep the apartment clean;
- do not leave leftover food and drink on the table;
- to carry out general cleaning (inspect secluded places).
In addition, you can take note that the adult pest, as well as the cockroach larva, can not stand the smell of geranium and lemon. That is, so that insects do not appear, you can put several flower pots with flowers on the windowsill. Lemon peels, unlike other food scraps, can be left on the kitchen counter and in the sink overnight.
