Only one silhouette of a cockroach with a stirring mustache already makes a person feel disgust and horror. Mankind has been trying to drive these parasites out of its home for more than one millennium, and many ways have been invented to combat cockroaches. And lately, they have actually practically disappeared from human dwellings. But still in some buildings, especially the old ones, as well as in public catering places, you can still meet them, so the struggle is not over yet.
Who are cockroaches
These are insects from the cockroach squad. Actually, those insects, which are referred to as cockroaches, among them about 4.6 thousand species. But only 55 species inhabit the territory of Russia and the countries of the former CIS, most of which are synanthropic, that is, dependent on human life. They all came 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 it is good that they could not adapt to harsh conditions, since there are truly monster-like flying and huge individuals of cockroaches. The good news is that with the beginning of the new millennium in Russia, their depopulation is confirmed by biologists.
Cockroaches are very unpretentious creatures, but still some conditions are necessary for their survival:
- water;
- food;
- discreet place;
- temperature is above 15 ° C.
Regarding food, warm places and a secluded place, do not flatter yourself; it is completely impossible to deprive them of cockroaches in an ordinary apartment. But to close access to water is real. Then the new arrivals will not be delayed for a long time, since they cannot live without water. It is necessary to close all watering cans, the toilet, cover the drains, wipe the spilled water immediately and not leave the liquid in the 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 call professionals.
Cockroach Gel
In the 90s of the XX century, cockroaches were mainly fought with the help of the chalk "Mashenka", but for modern individuals it is ineffective and not as attractive for eating as gel.
Externally, the gel from cockroaches looks like the remnants of something sweet and smells appropriately. In composition, it is an insecticide mixed with thick sweet syrup, flavorings and oil, so as not to dry for a long time. The composition is constantly being improved and changing, since cockroaches quickly 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 legs of cockroaches, and so they carry it to their burrows, infecting others.
And the most convenient gel in the syringe. With it, you can smear the most inaccessible cracks and baseboards without dirtying your hands. If cockroaches flee from their neighbors, then for prevention, you need to process the apartment every 3-6 months. There are dozens of types of such gels on the market, and almost all of them are very effective. What is nice, such syringes cost no more than 100 r. The main thing is to buy in a safe place and not run into a fake.
The gel is bitter to taste, so that the pet does not get poisoned by accident, eating it a lot. But still, after processing, you need to be careful so that the pets do not have access to the treated areas and, of course, young children.
Cockroach trap
This form of poison appeared for cockroaches relatively recently. The first samples were without an adhesive base and the simplest configuration. But now they are self-adhesive, and, having got inside it, it’s difficult for a cockroach to get out of there. And if he gets out, he will take the poison on his feet into his lair and poison others.
In terms of use, this remedy for cockroaches is very convenient. You just need to place traps in hard-to-reach places, such as a cabinet under the sink, ventilation, under the bathtub and the space around the pipes. You do not need to do anything else, only periodically change them to new ones. There is no danger that the pet will eat poison, since it is inside a trap into which only a small insect will make its way.
Another plus of the traps is that you do not need to wash the apartment from the poison, just throw away the used one. You can make a budget trap yourself by applying cockroach gel on the pieces of cardboard.
But they are not as effective as gels and aerosols, since it is impossible to place them in such inaccessible places as baseboards. Traps are more suitable as prophylaxis after the established colony is destroyed. But the total destruction of cockroaches after putting up a few traps should not count.
Aerosols
This is not the most successful form of cockroach remedy. During treatment, a person can breathe this poison, and after it you need to leave the room for at least 8 hours. When processing the premises, it is necessary to be in a respirator and spray at a distance of at least 30 cm without getting on the heating elements.
In this case, 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, as is the case with gels, so that cockroaches begin to die.
The most famous and long-produced such aerosol is the well-known Dichlorvos, and it costs about 100 r. More modern ones, such as Combat Superspray, already cost about 400 rubles.
In order not to breathe poison for sure, you can use a more modern means, such as an aquafumigator. It is necessary 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 the harmful to the cockroaches vapor will slowly stand out, which will easily penetrate into all cracks. After a few hours, you can return and watch another half-dead cockroaches crawl out for another week. But the price of such an aquafumigator is at least 500 rubles, and at the same time it is one-time, and on a large area one will not be enough.
Electronic repeller
You can find on sale to combat cockroaches in the apartment and an electronic repeller. The principle of its action 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 advantages of using such devices is that for humans they are harmless and easy to use. You just need to turn it on, and you can forget about it. Cons at 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 houses, the repeller works, and cockroaches do not return while it works. What it depends on is hard to say. Either users purchased a fake, or cockroaches in this house acquired resistance to ultrasound.
Boric acid
Despite the fact that there are now many professional ways to deal with cockroaches, folk remedies are still relevant. Their advantages are 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 the professional treatment of sanitary and epidemiological substances. For cockroaches, this is a terrible poison, which causes them severe damage to the nervous system, incompatible with life.
Boric acid is sold in the form of an alcohol solution, ointment and powder. To combat cockroaches, it is needed 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. Just sprinkling it in the corners will not work, pests will not want to eat it. Therefore, in the recipes from cockroaches with boric acid add luring substances. For example, such as boiled egg and sugar. On the bag you need to add one egg and 2 tbsp. tablespoons of granulated sugar. And already lay out this mixture in corners and crevices. It is believed that unrefined oil and honey help fight off the pungent odor of the product, and use flour for viscosity. In principle, you can experiment with those products that are 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 immediately, after some time, the surviving individuals can give rise to a new generation with resistance to boric acid.
Professional processing
But the most effective of cockroach control methods is to call a specialized service. A specialist will come and process the apartment in no more than an hour in accordance with all the rules and in all inaccessible places. Since the cockroach remedy was pumped into his special spray can with a long nozzle. At the same time, he will distribute enough funds without fearing for himself, since he will be in a protective suit at this time. Today, specialized services for the destruction of cockroaches promise the absence of an unpleasant odor and give a guarantee for a year.
After a few hours, or better for a day, the apartment will need to be left so that all possible hazardous fumes are eroded. But upon returning, it will be possible to find a home clean from cockroaches. But this method is the most expensive. Processing a one-room apartment will cost about 2 thousand rubles.
The difference between black and red
It is almost impossible to meet black cockroaches in apartments and apartment buildings these days, they turned out to be not so resistant to modern insecticides. But they did not die out, they all went to garbage dumps, to cellars and sewers. Occasionally they can be found creeping out of the sewer. Therefore, their appearance causes a special panic, especially since they are larger and can reach 5 cm in length, their carapace is harder. They are more unpleasant and exude a disgusting smell. And therefore it is very good that they can not crawl everywhere, reach puberty more slowly and multiply. But 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 mainly 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 the apartment, then they will immediately destroy any black that accidentally wandered, and vice versa. And judging by the fact that the red cockroaches 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 home causes the opinion that its owner is extremely unclean. And despite the fact that modern means of combating cockroaches are quite effective, only they may not be enough, an integrated approach is needed. If there are a lot of untreated slots 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 the persecution. Namely, to do the following manipulations:
- Carry out a general cleaning.
- Throw away all old and unnecessary things.
- If possible, close all cracks.
- To make available for processing all the cracks in the house that cannot be repaired, including skirting boards.
- If the wallpaper does not fit tightly, then glue them.
- Put a hood for ventilation in the kitchen, and a fan in the bathroom and toilet.
- Put a fine mesh on the windows.
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, patched slots and grids on the window. After all, if the neighbors are not prone to cleanliness, then no matter how you get out, cockroaches will resort to them. And they, as you know, will always find something to profit from.
Why is it so difficult to get rid of cockroaches
They are one of the most adaptable creatures in the world. They existed long before man, their remains are 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 the research of scientists, cockroaches will exist even if humanity dies out.
They can do without food for several weeks. They are unpretentious in nutrition: they can even eat paper and glue. All they need is heat and water, they can wait for the rest. Their breeding cycle is lightning fast, and in order to become pregnant constantly, the female needs to mate only once. The speed of their evolution is hundreds of times faster than the speed of human evolution. And each new generation develops resistance to why many individuals of the previous one died.
There is a myth that they are not even afraid of radiation, but this is not entirely true. They may die from radiation, but survive a dose that is 15 times the norm for humans. It sounds truly horrific, but if they were not insects, but animals, they would have destroyed humanity long ago. 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 a person’s home in their natural habitat - rainforests.