Surprisingly, many people have never heard of one of the most common and dangerous pests - the skin-beetle bug. This small and very unpleasant insect lives in many houses, spoils food and furniture, but homeowners do not even know who is causing them so much trouble. So, get acquainted - beetle beetle. How to get rid of this pest, why it is dangerous and how to find it in your house - this is the topic of today's article.
Who is he
If you have met at least once in your apartment a small black or brown bug, and more than one, you should definitely read this article carefully. It is likely that a beetle eater has settled in your house. If you hear its name, you decide that this small insect feeds exclusively on the skin, then you are very mistaken. Unfortunately, there are very few inedible things for these ugly insects. Glue, fabric, cardboard, foodstuffs - this is not a complete list of “sweets” that will gladly try such bugs for a tooth. With the same success they will not disdain with products from wood, plastic and even concrete. Therefore, if you suddenly found such a "little animal" at home - you need to get rid of it urgently.
Types of skin eaters
Beetle beetle is a common name for a large number of species of this insect. Let's look at some of them:
- Carpet beetle. This is the name of a whole group of pests, which includes 3-4 more subspecies. These are small (2–4 mm) brown bugs that can feed on only the smallest particles of organic debris - pieces of cat hair, small crumbs, human skin flakes, and so on. It is noteworthy that such a bug eats only at the larval stage, and adults consume that subcutaneous “fat” that they accumulated in the initial stages of their development.
- Ham skin-eater. These bugs are most common on the Eurasian continent. The insect very quickly and easily penetrates the home and instantly lays a large number of larvae. In appearance, it is a small black oblong bug with yellowish-gray coloration on part of both wings.
- Fur-skinned eater. Black, has five white dots on the back. Despite its name, this bug does not eat fur coats and other things. He is attracted exclusively to food products. Perhaps this is the most harmless kind of leather-eaters.
- Brownie and museum. Most often, such insects are planted and propagated in the flowers and stuffed animals. In homes and apartments, despite the name, are extremely rare.
- Kozheed Smirnova. A brown bug no larger than 3 mm. Most often lives on window sills and in window frames.
- Kozheed Frisch. As well as the brownie (museum), this small black bug is almost impossible to find in apartments.
Where do they come from
The beetle beetle enters the human home in various ways: through open windows, with flowers and furniture, clothes and shoes, which for some time was in the infected room. They get into houses easily and imperceptibly, for some time you will not even know about the new “neighbors”. But getting rid of them is sometimes very difficult, in especially advanced cases, you may even need the help of specialists.
Development and reproduction
To understand how long the fight against these pests can take, let's look at the developmental stages of the skin-beetle bug. Females can lay their larvae anywhere: on the surface of various materials, in the crevices of the floor and walls, in furniture, and so on.
Depending on the temperature in the room, the period of the birth of a new population can be from two to fifty days. The drier and warmer the room, the faster the process. Each female during her life is able to lay about a hundred eggs, and under the conditions of the temperature and humidity conditions of the apartment, the skin-beetle beetles can produce 4–5 offspring per year.
The larva of the skin-beetle bug molts 6–7 times with an interval of 5–9 days, and before the pupation stage it can gnaw long (up to 10 cm) strokes even in those materials that are not used for food. Thus, it is the larvae that cause the greatest damage to the room and people.
What harm can bugs do?
So, you have got a beetle bug. What is the danger of such a "neighbor" and how to get rid of it? First of all, leather-eaters destroy all things made from materials of animal origin: fluff, leather, fur, felt, silk, wool and others. They also like to gnaw food products: dried and cured meats and fish, cheese, milk and cereals. Further they will not disdain books, especially old ones. There is glue in their bindings, which they also “respect” very much.
In especially advanced cases, skin-eaters can harm wires and cables, for example, from a computer, gnaw furniture, especially upholstery, picture frames, “tear up” wallpapers, especially natural ones, and gnaw parquet.
Where to find a leather-eater in an apartment
You can find insects in the apartment in many places. Most often they nest in warm and dry places - in mattresses, sofas, in the kitchen, near radiators. First of all, carefully inspect the upholstery of sofas, armchairs and other upholstered furniture - leather-eaters treat these places with special trepidation. Sometimes it happens that homeowners do not pay attention to insects until one of the beetles, having calculated the flight path, crashes directly into the owner's forehead. Despite the fact that adult individuals fly well, they are quite plump and do not always successfully reach the goal the first time.
Most often, it is very difficult to detect the pest breeding site. The beetle beetle chooses for breeding places where it is very difficult to get, for example, under the baseboard and in the air bubble under the wallpaper. Also, window frames and window sills, flower pots, plafonds and lamps with a large number of details can become a breeding ground.
Physical Remedies
There are several options for how to bring out skin-beetle bugs. First of all, you need to try to get rid of them physically, for example, to process all suspicious places with a vacuum cleaner. This should be done at least twice a day for 7-10 days. The vacuum cleaner bag needs to be thoroughly shaken out each time, and even better - replaced with a new one. You can also use the unit with a water filter - this will guarantee that the beetles do not crawl back.
In addition, all infected objects and things need to be processed using a temperature difference - skin-eaters do not like this very much. In winter, you can take everything out onto the street or onto the balcony and leave it there for several hours, and then bring it into a warm room. To increase the effect, the procedure must be repeated several times. Also, all problem areas can be processed using a steam generator, such treatment of skirting boards and hard-to-reach spots is especially effective. The procedure is also worth repeating several times.
Chemical exposure
What else can you do if you are overtaken by such a disaster as a leather-beetle bug in an apartment. How to get rid of this misfortune if the previous methods did not help?
In fairness, it is worth noting that a simple physical elimination can only help if the insects have settled in you recently and have not yet had much time to breed. In the remaining cases, the use of chemicals is most likely indispensable. Here are some recipes.
After thorough cleaning, sprinkle boric acid powder in all accessible places, especially under the carpet and near skirting boards. Also, the Borax preparation is suitable for these purposes.
To handle small items, such as clothing, you can put them in a plastic bag along with the executioner or tetrix. These are specialized products that do not stain or smell. Processing should be carried out within 3-4 hours, after which things should be washed and dried.
There are also aerosol preparations that destroy both adults and larvae. Since insect eggs are not damaged during this treatment, the procedure should be repeated 2-3 times with an interval of 10-14 days. As an example of aerosol preparations, Difox or the good old Dichlorvos can be cited.
Also, preparations for fighting moths are suitable for removing skin-eating beetles , but it is better to use them as an additional tool. It is worth remembering that antimole drugs have only a short-term effect, but at the same time they are endowed with a strong smell, by the way, which is not always pleasant.
10 facts about skin eaters - you need to know
To effectively deal with skin-eating bugs in a house or apartment, you just need to know some details about them:
- Pests absolutely do not accept moisture. So regular wet cleaning using a steam generator will help get rid of adversity once and for all.
- Despite the fact that skin-eaters are omnivores, the things of animal origin are of the greatest interest to them.
- Adults can fly around the house in the daytime, and hide at night. So you can lure them by simply turning on the light - they will fly to the light bulb. However, larvae cannot be lured in this way.
- Like many other insects, skin-beetle bugs spoil things only at the larval stage. Adult individuals do almost no harm (except that they breed).
- The process of turning the larva into a bug takes 2-3 months. This means that all this time the insect will actively eat, that is, bite your furniture or boots.
- The larvae of all types of skin-eater can not stand the light. Therefore, when processing, pay special attention to the inner surfaces of cabinets, cabinets and sofas, as well as other places where light does not get.
- The skin-beetle beetle bites are not just quite painful. These insects can carry various diseases.
- Larvae of the skin-eater are much less susceptible to external influences than, for example, the larvae of a moth. Therefore, for their destruction alone antimolar drugs are not enough.
- If the room has a dry, warm climate, then the larvae will develop quickly and in large numbers. If the climate is changed to a more unfavorable, then the insects will develop more slowly, but there will be much more harm from them.
- The beetle beetle larvae never sleep; they are constantly in motion.
Preventative measures
If you managed to get rid of these small household pests, it is also worth taking some measures so that they do not appear again in your home.
- As often as possible, carry out wet cleaning in the house, preferably with the use of a household steam generator.
- Lay out twigs of dry lavender, wormwood, or moth remedy on the shelves of cabinets and nightstands - skin-eaters also do not like them.
- Install mosquito nets on the windows and balcony - in the summer, beetles often enter the room through the window.
- Carry out an audit in cabinets more often - without regret, get rid of old and unnecessary things. Less junk - fewer bugs.
- During preventive treatment of the premises with insecticides, do not forget to take care of personal safety - put on a disposable bathrobe, gloves, glasses and a respirator.
And remember, the appearance of any insects in the house is easier to prevent than to eliminate, so keep your home clean, and then no insects are afraid of it.