At least once in our lives, each of us has encountered uninvited tenants in the kitchen, closet or bathroom: as soon as you turn on the light, unpleasant insects instantly scatter to secluded places. Of course, we are talking about cockroaches.
If you have become the unfortunate owner of a whole horde of annoying barbels, most likely, you will definitely want to say goodbye to them. In order to rid your home of this scourge once and for all, you need to choose a suitable means to combat cockroaches. Now the choice of such products is quite diverse in terms of price, properties, and texture. There are cockroach gels, various sprays, and baits. Chalk is considered the most effective and convenient.
On store shelves you will find such crayons as “Mashenka”, “Clean House” and some others. Let's look at each of them and consider the features of their application.
Security of the product
Cockroaches live in dark and damp places, such as kitchen sinks.
Clean House aerosol belongs to the third class of danger and is considered a low-toxic drug. The manufacturer warns that the products have a high concentration of active ingredients.
Thanks to this, Clean House is effective in the fight against parasites, but if precautions are not taken, it can negatively affect the well-being of people and animals.
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Advantages of crayons against bedbugs:
- low cost along with a visible effect,
- no pungent odor,
- ease of use,
- long-term effect on bedbugs,
- harmless to people and pets.
Flaws:
- suitable for treatment in case of minor infestation of the premises with bedbugs,
- prolonged onset of a positive result,
- the ability of insects to adapt to the action of an insecticide.
If bloodsuckers have largely attacked your home, then crayons are powerless here. You will have to resort to more powerful means of disinsection of the premises.
Forms of release of drugs
The product line includes aerosol, powder (dust), gel, chalk, and traps. The active ingredients in the preparations are two substances: cypermethrin (13%) and tetramethrin (2.5%). They have a neurotoxic effect and cause paralysis of the motor system, which leads to the death of the parasites.
Aerosol
The “Clean House” aerosol is sprayed onto the nests of cockroaches.
The effect of the drug begins 1-2 hours after spraying. Once on the protective cover, the product is absorbed and poisons the cockroach’s body.
Note! To achieve maximum effect, aerosol treatment should be carried out in all rooms. For 3-5 seconds, the aerosol is sprayed over the area where cockroaches accumulate. One can is enough to treat a room of 30 sq.m. You can also add dust for cockroaches.
Powder (dust)
The concentration of active components in the powder preparation is much lower, but it contains piperonyl butoxide (10%). This component increases the toxicity of the product. One package is enough to treat 10 sq.m.
Precautionary measures when treating premises with dust are no different from those that occur when baiting parasites with an aerosol. Personal protective equipment will prevent small dust particles from entering the lungs, allergies, and skin itching.
There are two options for using the powder:
- sprinkle dust over all surfaces;
- spray the solution (ratio: 10 grams of powder per 1 liter of water).
After treatment, the premises must be left. After 2-3 hours, you need to carry out wet cleaning: wash the floors, wipe the walls, horizontal surfaces. In hard-to-reach places behind furniture, in cracks, behind baseboards, it is better to leave the dust so that the hatched insects also die.
Gel
The gel is applied from a syringe in dotted lines along the places where cockroaches move.
It is available in the form of a syringe. Does not pose a significant danger to people. You can treat rooms with gel wearing gloves; there is no need for other personal protective equipment.
Cockroaches, attracted by the active substances in the gel, eat it and soon die. The effect of use will appear within 3 days. One syringe is enough to treat a room of 20-25 sq.m.
Chalk
When applied, the chalk crumbles.
To prevent animals from spreading dust, you should wash the floor. The insecticide contains alpha-cypermethrin (0.2%). Used to treat any surfaces. Does not require exceptional precautions. Just like the gel, the chalk is applied with gloves on in places where parasites accumulate or move. Cockroaches, coming into contact with chalk traces, spread the product to their nests and infect their relatives. The chalk lasts about 3-4 weeks. After this time, it is recommended to re-treat.
You can use chalk in two ways:
- apply the product directly to the surface in strips 2-4 cm wide;
- chalk diluted in water to the consistency of sour cream is smeared in places where parasites accumulate and move, near baseboards, under furniture.
The product is used economically: one chalk is enough to treat a room of up to 50 sq.m.
Traps
To prevent your pet from getting to the trap, it should be placed in hard-to-reach places.
Compact box with a hole. Having penetrated it, cockroaches become infected with a toxic substance, which they then carry to their nests. The effect depends on the infestation of the premises with parasites.
Important! The trap is absolutely safe for people and animals. Placed in places where cockroaches accumulate on horizontal surfaces or attached to vertical surfaces using adhesive tape, which is included in the kit.
Mode of application
Before treatment, the room should be prepared:
- Remove children and animals from the room;
- Pack dishes and food in sealed containers or take them out of the room;
- Move furniture away from the walls;
- Place things in bags and take them out to the balcony if cabinet treatment is required; if there is no balcony, bags with clothes should be covered with film;
- Roll up the carpets and take them out of the room.
Treatment of premises with a Clean House aerosol should be carried out only in personal protective equipment: a mask, respirator, gloves, protective clothing. Before spraying, close windows and doors to prevent fresh air from entering the room. 3-4 hours after treatment, the rooms are ventilated and all surfaces are wet cleaned. In order to get rid of cockroaches, it is recommended to make cosmetic repairs: cover up all the cracks, putty the walls, glue up the receding wallpaper.
What are the best chalks for bedbugs?
It’s great if you don’t have to find out from your own experience whether crayons help against bedbugs and cockroaches, choose a pencil against bedbugs in stores.
But, if, nevertheless, your home is attacked by harmful insects, listen to the advice of people who had to fight them. Combine folk remedies, use effective chalks for bedbugs - the best of them are “Mashenka”, “Clean House”, “Titanic” and observe basic hygiene requirements. Conclusion: All crayons are just preventive measures for the home. Of course, it is best to use a more effective product that will deal with bedbugs in a matter of days. But they are quite suitable as a control treatment to be sure that there are no more insects. If you are ready to tolerate them being indoors for another 4-5 weeks, then feel free to purchase them.
Medical methods for bedbugs:
How to prevent cockroaches
To exterminate cockroaches, you should clear animal bowls of food.
It is easier to prevent the appearance of cockroaches than to get rid of them later. To protect your home from parasites, you need to follow some simple tips:
- keep kitchen appliances clean;
- eat in one room of the house;
- vacuum and wash floors regularly;
- treat surfaces with a disinfectant spray;
- before going to bed, empty the animal bowls of food residues;
- store food in airtight containers;
- use a trash can with a tight lid;
- take out the trash every day;
- keep taps, dishes, surfaces dry.
Although maintaining cleanliness requires effort and vigilance, the results are worth it.
What to do if cockroaches start up again
Cockroaches prefer damp and dark areas. They often live inside electrical equipment or outlets, around furnaces, or near leaking pipes. Cockroaches can squeeze through a crack up to 1/5 in size.
Note! Getting rid of pests involves clearing the area of any decaying matter such as food, dead leaves, and weeds. It is also important to pay attention to pipes, hoods, drains, ventilation holes and, if possible, block them. The next step should be treating the premises with insecticidal agents. To achieve a greater effect, it is recommended to use two means: for example, an aerosol and a dust.
Adviсe
- You can get rid of newly hatched nymphs by boiling bed linen, ironing it and treating it with a steam generator.
- After the baiting of bedbugs is completed, the consequences in the form of nests remain in many places. Many try to remove them physically - by trampling them. The technique is certainly effective, but the best way to get rid of residual effects is to wash floors and other surfaces with a soap-salt solution.
- The incubation period for bedbug eggs is 2 weeks; after this period, re-treatment of the premises must be mandatory. Otherwise, a horde of bedbugs will attack the apartment again.
Reviews
If there are animals in the house, you should keep them away from surfaces treated with powder.
The experience of many people confirms the effectiveness of “Clean House” products, and positive reviews are proof of this. Here are collected reviews of a clean house from cockroaches:
Olga, Vladivostok: “I moved to a rented apartment. It turned out that it was swarming with cockroaches. I tried many remedies, including folk remedies - bay leaves, for example. Nothing helped. At the store, the salesman recommended Clean House. I bought two cans at once to treat the living room, bedroom, kitchen and toilet with bathtub. I sprayed it in every corner, behind the furniture, under the bathroom, on the hoods - in general, I didn’t leave a single centimeter of the apartment unattended. A day later, there were much fewer cockroaches; I found their corpses behind the furniture and stove. A week later I re-treated the apartment. Cockroaches have not completely disappeared, but there are very few of them left."
Svetlana, Ryazan: “I live in my house and periodically suffer from an invasion of black cockroaches. Either they are attracted by the dampness, or by the sweets that are always in the house... I decided to try powder, or dust, for cockroaches. The price is ridiculous, but I've heard a lot of positive reviews. I scattered the product packaging behind the stove and in the pantry. The next morning I checked, and there were dozens of dead cockroaches lying with their paws up. The product definitely helps. I didn’t have many cockroaches, so one package was enough.”
Elina, Sterlitamak: “We suffered with cockroaches because we live above a store. These parasites constantly sneak into us. What are you going to do here? I even talked to the owner of the store and demanded that he carry out pest control. But I could no longer wait for a stranger to realize it. I tried many different remedies. Some helped only partially. Aerosols, for example, are not suitable for me. Cockroaches become lethargic, but do not die. And once you catch your breath, everyone is crawling around the apartment again, alive and vigorous. Therefore, I decided to try the “Clean House” gel - absolute quality. I must admit, I have never encountered anything like this before. Aerosol, chalk, powder - everything is familiar, but gel is something new. I treated baseboards, back surfaces of stoves and cabinets with Chinese gel. I used a spatula to spread the gel because it comes out of the syringe in quite a large volume. From the very first day of treatment I began to find dead cockroaches. I can’t yet say that the gel helped completely get rid of parasites, because little time has passed, but there are fewer cockroaches. I want to re-process"
Comprehensive cockroach control measures and review, including the use of Clean Home products, will eliminate all pests in the home.
