Cockroaches eat bedbugs or coexist peacefully together

Fighting bed bugs is a troublesome and far from simple matter. Therefore, it seems quite logical for a person to want to find natural enemies of the parasite - at least in order to resort to their help in destroying it. In nature, you can find many animals that include domestic bugs in their diet. A variety of insects readily eat the bed parasite; domestic and wild animals are less active. The food preferences of some of them in relation to bedbugs are discussed in detail in the article.

How and why do cockroaches appear in an apartment?

You can bring these insects into your home on clothes, with purchases, or in suitcases after a trip.
If there are unscrupulous tenants in the house who are comfortable with parasites, then they will soon appear in neighboring apartments through ventilation, cracks, and windows. What attracts cockroaches:

Food. Crumbs, dirty dishes, loosely closed containers with food, a trash can with food waste are a haven for insects.
Water. They need it, so a dripping faucet or puddle will attract them.

Cockroaches can also be found among clean owners - for example, they crawl in from neighbors. But keeping your home clean is the main way to get them to leave.

Who is guilty?

Parasites can get into your home from anywhere: through ventilation ducts, sewers, from the basement, from dirty neighbors or from the entrance.

Maintaining an apartment building in proper condition is the responsibility of the management company. And if cockroaches have multiplied in common areas, then first contact the Criminal Code.

Write a statement to the management organization. It is better if it is collective with the signatures of neighbors. You can find out the contacts of your management organization on the Housing and Communal Services Reform website.
Send it by registered mail with notification or deliver it in person. The management company must respond within 30 days and provide a response: notify when exterminators will come to the house or provide a written refusal explaining the reasons.
If there is no response or you are refused, then you have the right to complain to the State Housing Inspectorate and Rospotrebnadzor.

If your neighbors are not bothered by mustachioed guests, and bedbugs or cockroaches are only found in your apartment, then the management company may refuse to carry out pest control, because the apartment is not a common property.

Effect of ultrasound

To get rid of night parasites, advertising suggests using an ultrasonic bedbug repeller. The operating principle of the device is based on the fact that insects cannot tolerate sound waves of a certain range and leave the area. Science knows that animals and insects sense vibrations in the soil, for example, before an earthquake, and leave the area.

For bedbugs to also respond to an ultrasonic repeller, they must have a hearing organ, but they do not have one. In space, bed parasites navigate by smell and react to heat. Thus, they find food for themselves - humans. They don't need a hearing organ. They cannot perceive ultrasound vibrations. The effect of the repeller on the insect's nervous system has not been proven.

The advertised device has low power. He will not be able to create vibration in hard-to-reach places. The sound wave must pass through the walls of the apartment, the thickness of the carpets, and furniture. To do this, it must be powerful enough, which is impossible when connected to a 220 volt network.

Rodents

Hamsters and rats in nature are among those rodents that are natural enemies of cockroaches and eat small insects. But at home, they are not in a hurry to eat it, because the insect can be dangerous.

It is a carrier of various diseases, and if neighbors have spread poison, they can bring the poison inside the cage with the rodent.

There have been cases when a cockroach calmly climbed inside a cage with a hamster, but the hamster did not touch it.

It makes no sense to buy insects specifically for domestic rodents; they have a different diet: cereals, grains, fruits or vegetables.

What do ants eat?

Another common inhabitant of houses and apartments are pharaoh ants, which are red in color. Although they are not picky about food, they also prefer natural foods. They especially love sweets.

Ants can have nothing in common with bed bloodsuckers. Only accidental collisions end tragically for the latter. Formic acid contains poison and is fatal to indoor parasites. Only two tiny ants are able to kill one adult bedbug.

When populations collide, ants are able to defeat bedbugs, but this method of exterminating bloodsuckers is not rational. Instead of some parasites, others will appear, no less restless.

Pets

When red or black cockroaches appear in an apartment, you can notice how dogs or cats begin to hunt for them. Most do it for fun, pleasure, and bring it to show the owner.

But scientists say that cats love these insects, chitin is useful for them, especially after surgery (castration, sterilization).

Who else is eating:

If there is a lizard living at home, you can let it out for a walk; it also feeds on domestic cockroaches.
Spiders that live in every house hunt for insects. They weave a web and wait for one of them to fall into the net. The spider releases its poison with acid inside the body, which paralyzes and digests the insides, which later becomes an excellent meal. A dried cockroach from the inside becomes a bait for its other relatives.
The domestic hedgehog also feeds on small insects. He hunts for them in corners and catches colonies.

As you can see, the list of those who like to eat unpleasant insects is quite extensive. Therefore, at home you can successfully fight them; to do this, it is enough to have pets.

How to defeat cockroaches

Extermination measures should be taken as soon as the first signs of cockroaches appear. These are very tenacious and prolific creatures, the number of which in the apartment increases every day. Methods for controlling cockroaches are divided into two groups: folk remedies and insecticides.

Traditional methods

Cockroaches have been found in homes since time immemorial, which is why the arsenal of folk methods of fighting them is extensive.

Traps

The principle of operation is to lure the cockroach into a container from which it will not escape. Use glass or enameled deep dishes, the inner walls of which are greased with sunflower oil or fat. You can use cardboard boxes whose walls are lubricated with a sticky compound. A plastic bottle will work if you cut off the neck and attach it to the bottle with the back side, in the form of a funnel.

Bait is placed inside. At night, the trap is placed in places where insects accumulate. In the morning, the traps are collected and the parasites that get inside are destroyed with an insecticide.

Sub-zero temperatures

Heat-loving cockroaches weaken already at +7C. If you freeze a room to -5-10C for 3-4 hours in winter, all insects at any stage of development will die. This method is easier to apply in a private house than in an apartment, because... There is a problem with turning off and maintaining the central heating system.

Boric acid

An old and effective method. Boric acid, entering the body of the parasite, destroys it. Having brought acid to the place of accumulation of relatives on the legs or body, the insect will poison those in contact with it. At the same time, the product is safe for people and pets. There are two ways to use:

It takes about a month to destroy a colony. Borax is used in a similar way.

Strong-smelling products

The odors of some drugs and plants are disgusting to cockroaches. Strong-smelling compounds are added to water for wet cleaning, rubbed onto surfaces, and plants are placed in areas where insects reside. Effective:

ammonia;
vinegar;
lemon juice;
essential oils of mint, eucalyptus, cedar;
elder;
tansy

The method is effective only for repelling; the parasites will return as soon as the smell disappears.

Insecticides

Parasites are guaranteed to be destroyed by modern insecticides, but we must not forget about their danger to people and pets. Types of insecticides:

Sprays. Sprayed in the habitats of cockroaches. Advantages: penetrate into hard-to-reach places. Disadvantages: it is necessary to remove people and pets from the premises, pack dishes and food, and require long-term ventilation and thorough cleaning after use. Famous brands: Dichlorvos, Combat, Raid, Raptor, Fufanon.
Gels. Apply in drops or strips in areas of accumulation. Advantages: easy to apply (available in packages with a long tip), relatively safe for people, easy to clean. Disadvantages: dangerous for children and pets, so it is applied in places inaccessible to them. Brands: Raptor, Killer, Assault, Global, Raid.
Dusts (powders). Scatter in places where they accumulate. Advantages: ease of use. Disadvantages: insects may become addictive, dangerous for people and pets. Brands: Pyrethrum, Phenaxin, Medilis Cyper.
Crayons. Dash lines are drawn at the places where insects move. Advantages: simplicity, applied anywhere, safe. Disadvantages: need to be renewed, ineffective for large numbers of cockroaches. Stamps: Mashenka, Clean House, Brownie.
Soluble drugs. The product is diluted according to the instructions, the room is treated with the solution. Advantages: efficiency. Disadvantages: toxicity, high cost. Stamps: Xifox, Regent.

Traps with insecticides and ultrasonic agents for cockroaches are also produced.

How to get rid of house spiders

The first step is to remove those insects that serve as food for spiders, which is why first of all it is necessary to destroy cockroaches, bedbugs, flies and other unpleasant insects.

Next, you should remove the cobwebs. It is very convenient to do this with a vacuum cleaner, the bag of which is emptied outside the home after the procedure.

You can fight cobwebs with an ordinary broom. However, if there are a large number of arthropods , this may indicate the presence of masonry, which can be gotten rid of using household chemicals - these creatures do not tolerate strong aromas. If possible, surfaces regularly inhabited by arthropods can be painted.

Also, if spiders begin to appear frequently, you can place containers with flavored liquids around the room. Thus, arthropods cannot tolerate the aromas of chestnut, citrus, mint, and eucalyptus. The number of spiders will sharply decrease, and after some time the unpleasant neighbors will leave your home.

However, if the spiders have managed to breed, you will have to purchase special chemicals aimed at destroying them. First of all, these are products based on pyrethroids.

An excellent preventive measure would be to keep the room clean and regularly remove dust and dirt, especially in hard-to-reach places. It is not for nothing that spiders are considered indicators of cleanliness: in those rooms where a lot of them have accumulated, the conditions are far from complete sanitation.

Frequent inhabitants of residential premises are spiders and cockroaches. Their appearance does not bring joy, but rather trouble, physical and financial costs. In residential premises, people thoughtlessly create excellent conditions for their existence and reproduction. Few people asked the question: “Why did spiders appear in the apartment?” “Who is stronger – spiders or cockroaches?”, “Do spiders eat cockroaches?”, “Do we need to destroy these insects?”

Consequences of a bite

Diseases caused by the red, black, American and Egyptian cockroaches are called blattopterosis.

Mechanical damage to the skin from a cockroach bite is not the biggest problem. Insect saliva is a dangerous allergen because it contains the protein tropomyosin. Because of one cockroach bite, people with allergies suffer from the following consequences:

hives;
skin itching;
nasal congestion;
redness of the eyes;
paroxysmal cough;
suffocation.

Insects are able to penetrate a person’s ears, stomach, and nose, causing mechanical irritation. As a result of penetration, painful sensations arise and blood may be released. Only a doctor can help in this situation.

But the greatest danger to humans is the ability of cockroaches to carry various infections. It is known that cockroaches eat human feces and carry about 32 types of bacteria, worm eggs, 17 varieties of fungi, and 3 types of protozoa. A person is at risk of getting sick:

tuberculosis;
dysentery;
salmonellosis;
polio;
cholera;
typhus.

Migration of bedbugs from neighbor to neighbor

However, the leading method of spreading bedbugs in an apartment building remains migration from neighbor to neighbor. Due to the structural features of its body, the bug crawls through even where at first glance there are no cracks. In addition to cracks, bedbugs will still find a way to get into your home. This could be sockets, ventilation, or simply through the street door. And in the summer, in general, there are practically no obstacles, the bug will simply crawl along the outer wall, then through an open window left overnight, or a balcony. And he will be happy to get to know you and your home. Therefore, in apartment buildings the question is “Where do bedbugs come from at home?” almost not worth it, most likely they crawl to you from your neighbors.

Another factor that contributes to the spread of bedbugs from neighbor to neighbor is the destruction of bedbugs in the apartment, for example, disinfection, when the bedbugs have nowhere to go and they scatter in all directions.

It is important to note here that they, as a rule, move alone and it is not at all difficult to notice them at first, until they have finally settled in your house. However, if the destruction of bed bugs is carried out professionally, then the bedbugs, due to their low mobility, will not have time to hide and leave the apartment.

Ways to fight

It is easier to kill an albino than a cockroach, protected by a brown chitinous shell. The delicate body is easy to crush with a slipper or fly swatter. But destroying one insect will not solve the problem.

It is important to get rid of the colony and permanently protect your home from arthropods

Insecticidal preparations are suitable for disinsection. Modern means do not pose a threat to the environment and quickly eliminate the overgrown population. In demand from white and red pests:

Dichlorvos Neo;
chalk Mashenka;
boric acid;
Karbofos;
liquid Forsyth;
Powder Clean House.

Use medications according to instructions, adhering to the rules for working with toxic substances.

Are cockroaches and bedbugs able to coexist peacefully?

Cockroaches and bedbugs are quite capable of getting along in the same apartment, as they have different lifestyles and spheres of influence. Moreover, the statement whether cockroaches eat bedbugs can also be answered in the negative. You shouldn't sit around waiting for insects to exterminate each other. Cockroaches and locusts do not eat bed bugs. These household pests have a variety of diets and habitats. If cockroaches can settle in the kitchen, feeding on crumbs and leftover food, then bedbugs live closer to humans, since it is he who is the source of food for them.

The only threat cockroaches pose is to bedbug eggs, eating them when there is a lack of their usual food. But such a phenomenon is quite rare; pests coexist quite friendly, increasing their populations and thereby complicating the life of apartment owners.

But the combination of bedbugs and ants is dangerous for bloodsuckers. Also, enemies of parasites include centipedes and spiders.

Treatment against cockroaches and bedbugs is carried out by specialized services. There are also various control methods that differ in their degree of effectiveness and safety. You can get rid of bedbugs by freezing, heat treatment, as well as using pesticides and folk remedies. The key to a successful result is timely adoption of measures.

Chemical treatment

Most often, people remove cockroaches using chemical means proven over many years of experience. But using the same drug leads to a decrease in its effectiveness; the insecticide should be changed periodically.

Products for chemical treatment of premises are sold in specialized stores. Currently there is a huge selection of insecticides on the shelves:

aerosols;
powders;
crayons;
gels.

Aerosol products act quickly and precisely. After spraying a cockroach, it will die within a few minutes. The disadvantage of using aerosols is that it requires spraying exactly in the place where the parasites have accumulated. Cockroaches live in places that are difficult for humans to reach, so getting to them with a spray can will not be easy.

After treatment, you will need to vacate the room for several hours and close all windows. Upon returning home, the apartment must be ventilated and wet cleaned.

Chalks and powders are contact agents. The crayons are coated with baseboards and corners, the space behind the furniture, and the powders are scattered throughout the room.

It is important to avoid areas near food and ensure that small children or pets do not eat the powder

Gel insecticides are sold in a special syringe, which allows you to calculate the dosage of the drug. Gels do not damage surfaces and can be easily washed with a damp cloth. This product is effective in killing adult insects and larvae. The insecticide in the form of a gel is applied in drops in places where insects may live. When exposed to the chemical, the cockroach will stain its paws and then begin to clean them. Meanwhile, the poison will enter the insect's stomach and lead to death. An infected individual will transmit the toxic substance to other parasites.

Folk remedies to get rid of bedbugs from your home

Most folk remedies that help in the fight against bedbugs do not destroy these insects, but only repel them, making staying in the apartment unbearable. For example, many plants have this effect, such as wormwood, tansy, and chamomile. They are usually laid out near the bed, in the corners of the apartment, and placed under the mattress. However, there is one plant whose effect is fatal to bedbugs. This is wild rosemary, which is popularly known as “bedbug”. Typically, this plant is collected in late summer, dried and ground into a powder, which is then placed in bedbug habitats. For bedbugs, such powder is a real poison, destroying both adults and their larvae.

In addition to various herbs, one of the effective ways to get rid of bedbugs is freezing and evaporating the insects. Taking furniture out into the cold or into hot steam are very effective means, since carp sprays do not tolerate low and high temperatures.

In the fight against bedbugs, ordinary table vinegar is also often used, treating surfaces and even in insect habitats. Vinegar fumes cause suffocation in the bugs, and the smell of vinegar itself effectively repels blood-sucking parasites.

Lifestyle of bedbugs

These parasites are no less disgusting than cockroaches, but much more bloodthirsty. Blood is the only irreplaceable food for them. The female will not begin laying eggs until she has drunk plenty of fresh blood.

Bloodsuckers breed all year round and in warm conditions. At t -17 °C they die within a day. Intense heat also brings death to them: at t +45 °C and above, the death of bedbugs occurs within an hour.

It is logical that these parasites have always been fought by freezing, leaving the hut open for two days in severe frosts.

The lifespan of bed bugs is up to one and a half years. An adult insect can suck about 7 ml of blood, which is twice its own weight.

Bedbugs have an excellent sense of smell, against which any tricks of the victim are powerless - bloodsuckers smell it from afar.

You can also find out how the cockroach wasp “zombifies” its victim.

Do bedbugs live in household appliances?

Many of us know the characteristic features of the appearance of bedbugs in an apartment. This is the appearance of bites on the skin, blood stains on bed linen, larvae hidden in secluded corners, chitinous skins and droppings that you can find with dust in furniture seams.

The myth that bedbugs choose exclusively old and untidy houses as their refuge has long been debunked. Dirt, dampness, lack of light and fresh air are, of course, ideal conditions for the proliferation of parasites. But as practice shows, not a single room, even the cleanest, is completely protected from such uninvited guests.

If suspicions are confirmed, then we go on a search. Our goal is to find and destroy. First of all, we check sleeping and resting areas, soft toys, wallpaper and baseboards.

But we must not forget about household appliances, of which there are a huge number in every home these days. On the one hand, it seems that household appliances are not the best refuge for bedbugs: there are few secluded corners (bugs like to feel pressure from all sides, so they feel safe), often high temperature and lack of food. However, it is not. Household appliances are just as ideal breeding grounds as furniture. It protects bedbugs from bright light and temperature changes.

Of course, they will not settle near the frying surface, but they feel great at temperatures from 15 to 40 degrees. Working computer system units, an old radio, a stove, coolers, a TV - all this will serve as a home for parasites.

Bedbugs are capable of starving for many weeks, and under unfavorable conditions - for at least a year. When a bug is in a state of suspended animation, neither hunger nor a drop in temperature even to -10 degrees will kill it. Considering these features, you need to pay attention to those things and equipment that you buy secondhand. If even newly purchased equipment or furniture brought from a store becomes an object of reproduction, then what can we say about used items.

Be sure to inspect the equipment you pick up from repair or accept for repair. Often, unwanted settlers can be obtained along with a repaired computer, television or refrigerator, and if you do not check them on the spot, then this may be where your story begins.

Check not only the items purchased or given to others, but also be sure to pay attention to the premises from which you are picking them up. Semi-basement, damp and unkempt objects are exactly the places where blood-sucking pests wait for their new home.

Bedbugs reproduce at a tremendous speed; a female can carry a fertilized seed within her for a month, and lay up to 500 eggs throughout her life.

If you notice these insects in your equipment, take immediate action, most likely this is the initial stage and the treatment will take place quickly and almost unnoticed by you.

But in order to remove this infection for sure, it is better to seek the help of specialists. Professional services know exactly the secluded corners of the habitat and will not leave bedbugs any chance to survive.

This applies to everyone

Unclean or downright “garbage neighbors” are a disaster for the entire house. Even if the unpleasant smell is limited only to their apartment, sooner or later negligence, laxity and uncleanliness will lead to the appearance of various parasites who only need: warmth, food and not to be touched.

Infestation of a home with cockroaches or bedbugs almost always occurs through one problem area - one apartment or room. Covered with garbage, not washed since the time of Brezhnev, it becomes the best home for all the crawling and biting uninvited guests. By their nature, cockroaches, bedbugs and ants will always strive to grow and occupy as much territory as possible. When the colony in the main nursery reaches its peak, they will quickly move to adjacent areas. Actually, this is what makes the neighbors dangerous because they always have bedbugs and cockroaches. Simply put, if they have parasites, then you will too. And don’t look at the fact that they are across the flight or 3 floors above you. Almost always the parasite will find its way even to the top floor from the very first.

What to do if your neighbors have bedbugs and cockroaches?

In many cases, the entire neighborhood/neighborhood is aware of the troubled tenants. Summer residents can relax a little in this matter, because... private houses located close to each other are a problem for the migration of cockroaches and bedbugs. But all residents of apartment buildings, where everyone lives back to back, should directly turn their attention to the disadvantaged.

The first step is to talk to the people responsible for the entrance. For some, it may be ordinary grandmothers who deal with organization and payment issues in their free time, and for others, it may be a HOA. In any case, you need to find out everything and, if possible, hold a meeting with as many residents as possible to find out where they came from and how long the parasites have been present in the house. As a rule, almost everyone who lives in the house is interested in dialogue. It’s all the same only for people renting an apartment or those who are used to being around parasites.

After a preliminary assessment, it is worth visiting all problematic residents, as well as anyone who has reported the presence of parasites. In general, such information collection should be carried out by an exterminator who is interested in exterminating bedbugs and cockroaches for a home, not an apartment. But if it is not there yet, then it is better to conduct at least some inspection yourself. Make a picture of the presence, since you can no longer find the fireplace. Then talk to the residents of the infected apartments and invite them to start exterminating the parasites together.

And this must be done exclusively together and with the help of specialists, and not with improvised means, as many do. The fact is that cockroaches and bedbugs will quickly sense a catch and scatter to the nearest apartments while you are poisoning them. And it’s not even about the neighbors to whom you give parasites, although this is also ugly, but about the fact that they will eventually return anyway. They need to be taken out all at once and forever. Otherwise, your struggle will drag on for many months, or even years.

The neighbors don't want to poison bedbugs and they don't care. What should I do?

First of all, try to communicate without unnecessary emotions with the residents of problem apartments. Scandals and threats are a counterproductive approach. Invite them to do this (poison) everyone at once to make it more reliable. Say that all residents of the house do this, which will undoubtedly play in favor of making a decision. If intractable neighbors start citing a lack of money or simply start refusing for no reason, then say that you will pay for the work of the exterminator. In principle, one apartment is not that expensive, and if you call an exterminator for the whole house, then the final discount on the amount of work will cover all the tenants who have not paid, and will be the same as if you had targeted the pest control. The main thing is that no one refuses processing, otherwise all efforts may come to nothing.

What if they refuse in principle, even for free processing?

In any case, it is necessary to carry out all existing disinfestation procedures. Even if someone refuses, you must definitely act. Only the ending of the typical mass persecution of bedbugs and cockroaches changes a little. Upon completion, you prepare to protect yourself from repeated intrusions by strengthening ventilation, caulking holes and eliminating all sorts of cracks. . The likelihood of parasites returning is high, so from now on you are destined to engage in preventive protection + preventative cleaning.

PS Nowadays, neighbors hardly live together. Minor squabbles over strollers in the hallways, scandals over loud music or nightly quarrels - all this prevents us from living together and also amicably dealing with troubles that concern absolutely everyone. We just need to be a little kinder to each other, and a little more tolerant, I guess.

Similarities and differences

The only similarity between bedbugs and cockroaches living together is their nocturnal lifestyle. Both types of insects prefer to go hunting after sunset. Only in case of severe hunger can an individual go out to hunt during the day.

You can tell that these bloodsuckers are in your home not only by the presence of bites on your body. Usually their presence is accompanied by a rather unpleasant odor, and you may also find several dried blood stains on the bed linen.

About cockroaches

What are cockroaches afraid of in an apartment?
Ways to get rid of cockroaches
Effective cockroach traps
Folk remedies for cockroaches
How to quickly get rid of cockroaches
Cockroach in the ear: what to do?
Methods for controlling cockroaches
How to poison cockroaches in an apartment
Regent for cockroaches
How do cockroaches reproduce?
Where do cockroaches come from in an apartment?
Small cockroaches in the apartment
How long can a cockroach live without a head?
Who eats cockroaches
How to poison cockroaches
Lifespan of cockroaches
The best gel for cockroaches
Getting rid of large cockroaches
How to poison cockroaches in an apartment
How to kill cockroaches
How long do cockroaches live without water and food?
Large black cockroaches in the apartment
Dichlorvos for cockroaches
Preparing for disinfestation
Methods of dealing with red cockroaches
Bay leaf against cockroaches
Cockroaches - what is the danger?
What do pet cockroaches eat?
Fear of cockroaches
Protection against cockroaches in a private home
Cockroach powders
Boric acid against cockroaches
Are cockroaches afraid of vinegar?
Can cockroaches bite?
Cypermethrin for cockroaches
Review of the most effective cockroach repellents
What to do if cockroaches are crawling from your neighbors
Cockroaches: can they fly?
Ammonia against cockroaches
Where do cockroaches live?
Why do white cockroaches appear?
Electronic products for cockroaches
Cockroach repellent FAS
"Global" from cockroaches
Homemade traps for cockroaches
Cockroach nests: how to find them in a residential building
Extermination of cockroaches in a hostel
Gel against cockroaches Domovoy
How to catch a cockroach
Chalk "Mashenka" for cockroaches
There are cockroaches in the refrigerator
Instead of chemicals to fight cockroaches - spiders
Dohlox against cockroaches
Chinese poison for cockroaches
“Clean house” from cockroaches
How to get rid of cockroaches in the kitchen
Benefits of using glue traps for cockroaches
What do cockroaches love most?
Winged cockroaches
Cockroach Executioner
Smoke bomb for cockroaches
Destruction of cockroaches by temperature changes
Aquafumigator for cockroaches
Remedy Rubit against cockroaches
Where to go to get rid of cockroaches in the entrance
Repellent Bars against cockroaches
How to use Averfos against cockroaches?
How to use Forsyth against cockroaches
Dust from cockroaches
Baron - fast-acting contact spray against cockroaches
Karbofos for cockroaches
Combat against cockroaches
What insects can live in an apartment besides cockroaches?
Agran against cockroaches
Raid against cockroaches

Insects

It is also interesting to know which insects pose a danger to the cockroach. For example, the emerald wasp. This is an opportunity for her to lay eggs. The wasp injects poison into the insect's body, paralyzes it, and then drags it inside the nest.

In the body of a paralyzed but still living cockroach, the wasp calmly lays its eggs; after a week, the larvae hatch and eat the cockroach from the inside. After another week, pupae are formed, from which the formed wasps subsequently hatch.

Thus, these insects eat cockroaches.

The dead insect will be happily dragged into the hole and ants.

They will cut it into small parts and transfer it to the nest for winter supplies, to feed the larvae and the queen.

What do cockroaches like to eat most?

Although cockroaches are considered omnivores, they do have personal food preferences. First of all, they look for organic matter, starch, proteins, fats, and oil bases. Favorite foods include:

flour products;
sweets, including sugar;
cereals;
meat products;
vegetables;
fruits;
beer
flakes;
cheese.

At the same time, insects living in apartments and houses do not neglect:

crumbs;
small food debris;
waste and garbage;
spoiled, rotten organic matter.

Females are more voracious, eating on average up to 50 milligrams of food per day. Males are content with half of this volume. At night, a group first goes out to search, and after finding food, they lead the rest of the representatives to it.

Cockroaches go out in search of food in the dark, and during the day they hide in cracks, under furniture, and other places hidden from humans. Having noticed insects in the daytime, they urgently begin extermination. Individuals prowling tables, shelves, and walls in the light indicate that their numbers exceed the amount of space where they can hide.

You need to know your enemies by sight

To effectively combat pests, you need to know about their lifestyle and habits.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are one of the most ancient inhabitants of the earth. Today, about 3,500 species of these insects are known, but not all of them are pests that settle in apartments and houses.

Pests include cockroaches, which naturally live in the tropics and subtropics, so insects can survive only in rooms where above-zero temperatures are maintained year-round. Most often, the following people live in apartments:

The black cockroach is an insect up to 3 cm long;

The kitchen cockroach is a smaller (up to 1.2 cm) red-colored pest.

The brown-striped cockroach is an insect up to 1.3 cm long with a red-brown color;
The American cockroach is a reddish-yellow insect up to 3.5 cm long.

Cockroaches feed on human food and kitchen waste. The presence of cockroaches poses a threat to hygiene, contributes to the spread of intestinal infections, and can cause allergic reactions.

Bedbugs

Bed bugs that parasitize human homes are called bed bugs or linen bugs. The fact is that they feed on blood, biting sleeping people at night, so insects prefer to settle near places where people rest at night.

The insects are small, their body length is no more than 8 mm. The body shape is flattened, so bedbugs often settle in the cracks of furniture, baseboards and walls. Bedbug eggs are small (up to 1 mm long), pearly white. Female bedbugs hide their clutches in secluded places, so it can be very difficult to detect them. Bedbugs are very prolific; during its life, one individual lays up to five hundred eggs.

Bite characteristics

In nature everything is relative. This statement is confirmed by the fact proven by scientists at the University of Cambridge - the force of a cockroach bite is 5 times greater than that of a human and 50 times greater than the weight of their own body.

But due to the small size of the insect, a person does not feel an attack even while awake, let alone when in a state of sound sleep. The cockroach is characterized by a nocturnal lifestyle, so attacks on humans occur mainly in the dark.

Evolutionarily modified oral organs enable the cockroach to digest any food and survive under any conditions. Thanks to its powerful upper and lower jaws, chitinous lips and a tongue-like structure, the insect is capable of chewing paper, shoe leather, clothing, and soap.

The upper lip (labrum) covers the insect's mouthparts. Hard cutting upper jaws (mandibles or mandibles), moving in a horizontal plane, serve to capture food, gnawing and grinding. The lower jaws (mascilla) with segmented sensory palps serve to hold food and perceive taste. The lower lip helps the insect swallow pieces.

The bite is made using mandibles that resemble pincers, so it only feels like a pinch. At this moment, the cockroach tears off a piece of the epidermis. The strength of the bite depends on the size of the insect.

Types of house spiders

The following arthropods can most often be found in apartments and private houses

How can you recognize them ? The distinctive features of a black spider are:

Miniature body size, average length about 1.5 cm.
The web has the shape of a tube.

The window has a body length of no more than 1 cm, an oval or round abdomen, and 8 long legs. It prefers to weave webs in dark corners or under window sills. Black spiders often have yellowish patterns on their bodies, which are densely covered with hairs . There are several pairs of eyes, but arthropods focus primarily on other senses.

Gray ones are also small, up to 15 mm. After the prey is caught in the web, the spider restores the web; it is mainly females who weave it.

The black hobo spider does not spin webs, but is large in size. He can enter the home through a door or window. It is distinguished by long legs and an elongated body. How does this giant hunt? It rushes at the chosen victim, injects poison, eats it and moves on. This is why such black arthropods will not become regular guests of your apartment. Having rid it of insects, they will continue on their way.

The haymaker spider is often also called the long-legged spider or the pigtail spider. The most remarkable thing about its appearance is its long legs (their length reaches 5 cm with a body length of only 1 cm). Number of legs: eight . The web is not sticky , but is so intricately intertwined that the caught insect has no chance of freeing itself. And the waiting hunter is already running towards his prey, ready to inject a lethal dose of poison into its trembling body.

This creature prefers to live in dry, warm places, especially near windows and in hard-to-reach corners, most often hanging upside down. It is interesting that the haymaker tries with all his might to prevent a large insect from getting into his net; in case of danger, he begins to swing the web.

Jumper. This is a special type of jumping domestic arthropod, the owner of eight eyes located in three rows. It can be distinguished by a wide variety of body colors and abdominal patterns. Due to the presence of tiny hairs and claws on its paws, this arthropod moves easily on glass surfaces. It is interesting that this spider is an exception among its fellows; it is not a predator, preferring to eat acacia flowers.

Arthropods are also often kept as pets, they are loved and cared for. The most popular types include the following:

White-haired tarantula. This is a very calm species, its body length reaches an average of 7 cm, its paws reach a span of 16 cm. The lifespan of a tarantula directly depends on the sex: if the male lives only 3 years, then the female lives up to 4 times longer. For humans, these creatures are almost completely safe, but hungry spiders are able to bite.
Bicolor tarantula. This is a very calm creature with a long lifespan; the female can live up to 20 years, the male – 5 times less. However, the bite of such a spider can cause an allergic reaction, so you need to be extremely careful. This tarantula prefers to eat large insects.
Giant tarantula. A very interesting pet for home keeping, the body length can reach 10 cm, the paw span is 25 cm. The female will live up to 12 years, but the male will be devoured immediately after mating. This large species is native to the tropics of Brazil.
Striped tarantula. It is also a large species, the leg span reaches 20 cm, the body length is no less than 10 cm. This is a very voracious creature, which should be fed at least a couple of times a week. Crickets, cockroaches, and beetle larvae can be used as food.
Horned tarantula. This is a very aggressive and capricious creature, so a beginner in the business of breeding domestic spiders should refuse such a handsome one. The spider is especially active at night, and its distinctive feature is the horn adorning the cephalothorax. May bite.

Foreign body in the ear

The size of the Prussians allows them to penetrate the auricle. Most often, trouble happens at night. The cockroach is looking for a secluded corner, sees a narrow dark crevice and climbs there. He can't get back out. Being trapped, it compresses the auditory membrane, squeezes deep inside and causes acute pain.

If a cockroach crawls into the ear, a person experiences physical and psychological discomfort. The rustling of insect wings is heard in the head, slight bleeding begins

In such a situation, it is important to calm down and not take independent action to extract it. Inept manipulations can easily damage the Prussian or damage the eardrum.

To get the pest out, call an ambulance or go to the nearest emergency room. The doctor will rinse or remove the cockroach with tweezers. If the insect is not damaged, the procedure lasts no longer than 15 minutes.

Adults and larvae - nymphs - crawl into the ear. The young growth gets into the hearing organs of children, causing them a panic attack and pain.

Are there allergies to pests?

It is possible for the body to have an allergic reaction to cockroaches.

The provocateur of the phenomenon can be chitinous shells remaining after the molting of parasites, dry stones, and the remains of dead individuals. They mix with the dust that a person inhales and cause allergies.

Cockroaches are able to live safely in an apartment or house, feeding mainly on food waste. With limited access to food, the insect is capable of eating improvised objects and even biting its owners.

Pests usually feed at night and hide during the day. The greatest danger of harmful microorganisms to humans is their ability to transmit dangerous infections.

The area of prevention of active reproduction of pests is limiting access to food and water.

Source

Treatment of wounds from bites

After detecting a cockroach bite, you should immediately treat the wound with an antiseptic: hydrogen peroxide, Chlorhexidine. Wound healing ointments help against mechanical damage to the skin as a result of a bite:

with panthenol (Panthenol, Bepanten);
with antibacterial action (Pimafukort).

If an allergic reaction occurs, then use antihistamines: Cetrin, Loratadine, Lorano. For a week or 10 days, the drug is taken 1 tablet daily. Cockroaches found as foreign bodies in the human body are removed with sterile tweezers and treated with an antiseptic.

Damage from insects and food debris left behind

In science, the harm of parasites to human health is referred to as “blattopterosis”. This concept includes an allergic reaction, the transfer of worm eggs, and mechanical damage to the skin from insect bites.

The basic danger of cockroaches to humans is the ability of pests to transmit diseases. These specimens can move not only within the living space, but also climb into the sewer, garbage chute, or attic.

There are no food products in these places - the food for the “barbels” is made up of improvised means. As the meal is completed, the pests collect numerous bacteria on their chitinous cover, which they then bring into the house - everything that the “local” cockroaches feed on becomes infected.

In addition, pests are capable of eating human and animal excrement, breeding a whole range of pathogenic microorganisms in their digestive tract.

Together with the latter, the cockroaches convey to their owners:

dysentery;
salmonellosis;
pneumonia;
genital infections, etc.

What diseases do pests carry?

Cockroaches do not disdain food infested with harmful microorganisms. They calmly eat rat and pigeon droppings, human feces and decomposed animal carcasses. Doctors confirm that omnivorous insects are carriers of dangerous diseases:

dysentery;
salmonellosis;
pneumonia;
rubella;
staphylococcus;
viral polio;
hepatitis A;
tuberculosis;
typhoid fever.

Cockroaches can infect humans with 32 types of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. They transport 17 types of helminths in their stomachs and paws. Common ones are:

pinworms;
pathogenic amoebas;
roundworms;
tapeworms.

To get worm eggs, you don’t have to pet stray animals or eat unwashed fruit. If there are cockroaches in the house, it is enough to drink from a mug on which an insect used to crawl.

In nature

The cockroach is not the main food for any animal; rather, it is a favorite delicacy, a delicacy eaten with pleasure. In nature, there are natural enemies that hunt them.

The peculiarity of these insects is their excellent survival rate. This is a practically endangered type of food; it is not afraid of changes in high and low temperatures, high humidity, drought, and radioactive radiation.

If a nuclear war occurs, cockroaches will remain alive, serving other animals and people as a source of food.

Deprivation of water and food

Prussians can eat anything, their omnivorousness determines their vitality, but they cannot do without water. You can deprive insects of access to life-giving moisture as follows:

check the serviceability of plumbing equipment, eliminate leaks;
remove open sources of liquid;
wipe sinks, showers, bathtubs dry;
keep the pipes dry;
cover the toilet seat with a lid;
cover drains when not in use;
ensure that condensation does not accumulate on surfaces;
remove indoor plants that need regular watering.

All areas adjacent to water sources are treated with insecticides to completely deprive pests of water.

Reduces the attractiveness of an apartment for cockroaches and the inaccessibility of food with a pronounced smell (smoked, spicy, fried), and oily foods. Prussians love to rummage through garbage, so regular cleaning and removal of food waste will help in pest control.

Mammals

In nature, mammals also love cockroaches. For example, small monkeys will happily eat insects and treat their young ones.

By eating marbled cockroach meat, they replenish their body with nutrients; breeders include them in their daily diet.

But there is a peculiarity: despite the fact that these insects are not aggressive and timid, they can also eat mammals. If there is no alternative food for a long time, they attack a hibernating animal, since it does not pose a threat to them.

Danger and harm to humans

The appearance of cockroaches in an apartment is an unpleasant event for residents. In addition, they can be harmful to human health, because... often become carriers of pathogenic bacteria and worm eggs that cling to their paws. In addition, during periodic molting, they shed their chitin shell, releasing a specific odor containing toxic substances into the air. As a result of accumulation, such toxins can provoke allergies in people living in apartments, and even asthma.

If the Prussians have become insolent and appear in the kitchen during the daytime, this means that the colony of parasites has increased sharply. In such a situation, it is necessary to take urgent measures to destroy them.

By using toxic substances in the fight against parasites and knowing what food and smells cockroaches like, baits with poison will become more attractive to parasites. This will allow you to quickly get rid of unpleasant neighbors in the apartment.

Brief conclusions

Despite the presence of a large number of natural enemies of the house bug, a person should not expect real help in destroying the parasite. Even the most active animals that eat house bugs, such as cockroaches, spiders and amphibians, either rarely intersect with it or are no less unpleasant neighbors in their own right. The last argument applies, for example, to cockroaches, which can also cause a lot of trouble to humans.

Therefore, the simplest, most effective and realistic way to combat domestic bedbugs remains the same - contacting specialists. Proper selection of a suitable means of destroying the parasite in combination with properly carried out insecticidal treatment will rid your house or apartment of a harmful and dangerous insect that feeds on human blood.

From the above, the obvious and main conclusion of the article follows. You should not count on the help of the natural enemies of the bed bug. It is better to take the solution to the problem of its destruction into your own hands and put your plans into practice.

How to prevent pests from breeding

How to destroy cockroaches and their eggs? And again, we first need to understand what species we are dealing with. To identify them quickly, the best way to catch them for identification is with a bunch of sticky traps. Use odorless sticky traps and place them where you frequently see pests. Once you've caught a few, you can identify them.

The right way to deal with eggs: insect growth regulators.

They are effective in preventing hatching. If you use the right substances, they will become sterile. This means that the cockroaches will not hatch to repeat the entire reproduction cycle again.

Alternatively, you can use a contact pesticide.

Where to find cockroach eggs?

How and where to find these eggs? Where are these safe places? Finding eggs of the pest is not easy: they do not move and do not come out at night, like adult parasites. You cannot predict their behavior and you cannot kill them by squashing them.

To be honest, it is impossible to determine the exact location. Do you know what happens in their mind when they decide and determine that they have found the safest place? We can only make some assumptions.

We already know where they like to hide and what kind of environment they prefer. We also know about common places where we can find them hiding. We also know about common places where a lot of eggs are often found. Using these bits of information increases the chances of our efforts.

These pests usually like to hide in dark, nooks and crannies, so common places like closets and behind baseboards (where the wall meets the floor) are good places for them to hide their egg sacs.

The "safe areas" in which cockroaches prefer to lay eggs are the same for all species.

There are several standard places and their characteristics:

Isolated
Dark
Quiet
With high humidity environment
Closed from most predators, including humans and pets

These characteristics of the places where the masonry is hidden will somewhat narrow your search.

You must do a thorough search to find the future descendants of your enemy in the house.

Some of the most common places to find them include:

in the cracks and crevices
in the hole around the pipes
within the walls
in closets
behind the instruments
under the baseboard
in electronics
in furniture
in the bathrooms
in technology
in paper (newspapers, books, magazines)
in closets
in the basket
on the ceilings
in the bathrooms

If you happen to see a female carrying her egg sac, killing her could end her contribution to the population - if you pull out the ootheca and throw it away. Leaving a dead body on the floor or counter is the worst thing you can do. You might as well hang a sign above your door that says, “Cockroaches Welcome!”