What kind of bugs are these?
Many people faced with this problem are concerned about one question - what kind of parasites are these?! Small black or brown bugs that live in the apartment are called skin beetles. They enter the room in several ways - through windows, ventilation holes, cracks in the floor and walls, as well as through clothing, shoes and hair. An adult insect has an oval body shape, the length of which does not exceed 5 mm. It practically does not move, and in times of danger it completely freezes. If you touch the skin beetle with your finger, it will roll over onto its back. Most often, residents of apartment buildings become acquainted with them.
To lay eggs, leather beetles choose surfaces with a fleecy or rough texture - wool, carpets, fur, and various fabrics. Breeding time is from April to June. The female lays eggs for 2-10 days. Their largest number is almost a hundred during the period. The eggs are white in color, up to 2 mm long, and very soft and pliable to the touch. The duration of their development ranges from 2 to 60 days - the exact period is affected by air temperature. Having emerged from the cocoon, the newborn bugs almost immediately set off in search of a partner for mating. In one year, a whole generation of insects can appear in an apartment! Interestingly, the female, having completed her mission, immediately dies.
Carpet beetles prefer to live in well-lit places, so they can be seen on the windowsill or in lamp shades. But they are not at all attracted to moisture in toilets and bathrooms.
Insect pests
Woodworms are furniture pests that lay eggs in recesses and small cracks. In three years, the larva grows into an adult. They make passages in the wood where they live.
Most often, only the secondary signs of this insect's presence are noticeable - small holes, mounds of sawdust, damaged wooden furniture.
Human life is connected with living nature, and insects are part of it. This neighborhood has been going on since time immemorial. People have even managed to domesticate some insects. For ants, there are special farms for raising them in apartments - formicariums.
Classification of domestic skin beetles
There are several types of carpet beetles. Some settle in living rooms or bedrooms, while others move into the kitchen and spoil food supplies. Only the larvae pose a danger to people - they begin to actively feed immediately after birth. But adult beetles eat only plant sap or nothing at all.
- Carpet moths are dark brown individuals that feed on house dust;
- Ham - in the European part of the world this is the most popular type of beetle. Its main distinguishing feature is its body shape - long, with yellow spots on top; Smirnov's carpet beetles - these small bugs, more often than other species, settle in apartments; House or museum bugs - hide in flowerpots; Fur bugs - the most harmful type, eats homemade products, It is distinguished by its black spotted coloring.
The beetles of the fur coat beetle are brighter in color than the beetles of the carpet beetle.
To make it easier for you to recognize these bugs, we provide you with photos and names for them.
Larvae also have their own classification:
- Anthrenus - found on clothing and other fabric surfaces; Attagenus - found in bulk products, on carpets, at the bottom of drawers and bags, under parquet boards.
Interesting! Skin beetle larvae will not tolerate bright lighting - they live in dark places.
The ins and outs of the red-haired occupier
The one that is colloquially called the red ant, in the biological classification is the ship or pharaoh ant. This insect is heat-loving, native to North Africa. It has long become a companion to man, settled on ships across all continents and found refuge in human homes, where there is always a warm secluded corner and food.
Interesting! The tiny red beasts received their royal name (“pharaohs”) from Carl Linnaeus himself. Insects were first discovered in Egyptian tombs, where they either guarded the peace of mummies or fed on them.
Externally, the red goosebump is a tiny insect. The body of the working representatives of the family, namely the ones we see in our apartments, reaches a length of only 1.5–2 mm compared to 4–9 mm for their forest and garden counterparts. The queen is a little larger - up to 4 mm, but it is difficult to see, since the nest where she lays eggs is, as a rule, in a place inaccessible to people - under the floors, behind the baseboards, in the floors, even under the wallpaper.
Due to the small size of the insect, with the naked eye we see only the light brown color of the outer integument. Under a microscope, you can see the dark stripes characteristic of the species on the abdomen. The eggs are the same in shape as those of ordinary ants, but three times smaller - approximately 0.3 mm long.
Are skin beetles dangerous?
Domestic skin beetles cause great harm. They can ruin the entire supply of dry foods, as they easily penetrate even tightly closed jars of cereals or flour. These bugs live in bread bins and cabinets. Of course, you can try to clean the cereal from insects, but there will still be eggs, so you will have to throw everything away.
Books and stacks of papers also suffer from bugs - leather beetles are considered the most dangerous enemies of archives, museums and libraries. The danger zone includes carpets, natural fabrics, products made from wool, fur, skins, horns, feathers, hair, down and felt - bugs will immediately spoil them. In this case, they act no worse than moths - they cut off the fibers and gnaw through entire holes.
The excrement of these small bugs is also dangerous to human health. Once in the body along with food, they can lead to the development of an allergic reaction. Its main manifestations are coughing, asthma attacks, redness of the skin and the appearance of a small rash.
But there is no need to be afraid of skin beetle bites - despite the “telling” name, human skin is of no interest to them. These insects bite only in certain situations - for example, during a sudden change in environmental conditions, repairs and moving.
How to remove brown bugs?
How to get rid of brown bugs in an apartment? Act immediately, without waiting for parasites to start spoiling your things! There are several ways to kill these insects. Let's look at each of them.
Method 1. Insecticides for skin beetles
Chemical agents allow you to very quickly destroy all the bugs. You can safely use:
- Anti-moth preparations – “Raid”, “Antimol”, “Raptor”, “Clean House”, “Armol”. With their help, you will destroy the bugs in literally 2 hours. The only drawback is that skin beetles quickly develop immunity to these poisons, and many chemicals have no effect on them at all. If this happens, repeat the treatment after a few days, using an insecticide with a different composition.
- Powders (dusts) kill not only adults, but also larvae. Such products are rubbed into fabrics and furniture upholstery, and also scattered on floor coverings. If desired, the dust can be diluted with water, poured into a container with a spray bottle and poured into hard-to-reach crevices.
- Anti-moth tablets and fumigators – “Nimol”, “Molemor”, “Antimol”, “Dezmol”. The tablets are laid out on the shelves of the cabinets, and the fumigators are plugged into sockets - one for each room. When using this method, be very careful - by impregnating clothes, tablets and fumigators with their smell, they can cause unpleasant consequences and allergies.
- Aerosols – “Difox”, “Raid”, “Molemor”, “Clean House”, “Dichlorvos”, “Raptor”. To remove skin beetles from clothing and fur products, treat the item with an aerosol, then place it in a plastic bag for 4-5 hours. It is during this period that all flying bugs will die. Upon completion of processing, remove the product to fresh air for long-term ventilation. Aerosols are also suitable for disinfestation of the entire apartment. It should be applied at a distance of about 20 cm from the surface. Usually one procedure is enough to completely destroy insects. If, after some time, new individuals appear in the room, it means that the eggs have survived, and therefore the treatment must be repeated.
- Microcapsule concentrates for sprays - “Difos”, “Foxid”, “Executioner”, “Mittoks”, “Get”, “Morimol”, “Supronit”. Each spray contains an insecticide that has a contact effect. Getting on the chitinous shell, the poison causes paralysis and leads to the rapid death of the skin beetle. The listed preparations provide reliable protection for the premises for a whole year and do not require re-treatment - newly hatched larvae of brown beetles will die immediately.
- Boric acid - the powder of this powerful insecticide should be scattered around the entire perimeter of carpets, as well as on the windowsill and under the baseboards. This product is completely safe for humans, but if you have small children or pets, be very careful. There are cases where boric acid led to food poisoning and allergies.
The most effective are drugs based on allethrin, chlorpyrifos and bendiocarb. These chemicals are ideal for disinfecting carpets as they do not leave behind stains. Before applying the insecticide, the surface must be thoroughly vacuumed. During the pest control process, be sure to treat the walls and backs of furniture. This should be done at a height of 1.5 m from the floor - applying the product higher is useless - bugs do not live there.
When using insecticidal preparations, do not forget to be careful. The presence of protective equipment (rubber gloves, masks, clothes with long legs and sleeves) is a must! At the end of the process, the room should be well ventilated and wet cleaned. Rinse especially thoroughly those areas that come into contact with your hands. Everything else can be left untouched for now in order to extend the time of the insecticidal effect.
Advice! If you use a chemical insecticide in the kitchen, be sure to store the food in the refrigerator or sealed bags.
Method 2. Freezing
Another common and quite effective method for removing brown bugs. If they are in your home, cool the room to -11 degrees. Maintain this mode for at least 3 hours. Carpet beetles are heat-loving insects, so they are unlikely to survive severe frosts. Small items that brown bugs might like should be taken out into the cold or placed in the freezer for about 3 hours.
Unfortunately, this method has several disadvantages. Firstly, flying bugs can reliably hide in some secluded and warm place, keep warm and stay alive. Secondly, freezing will have to be repeated several times, otherwise the effect will not be achieved. Thirdly, it is necessary to carefully prepare the room before the start of the procedure - cover household appliances, remove indoor plants and insulate the heating system. Otherwise, you will face considerable damage.
Method 3. Folk remedies
Natural recipes give good results, but are most often used for preventive purposes:
- Place cotton pads soaked in essential oil of lavender, lemon balm or tansy in your apartment;
- Dilute 1 tbsp. l. vinegar in 1 liter of hot water, pour the liquid into a container with a spray bottle and spray cabinets, window sills, shelves and baseboards; Permethrin pyrethroid. Buy the product at the pharmacy, dilute it in water and use it to soak fur and wool items that have bugs in them.
Fragrant products only repel skin beetles, but do not kill them.
Method 4. Physical destruction
General cleaning will help you get rid of brown bugs in the early stages. If you start it on time, insecticide treatment may not be necessary.
- Inspect everything that is in your home; Take a good vacuum cleaner over all surfaces - this will get rid of not only adult insects, but also larvae. Be especially careful in areas where there is a lot of debris and dust. After cleaning, shake out the contents of the bag outside and wash in hot water;
- Wash all surfaces from baseboards to flowerpots with water with the addition of soap base, vinegar or ammonia; Put everything that can be washed in the washing machine set to the highest temperature, and then iron it with a hot iron. Pay special attention to seams and folds.
Washing in hot water and then ironing the clothes will help get rid of skin beetle larvae and eggs.
Advice! For preventive purposes, wash the floors with a vinegar solution for another 3-4 days.
Benefits and harms
Is the tiny creature with claws dangerous? Is it worth destroying the small false scorpion?
Many owners, who know nothing about the arachnid’s lifestyle and “taste preferences,” believe that the best way out is to kill the formidable alien with large claws. But with a small population of book false scorpions, living in a large house, this is not worth doing. Tiny creatures are not dangerous to humans: they do not spoil food, do not inject poison, and do not attack sleeping household members like bed bugs. The best option is to think about why unusual creatures appeared in your home.
Arachnids benefit:
- destroy tiny pests: larvae of small flies and beetles, springtails, small spiders, soil mites, nematodes. Many of these insects parasitize indoor flowers and cause damage to plants. False scorpions clear the home of pests, reduce the population of insects that attack orchids, violets, and balsams;
- tiny arachnids are home orderlies. They not only eat pests that damage indoor plants, but also destroy ticks, lice, small bugs, and other parasites, the existence of which in the house residents are not even aware of;
- false scorpions feed on dust, which contains microscopic particles of the epidermis, excrement of small insects, dead and decomposed insects, and tiny debris. The book variety of unusual arachnids actively cleans the accumulation of dust from the shelves of closets, the bathroom, and other areas that the housewife does not get around to cleaning.
Spiders, ticks, fleas, parasites attacking indoor plants are not only unpleasant, but also dangerous to health. Insects and arthropods, when their populations are large, leave a lot of excrement. When dry, the particles mix with dust, spread throughout the apartment, and provoke negative reactions among household members. There is a special type of allergy to house dust. This form of the disease is difficult to get rid of.
Negative points:
- small claws scare household members. Despite its tiny size, it is easy to see the large claws of this strange creature. It seems that a mutant scorpion or a new species of spider has entered the home. Negative emotions after meeting an unusual creature are difficult to forget;
- if the apartment is small, and there are a lot of false scorpions, they cause noticeable discomfort to the household. Nervous, sensitive people experience panicky feelings and become irritated. In case of an accidental or deliberate attack on a tiny arachnid, a defensive reaction will follow - a bite plus unpleasant sensations.
How to eliminate skin beetles in the kitchen?
What to do if small brown bugs appear in the kitchen? The same methods apply to them as to moth larvae:
- Wipe down all cabinets containing food supplies with a damp cloth. Add a little ammonia or vinegar to the water; Check flour, nuts, cereals and dried fruits. Anything that is heavily contaminated should be thrown away. The rest can be processed by heating in the oven or placing in the freezer for three to four hours. Then the cereals are washed well and dried. Of course, this won’t work with flour - you’ll have to get rid of it anyway; Place any remaining supplies in airtight containers.
The process of fighting brown bugs is complicated by the fact that these insects lead a predominantly hidden way of life. Young individuals are more sensitive to poisons, so do not delay the start of the fight. The most productive period is considered to be from May to October.
Signs of defeat
Wood-boring beetles reproduce very quickly. These pests begin to destroy wood at an early age
Therefore, it is very important to promptly notice signs of their presence on the site.
Presence of holes on wooden surfaces. The beetles that live in the house always make small holes or full-fledged passages in the tree. Wood flour often pours out of them. Small larvae can also hide in these passages.
Light weight of building materials
When buying boards for finishing a house or bath, you should pay attention to their weight. If the tree seems too light, this may also be a sign of woodworm damage.
They usually eat the board from the inside.
Unpleasant sound. If there is a beetle in the house, you can recognize it by its characteristic grinding sound. It is heard especially well at night.
Presence of dark spots on the surface. In some cases, brown liquid may ooze from the holes made by woodworms. It has a pungent odor and spoils the appearance of the furniture.
In the evening, these pests can be seen with the naked eye. The easiest time to spot them is during mating season. That's when they leave their shelters. Pests crawl on countertops, window sills, and also fly near lamps. Having noticed such bugs, you need to immediately begin pest control.
Prevention of skin beetles
To never again encounter the appearance of small brown bugs in your apartment, do not forget about prevention:
- In the summer, protect the windows with fine mesh nets; Place the same nets for ventilation; Cover all cracks or crevices with polyurethane foam or plaster; Make cosmetic repairs Before sending seasonal items for storage, spray them with a light solution of permethrin. When you want to wear it again, wash it first;
- Periodically arrange sudden temperature fluctuations; Spray fur coats and hats with an aerosol and place them in bags before storing; Ventilate the room at any time of the year; Inspect clothes and interior items from time to time; Keep the house clean.
See also: How to properly store cereals to prevent bugs?
Source
What are they?
In houses and apartments, false scorpions choose to live in a place where it is quiet and calm, as well as a lot of dust and all kinds of living creatures. These are bookcases, shelves with various papers and other storage areas for the remains of human activity and their domestic insects. That is, if there is a place where a rag for wiping dust has reached it, it means that there is definitely this carrier of threatening claws there. It is very, very difficult to notice a false scorpio. This usually happens during spring cleaning, when things are carefully moved from one place to another.
Another favorite room of bookish individuals is the bathroom. Here, most often, the lights are turned off, there is moisture, which means there is something to profit from. In addition, rarely does anyone immediately wash out the bath with bleach after a shower, and there are various pieces of skin left on which small insects converge. It is difficult to notice claws in the bathroom, but if you look closely immediately after turning on the light, you can see some movements - most likely these are false scorpions running away from the prying eyes of the apartment owner.
