Our home is a place where a person spends the main part of the day, when he wants special comfort and relaxation. Various factors can influence the appearance of insects in a human home.
That is why the appearance of uninvited “guests” can bring a lot of trouble. Particularly often insects infect two places in the apartment - the kitchen and the bathroom. The appearance of such living creatures often causes negative emotions and disgust in people; often these pests can be carriers of various infections.
The main difficulty in dealing with such pests is the fact that these insects are for the most part omnivores, which is why they are only happy to live with people under the same roof, where there is a huge amount of food.
Strange white creatures in the apartment
It would seem strange to see extra living creatures in the bathroom, since this part should always be clean, but for some, a large amount of water and a comfortable temperature play a major role.
White is a characteristic color for silverfish that have just molted. Usually these insects are up to 1 cm, they have an elongated body, silver or almost transparent color. Very be moving around.
Another species is woodlice. Not dangerous to human life and health.
Let's celebrate! Basically, these two species settle in the walls of the bathtub, since all the conditions for a comfortable life are provided for them. Unlike Prussians and other pests, they are not dangerous, do not carry disease, and do not bite.
Small white insects
This description characterizes woodlice. Such an inhabitant is not uncommon and can often be found in the vicinity of the bath. They have a light body, oblong shape with small scales. Woodlice move very quickly, so they are often very difficult to catch and even see.
Long white insects
Silverfish have a long white body. The main difference from other insects is the presence of a large number of legs on both sides.
Most are silver-black, some are brown. The main food for these insects is glue. In addition to typical inhabitants, the bathroom can be subject to attacks by cockroaches, midges and ants.
Chemical and folk remedies
To destroy white insects in the house, insecticidal aerosols are recommended, which should be used every week (Raid, Raptor, Dichlorvos, Clean House, etc.). When carrying out processing, personal protective equipment should be used (respirator or gauze bandage, rubber gloves on hands).
Insect control products
Folk remedies against silverfish and woodlice:
- scatter diatomaceous earth in the cabinets - a substance that kills crawling parasites; its solution can be used to treat cracks in the walls, tile joints, baseboards;
- scatter spices (cloves, etc.), essential oils or citrus zest inside the cabinet, which must be changed every 4 days;
- sprinkle boric acid powder mixed with chalk (in a ratio of 1:4) on the pipes, under the toilet and sink; the solution can be used to treat the surfaces of the pipes;
- against wood lice, it is also recommended to use a solution consisting of soda ash (3 g), tobacco powder and ground red pepper per 1 liter of water - this mixture must be sprayed in places where pests accumulate (plinths, ceilings, cracks and corners in the bathroom, toilet and cellar) ;
- To catch woodlice in flower pots, baits made from potatoes or carrots are used; to do this, cut out the middle of them and leave them overnight - when they get in there, the baits are destroyed along with the bugs.
Why do small white insects appear in the bathroom?
The most important question that arises among residents of apartments is where insects have appeared, where and how they came from.
To begin with, we should highlight the main factors that attract uninvited “guests” to the house. The maximum level of humidity is comfortable for such bugs; it is in it that insects can lead a normal life, they have a habitat, food and the opportunity to reproduce. They always have plenty of water and food nearby.
A person spends a minimum of time in the bathroom, which means that extraneous sounds will practically not frighten the little inhabitants. Since this room is the least visited, it means that it is almost always dark, this is another important factor for such insects.
All these factors make it clear that the bathroom is a great place to live.
Having figured out what attracts bugs to a human home, it is important to understand where and how their appearance can be provoked:
- Open basements and ventilation compartments, presence of insects among neighbors. This is how bugs often immigrate. The easiest way for them to penetrate is to the first and last floors.
- Failure to keep the room clean.
- High humidity.
- Relatively high air temperature.
Let's celebrate! To avoid the appearance of such pests, it is recommended to carefully maintain the cleanliness of the bathroom.
Where do white cockroaches come from?
During the period of absence of shell, due to their special vulnerability, insects look for habitats where the threat to their habitat is minimal:
- They crawl through ventilation shafts from neighbors, from cafes, grocery stores located in buildings. And also from garbage chutes.
- White cockroaches easily move under baseboards, window sills, and along water and sewer pipes in the toilet.
- A female cat (with eggs on her belly) can be brought home by a furry kitten, a puppy, or a domestic rabbit that does not yet know how to shake off harmful animals.
- Small white insects are sometimes brought inside the home with furniture (not only second-hand, but also completely new). Or with household appliances from a supermarket that simultaneously sells groceries, kitchen appliances and appliances.
- Colorless cockroaches enter the apartment with books picked up on the street near garbage containers, or borrowed from a library library. An almost transparent insect hidden among the binding threads can be very difficult to notice.
- Small cockroaches can arrive inside a parcel when ordering goods in an online store, or on sites selling goods from hand to hand. And also at home to crawl out of a bag with things brought from a trip around the world to hotels of questionable cleanliness.
- Or a classmate of his son (daughter) will allow him to use his laptop for a day or two, where the insects live, and the child will deliver someone else’s device to his home apartment.
Also read: The most effective traps for cockroaches
Attention! Before you bring anything inside the house, carefully check to see if there are traces of their activity on the object.
Are white insects dangerous and harmful to humans?
- Silverfish are not harmful to humans; they do not harm domestic animals.
- These insects do not bite because they are small in size and have an unsuitable mouth for this.
- Such “residents” can cause a negative reaction in people, as they appear unexpectedly and can frighten or disgust.
- Despite their safety for humans, such creatures are still not pleasant, as they can cause damage to property. Being mostly omnivores, they can spoil food, cereals, sugar, even wallpaper and books, as well as leather products.
How to get rid of insects in the bathroom?
Physical methods
First, you should carry out a complete sanitary cleaning of the apartment, since it makes no sense to poison pests in a contaminated room and will not lead to positive consequences.
First of all, people try to fight such insects manually, in the hope that due to their small size they will be easy to eliminate:
- One of the main tools is a vacuum cleaner. With its help, people carry out general cleaning, trying to suck in the main habitats. This method is very labor-intensive, since it is impossible to kill one insect at a time, and using a vacuum cleaner does not provide a 100% guarantee. As a result of such treatment, you can easily miss a place with pests, and then this whole idea goes in vain. Even if you managed to remove some nests with a vacuum cleaner, this does not mean that there are no others left.
- Another method is treatment with boiling water. Cleaning is also carried out and boiling water is poured onto the nests and holes. This causes the insects to flee to another location. This method also does not guarantee anything, since pests can easily escape to another secluded place in the apartment.
- All living beings do not like cold. This leads to the next method - to lower the temperature in the room as much as possible.
Let's celebrate! These methods are very simple, but do not guarantee that the person has removed all the insects and that they will not return after a while.
Traps and bait
- Traps include the use of traditional methods. It is recommended to place wreaths of birch branches in the corners of the bathroom overnight. Bugs remain in the rods overnight. Such a wreath must be thrown away immediately, or better yet, burned.
- For the next trap, use a glass jar. Place paper or tape on the outside. Any sweet product, such as an apple or sugar, is placed inside the jar. The silverfish easily climbs up the jar, penetrates it, but cannot get back out. The next morning they get rid of insects in such jars.
- Another bait is a roll of paper. You need to moisten it overnight and leave it on. Insects cannot live without moisture, so they will not ignore such a roll. During the night, many pests crawl into such a “house”. In the morning, it is important to throw away such a roll, or burn it without unrolling it.
Chemicals
The most effective in fighting insects are chemicals; thanks to them, it is possible to get rid of pests for a while, along with their larvae.
There are a large number of drugs on the market today aimed at controlling household pests.
Copper and iron sulfate, as well as products containing chlorine, are considered the most effective. Among the assortment you can find sprays, aerosols, powders, gels and other types.
Some of the most popular and effective aerosols include the following:
- Raptor;
- Mosquitall;
- Combat;
- Antimol;
- Dichlorvos;
- Raid;
- Clean house;
- Armol;
- Extramit.
These preparations are suitable for long-term treatment; at first it is recommended to spray them indoors once a week.
When working with such drugs, it is important to follow the instructions, since such products have a pungent odor that negatively affects the human respiratory system.
Let's celebrate! Therefore, when using chemicals, it is advisable to use protective clothing, remove animals and children from the apartment during treatment, and ventilate the room.
Traditional methods
Folk remedies have been around for a long time; they are particularly effective, low cost and simple.
Such methods have existed for more than 100 years, so there is no point in doubting their effectiveness:
- Regular sugar, as well as brown sugar, can be considered the main assistant. It is distributed into cracks and places where white bugs may appear.
- Yeast can be decomposed in the same way. Such living creatures do not like the smell of cloves, so it is necessary to sprinkle this particular spice indoors.
- You can also treat all surfaces with water with the addition of citrus or lavender oil.
- The next assistant is boric acid. This product helps fight a large number of household pests. Balls should be made from a boiled egg and boric acid powder and placed in the habitats of living creatures.
The appearance of any harmful living creatures in an apartment is due to non-compliance with hygiene rules, both on the part of the owners and neighbors. When such a problem appears, it is important to solve it immediately, without delaying it, since then the insects will multiply and it will be much more difficult to remove them.
First of all, you need to find the source of the problem, if insects are fleeing from the basement, then block all kinds of entrances and exits for them; if the problem is with the neighbors, then you may have to deal with them, you may have to poison them not only in your apartment, but also in the neighboring one.
In any case, there is no need to panic and be afraid of these insects, because fear and panic will not help in any way in the fight against pests, thereby a person will only waste time.
Centipedes
These insects are called centipedes, flycatchers, and centipedes. They have a flat body and a large number (up to 40) of long thin legs. Thanks to their flat body, they penetrate even the smallest crevices and can move quickly. The optimal living environment for them is places with high humidity, so they also often appear in bathrooms and toilets, but they can also be found in the kitchen and living rooms.
These insects are hunting in the bathroom
These insects eat flies, cockroaches, silverfish and other small insects and go out hunting at night. In addition to insects, flycatchers can feed on half-rotten plant debris. So the proximity of centipedes helps get rid of other insects in the apartment and this is one of the methods of getting rid of insects in the bathroom. But not everyone is able to put up with such “neighbors” - their appearance is far from the most attractive. Centipedes bite, but their poison is fatal only to insects; it has no effect on humans, although the bites are unpleasant.
Millipedes are rarely poisoned; they are usually caught alone and are simply swatted away. To get rid of them and be sure that they are not in the apartment or house, it is necessary to normalize the humidity (in a private house this is not only the bath and toilet, but also the basement and attic), and eliminate food sources. Then they will leave your home on their own.
