Strange white creatures in the apartment, reasons for their appearance
It seems surprising that insects appear in an apartment, because human housing does not belong to their habitat. However, people often notice strange small moving creatures in the toilet or bathroom that quickly run away when a person appears.
The main reason for the presence of insects is dampness; they live where there is moisture and food.
Under what conditions do uninvited guests appear in the bathroom:
- Poor condition of plumbing equipment, leaking pipes and condensation provide a sufficient level of humidity, creating optimal conditions for their habitat and reproduction.
- Ineffective ventilation, the presence of water containers, wet washcloths and constant drying of laundry.
- Lack of sanitary conditions: accumulation of dirty laundry, garbage, wet rags left behind.
Decaying organic matter is the main food source for many insects, so the dirt and disorder that reigns in the apartment provides food for whole hordes of domestic parasites.
Attention! When the home is located on the ground floor, insects enter through the basement. From bottom to top, single specimens move through ventilation holes; when baited, migration becomes widespread.
Ventilation
The most effective insect repellent in the bathroom, as we have already said, is forced ventilation. It helps reduce humidity levels. To install it, you need to select the type of fan.
To simultaneously serve both the bathroom and the toilet, you can install a duct fan in the ventilation duct in the attic. This device is best used for installation in a private home. Depending on the volume of the premises and the number of people living, you need to calculate the power of the device that is needed for the entire building.
If installation was required in an apartment, then difficulties may arise here. To install a duct fan, you need to hide the ventilation ducts in the suspended ceiling or install a box, which can harm the appearance of the home. Therefore, another device is used here - an axial fan.
With its help, the problem of poor ventilation in one room, for example, in the bathroom, is solved, and then a second device is installed, but in the toilet. Fixation is carried out in the opening of the hood. Therefore, it is necessary to take measurements in advance. Then look for the required fan in the store.
Additional ventilation is the most effective insect repellent. By the way, strong humidity damages furniture and newly made repairs. If the humidity level is high, the wallpaper will fall off and must be re-glued all the time. Fungus and mold are also frequent guests in damp rooms. Moreover, they not only spoil the appearance, but can also harm human health.
Types of white insects in the bathroom and toilet + photo
Most often the following types of inhabitants are found in the bathroom:
- Silverfish . The body length of the wingless insect is 0.7-2 cm; there are 2 long antennae on the head. The body is flat, tapering towards the end, covered with small scales. The tail is represented by three thin threads extending in different directions. There are yellowish, greenish, transparent and silvery specimens. They move quickly with short stops and become active at night. Silverfish eat foods that contain starch and polysaccharides: wallpaper glue, paper, natural fabrics.
- Woodlice . They belong to the suborder of crustaceans, have an oval jointed body with 7 pairs of legs, 2 pairs of small antennae, one of which is underdeveloped, and externally resemble light beetles. They feed on decaying organic matter of plant origin. They live in damp places, hide during the day, and come out at night to look for food.
- Butterflies . Mosquitoes up to 4 mm long, similar to small moths. The larvae lay in dirty, damp areas and feed on organic debris.
Be sure to read:
How to deal with silverfish in an apartment: TOP 10 poisons and means why they are harmful to humans
Mosquitoes, ants, midges, spiders and even cockroaches can live in the bathroom. But these creatures are known to everyone, it is difficult to confuse them, everyone knows by what means they can be easily destroyed.
Danger and harm to humans
Important! Studies have shown that the nocturnal inhabitants of the bathroom, although unsightly, are not dangerous to people.
The bugs do not bite, do not contaminate food, and do not transmit disease. But if they spread strongly, they can harm people.
Silverfish feed on plant foods rich in protein, sugar and starch, and digest cellulose. They multiply quickly, the female reproduces 70 eggs per clutch, the young individuals, having spread throughout the apartment, settle in the trays of pots of domestic flowers and eat the leaves.
At risk are books, wallpaper, photographs, documents, and excrement can also be seen in food.
Woodlice eat living and decaying plants, and with frequent watering and constant moist soil, they move into flower pots. Here, crustaceans are capable of destroying an indoor flower in 2 weeks, eating the leaves, burrowing into the soil and damaging the root system.
Ways to combat woodlice and silverfish
To remove unwanted neighbors from your apartment, you can use several methods:
- apply physical force,
- use traps and bait,
- resort to pesticides.
Everyone chooses the most convenient option based on living conditions, safety and effectiveness of the product.
Attention! Before starting work, it is necessary to carry out a general cleaning of the room, otherwise the work will not bring a positive result. In dirt and unsanitary conditions, it will not be possible to destroy all the individuals; they will multiply and again become an annoyance with their presence.
Physical
The method of physical impact is not an effective option, but if there are few insects and there is no desire to use insecticides, you can try to get rid of silverfish and woodlice using:
- Vacuum cleaner . Remove the brush from the device and go through all the corners and nooks, trying to suck in the parasites and destroy the nests.
- Boiling water . Water is boiled in a kettle and poured from the spout, trying to get to the accumulation of pests.
- Cold . By lowering the temperature in the home as much as possible, the inhabitants of the damp corners are frozen out by the cold.
Be sure to read:
Fleas in the house: how to get rid of them yourself, the best folk and special remedies
The disadvantage of this method is that insects can hide in cracks, sensing an invasion from the outside, or temporarily escape to another place.
Insecticidal
To exterminate insects that appear in the apartment, the store offers a large selection of toxic substances in the form of aerosols or suspensions:
- "Dichlorvos" . A universal drug, suitable for all types of crawling and flying arthropods, crustaceans and arachnids. Available in the form of sprays or solution, which is applied dropwise to hard-to-reach places.
- "Clean house" . Aerosol with a wide range of effects. The advantage of the product is its narrowly directed jet, which allows you to treat cracks and crevices.
- "Taran" . Aqueous concentrate of prolonged action, distributed by spraying, odorless. A single spraying on the surface is enough for one and a half months.
- "Lambda Zone". New generation concentrated suspension, safe for pets. The drug is diluted with water, which allows it to be used over large areas. After spraying, it remains toxic for up to 2 months.
When using poisonous substances against insects in an apartment, do not forget about the safety of yourself and your loved ones.
All manipulations are carried out without the presence of children and animals, spraying must be carried out with gloves, after treatment it is not recommended to enter the room for 3 hours.
Lures and traps
Insects can be eliminated using traps. There are different ways to lure and destroy prey.
The bathroom contains:
- paper, greased with special glue, placed along the path of parasites or along the perimeter of the bathroom:
- structures with poisoned baits.
The methods are easy to use, but the struggle can drag on for a long time.
Important! Silverfish are lured with sugar, it is placed in a glass jar, and the container is left overnight, laid on its side. Those with a sweet tooth will definitely get into it. In the morning the insects are destroyed.
Folk remedies
Moistened birch brooms or rolls of toilet paper are used as traps; moisture will attract woodlice, and soft cellulose will attract silverfish. In the evening they are laid out in corners, thrown away or burned in the morning.
Another method is based on the poisonous properties of boric acid for insects. The powder is scattered under the bathtub or mixed with puree, made into small balls, and placed in secluded corners of the room.
Be sure to read:
How to fight moths in an apartment, where they come from, folk remedies and chemistry
Color
If we talk about color, then compared to other insects, wasps (the species whose photos you saw above) are distinguished by a wide variety. Thus, some species are distinguished by quite bright contrasting yellow or black stripes, and have such an appearance that it is almost impossible to recognize them. They are often called wasp bees. The rest of the species may differ in completely different colors, ranging from rich black to purple or turquoise. In any case, they have a fairly recognizable body color, as a result of which they almost never become victims of random attacks, simply scaring away all kinds of birds or mammals.
It is worth noting that wasps have the maximum possible number of insect imitators, trying to copy their appearance and coloring in order to protect themselves from predators. The most famous example is the hoverfly, which is very similar to a wasp. Various mammals and birds, who know that an insect with a yellow-black color mainly has a dangerous sting, prefer not to attack, while in fact such a fly is completely harmless.
It is noteworthy that the body of wasps for the most part does not have as many hairs as is the case with bumblebees or bees, because the latter groups are standard pollinators, as a result of which they need hairs to collect nectar more efficiently. Some species of wasps do not have wings at all. Such wasps, the types and characteristics of which differ from other species, parasitize in the nests of ordinary paper wasps, while the absence of wings does not deprive them of a fairly strong poison and a powerful sting.
Centipedes: nods and flycatchers. Insect repellents
Sometimes long, multi-legged, repulsive-looking creatures appear on the floor or walls in an apartment. Usually these are flycatchers or flycatchers - the closest relatives of insects belonging to the class of animals. There is no need to be afraid of them, the creatures are harmless, only in case of danger, the flycatchers emit a pungent odor, and the flycatcher can bite if you pick it up.
Animals live on moist soil, centipedes enter the room by accident or climb into the winter, stay in it for a long time and reproduce if there is moisture, and most importantly, food - cockroaches, flies, butterflies, mosquitoes and silverfish.
To combat invertebrates, physical methods of influence are used; this is enough if the individual appeared in the home by accident. When the population increases, the food source is eliminated: insects living in the apartment. Boric acid or any insecticides are also used.
Attention! Centipedes are afraid of red peppers. It is scattered in powder form indoors.
How is a hornet different from a wasp?
In fact, few people know that the only difference between a hornet and various types of wasps is its size. If the length of a paper wasp is no more than 3 cm, then the hornet reaches a length of 3.5 cm or more. Among other things, a characteristic feature of hornets is a pronounced wide nape, which is especially clearly visible when viewed under a magnifying glass, as well as the presence of characteristic red spots in those areas in which paper wasps have black areas. It should also be said that, compared to wasps, hornets are quite peaceful towards humans and practically do not bite them.
Preventing insects from appearing in the bathroom
Preventative measures will help reduce the likelihood of various insects infesting the bathroom.
To comply with hygiene requirements and reduce humidity, it is recommended to carry out the following measures:
- keep the bathroom clean using disinfectants,
- remove unnecessary things, regularly take out the trash,
- check the operation of the hood, if it is necessary to clean the ventilation hole,
- ventilate the room after washing and water procedures,
- install a heated towel rail in the bathroom,
- periodically check the pipes for leaks, if problems are detected, immediately call a plumber,
- carry out renovations in the apartment, seal cracks in the walls and baseboards,
- Store sugar and flour products in containers or tight bags, and immediately remove spilled crumbs.
To repel insects, pour a powder consisting of 4 parts chalk and 1 part boric acid under furniture and bathtubs. Pests are afraid of the aromas of fragrant plants: lavender, tansy, rosemary, wormwood.
Important! In the fight against parasites, you cannot cope alone; you need to involve your neighbors: then you have a better chance of getting rid of unpleasant creatures in the house for a long time.
