There are a great variety of means to combat insects; one cannot fail to mention the Mashenka chalk, which has been used since the 80s. Agrovit chalk is very cheap, but at the same time it has good effectiveness in the fight against cockroaches in apartments and other premises. What is its effectiveness and is it safe for people and animals during use? Let's take a closer look at all the pros and cons of this inexpensive insecticide.
Does Mashenka's chalk help against cockroaches?
Customer Reviews
Instructions
Characteristics and composition of cockroach crayons
The product is based on two components that complement each other. They have names: zeta-cypermethrin and deltamethrin. The substances have a toxic effect on animals and humans, so it is assigned a fourth toxicity level. Chalk and gypsum make up 95% of the product, which helps bind and maintain the integrity of the chalk. The pencil, which has a crayon-like appearance, is easy to use.
Advantages:
no pungent odor;
low toxic;
applies well to the surface and remains on it for a long time;
easy to remove, leaves no traces;
the components of the product do not accumulate in plants and fruits.
Main advantages
It’s not for nothing that the “Mashenka” chalk fell in love with a wide audience. Reviews emphasize that a simple and cheap product has a lot of advantages, which conquers the first time:
- The chalk is colorless and odorless and is suitable even for people prone to allergic reactions.
- It can be used regardless of whether people are in the room or not.
- Accordingly, there is no need to leave the house for several hours and then ventilate it for a long time.
- Long lasting. If the line is not applied to a surface that is regularly wiped with a damp cloth, it remains harmful to insects for several months.
- Ease of use. Any student can easily make strokes on the floor.
- Possibility of use for prevention.
But that's not all. “Silver Chalk” is famous for the fact that it is equally dangerous for almost all insects, so you don’t have to buy different products for all occasions.
The principle of the influence of Mashenka chalk on insects
The components of the chalk are insecticides that exhibit their effects only upon contact, so the insect must touch it. When cockroaches need food or water, they cross the chalk line and smear themselves with the mixture.
It is imperative to draw continuous lines 1-2 cm thick without gaps so that insects cannot avoid contact. Finding such loopholes, insects do not come into contact with the product and do not affect it.
Substances that have a toxic effect penetrate inside the cockroach and destroy nerve impulses going to the muscles, which leads to paralysis and death. The composition stuck to the legs of the insects is carried into the nest, where the cockroach manages to run in and infect the rest of its fellows before it dies.
Massive damage to insects occurs within 5-6 days. You can notice that their number has decreased when their remains are on the floor. In many cases, insects can be removed within 2-4 weeks, re-treating every week.
Release form, components, features of the drug
If we talk about this form of release, then Mashenka is the most popular. It has a solid structure and is manufactured in an oblong shape of a light gray hue.
It is not difficult to use, as it is characterized by low weight - only 20 grams. The product is packaged inside impenetrable blue plastic packaging. The manufacturer is the Russian company Agrovit.
This type of chalk contains 2 main active ingredients, including:
- Zeta-cypermethrin, the concentration of which is 0.1 percent. Belongs to the insecto-acaricidal group of pyrethroids. This is an insecticide that has a contact-intestinal effect, that is, when it enters the body of an ant, it provokes the development of paralysis;
- Deltramethrin, concentration 0.5 percent. Belongs to the group of pyreroids, its main function is to enhance the impact and effectiveness of zeta-cypermethrin. The principle of action of the component is a violation of the transmission of nerve impulses, which is why the motor centers of arthropods are affected. The properties are preserved for 15 days after treatment.
In addition to the above-mentioned compounds, malka contains chalk and gypsum, which act as auxiliary substances, despite their large quantity. It is worth noting that the toxic substances have a low concentration level, their total amount is 1.5 percent of the total volume of the product.
But, despite this, the drug is highly effective - this is achieved due to the high level of toxicity of insecticides, the concentration of which is sufficient to destroy ants quickly and easily.
Precautions when using chalk in an apartment
- Be sure to read the instructions for using the pencil, which are located on the packaging.
- When applying, be sure to ensure that the product does not get on the mucous membranes or in the respiratory tract.
- It is better to carry out processing of the room while wearing gloves.
- Make sure that the pencil does not fall into the hands of a child or the teeth of a pet.
Security measures
The treatment is carried out by relocating household members to another home for a couple of weeks. Before returning, it will be enough to do a thorough wet cleaning and collect dead insects with a vacuum cleaner.
Further contact with surfaces that previously had chalk marks is safe. No grains of the substance remain in the air. When machining while the core is being worn, the chips fall off rather than moving around like dust.
How to protect yourself and your loved ones:
- Do not unpack the crayon completely. Remove only part of the packaging and hold it while drawing lines. Cellophane will protect the skin from contact with the poison. If by chance the wrapper tears completely, you should work with rubber gloves.
- Wear a mask or respirator. This is necessary in order to protect the respiratory tract from poisoning - some crayons generate dust when drawing lines.
- Protect children. Draw in places inaccessible to children. If age allows, you need to explain to the child what these lines are and why they should not be touched.
- Keep your pets safe. For warm-blooded animals the harm is minimal, but it does exist. You need to try to limit your four-legged friend’s access to the marked areas. It is best to give it to relatives, friends or a pet hotel for a while.
Even after a while, when the chalk has worn off on its own, you should not forget that it was applied. General wet cleaning is the only measure to neutralize active substances that probably remain on surfaces.
How to use Mashenka chalk to kill cockroaches?
Using Mashenka chalk against cockroaches is not at all difficult, the main thing is to treat all the places that cockroaches visit, this is written in detail in the instructions. One chalk is enough to cover 25-30 square meters of space. The effectiveness of the product remains for seven days after application; after this period of time, re-treat in accordance with the instructions.
How to treat a room:
- draw pencil lines on the baseboards and back surfaces of the furniture; this must be done in the kitchen and around its perimeter;
- draw a circle around the garbage can with chalk and place it exclusively in this place; cockroaches like to climb in the garbage at night;
- draw a continuous line around the sink, even from below, because cockroaches often drink water from it;
- outline ventilation openings around the perimeter, because individual instances can come into the apartment from neighbors or from the basement;
- draw lines along the entire length of the furniture legs so that when climbing up, the cockroaches must cross the drawn stripes.
It is better to draw bold lines (10-15mm), this will achieve greater efficiency. Do not skimp on the product when applying, because the price of chalk is so low that anyone can buy it, and it is sold almost everywhere. However, if there are children and animals in the house, then it is better not to risk sketching all the furniture, but to limit yourself to processing hard-to-reach places.
The number of cockroaches that die depends on the length of time the product remains on the treated surfaces.
For greater effect, together with a pencil, you can use special aerosols that destroy most insects, and a chalk will help destroy survivors or newcomers.
An important property of chalk: it prevents the reproduction of new cockroaches if they enter the home from neighbors. Just outline all possible sources of penetration.
Infection of relatives
How long will it take for the entire population to die when using Mashenka bug chalk? Reviews often claim that at first the effect was not visible. The insects continued to bite at night. But after about a week it became noticeable that there were much fewer of them, and soon they completely disappeared. Why is this happening?
Bedbugs live in communities and hide in secluded places. It is unlikely that they all feed on the blood of one person, so it is not possible to assume that in one night they will all cross the line and soon die. But there is another mechanism at work here. In order to become infected, an insect only needs to touch a fellow insect that has crawled along the chalk line. That is, returning to the nest, the bug will bring with it death for many insects.
The effectiveness of chalk in the fight against bedbugs
The pencil helps in killing bedbugs if they have appeared in the apartment relatively recently and have not had time to lay eggs.
Before using it, prepare the room:
- wet cleaning is done;
- furniture is moved away from the walls to find possible habitats of bedbugs near the baseboard;
- all items from the closets are washed due to the possible presence of bedbug eggs in them;
- if things cannot be washed, then they are treated with steam or taken out into the cold;
- all carpets are dry cleaned;
- upholstered furniture (sofas, armchairs) are dismantled down to the wooden frame.
You can use bedbug repellent:
- Like a pencil. Draw them on surfaces: cabinets, backs of sofas and beds, back surfaces of paintings and photographs, sockets, door jambs, window sills and windows.
- Like powder. Mashenka chalk crumbles well and can be used to fill cracks behind baseboards and folds of upholstered furniture. The only drawback: if you pour it on the floor, drafts can cause the powder to rise into the air.
- Like a solution. The chalk is dissolved in water until it becomes creamy and all the cracks are filled with a brush and the surfaces are treated.
After treatment, be sure to ventilate the room and do a thorough cleaning after 2 weeks.
Terms of use
The instructions for the drug indicate three methods of use. If you choose a Mashenka pencil for cockroaches, you must choose the most suitable treatment method for yourself and strictly follow it.
- Method No. 1: draw lines with chalk in places where there are a lot of insects.
- Method No. 2: grind the chalk into powder and sprinkle it in places where insects accumulate.
- Method No. 3: prepare an aqueous solution, pour it into a spray bottle and treat surfaces and hard-to-reach areas.
The second treatment method is considered the most effective, since crushed chalk sticks to the paws more easily, forcing insects to try the poison while cleaning.
No matter how safe the drug is, the manufacturer strongly recommends using thick rubber gloves to protect your hands.
What is recommended to treat with chalk against cockroaches:
- Window sills and ventilation hatches;
- Doorways and thresholds;
- Skirting boards and waste storage areas;
- Water pipes and floor next to sink and toilet.
Analogue of Mashenka - Chinese pencil for cockroaches
The Chinese cockroach pencil is one of the simplest and most accessible means used to combat insects in the USSR. It was he who formed the basis for the production of domestic pencils. It was more effective than Soviet chalk due to a higher concentration of chemicals. Now Chinese crayons are also sold, but their effectiveness is similar to our “Mashenka”. Where to buy such a pencil against cockroaches? You can purchase it in online stores, in specialized stores or on the market.
A Chinese pencil affects cockroaches in exactly the same way as a Russian one. When an insect comes into contact with the product, it experiences itching and other unpleasant sensations, which subsequently lead to death.
The method of application is identical: it is used to treat the necessary surfaces around the perimeter and draw continuous lines so that insects are sure to come into contact with the product.
The validity period of the Chinese pencil is limited to 7 days, like Mashenka, so after this period the surfaces need to be re-treated.
Prevention
Mashenka chalk is used not only to destroy a colony of arthropod pests. Housewives use insecticidal pencils when carrying out preventive measures. With their help, they outline the likely routes of entry of arthropod pests into the house. Additionally perform the following actions:
- Regularly remove organic debris and trash from your home.
- Carry out regular house cleaning and wet cleaning.
Manufacturers pay a lot of attention not only to the selection of components, but also to the preparation of instructions. It includes the rules and features of use and preventive measures. The result depends on the correct execution of all actions.
Chalk Mashenka from ants
Mashenka's pencil is best used as an additional tool in the fight against ants, together with ant gels (Raptor, Great Warrior, etc.). An effective method would be to draw solid lines in places where they constantly move into the anthill.
If you find such trails, be sure to draw along them with a pencil. You can grind the chalk and sprinkle the resulting powder near baseboards and other places. The entire process must be carried out with gloves and safety precautions.
The manufacturer reports that the substance retains its properties for a week, and it is better to re-treat surfaces after 7-10 days.
Customer reviews about chalk "Mashenka"
Below are reviews from those who have already used Mashenka chalk against cockroaches. Is everyone happy with the result? Let's see…
We have a bad entrance - cockroaches are scattering from several apartments all over the entrance. We tried a lot of different poisons, but none helped to get rid of these creatures 100%, after a while they appeared again, and you don’t want to breathe chemicals with a small child. Out of desperation, we collected 5 crayons and used them to cover the entire apartment, all the furniture, baseboards, shelves and cabinets. Two “Mashenka silver” crayons were enough. Now we only find dead cockroaches; we no longer have live ones. It turned out to be simple - upon entering the room, the insect becomes infected from the crayon line and runs away. It does not have time to reproduce and dies, and infects others. So as a preventive measure, chalk is a very good remedy.
Previously, I remember they used to smear this chalk in cabinets to prevent insects from appearing. Now there are so many modern means, but such cheap and effective ones have not yet been invented. For just 25 rubles you can paint your entire house and protect it from cockroaches. That's exactly what I did. At the same time I sprayed it with dichlorvos. There have been no cockroaches for over a year now, I draw new stripes every month. The old ones can be easily wiped off, the main thing is to wear gloves.
Home Remedies
First of all, you can use smells: garlic, bay leaf infusion, any ground spicy seasonings, etc. Ants also cannot tolerate strong ethereal aromas.
Classic - fresh yeast diluted with honey.
A homemade spray of water and vinegar needs to be sprayed everywhere; ants are afraid of it.
Corn flour and rice flour act differently, but the principle is the same - the insect is literally torn from the inside. You need to mix flour with sugar.
Chalk is used as a bait for ants in combination with other mixtures
Ordinary chalk, crushed into powder, works the same as Mashenka chalk. It works a little weaker than the factory analogue, but it saves ants in small populations.
You can also wipe with half a lemon all surfaces visited by insects (and wash the floor with vinegar) and leave it overnight. Several such nights - and the ants' house will be included in the list of unreliable ones.
A mixture of honey and starch is killer for ants.
Conclusion: is it possible to remove cockroaches using chalk?
Having considered the general aspects of using a pencil, we can give an overview of the positive and negative aspects of its use.
Mashenka's chalk is unlikely to help get rid of cockroaches in the apartment once and for all. As time passes, the effect of the drug disappears and new cockroaches can freely settle in your home. If you know your neighbors have persistent cockroaches, renew the chalk strips every week. It’s better to remove insects from the entire entrance at the same time, using more powerful preparations or with the help of the sanitary and epidemiological station.
Pros:
Ease of use
Low price
No smell
Low toxicity
The chalk is convenient to use due to its release form. They can be used to apply continuous lines or process surfaces in hard-to-reach places. Compared to other means (aerosols, powders), using a pencil does not require additional preparation of the room and the use of special skills and knowledge.
The low cost (about 20 rubles ) and the effectiveness of the product, according to customer reviews, have led it to wide popularity among analogues. Chalk Mashenka allows you to destroy various insects, which confirms the length of its presence on the insecticide market.
The absence of odor makes it possible to treat the apartment with the residents present in it.
Symptoms of poisoning in cats and dogs
The first sign of possible crayon poisoning from cockroaches in an animal will be packaging damaged by teeth and the absence of crayon in it.
After some time, all or some of the symptoms of poisoning may appear:
- lethargic state of the animal;
- vomiting and diarrhea;
- refusal to drink or, conversely, excessive drinking;
- elevated temperature.
What to do if your pet has eaten poison?
In case of insecticide poisoning, it is necessary to show your pet to a veterinarian as soon as possible. When visiting him, it is better to have the packaging of the drug with you so that the doctor can accurately prescribe treatment based on the active substance.
Before visiting the doctor, you can give the animal an activated carbon tablet and give it plenty of water.
