Where do cockroaches come from in a house or apartment? What can be done?

Cockroaches are small insects that live in people's homes and are quite mobile.

They are thermophilic, nocturnal, and cannot exist without water. If the parasites are not poisoned in a timely manner, a colony of this species will appear. The mustaches will crawl through the ventilation to the neighbors and quickly capture more and more new territories, from which it will be difficult to drive them out. Therefore, when wondering where new cockroaches appear in the apartment, it is worth considering whether one of the neighbors was baiting the parasites.

Where do cockroaches come from in an apartment?

First of all, people themselves create favorable conditions for the production of parasites. They have enough bread crumbs, food leftovers on dirty dishes, rotten waste in the trash can. When wondering how cockroaches appear, it should be noted that even one female that has entered a house can quickly raise many small parasites.

Usually the appearance of cockroaches is associated with bullying from neighbors. When an entire entrance or house suffers from an insect infestation.

Interesting. Adults can live without a head; in this case, they drink and breathe through the abdomen, so the mechanical method of baiting is not very effective and cannot completely rid the owners of the house of the problem.

Preventing home infestation

In order to avoid cockroaches in your home, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

1. Check the plumbing for leaks. If found, correct the problem immediately.
2. Always close the trash can tightly.
3. Store food and cat food according to package instructions.
4. Throw out trash and wash dishes regularly.
5. Make sure the apartment is protected from cracks and crevices. Insects crawl into the apartment through cracks and holes in the walls.
6. Eat food only in the kitchen.

By following these simple tips, you will be able to get rid of mustachioed guests in your home forever or avoid their appearance altogether.

Causes

When wondering why red cockroaches appear in an apartment, it is worth noting that human housing has the most suitable conditions for the life of parasites. Insects need a large area for settlement, food, water and warmth.

This is precisely what causes the main reasons for the appearance and population of cockroaches in the house:

• Access to water. Whiskers can survive without food for a very long time, but the lack of liquid kills them in a matter of days. All they need is a small drop, a wet sink or bathtub, condensation on the walls, or a toilet. Even if all water sources are well shut off and surfaces are wiped, cockroaches are able to obtain water from flower pots if watering has been carried out recently.
• Availability of food. These creatures feed on everything; they are interested not only in fresh food, but also in bread crumbs and rotten waste in the trash can.
• Conditions of existence. The temperature in a person's home is quite comfortable for parasites. In addition, there are always loopholes and secluded places in the house where you can hide and lay offspring.

Why are there so many of them: life expectancy and reproductive characteristics

If you see a lonely running cockroach and squash it with a slipper, do not rush to celebrate your victory. You won the battle, but not the war. The appearance of a lone “guest” indicates that a whole colony of pests lives somewhere in a secluded place. And they probably managed to lay eggs, from which new insects will appear after some time. To successfully fight cockroaches, you will have to take a short course in biology.

Life cycle

Cockroaches live from four months to four years, depending on external conditions. Human factors can significantly affect life expectancy. Characteristics of the life stages of insects are given in the table.

Table - Life cycle of a cockroach

There is interspecific struggle between red and black cockroaches. Prussians eat the eggs of black insects. That is why the population of the latter is growing more slowly compared to their brown counterparts.

The female as a source of danger

Cockroaches reproduce sexually. Insects undergo real mating games, during which the males begin to vigorously shake their wings and even fly low to please the female. The latter chooses the most worthy “father” for her offspring. After fertilization, she lays 15-20 eggs, which are securely stored in the protective capsule ootheca. The female carries this pouch with her everywhere for two weeks. At the last stage, the female leaves the ootheca in a secluded place, where after a few days new cockroaches hatch.

Throughout her life, the female lays an average of 20 oothecae, which is equivalent to 300-400 eggs, the survival rate of which is 90-95%. In this case, a female, fertilized once, retains the male’s genetic material in her body and can continue to reproduce independently through parthenogenesis. Thus, if you want to defeat cockroaches, you need to try to destroy the females, which can be recognized by such signs.

• Size. The female is an order of magnitude larger than the male.
• Wings. In females they are small and poorly developed.
• Head. The male has two vertical stripes on his head. Females do not have such a distinctive sign.
• Color. The male is darker than the female.
• Sexual characteristic. The female does not have a genital plate in the posterior part of the body. The easiest way to recognize a fertilized female. A “sac” containing eggs will be attached to the back of the body.

The ootheca is a reliable and dense shell that protects future cockroaches from the strongest chemicals, and even powerful radiation. It is also not easy to crush the shell. The surest way to destroy eggs is heating by treating potential laying sites with a steam generator or a hair dryer.

Ways to enter a living space, what to do

Knowing where cockroaches are coming into your apartment makes it easier to get them out. Therefore, when a problem arises, the owners have a logical question: where did the cockroaches come into the apartment from?

It is customary to distinguish 4 main directions:

• From the neighbors. Individual individuals can penetrate through garbage chutes, cracks in walls, and ventilation ducts. Mass relocation is possible due to persecution in another apartment, when insects flee and are actively looking for a new home. A sufficient amount of food and a humid environment is all the parasite needs to live in the house.
• From the store along with purchases. The insect may fall into a bag of food or things. Even when purchasing a household appliance, it is possible that a new resident will move into the house. The most likely presence of cockroaches is in food bags. Therefore, to prevent cockroaches from appearing in the apartment after shopping and not tormenting the question of why they moved in, you should disassemble the bags immediately upon arrival, carefully inspecting the contents.
• From traveling in things and suitcases. On vacation or on a business trip you have to stay in rented apartments, hotels and travel on trains. It is impossible to guarantee that cockroaches will not move along with the passenger during the journey. Therefore, upon arrival, things need to be thoroughly reviewed and washed. And you need to look not only for parasites, but also for their egg sacs, which also pose a threat in the future.
• Through the post office with parcels. Sometimes the Prussians get into the package, especially if it travels from afar and visits many warehouses. It was the development of transport connections that made it possible to significantly strengthen the global population of cockroaches.

Advice. Even if parasites enter a room by any means, they may not get along with their hosts.

Cockroaches love moisture and live near its sources, so always close the taps in the house tightly.

Can they live in microwaves, laptops and how to get them out of there?

In connection with the development of technology and the emergence of various household appliances, mustachioed animals began to settle directly in electrical appliances. Many people do not understand how insects can live in microwaves and not die, but nevertheless, this is so.

Therefore, let's find out the main places where cockroaches live? TVs, toasters or microwave ovens as their habitat , where they are warm and comfortable, where they feed on leftover food and can live there for a very long time.

It is recommended to use several methods to remove cockroaches:

• put the device on warm-up for 30 minutes;
• expose to frost from eight degrees cold;
• Place bait soaked in boric acid into the device.

When heated at high power, they will not fry, but will escape from it and return after a while.

In the cold, all pests in the microwave should die, and there is a risk that the microwave oven will fail.

Boric acid must be added whenever the microwave is not in use.

Televisions, especially tube ones, are also considered one of the most popular places . Insects feel great in system units, computer monitors, and live in radios .

Insects are warm and cozy there; they can only be removed by disassembling and cleaning the device from the inside; using boric acid in this case is not recommended.

Cockroaches can settle in any apartment or house, even if sterile cleanliness is maintained, they can move from neighbors, and you can bring them with you in your bag. It is very difficult to get rid of pests; they can live for weeks without food, they tolerate cold, and very effective means are needed.

There are a large number of different means of combating them, but all efforts may be in vain if they come from neighbors. Calling a special service will help to destroy them for a long time; it is best to negotiate with your neighbors and carry out the treatment at the same time.

The following brands have proven themselves well: Raptor, Clean House, Raid, Combat, Get, Global, Executioner, Dohlox, Regent.

Also proven products are Karbofos, Fas, Forsyth.

So, we found out why cockroaches appear in the apartment and how to deal with them.

Habitats and breeding areas in the apartment

Parasites can appear in any room; to understand why cockroaches appear in an apartment, it is worth examining all possible areas of deployment. They can hide in trash cans, toilets, behind cornices and baseboards, in floor cracks and wallpaper seams. But they love to settle especially in the kitchen, since there are all the necessary conditions for them. Distinctive features of the presence of insects are black spots on walls and other habitats.

Dishes left in the sink or food on the table can become a huge food reservoir for them. Cockroaches secrete special pheromones through which the entire population learns about the location of the food source.

Red cockroaches are more often found near a water source, so the bathtub and sink should be wiped dry before going to bed. But besides this, they find water in the toilet and cat's water bowl. Parasites try not to be seen, so they choose a place to live behind kitchen cabinets, in household appliances, and ventilation. They usually go out at night to find food.

What to do if cockroaches run away from neighbors?

Cockroaches do not always appear in an apartment due to unsanitary conditions. There are several other ways they can appear in your home.

If cockroaches are creeping in from neighbors, it is recommended to keep the apartment perfectly clean , throw out trash every day, put away food, wipe up even small puddles, wipe the bathtub and sink at night, prevent leaks from plumbing fixtures and water pipes, put nets on ventilation, seal all cracks and holes .

If there are too many cockroaches in the house, the following methods of dealing with them will help you: all kinds of ready-made powders and crayons (for example, Mashenka), as well as gels, traps, aerosols, repellers, folk methods may help. If the pests cannot be controlled, more drastic measures will have to be taken.

If cockroaches are crawling from your neighbors, it is recommended to agree with them and at the same time invite a special service that will take the necessary measures. If neighbors refuse to poison, they can be forced to do so in court; for this, you will need a document confirming the unsanitary conditions in a particular apartment. You can obtain such a document from the management company, as well as from the sanitary and housing inspection.

How to get rid

When parasites appear in the house, it is important to track their routes of entry and movement. If the threat comes from neighbors, ventilation should be equipped with nets, cracks in floors and walls should be sealed so that insects cannot enter the apartment.

To reduce the population and prevent it after bullying, it is necessary to create unfavorable conditions for cockroaches. To do this, you need to put away all food before going to bed, wipe the sink and tables dry, and take out the trash every day.

Common store-bought and home remedies include:

• Aerosols.
• Traps.
• Treats containing boric acid and arsenic.
• Washing floors with ammonia.
• Gels.
• Powders.

When cockroaches have entered from the sewer, it is better to call special services to eliminate them. Disinfection may use insecticides or heat treatment.

To eliminate cockroaches from a microwave oven, you need to set the device to warm up. In this case, they will simply leave this place. And if you use boric acid bait, placing it inside the device, this will allow you to get rid of them completely.

It is better not to take electrical appliances out into the cold.

This method is effective for clothing, mattresses, pillows and shoes.

Boric acid

A delicacy for parasites is prepared from boric acid. To do this, combine 1 teaspoon of the product with a boiled chicken egg yolk or boiled and crushed potatoes. Small balls are made from the resulting mixture and placed in “dangerous” places.

Traps

You can find special insect traps in retail chains. They are scented little boxes of poison. Having fallen into a trap, the cockroach eats up the poison and takes some of its particles with it, which allows it to poison its relatives who have not tasted the treat.

Of all the ways to place the device, the most effective is the arrangement in the form of a labyrinth. The tangled passages do not allow the insect to escape from the trap, and it dies right in it. Knowing where cockroaches come from in the house, you can distribute bait in the areas where the barbels are located.

Folk remedies

Having found out where the cockroaches are crawling into the apartment, you need to immediately begin baiting them.

Not everyone has the opportunity to leave the premises during the period of disinfection with insecticides, so it is much safer to use home tips:

• Washing the floor with ammonia. A little medicine is added to the prepared water and all surfaces in the house are washed with the resulting solution. It is important to pay special attention to baseboards and secluded places.
• Treat with arsenic. The poison is combined with powdered sugar and this composition is scattered in the area where the parasites live. It is important to remove pets and small children during bullying. In addition, all products must be hermetically sealed and stored away.

Purchased funds

When it is unclear where cockroaches are coming from in a new building, you can purchase insecticides:

1. The gels are distributed over all secluded places and areas where parasites are localized. The most commonly purchased ones are Fas, Raptor, Sturm, and Brownie.
2. Popular aerosols include Combat, Raptor, and Executioner. But they are more toxic and require the absence of residents at the time of disinfection.
3. Powders and dusts are the cheapest option and are ineffective for large colonies. Preference is given to Raptor, Pyrethrum, Clean House.

Calling specialists

Despite how cockroaches enter an apartment when there is a large population, it is important not only to determine the routes of entry, but also to quickly get rid of them. For this, their own strength may not be enough, and some people choose a more effective method - calling a team of disinfectors. There should be no residents or pets in the house while professionals are working.

Their funds for one persecution will help get rid of the problem, but this service is not cheap.

To eliminate cockroaches and prevent the possibility of their repopulation, you should keep your home clean and tidy. You need to take out the trash promptly and not leave food on the table. Dirty dishes should be washed in the evening and the sink should be wiped dry, ridding it of extraneous moisture. When bullying neighbors, preventive disinfection should also be carried out so that the parasites do not find a new place of residence in the apartment.

Can they appear from the sewer?

Sewer cockroaches are considered the most dangerous; they are potential carriers of dangerous diseases .

They became widespread about twenty years ago; they are noticed in toilets and bathrooms; they enter apartments through toilets, piping systems, and drain holes.

The use of insecticides will help get rid of them; if the pests entered the apartment from the sewer, it will not be easy to get rid of them. The best thing in this case is to contact a special service ; other means are ineffective, even such effective ones as Cucaracha, the insects will simply sit in the sewer.

Professionals will carry out insecticidal or temperature treatment of all premises, garbage chutes and even the entrance. When disinsection, only natural chemicals are used that are safe for people and pets.

To make it easier for you to choose remedies against “annoying neighbors,” we have compiled a rating of manufacturers of proven cockroach control products. We have also prepared a series of articles about the most effective of them, about what methods of control exist in general, as well as what preventive measures can be taken.

Here are photos of sewer cockroaches so that you are always on the alert:

What danger do cockroaches pose?

Cockroaches at home cause discomfort in people, are a source of various kinds of diseases: cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, contribute to the spread of worms, and cause allergic reactions. Pests are very dangerous for children. If they are found in the apartment, they can bite the baby’s skin, crawl into the ear, and provoke the development of a phobia - fear of cockroaches. Getting rid of the Prussians is vital.

Places where cockroaches gather outside human habitation

If for these insects proximity to humans is vital, then negative emotions predominate in society due to one-sided symbiosis: from the manifestation of individual feelings of disgust to infection with dangerous diseases. Most often, cockroaches settle in unsanitary places, namely:

• Landfills
• Abandoned Cellars
• Garbage chutes
• Garbage bins

The proximity of such elements to human habitats determines the increased risk of insect infestation of housing. Human housing is ideally suited for the life of cockroaches: an abundance of food and water, as well as dark corners where they can hide during the day, comfortable temperature and humidity, and rare competition with other representatives of the animal world.

How to avoid the recurrence of cockroaches?

Once the pests in your home are eliminated, it is very important to create conditions that prevent them from returning.

It is especially important to do this for residents of apartment buildings, where it is very difficult to carry out simultaneous professional treatment against insects.

• Carefully inspect the walls, floors and ceilings of your home for cracks. Through them, cockroaches can again get to you from your neighbors. The voids need to be filled;
• All grilles covering ventilation ducts must have a fine mesh;
• Don't forget about the ventilation duct to which the hood is connected. Often it is not covered with a mesh, so insects can first get into the device itself, and then into the apartment;
• Seal the space around sewer pipes, if any;
• Clean regularly, do not leave dirty dishes in the sink, wipe crumbs off the table, take out the trash more often, buy a trash can with a lid;

• Fix all leaks and make it a rule not to leave the sink wet after washing dishes or the bathtub after taking a shower;
• Place screens on the windows to block the path of uninvited guests;
• If you have a pet in the house, keep its eating area clean;

• A beautiful and popular indoor plant, geranium, thanks to its specific aroma, can repel insects. Place a potted plant in each room;
• Some housewives wash the floor once a week with water and ammonia. Cockroaches don't like its smell. It is enough to add just 1 tsp. alcohol in a bucket of water;
• Instead of ammonia, you can use vinegar. In principle, it is enough to process only the baseboards, and do not forget about the threshold at the front door;
• Also, the threshold and baseboards can be periodically treated with a solution based on essential oils of eucalyptus, cedar, lemon, and mint. It is enough to add 2-4 drops to a bucket of water;
• Cockroaches cannot tolerate the smell of chamomile. Buy dried inflorescences at the pharmacy and place them in places where insects previously accumulated;
• Dry aromatic herbs - chamomile, laurel, wormwood, mint or wild rosemary - can also be placed in separate places. For example, near the trash can, under the sink, in corners, under furniture, in the bathroom.

The article was written for the site.

Tags: Pest control

Interesting facts about cockroaches

The fertility of cockroaches and, accordingly, the speed of capturing new areas is explained very simply. The female lays up to 12 capsules with offspring throughout her life cycle. Each oviposition contains 20-60 young individuals.

In the cold, young cockroaches cannot develop; positive temperatures are required for their active reproduction. Thus, a long-known method of combating the invasion of cockroaches in Rus' is freezing out huts.

Cockroaches are able to survive exposure to radiation 15 times higher than normal for humans. However, irradiation has a detrimental effect on their reproductive function.