Bedbug victims who are not particularly versed in insects or the unwitting “breadwinner” of cockroaches can even confuse the larvae of these insects. Indeed, outwardly, bugs and cockroaches are quite similar, and their nymphs (young larvae) are especially reminiscent of each other.
But these two groups of insects are evolutionarily and morphologically very different both in the way they feed and in their way of life. Accordingly, the destruction of bedbugs and cockroaches is a different task and requires a certain knowledge of the specifics of the biology of these parasites.
On a note
In general, in nature, bedbugs are insects that have adapted to feeding on various liquid and semi-liquid substances. During evolution, the jaws of bedbugs have turned into long proboscises, with which pests suck out juices or cavity fluids from their food objects.
A significant part of the species of bedbugs feed on plant juices, some (for example, water strider bugs) suck out almost completely the insides of other insects and small fish. And some species, in particular, the well-known bed bug, have learned to feed on the blood of animals.
Cockroaches, by the way, together with praying mantises that have an eccentric appearance, are part of the cockroach order.They usually do not pose a direct danger to humans, but some species of them are constant companions of humans, adapted to eating leftover food.
Bed bugs are terrible and hard to get rid of
It is with the specifics of the nutrition of bedbugs that all the difficulties in their removal are connected: feeding them with poisonous dust or tasty balls with boric acid, which can be very effective against cockroaches, will not work: even crawling on an insecticide, they will not be affected by it. The bug just won't eat the poison.
Therefore, you can poison the bug in one of two ways:
- spray an insecticidal aerosol or spray near it, which will penetrate the insect with air. There are quite a lot of such funds today - Raptor from bedbugs, Kombat, Dichlorvos of different brands.
- You can also treat the places of deployment of bedbugs with insecticides of contact action - these substances, adhering to the foot or body of the parasite, penetrate through its outer chitinous integument into the body and lead to poisoning. Such insecticides are some organophosphorus compounds - karbofos (malathion), chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos proper, etc.
Important!
Today's "Dichlorvos" no longer contain the organophosphate insecticide of the same name. Compared with the Soviet version of the drug, their composition has become completely different, safer for humans. As a rule, modern aerosols under the brand name "Dichlorvos" contain synthetic pyrethroids.
Another feature of bed bugs is the resistance of their eggs to many insecticides. Even if adult bugs and their larvae in the room are exterminated, the eggs laid by parasites remain unharmed.After a week or two, new larvae hatch from them, which can give birth to a new population.
No matter how manufacturers try to praise their products, the vast majority of insecticides do not destroy bedbug eggs.
Finally, the bug is an insect with a short breeding cycle and high fecundity. Each female lays up to 500 eggs in her life, and after 1.5-2 months (in optimal conditions - and after 30 days), the laid egg turns into an adult insect ready for reproduction.
This means that due to random mutations, bugs can quickly develop resistance to many insecticides. It is not uncommon for certain means to kill bedbugs to have no effect on them, and you have to use an alternative drug.
On a note
An important role in increasing the resistance of bedbugs to insecticides is played by the parasite fighters themselves. The more often and more illiterately a particular substance is used (that is, when the matter is not brought to an end, and some of the bugs survive), the more likely it is that individuals will appear in a given population who have managed to adapt to the poison and reward their descendants with such resistance. That is why the development of means to combat bedbugs and the development of resistance to such means in the latter is a kind of arms race in which man has not yet been particularly successful.
And further: Poison bugs, but they appear again? It's time to think about prevention, and this is a delicate matter ...
What are cockroaches afraid of?
Cockroaches are insects more vulnerable than bedbugs, if only because they feed on almost everything that comes their way. Cockroaches have powerful gnawing jaws, which allows them to eat substances that are comparable in density to wood. In addition, cockroaches may well feed on organic matter that is absolutely inedible for humans - shoe cream, glues, paper - and therefore, by the way, survive even far from a person or with a long absence.
Accordingly, the destruction of cockroaches can be carried out by means that have the taste and smell of ordinary products, but contain a poisoned filling. This greatly simplifies the fight against parasites - with a slight infection of the room, balls of dough and boric acid laid out in the right places will allow pests to be removed without completely processing the room.
On a note
But the statement that cockroaches eat bedbugs is a myth - in very rare cases, cockroaches can only eat chitinous remains from molted bedbugs or their eggs. However, in the room itself, these insects are extremely rare with each other, and therefore such cases are rather an exception to the rule.
Of course, cockroaches cannot be used as biological weapons against bedbugs. But the tiny "home" pharaoh ants are just excellent enemies of bedbugs: the latter die from the acid secreted by ants, and even a few tiny ants may well kill an adult bedbug.
Cockroaches are afraid of the same substances to which bedbugs are susceptible, and in addition, they die from boric acid, borax, various insecticidal dusts and crayons. They are also afraid of some folk remedies such as wormwood, tansy, vinegar, alcohol, only in high concentrations.
To destroy insects, it is not necessary to choose a chemical remedy for bedbugs and cockroaches - these insects can be destroyed by other methods.
Heat and cold against pests
The destruction of cockroaches and bedbugs can also be carried out by thermal methods. For example, bedbugs quickly die at temperatures below minus 25°C and above +50°C.
Cockroaches are less resistant to temperatures: 5-degree frost and temperatures above +45°C are fatal for them. This is widely used both in folk pest control methods and in special pest control services.
Parasites can be frozen out on their own in non-residential premises or where, at too low temperatures, there is no threat of destruction of heating and water supply systems. Obviously, this should be done in those regions and in such seasons when the temperature outside drops below 20 ° C.
Some pest control services have special installations with liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide to combat parasitic insects. However, such tools are of limited use - they process only large and easily accessible nests of parasites.
More effectively exterminators destroy bedbugs and cockroaches with the help of industrial fan heaters. Such installations allow you to quickly heat the air in the room to 50-60 °, after which all cockroaches and bedbugs will die here within half an hour. However, such treatment is almost always more expensive than similar treatment with insecticidal agents.
It will not work to remove bedbugs on your own in the summer by closing the apartment and relying on its heating by the sun's rays. It is only occasionally practiced to kill bed bugs on infested clothing or bedding by placing the items in a closed car left in the sun for a few hours (this method works quite well).
How to destroy bedbugs and cockroaches at the same time?
As a rule, during the total treatment of the premises with aerosol insecticides from bedbugs, all insects die in it - bedbugs, cockroaches, and ants with moths. A similar effect is observed when the room is “roasted” or when using organophosphorus agents such as karbofos.
And further: We caught bedbugs and tested the effect of GEKTOR powder on them - a pretty killer thing turned out to be ...
But when destroying cockroaches with the help of gels, borax or boric acid, the bugs in the apartment always survive.
Destroying bedbugs and cockroaches at the same time, it should be remembered that these insects settle and hide in different places.Cockroaches prefer corners, bedside tables, spaces behind baseboards in kitchens, pantries and closets - where it is convenient for them to get to food supplies and garbage. Bed bugs settle mainly in bedrooms, furniture, behind carpets on the walls, in closets - closer to human resting places.
When destroying cockroaches and bedbugs, all possible places of refuge for these insects should be treated with equal care. For this purpose, you can use, for example, the following means:
- Get Insect Repellent
- Executioner
- Avalon
- Delta Zone
- Medilis Ziper
- Tsifox
- Cucaracha.
And you should definitely remember that if cockroaches, after careful processing of the premises, are removed for sure and completely, then the bugs can reappear in a few days. The reason for this is the larvae gradually hatching from the surviving eggs. Therefore, in such cases, it is worth being prepared for the second act of struggle.
On a note
Sometimes glue traps are recommended against bedbugs and cockroaches, to which insects simply stick. However, if such traps can work against a small number of cockroaches, then they will not be able to cope with bedbugs: it is impossible to attract them into traps with a pleasantly smelling bait, and it is very problematic to place traps in all places where bedbugs move.
Means useless for removing cockroaches and bedbugs
There are methods and means that are not only advertised, but also widely known among the people as effective against bedbugs and cockroaches, but in reality turn out to be dummies.
Among them:
- Ultrasonic, electromagnetic and magnetic resonance repellers for bedbugs and cockroaches.As practice shows (and special experiments), both bedbugs and cockroaches safely ignore such means.
- Strong-smelling herbs - they only temporarily reduce the activity of insects and protect the premises from penetration into them. However, if bedbugs and cockroaches have already firmly settled in the apartment, neither tansy, nor wormwood with lavender will allow you to get rid of parasites.
- Conspiracies and prayers from cockroaches and bedbugs (you will be surprised, but they are still actively used in villages). Here, perhaps, no comments. However, times are not the same...
Attempts to starve insects to death will also be ineffective: bedbugs can survive without food for months, and cockroaches are able to eat for a long time even in an apartment abandoned by people for a long time. It is not surprising that even in dachas visited three weeks a year, bedbugs and cockroaches have to be destroyed with the same regularity as in permanently inhabited premises.
Work on your own or entrust pest control to professionals?
If both bedbugs and cockroaches live in the room, then, perhaps, you should still turn to professional exterminators. Treatment of the apartment in this case will require increased amounts of insecticides and will be somewhat more laborious.
In this case, professionals will cope faster, and the cost of their work will not be significantly higher than the price of the insecticide and the time spent on the independent destruction of parasites.
On a note
The price of pest control services for a one-room apartment in Moscow or St. Petersburg ranges from 1200 to 2000 rubles. For example, a set of bottles of the Executioner costs about 1200 rubles, which will be enough to process the same apartment.
But the main thing that exterminators provide is guarantees that insects will not appear in the house within a certain period of time. This is very important, and city solar power stations are especially famous for this. Therefore, if there is no particularly burning desire to remove parasites from the premises on your own, then you should contact professionals.
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Hello, the topic of bedbugs is very sensitive. For a very long time I tried to get bedbugs out on my own, I tried, probably, all possible methods. Both ordinary means, and various brands of expensive means. Does not help…