Finding a nest where cockroaches live is not easy, because insects prefer to hide in secluded places. Longhorns do not come out of their shelter during the day, but at night, therefore, household members often notice pests in the room only when there are too many of them. At the first suspicion, a cockroach nest should be found as soon as possible. This is the only way to quickly and effectively get rid of pests.
Where do cockroaches live in an apartment
The unpretentiousness of cockroaches is one of the reasons for their rapid reproduction and expansion of their habitat. The high survival rate of young individuals, resistance to external factors and the ability to exist without food for up to 70 days allow winged pests to quickly spread throughout the house, dramatically increasing the population size. To prevent this situation, it is important to identify the appearance of pests at an early stage. To do this, you need to know where the cockroaches live in the apartment, where to look for their shelter?
As a habitat, black kitchen and red Prusak choose premises with the following conditions:
- an abundance of organic residues of plant and animal types;
- high humidity;
- warm, comfortable air temperature;
- the presence of dark corners and many shelters, which are the space under the baseboard, small cracks in the walls and furniture.
Most often, cockroaches can be found in the kitchen and bathroom. In multi-storey buildings, larvae with an elongated compact body shape easily penetrate small cracks, move along utilities (ventilation, sewer pipe, garbage chute) to neighboring apartments.
What can be done to stop cockroaches from breeding?
There are a number of insecticides that fight these insects very successfully, if applied correctly. But poisons alone are not enough: in order for your apartment to cease to be attractive for reproduction, it is advisable to fulfill a number of conditions.
- Check and treat dark and wet nooks and crannies more often, especially if you know that cockroaches can return or come to you from neighbors.
- Control the humidity in the apartment, especially if you live in an area with high air humidity in general. This can be done with a conventional air conditioner.
- Do not leave food in the open that cockroaches could eat, and get rid of the habit of eating without a plate and in bed: this is how crumbs spread throughout the apartment in large quantities.
- Do not forget about repeated treatments: the edema does not allow chemicals to pass through, so that the nymphs that appear after the first etching will be absolutely healthy. And given that they can regulate the rate of development themselves, it will not be difficult for them to wait out the hard times in the capsule.
- If you want to get rid of the nest quickly and without poisons, you will have to turn off the heating in winter for a while, killing all the cockroaches with sub-zero temperatures (already at -5˚C they will die almost instantly).
It is quite difficult to cope with an already existing large nest without etching, but getting rid of it, you can apply the information received so that your apartment will never again become a refuge for these insects.
How to find out if there are cockroaches in the house
With a small population, it is not easy to find Prusaks in the house.Cockroaches are nocturnal, cautious and fearful. They openly move during the day only in one case: if the number of individuals is so large that they lack food and hidden places in the house. How do you know if there are cockroaches in the house before they fill the whole apartment?
- A simple and effective method is to abruptly turn on the lighting in the washroom and dining area at night. In the dark, individuals actively leave the shelter in search of food and water.
- The presence of remnants of the chitinous layer, eggs, larvae, black secretions indicates unwanted cohabitants. Most often, fecal stains are found in the drawers of the kitchen set, on the hinges of interior doors, under the sink.
- Unpleasant specific smell. The reason is the biological substance that the black cockroach secretes. Irritation of the human body occurs with a large accumulation of individuals.
- Allergy to indoor dust, a large volume of which is occupied by spores of fungi and mold, particles of chitinous cover during insect molting, decomposed corpses and excrement.
The described signs directly or indirectly indicate the appearance of unwanted guests in the house.
Comfortable conditions for cockroaches
Cockroaches are carriers of various infections. Of course, the main thing in the fight against cockroaches is to create conditions unsuitable for their life. What are cockroaches looking for in our homes?
- Any food: bread crumbs, vegetables and fruits, sweets, even dried oil stains and wallpaper glue. Obviously, if desired, they will not be left without food.
- Water is the main condition for the life of any creature. Different sources are suitable: drops at the bottom of the bathroom and sink, water in the toilet, in a vase, at the bottom of a glass or teapot. There are cases when cockroaches were looking for a source of moisture on the lips of sleeping hosts. It is necessary to protect small children from them.
- A good warm environment in housing (above fifteen degrees), they do not survive at low temperatures.
- Secluded places where these insects can hide all day, going out to hunt at night. Such places are the back surfaces of furniture, baseboards, countertops, household appliances.
Cockroaches have learned to adapt well, they are able to deftly hide, trying not to betray their presence for a long time. There is always enough food for them, the main thing is to find water. If the room is damp, a tap is dripping, a siphon is leaking, then there will be no problems with this either. As the experiment showed, a drop of glue is enough for a cockroach for a month to stay full.
Even if a person's dwelling is kept in perfect order, these guests can move from the neighboring apartment. They multiply very quickly, when the population reaches an impressive size, some of them move to another territory. For this, scout cockroaches are looking for suitable conditions from neighbors.
Extremely dangerous are the so-called "sewer" insects, which can move along sewers, even along the streets. If there is a dwelling nearby, seized by the "occupiers", then the threat becomes more than real. Fighting cockroaches in a single home is difficult, and sometimes pointless. They will simply run from apartment to apartment. Moreover, the height of the house does not matter. Insects can easily move from the first floor to the twentieth, simultaneously populating each floor. If residents find a cockroach in the entrance or next to the garbage chute, you should immediately sound the alarm and take action.
Cockroach nest
Knowing the conditions favorable for insects to live, finding a cockroach nest will be quite simple. If you suspect that a black kitchen or ginger Prusak has settled in the apartment, you need to inspect the following places for excrement, eggs and chitinous cover:
- under the sink;
- under the skirting board;
- large and small cracks in the floor and furniture;
- under the refrigerator;
- ventilation and air conditioning system openings;
- the inner space of a microwave oven, built-in furniture drawers, an oven;
- the cavity between the walls and peeling wallpaper.
If we talk about the sanitary room, special attention should be paid to the space under the bathroom, mirror, sink, wall cabinet, between the box and the pipe riser.
Can spawn from sewers
At first glance, the idea seems strange, but if you remember that in some countries you could sometimes find a whole boa constrictor along the sewers in the toilet bowl, then there is no need to talk about cockroaches. Moreover, they can crawl not only through the toilet, but also other similar communications that have large enough gaps. It could be a sink or even a bathroom.
Perhaps, it cannot be said that they are somehow different from other standard varieties of cockroaches.
However, the most unpleasant neighbor in this case will be black cockroaches, which crawl out from there. If in the usual case you can see cockroaches the size of a human marigold, moreover, a child's, then a black cockroach will be 5 times larger and scarier. Fortunately, pests do not particularly like to crawl out of the place where they came from, and therefore, at most, they can base themselves behind the sink or secluded places near the toilet.
Also, we will briefly talk about the reasons for their appearance, and even in this way. In Russian cities, residents of Moscow most often suffer from the problem of sewer cockroaches. This is most likely due to the size of the population. Insects come out most often in summer, but not due to climate change and higher temperatures. They just multiply to such an extent that the current food is not enough for every such tenant, and therefore they begin to try to get to the surface. On one of these beautiful days, you can see this eerie sight. Otherwise, they are no different from ordinary cockroaches, and therefore the methods of struggle remain the same.
How to find a cockroach nest in an apartment
The number of possible shelters in the apartment depends on the state of the renovation. Poorly glued wallpaper, cracked walls and cracks in the floor, and insufficiently fixed baseboards are great as a habitat for cockroaches.
How to find a cockroach nest in an apartment? If the Prusak has recently appeared in the house, it will be difficult to spot it right away. At first, insects are extremely careful and crawl out of the dwelling only at night to search for food.
Inspection of all crevices, corners and secluded dark spaces with a flashlight will help prevent the reproduction of arthropod pests and find the nest. In places not accessible for visual observation, a steam generator with a narrow nozzle will help. If cockroaches live in the baseboard and gaps, a jet of hot steam under pressure will force them to leave the area. An aerosol can with an insecticidal preparation will help to implement the idea instead of a steam generator.
It should be remembered that chemical agents must be used in strict accordance with the instructions and the use of personal protective equipment.
If you cannot find a cockroach nest on your own, you want to quickly get rid of winged insects in the house, contact a specialist. They will carry out professional processing of the premises and tell you how to avoid the reappearance of pests in the apartment.
Breeding process
If you have ever found a cockroach nest at least once in your life, this picture will stay with you for a long time. How many are there: tens, hundreds, thousands? It seems that the population of these insects is growing right before our eyes! But how fast do cockroaches actually reproduce?
- For a new generation to appear, it is necessary to have two sexually mature individuals, male and female, since they reproduce sexually.The female is slightly larger in size and secretes odorous substances, inviting the male to mate, after which she lays eggs.
It is interesting!
Most cockroach species have wings, but the need to use them in an apartment has long disappeared.
- About 2-3 weeks, the eggs develop to the first stage of the larva in a special protective capsule called edema, which the female carries with her for a while and then leaves in a safe place.
- When the first stage of larval development is reached (and this may take more than 3 weeks), if environmental conditions are unfavorable, the fry leave the edema. If at the word "larva" you imagine something inactive and like a worm, then the cockroach larvae will surprise you. They are called nymphs and look like a miniature version of an adult. Accordingly, they eat and run around the apartment just as actively.
By the way
The older the domestic cockroach, the lighter its color: if the adults - the imago - have a reddish color, then the larvae are almost black.
- Cockroaches go through an incomplete process of metamorphosis: there is no pupation stage in it. And they grow with the help of molts, of which there are 5-7 larvae during the whole life of the larva. Each molt brings the individual closer to sexual maturity, but how quickly this process will take place depends only on external conditions. If the nymphs are in a warm and humid place with an abundance of food, they will be ready for fertilization within 4 months. The colder, drier and hungrier, the longer the insect will reach sexual maturity.
- A sexually mature individual of a domestic pest lives for about 7 months. How often can she give birth to new offspring? The problem is that after the first fertilization, the female stores the male's reproductive cells for subsequent clutches and, under favorable conditions, will not miss the opportunity to lay eggs about twice a month. On average, during her life, she manages to lay 10-15 clutches of 15-20 eggs in each edema.
By the way
There are viviparous species, such as the Madagascar cockroaches, that can be kept as pets. This system is inherent in some other large tropical species.
It turns out that red cockroaches do not reproduce too quickly, but exponentially. And in order to start a nest, one sexually mature female is enough, which accidentally wandered into your apartment and found the conditions in it suitable. Larvae add oil to the fire, which look almost the same as adults. But why did they find your home attractive?
What is the purpose of these insects
Why do we need cockroaches? These insects have existed on Earth for more than one million years, respectively, the assumption that the only purpose of these insects is to parasitize human dwellings is fundamentally wrong.
Cockroaches, belonging to almost all species, destroy smaller insect parasites, for example, bugs, various larvae.
Thus, they may well bring not only harm, but also benefit.
The most terrible and beautiful species of cockroaches
Although all types of these phenotypes are studied by specialists, special attention is paid to exotic insects. They stand out for their interesting appearance, special design. Due to the fact that the structure of cockroaches is more interesting, they are bred at home.
These insects are also popular because they have a unique color. Among the known species, there are individuals of red, blue and white shades. Some varieties are distinguished by a unique external structure.
Among all the existing types, specialists show a particular interest in several.
A distinctive feature of this insect is its considerable weight (from 30 to 40 grams).Their body length reaches 8-9 cm. They have a wide abdomen. The head is decorated with eyes that have a triangular shape. The paws are covered with small thorns.
In natural conditions, it lives in the forests of Australia. For shelter, leaf litters are used. They use the same vegetation as food. Among all trees, eucalyptus is distinguished, which has a special taste.
Lovers of exotic insects keep such cockroaches at home. Various containers are used for their content. Since these species are considered clean, there will be no unpleasant air in the house. The container is filled with eucalyptus leaves and substrate. They build passages and labyrinths in the soil.
It is not necessary to equip the terrarium with a cover, since these species do not move on slippery surfaces. Therefore, cover the container with a lid only at night.
For lighting, fluorescent lamps or fluorescent lamps are used. Their dwellings are not placed on the window, since ultraviolet radiation is contraindicated for insects.
Acceptable temperature range - from 24 to 28 degrees. The moisture content is about 80 percent. Sawdust or other substrate is sprayed to moisten; vegetation, fruits and oak leaves are used as feed.
Chess cockroach
Due to its unique color, this insect is brought up by many exotic lovers. This insect has several names: seven-point, domino, desert, chess. The presence of white spots is a protective paint.
For the first time, they learned about its existence in India. In natural conditions, insects live in tree crowns, thickets, leaves. Some individuals settle under stones. They leave their hiding places after darkness falls.
The carapace has bristles to which the substrate sticks. Therefore, insects are easily and quickly camouflaged. In a stressful situation, an unpleasant odor comes from the Prusaks, which is released through the abdominal glands.
Such insects are often preferred by beginners. After all, these phenotypes are peaceful in nature. For their breeding, special conditions are not required, so there will be no content.
For chess types, plastic boxes are suitable, which are complemented by lids, or small terrariums. If plastic boxes are used, holes are formed in them for air to enter.
Little car
Habitat - tropical forests of Venezuela, as well as Colombia. The male pronotum has orange headlights.
Elytra of insects are shortened and have a square shape. They are painted yellow. There are black stripes on the edges. The abdomen is also painted in the same shade. A light stripe is concentrated along the rim.
Suitable for keeping terrariums, the bottom of which is covered with leaves, bark and branches. At night, they explore the bottom, form labyrinths and burrows. But it is difficult to breed them at home.
Dead Head
Homeland - rainforests, which are concentrated in South America. Their body length reaches 7 cm.
A dead head is an insect that is classified as a prey species. They are fed to bearded agamas, frilled lizards in the house. The carapace of the dead head features a skull-like pattern made up of unique patterns. Therefore, this phenotype received such a name.
To maintain colonies that include 50 to 75 individuals, a container or terrarium with a volume of 60-70 liters will be required. Since they do not move on slippery surfaces, it is not necessary to cover the container with a lid.
Although the number of species of insects that are bred at home is small, there are some really interesting specimens among them. Some have a unique color, others have a speed of movement or considerable weight. Each person will easily select a phenotype that is suitable for the parameters and conditions of detention.
Before choosing a specific species, they study its habits and conditions of detention. Some varieties are not suitable for beginners, as they require special nutrition and substrate. Therefore, experts recommend studying the relevant literature, in which all the features are recorded.
What to do if cockroaches run from neighbors?
Cockroaches do not always start up in an apartment from unsanitary conditions. There are several more ways they can appear in your home.
If cockroaches crawl from neighbors, it is recommended to maintain perfect cleanliness in the apartment, throw out the garbage every day, clean up food, wipe even small puddles, wipe the bathtub and sink overnight, prevent leaks of plumbing fixtures, water pipes, put nets on ventilation, fill up all cracks and holes ...
If there are too many cockroaches in the house, such 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, repellents, perhaps folk methods will help. If it was not possible to cope with the pests, more drastic measures will have to be taken.
If cockroaches are crawling from neighbors, it is recommended to agree with them at the same time to invite a special service that will take the necessary measures. If neighbors refuse to persecute, they can be forced to do this in court, for the ego you need a document confirming unsanitary conditions in a particular apartment. You can get such a document from the management company, as well as from the sanitary and housing inspection.
Insect appearance
Probably almost everyone knows what a cockroach looks like. Regardless of the species, insects share a number of similar traits.
The body length can vary from one to ten centimeters, as a rule, the largest members of the family live mainly in southern countries with a mild and humid climate. The abdomen is subdivided into several main segments.
Males are distinguished by a longer and narrower body, at the end of the abdomen there are segmented processes called cerci.
Females have a more rounded body; when breeding, they carry an ooteca on the abdomen - a capsule in which there are several dozen eggs. Most representatives wear edema until the larvae hatch.
The shape and structure of the body of a cockroach
Regardless of the species, insects have a similar appearance. Cockroaches have three pairs of legs that are completely covered with small thorns. Their size and weight depend on the species.
The largest members of this group can reach more than ten centimeters in length. They have two large simple eyes, which are completely absent in some species or are atrophied, that is, they do not perform their main functions.
The structural features of the body between males and females are as follows: males have a longer body, which often seems to be such due to longer wings. Females have a more rounded body, in addition, their abdomen is devoid of cerci - small protruding chitinous processes.
Insect lifespan
So how many years or days do cockroaches live? The lifespan of most species is no more than a year. The long-livers among this large group are large American ones - under favorable conditions, their life expectancy can be up to three years.
How many cockroaches live
Probably, almost everyone who has encountered these unpleasant parasites is interested in the question of how long domestic cockroaches live. In the presence of a sufficient amount of food, water, as well as at optimal temperature conditions, the lifespan can be up to one year.
Moreover, only eight months out of twelve the insect is in the imago stage.
Video
Cockroaches even live without a head
How many domestic cockroaches live without food and water
And how long do cockroaches live without food, water, air? Since these representatives of the insect world are cold-blooded, they may well live without food for at least two months, and often much longer. The main thing for them is the availability of water.
Without enough moisture, parasites can survive for no more than a week.
As for the air, according to the data of the conducted studies, insects can hold their breath for half an hour or more.
However, a longer absence of air is destructive for them.
