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Cockroaches have a flattened body and well-formed wings. Cockroaches, however, do not fly, but use their wings to glide as they move from place to place. Cockroaches like a damp and warm room. How do we get rid of a cockroach when she lives in our home? Are cockroaches dangerous to human health?
Cockroaches – characteristics
The cockroach can have a body length of 17 to 28 mm, and has a rusty or black shiny color. They prefer moist warm rooms. The female lays about 16-18 eggs and, depending on the ambient temperature, the larvae hatch after 81 or 42 days. The warmer it is, the faster the larvae hatch. The life span of cockroaches is from one to two years. They breed all year round. During the season, the female cockroach can increase the size of the cluster by about 200 to 250 new individuals, which will, of course, continue to reproduce.
Cockroaches are omnivores and nocturnal. They hide by day and look for food at night. They eat vegetables, fruits, powdery products such as sugar, flour, bran, and they will also take bread. It should be added that cockroaches are insects that can survive up to 40 days without food intake. In addition, these insects can withstand huge doses of all kinds of poisons, and even radioactive radiation. Interestingly, they are able to withstand 100 times more radiation dose than humans.
If you notice cockroaches in your apartment, get rid of them as soon as possible. These insects are carriers of germs and can transmit diseases that are dangerous to health.
Cockroaches – diseases that are transmitted
As confirmed by research, cockroaches are able to transmit various diseases, bacteria, plague, cholera and tuberculosis. There are about 80 pathogenic microorganisms on these insects and they are the cause of food poisoning. These worms are also responsible for transmitting viruses such as influenza viruses and rotaviruses. In addition, cockroaches are home to protozoa and fungi.
It should also be added that cockroaches can provoke an allergy. Allergens enter the human body through the ingestion of contaminated food, due to insufficient hand hygiene, or by inhalation (allergens transmitted by these insects may become airborne, which may cause increased cough, runny nose and asthma). Sometimes it can also lead to shortness of breath, as well as allergic eczema.
See also: Repellants – effective ways to fight insects and more
Cockroaches – homemade traps
One of home remedies for cockroaches might be luring them over for a beer. We put the alcohol in a bowl and a small footbridge to it, through which the insect can get inside. Lured cockroaches are unable to leave the bowl and simply drown in it. You can also use beer by soaking a sponge in it and leaving it where these insects walk most often. In some time, around the sponge, we will be able to find insects drunk with beer, which can be collected and burned or poured with boiling water.
In addition to beer, the delicacy of cockroaches is also coffee. At the very beginning, we need to brew a large portion of coffee grounds, because it is from them that we create the trap. In the next step, place the coffee grounds in a vessel with steep and slippery walls, e.g. a jar will be perfect for this.
The jar should be placed in the place where the insects most often appear, and against its wall you should rest, for example, a cardboard or a ruler or a thick sheet of paper, on which the insects will walk to get inside the vessel. Cockroaches go into the jar, and after they are full of coffee grounds, they cannot get out of it. Worms caught in this way should be burned or covered with boiling water.
Another way is to use a boric acid solution to soak, for example, bread. We can also use sulfur ointment on food that will attract insects. However, the whole process should be repeated as not all cockroaches can catch it the first time.
If we are already at sulfur, in the fight against these pests, you can use the method, i.e. egg poison, which is boiled for about 3 hours. This is due to the fact that sulfur and iron compounds begin to form in the eggs at this time, which are particularly effective in suppressing cockroaches.
It is worth adding that boric acid can also be mixed with, for example, boiled egg yolk, potato flour or quicklime. Such a mixture should be made into small balls, which are then spread throughout the apartment. Insects attracted in this way die.
Another method is to use pea powder and plaster. In this case, crush a handful of dry peas into flour and mix them with loose sugar and gypsum, which is previously sifted through a sieve. Such a mixture should be placed in places that are most crowded with cockroaches.
We can use our favorites as bait delicacies of cockroaches. Among them, the already mentioned beer, bread, but also sugar and chocolate.
Cockroaches – insecticides and poison
If we want to exterminate cockroaches at home, we can use special poisons for these insects. There are granules or gel poisons available on the market. In the event of ineffective operation of the above measures, we can resort to insecticidal liquidsto spray all places where cockroaches can stay – crevices, hard-to-reach places, such as those under the dishwasher, washing machine and bathtub. This operation should be repeated after about a week.
In addition, we can also use special glues, which are supposed to attract insects, or insecticidal plates, which with their smell are able to scare away as well as neutralize cockroaches. However, it should be borne in mind that these types of measures are only to help us in the fight against these insects.
Just remember that all kinds of insecticides and cockroach poison are also harmful to humans. It is best if, after spraying the rooms, we will not stay in the house or apartment. Food must also be secured.
Be careful and check: Poisoning with insecticides
Cockroaches – when is a specialist needed?
With a specialist who will conduct professional disinsection, it is necessary to contact when, despite attempts to get rid of cockroaches, all methods have failed. People who deal professionally with pest destruction have very strong insecticides that destroy not only adults, but also cocoons and eggs.
However, it should be remembered that if we live in a block of flats, disinsection should cover the entire building. The cost of professional disinfestation ranges from PLN 100 to PLN 200. The price depends on the area of the apartment.
This type of treatment is usually repeated within 4 weeks from the first time in order to destroy the eggs of insects that have not been affected by disinsection. When selecting specialists, it is worth considering the issue of the guarantee that we will receive, for example, for a year. Thanks to this, if the insects return, we will be able to count on another, but this time free, disinsection service.
Check it out: Decontamination – what is it and how is it performed?
Cockroaches – prevention
Certainly definitely better than fighting cockroachesis to prevent them from settling in our home. It is worth remembering that cockroaches like warm and humid rooms, so any leaking pipes should be repaired first, for example in the kitchen or bathroom. It is also worth sealing any ventilation ducts and gaps through which cockroaches could get past the neighbor. In the case of ventilation, it is worth considering the use of a dense mesh through which cockroaches will not be able to squeeze through.
Cockroaches are also not very fond of noise caused by frequent cleaning. It is therefore worth taking care of the cleanliness of the rooms and regularly vacuuming and washing floors, even those in hard-to-reach places, for example under kitchen cabinets.
As with food moths, you should also protect food from cockroaches. Airtight containers for dry food or jars will work best. Regularly clean up leftovers and throw away rubbish. It also doesn’t hurt to flood the drain holes in the kitchen and bathroom with hot water from time to time.
Read also: Silverfish – how to get rid of them from home?
Cockroaches – the transmission of parasites
Importantly, cockroaches can also carry the parasite that is responsible for the zoonotic disease, i.e. toxoplasmosis. In infected women, the parasites nest in the uterus and remain spore there. The parasite becomes surrounded by the cyst and persists in the body without causing any harm. When an infected woman becomes pregnant, the parasite begins to threaten the baby and can cause, for example, blindness, severe liver damage or hydrocephalus.
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