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Bed bugs are called cosmopolitans, which means they live all over the world. This parasite is much older than man. It is believed that they used to be found on bats, and then moved to people.
– Bed bugs confidently occupy the top lines of the ranking of the most common insects on the planet. There are 30 thousand of them. They live in the water, on the ground, underground. Many people can fly. But it is the type of bed insects that start up in apartments – Cimex lectularius. He doesn’t have wings, he says. entomologist Dmitry Zhelnitsky.
Insects bite and carry infections, so at the first sign you need to use means that will help get rid of bedbugs once and for all.
Reasons for the appearance of bedbugs in the apartment
In houses, bedbugs like to settle in beds, sofas, crevices behind baseboards, climb under wallpaper, in books and picture frames. In general, wherever there is where to hide during the day and go hunting at night.
– Three main reasons for the appearance of bedbugs in the apartment: we bring from the street and porches on shoes and clothes; along with old furniture – an antique dealer and just used; bedbugs themselves come to you from neighbors – for this they use sockets and ventilation. Therefore, if you have insects, be sure to warn the apartments behind the walls. Bed bugs can only be removed once and for all by joint efforts, says Zhelnitsky.
Effective ways to get rid of bedbugs in the apartment
To freeze
Efficiency: low
Like many insects, bed bugs cannot tolerate frost. In the old days, people collected things, moved to live with friends, leaving windows and doors wide open. In theory, you can still do this trick today. But our apartments are heated, so the parasites are unlikely to die.
General cleaning and repair
Efficiency: medium
You can prevent the appearance of bedbugs in the apartment by regular cleaning. Furniture is recommended to be vacuumed and then cleaned. Change bedding and wash it more often. It is recommended not to throw it into the basket for later, but immediately start the machine.
Do not bring old furniture and carpets into the house. Apartment renovation is also important: wallpapering the walls and whitewashing the ceilings. Seal cracks in baseboards and floors tightly. Wooden window sills and door frames also need to be treated. The essence of the repair is not to leave loopholes for bedbugs. However, this is more of a preventive measure than a means to remove bugs.
Folk methods to bring out bedbugs
Efficiency: low
We will immediately warn you that Rospotrebnadzor is skeptical about improvised means. Experts advocate only for professional insecticides and processing.
– As with other insects, popular rumor ascribes miraculous properties to get rid of parasites to various odorous substances and plants: alcohol, vinegar, lavender, tea tree, wormwood. I have not seen any scientific justification for such methods. Theoretically, bedbugs can escape from a sharp aroma, but it will not work to get them out once and for all, – says entomologist Dmitry Zhelnitsky.
Buy a remedy for bedbugs in the store
Efficiency: medium-high
They don’t sell any kind of poison for insects. There are sprays, emulsions for dilution in water, gels, powders and even smoke bombs. Remember that they are all very toxic to humans. They must be used strictly according to the instructions, so be sure to read it first. After some funds, you are required to leave the home. Consider if you can afford it. Be sure to wear gloves, it is better to collect long hair and hide it under a scarf. It would be useful to wear clothes that cover exposed areas of the body. After it, you need to send it to the laundry, and wash your hands. If you have a respirator, wear it, especially if you use sprays.
After processing, you need to ventilate the apartment, and then go through the places of processing with a rag and soapy water.
– Preparations should be based on pyrethroids or organophosphorus compounds – the effectiveness of poisons has been tested by half a century of experiments. It is important to choose a poison that will kill not only adults, but also “strangle” the laying of bedbugs. The second type of poisons just cope with this task, says disinfection company employee Yusuf Valiev.
Order professional processing
Efficiency: high
The price depends on the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe apartment in which bedbugs are to be removed. It is better to cooperate with the neighbors so that they also call disinfectors. One time may not be enough.
– Mist or spraying of funds with a special spray gun can be used. The apartment will need to leave for a couple of hours. Send all linens to the launderer. After returning, you need to do a wet cleaning of surfaces with soapy water. At the same time, it is better not to wipe the places that the specialist points out – skirting boards, floors – for a couple of days, says Valiev.
Popular questions and answers
A person does not feel the bite of a bug. The blister swells and starts to itch after a while.
– They often confuse lice and bedbugs. The first insects are smaller and bite only in the region of the hairy integument of the body, the entomologist added.
To understand that insects have wound up in the apartment, you can carefully examine the furniture and wallpaper. After themselves, the bugs leave black dots – the products of their vital activity. There may be barely noticeable blood stains on bed linen.
1. Decide whether you will fight on your own or go to disinfection.
2. Call specialists or go to the store for a remedy.
3. Warn neighbors.
4. Carefully collect all the bedding and put it in the wash – we immediately turn on the machine.
5. We apply the product according to the instructions or trust the disinfectors.
6. We carry out wet cleaning where necessary.
7. We closely monitor the appearance of new bites and black dots on furniture.
8. If bedbugs are found again, we repeat the procedures: it may be worth changing the remedy.