Over centuries of human history, humans have learned to build fortress-like homes that are very difficult to penetrate. For other people, but not for insects. Despite their small size, they can get everywhere: into bedrooms, kitchens, even bathrooms. Moreover, it's unclear where they come from, how, and, most importantly, why—after all, in our opinion, there are no prerequisites for this. Fortunately, there are many ways to get rid of these unwanted neighbors and prevent them from appearing in the future. But first things first.
Content
What types of insects live in the bathroom?
Depending on the season and the climate of the region, several types of insects (both crawling and flying) most often settle in bathrooms:
- mosquitoes;
- spiders;
- cockroaches;
- woodlice;
- silverfish;
- butterfly flies;
- red ants;
- centipedes.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes thrive in damp areas near bodies of water, so a bathroom with a constant supply of water is an ideal habitat for these bloodsuckers. They enter through the ventilation system with their entire families and can live alongside humans for a very long time, especially since they receive daily "food deliveries": while you're taking a bath or simply changing clothes, the mosquitoes have a good opportunity to sip your blood.
Mosquitoes can live in the bathtub for a long time.
Mosquitoes are completely indiscriminate—they bite everyone: healthy people, animals, and even the sick. If a pathogen from the blood of a bloodsucker gets into the insect's proboscis, it can be transmitted through the mosquito's saliva to another person or animal during a bite. It's impossible to determine whether the mosquito that bit you is infectious—the chances are roughly 50/50 that you won't become infected. Mosquitoes can carry a wide variety of diseases, from malaria and mosquito-borne encephalitis (mosquito flu) to filariasis.
Filariasis is a lymphatic disease transmitted by a roundworm, which enters the bloodstream of a human or animal as a larva, where it molts for the last time and transforms into an adult, sexually mature worm that lives in the host's body for up to 17 years.
Spiders
Spiders prefer dry places, so if your bathroom is always dry but dirty, expect guests there. These arthropods also live in human homes in families, which rarely exceed five individuals. Like mosquitoes, spiders enter apartments through ventilation and settle in dark corners of various rooms, but close to water—the bathtub is a good place for them to live. Another way for the insect to enter an apartment is by riding on a person: the spiders are small, gray, and completely invisible on clothing. However, usually only one or two spiders enter a house this way.
Spiders settle in bathrooms where water can be obtained
The most common spiders found in homes are the gray, black, and harvestman spiders. They feed primarily on small insects, which they catch in their webs. They can sometimes bite humans; this only poses a danger if the spider has previously consumed a blood-sucking arthropod that is infected. It's impossible to determine whether your resident is "healthy" without undergoing specific tests, and these "house" spiders are not venomous. Tarantulas and others like them do not come close to permanently inhabited houses (they can easily settle in summer cottages that are empty in winter).
Spiders most often frighten people with their webs, which clearly clash with the rest of the decor, and with the possibility of falling from the ceiling or a shelf. The element of surprise and the presence of numerous hairy legs terrify many adults.
Spiders in the house are believed to bring good luck, fortune, and wealth, but they are also the first sign of unsanitary conditions. They might be tolerated if they never bit people, but that does happen sometimes.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches enter homes through ventilation and various cracks in walls, floors, and baseboards. They primarily come from basements, if there's food there, and from neighboring apartments. Like all insects, they require water to survive, so they most often nest in bathrooms, where drops of water remain after showering. While the kitchen lacks the same amount of moisture as the bathroom, there is food there, so cockroaches scurry between the kitchen and bathroom.
Sometimes cockroaches can be found in the toilet – they are also attracted to water there.
Cockroaches need water to survive, which is easier to find in the bathroom than in the kitchen.
In addition to the fact that these creatures eat our food and drink our water, they are carriers of various intestinal diseases. This is due to the fact that insects crawl wherever they can and where unsanitary conditions prevail, collecting all sorts of bacteria and microorganisms on their paws and chitinous covering, and then transferring them to other surfaces on which they crawl and to the food they eat.
Woodlice
Woodlice are small crustaceans that live in dust and dampness, so they appear in houses where cleaning is not done well. They feed exclusively on vegetation, so they do not bite humans or crawl into their bodies. There is a theory that woodlice carry ringworm, bacteria and other microorganisms on their paws, but this has not yet been proven.
Woodlice are small crustaceans
Woodlice pose a real danger to the plants they feed on. These insects spend the day near water (in bathtubs and toilets), and at night they head out to search for food. These crustaceans always leave behind small clumps of soil in the bottom of the pot. If you discover soil 1-3 days after removing them, this is the first sign that woodlice have entered your home.
Silverfish
Silverfish are small insects, white, yellow, or steel-colored, with three pairs of legs. They live in dark, damp places (in cracks in floors, tiles, and behind pipes), and their favorite "food" is printed matter: books, magazines, and photographs. Moreover, the older the book, the more eager the silverfish is to eat it.
Silverfish's favorite treat is books.
This small insect poses no particular danger to humans: it doesn't bite or eat food, though it does require water. Some scientists believe silverfish can carry various germs and bacteria on their legs, but there's no definitive evidence yet. Most often, people remove these creatures purely for aesthetic reasons—the insect has no place in a human home.
Butterfly flies
Butterfly flies are incredibly beautiful, small, furry flies, even their wings covered in tiny hairs. Their wings are shiny and iridescent, reminiscent of a unique kaleidoscope. Such beautiful creatures are rare in nature, and it's a shame that butterfly flies lay their eggs in sewers and dirt, where the adults later emerge.
The butterfly is considered one of the most beautiful insects.
These creatures live in damp areas, close to water, and feed on organic waste. They most often enter apartments through basement ventilation. More than two or three individuals rarely live alongside humans.
Butterfly flies, unlike many other insects that die in excessive dampness, feel like a fish in water in similar conditions.
These flies cannot infect humans or animals, but they must be removed from homes. Firstly, they reproduce quite quickly, which is unsightly. Secondly, the bugs will spread moisture throughout the apartment on their bodies, causing dampness and, consequently, rot. And thirdly, since the flies feed on plant debris, particles of their "feast" will accumulate in their habitats, which can also lead to rot and mold growth.
Red ants
Red ants are brought into apartments on shoe soles or along with fruits and vegetables. They feed primarily on bread crumbs, but will also feast on other food scraps.
Red ants are very difficult to get rid of.
Like many insects, ants crawl literally everywhere, collecting all sorts of microbes, which they then "donate" to humans by leaving them on surfaces and food. Ants don't eat alone, so the damage they cause to our food seems colossal. This is the second problem these tiny creatures pose. The third problem is their resilience.
Ants are one of the most persistent insects, like cockroaches. You kill them, but they'll run off to another room or to your neighbors, only to return after a while. And the larger their colony in your home, the less likely you are to get rid of them.
Centipedes
There are only two types of millipedes found in apartments (which, by the way, are not considered insects):
- Millipedes: live and breed in damp and warm places; when in danger, they curl up into a ball and secrete a foul-smelling substance;
A huge millipede
- flycatchers: eat small insects, do not attack humans; settle mainly in places where other insects can live: flies, mosquitoes, moths, and others;
Flycatchers eat all small insects, even cockroaches.
Flycatchers do not attack humans, but they can bite in self-defense, injecting poison into the attacker. It may cause an allergic reaction.
Reasons for the appearance of insects
Insects, unlike small animals, are unable (or unwilling) to eat solid food, although many have a special substance in their saliva that can liquefy solid matter. They prefer soft, rotting food, which causes them no harm, because these creatures live and breed in dampness, decay, and waste. This is a familiar and comfortable habitat for them. Moreover, the presence of dampness is a necessary factor—where there is dampness, there is moisture, which means they can live there.
Mold grows quickly in damp places.
We humans immediately associate dampness with rot, mold, and perhaps even dirt. All of this attracts insects that wouldn't be able to survive in clean rooms where there's simply nothing to feed on. Therefore, the appearance of unexpected guests in your home means that hygiene rules have been violated and the house is unsanitary.
Insect repellents
You can't be sure that by creating perfect order and maintaining it all the time you will get rid of insects - they will wait for the almighty dirt to return to your home and will not go anywhere, so it is necessary to use various means to expel pests along with maintaining cleanliness.
Cockroaches have the most powerful defense against external influences: their chitinous covering is virtually impossible to destroy on the first try; it takes two or even three strikes to kill the insect. Therefore, to get rid of these pests, it's essential to use products suitable for cockroach control: if an insecticide works on them, it's even less effective against other insects.
Mechanical impact
If the insect population is small, you can get rid of them with a slipper, swatting the unexpected visitor, or with a newspaper. Cockroaches aren't so easy to deal with; they can escape after the first blow and survive. The only thing that will instantly kill them is boiling water. If you see a cockroach sitting peacefully, waiting for something to happen, and you have the ability to quickly boil the water, pouring boiling water on it will kill it. Firstly, its chitinous shell will be damaged, leaving it vulnerable, and secondly, it will simply drown in that amount of water.
The most ordinary slipper can get rid of a small number of insects.
Chemicals
If you don't have time to chase away unwanted guests, or if their population is quite large, or if they're just ants, 85% of whose colonies you never see, then insecticides are the only solution. The most convenient and "clean" (those that don't leave dirty streaks) are the following types:
- aerosol;
- trap;
- aquafumigator;
- chalk;
- gel;
Aerosol
The aerosol is effective against all types of insects, maintains its effect for 2-3 weeks, does not kill their eggs, so repeat treatment is necessary.
Aerosol is the most convenient form of insect repellent.
Remove all personal hygiene products and clothing, remove people and pets from the apartment, and then spray all surfaces in the bathroom, paying particular attention to the corners under the bathtub or shower stall, from a distance of 25–40 cm. Leave the room for 15–20 minutes, then ventilate the entire apartment for 1–2 hours to eliminate any remaining odor.
Since aerosols are toxic, it is necessary to wear respirators and gloves.
The most popular are Combat, Raid, Raptor and Get.
I found a nest of cockroaches right under my desk, where the computer's power supply is! Just imagine the horror and disgust I felt when this little bastard appeared on my desk, and then I bent down and saw a whole pack of these impudent little ones there! The can says to spray on insects, their clusters, and suspected habitats. So I decided to test the instantaneous action by aiming the spray directly at them! And you know, it's hard to believe, but the baby cockroaches were dying right before my eyes! In the morning, not a single creature was crawling under my desk! All that was left was to sweep up their corpses with a broom! Victory! The product is toxic! So, be sure to thoroughly ventilate the room after the massacre!
Traps
The traps attract all types of insects, which remain inside permanently, so the "nets" must be replaced once they are completely full. They are very easy to use: open according to the instructions and place them on the floor or wall, depending on the type of box used.
Insect traps can even be electric.
Before setting the trap, it is advisable to clean the surfaces to ensure they are clean.
I set out the traps and noticed a decrease in the cockroaches almost the next day. Unfortunately, they haven't disappeared completely, but their numbers have definitely dropped, and I'm seeing dead insects more and more often. So the traps are working!
Chalk
The chalk acts by contact; upon contact with the insect, it penetrates its body and, upon subsequent contact with water, turns into concrete, killing the insect. True, the effect takes a fairly long time (a month or two), but the entire population will be destroyed, as each individual will carry a "gift" on its paws for the others.
This type of insect repellent is easy to use: simply draw long trails along all cracks and possible insect passages to encourage the pests to step on the substance. The chalk must not be wiped off the surface, otherwise it will be ineffective. It is not recommended for use by those with children or pets.
Mashenka is considered one of the best insect repellents
And the MASHENKA chalk, unfortunately, didn't help either! I'm shocked that all the other reviews for this chalk are 5 stars! That's why I'm posting photos. It's a shame the main characters themselves didn't want to participate in the photo shoot. Moreover, they're running right in the epicenter of these stripes! Maybe we have some kind of cockroach problem? It's been more than a week since we applied it... —————— The cockroaches are finally gone! It's been two months, though, and we can't say for sure that the chalk helped... but still, the fact remains.
Gels
A gel-based product containing a bait with a special scent and an insecticide that paralyzes insects for several hours after contact. The product is effective only upon contact with the insect and can be carried on the legs of other pests to other insects.
It takes quite a long time to see the result, but the entire population is destroyed.
Apply the gel pointwise to washed surfaces where insects are crawling (there should be a distance of 5–10 cm between points). The product cannot be washed off, so it is not recommended for use in homes with children or pets.
Gels should be applied pointwise
I didn't notice any smell. I saw results the very next day, or rather, I didn't see any cockroaches. There weren't any. I didn't see any corpses either. I don't know where they disappeared to. But they haven't been around for a year now. I can't say anything about the ants: will it work or not. If you have cockroaches (but not in your head), I recommend it. It's a very effective remedy.
Aquafumigator
When the vaporizer comes into contact with water, a thermal reaction occurs, and the insecticide vapor spreads throughout the room, settling on all surfaces and in every crevice, leaving insects with no chance to hide. It affects pests by contact, causing paralysis. The substance remains effective for several weeks and, although not effective against eggs, kills new insects before they can reproduce.
The aquafumigator works by producing steam that fills all the cracks.
We returned to the apartment a little over three hours later. Opening the door, I saw a still-foggy haze. While I was running to open the windows, I managed to breathe in a little, then coughed for a few minutes; the smell left a persistent irritation in my throat. We waited another 20 minutes for the fog and smell to clear before we could enter with the children. Naturally, we inspected the apartment for dead animals, and happily confirmed that there were indeed quite a few. Then I saw a small number of insects trying to crawl along the walls and ceiling, but they were clearly intoxicated and half-dead. We vacuumed them up and helped them die completely. At first glance, I liked the result much better than after the apartment had been treated by an exterminator.
Folk methods
Folk remedies are considered the safest for people, especially small children and allergy sufferers, but they are not as effective as chemical treatments. It can take several weeks for these traditional methods to take effect, during which time new pests quickly appear.
The most popular means are:
- Boric acid; hard-boil an egg or a potato, mash it until smooth, add boric acid (liquid or powdered—it doesn't matter), form small balls, and place them where insects are found; the acid accumulates in the body and, reaching a critical level, destroys the insect; once the ball dries, the remedy stops working; effective against cockroaches and ants;
Boric acid kills insects
- Ammonia; ammonia has a very strong odor, so it is necessary to use a respirator; dilute the alcohol with water in a ratio of 1:10 and coat all surfaces in the bathroom with the resulting solution; the alcohol repels insects, but only while the smell lingers; as soon as the smell disappears, the procedure must be repeated;
Ammonia has a very pungent smell.
- A jar of water; take a liter jar and fill it halfway with water; coat the neck with Vaseline to make it difficult to escape; turn off all other water sources in the apartment beforehand and leave the jar overnight; insects will come to the watering hole, will not be able to escape from the jar, and will drown there; this method will only help get rid of a small number of pests, so the procedure should be performed every night;
Methods for preventing insects in the bathroom
To prevent insects from appearing in your bathtub, you need to follow several conditions:
- Keep your entire house clean; insects can feed anywhere, but they will live closer to water;
It's very easy to keep it clean all the time, but it's hard to clean it again.
- At least once a month, carefully examine the condition of the bathroom - if water is leaking from anywhere, dampness will appear, which will attract insects;
You may not immediately notice that your bathroom is leaking.
- At least once every six months, disinfect your bathroom, removing all personal hygiene products and clothing first. After disinfecting the bathroom, an invisible film of the active substance will remain on the floor and walls, which will kill any uninvited guests for several weeks.
You can carry out pest control yourself.
- carefully check your things: bags, clothes, shoes, when you come home, for the presence of insects;
Insects love to travel in people's things.
These simple rules should become a habit for every person who does not want to share their home with insects.
The insect world is rich and diverse; some are beautiful and harmless to humans, some are very harmful, and some are destructive to their own kind. Their lives are fascinating to watch: how they move, eat, and communicate with each other. But sometimes they come into our homes and start running the place, treating us like moving furniture rather than the master of the house. They create enormous problems, ranging from "it's just not nice to have something crawling around here" to a threat to our health. Therefore, no matter how beautiful or cute an insect is, it must either be driven away, if possible, or destroyed.
