There are many insects on our planet. Each species lives in one environment or another, and some live next to us. There are some that need moisture to live. They find it next to a person in apartments and houses. Any living organisms require certain conditions to reproduce. Thus, excessive humidity in the room can contribute to the appearance of woodlice. We will consider further how harmful and dangerous they are for humans, as well as what remedies exist for woodlice in an apartment.
Woodlice in the apartment
Woodlice is a crustacean. Its slightly convex oval body has antennae and is divided into segments. Eyes on the sides of the head. It has 7 pairs of thoracic legs, which cover each other in a tiled manner and correspond to each segment, as well as antennae, one pair of which is developed, the other is underdeveloped.
If woodlice sense danger, they curl up into a ball. They live on land, but in places where moisture accumulates. Under wet stones lying on the ground, trees. The dark time of day suits them for hunting. Decaying plants and microorganisms are used for food. They can also feed on ordinary young plants.
The apartment may have:
In indoor flowers, in flower pallets.
In bathroom. In places where pipes and plumbing leak. In a damp room, basement. Under the tiles, in the bathroom or kitchen. Under the peeled wallpaper. In a place where vegetables are stored. Near and in the trash can.
Woodlice can appear in an apartment, even if there is no dampness. They come from neighbors, from basements.
Can penetrate:
Through cracks in the floor, in the walls, from under the baseboard. Through the room ventilation system. Through openings for water pipes and sewer pipes. Through sockets.
Why are woodlice harmful?
Let's consider what harm these representatives of the animal world can cause:
They cause harm to indoor moisture-loving plants. By destroying rotting plants and decaying microorganisms, they can become a source of the spread of fungus and infection. Vegetables are damaged in cellars.
Woodlice can appear directly in a flower pot, for example, for an orchid. The flower will die. In the place where potatoes and vegetables are stored, wood lice appear and spoil the harvest. They will feed on rot.
Anyone can benefit from information on how to deal with these pests. What is the best remedy for woodlice in an apartment?
Folk methods of dealing with woodlice
To minimize your own time costs, it is recommended to use chemical poisons and traditional methods together. The only enemy in the natural habitat of woodlice is spiders of the genus Dysdera. These insects purposefully hunt wood lice and are capable of destroying all crustaceans in a short period of time, but using such biological weapons in an apartment, to put it mildly, is not the best option.
Long before the discovery of the table of chemical elements by the great Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, our great-grandmothers used folk remedies to destroy rodents and birds that were engaged in “stealing” fruit and vegetable products from gardens, not to mention tiny crustaceans - grandmothers got rid of wood lice quickly and effectively.
Let's turn to people's experience. To combat uninvited guests the following were used:
- sagebrush;
- hellebore;
- hogweed
The above plants are poisonous and can cause severe poisoning if handled carelessly!
To expel woodlice from a living space, you can use the following folk recipes:
Mustard powder Powder in the amount of 20 g is infused in 2 liters of water for 24 hours. The resulting suspension is used to water the soil in flower pots, and also apply the product under sinks, toilets, bathtubs and sinks. Pipes with cold water also need to be treated with this composition to prevent woodlice from migrating through them from neighboring rooms.
Red hot pepper Approximately 100 g of pepper is ground in a meat grinder and infused in 1 liter of cold water for 10 days. The infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1/100 and the plants are treated.
Garlic Peeled and chopped garlic cloves weighing 100 g are infused in 2 liters of cold water for 10 days. The infusion is used to treat the places where wood lice are located, as well as the plants they feed on.
Potato trap You need to make a hole in half of the tuber and put the potato in a pot with soil. This is a favorable habitat for woodlice, so they will definitely gather here. All that remains is to periodically clean the trap.
Folk remedies are an excellent alternative to using chemicals to combat woodlice. But it must be said that the effectiveness of many of them is questionable, and some methods are so inconvenient that it is better to abandon them.
Tobacco, salt, pepper A mixture of tobacco, red pepper and salt is diluted in water and the walls and ceiling are wiped with the resulting solution. In addition, salt is used in the form of a saline solution to combat insects. In this case, the wood lice do not die, but they try to avoid the treated areas.
Gasoline and kerosene
Gasoline and kerosene are good for repelling woodlice. However, their smell is very unpleasant and persistent; it will be impossible to tolerate it at home. Moreover, we must not forget that kerosene, gasoline and alcohol, which are also used to combat woodlice, are fire hazardous substances. These products should not be used on walls in the kitchen to avoid fire.
Almost every home has pepper, potatoes, mustard and garlic, which can be used at any time to eliminate unwanted multi-legged guests.
Let's start with cleaning
If you find woodlice, you need to start cleaning. It is recommended to do the following:
If there are wood lice, it means that there is excessive dampness in this place. You must use an air conditioner or fan. This is necessary in order to dry a room or a certain area. When cleaning, be sure to ventilate the room. Pay attention to the pipes, maybe moisture is accumulating somewhere or there is a leak.
If there are animals in the house, look under the bathtub and sofas, in case something is hidden there and has already begun to decompose. This is an ideal food for woodlice. If you decide to renovate, it is best to get rid of woodlice first, using home remedies, or call a professional. After killing the woodlice, it is good to fill the cracks in the floor and baseboards with sealant. Moisture will not penetrate from under the floor, and new woodlice will not appear.
One of the important points is the choice of an effective remedy for woodlice in the apartment. We will tell you further how to get rid of them using chemicals and traditional methods.
Chemicals for getting rid of woodlice
In the event that folk remedies did not help and the insects remained in the apartment, then you should use chemicals.
If wood lice are infested in the bathroom, then you can get rid of them in the apartment using ordinary dichlorvos; you just need to spray it in the habitats of the insects. You need to spray it while wearing a mask, as it is quite toxic to humans. You should also ventilate the room after this and do not go there for a while.
You can also get rid of insects in an apartment using industrial chemicals such as Tarax and Tetrix. Usually these products are used only by professional companies and it is very difficult to find them on the open market, but they are very effective. Here are some other drugs that help get rid of these annoying insects:
- "Mole"
- "Raptor"
- "Thunder"
- "Ideal"
- “Thunder-2”
Sprays and aerosols
It is beneficial to use aerosols as a remedy for woodlice in an apartment if a small area is being treated. Such drugs are not long-acting. These include:
"Varan." A new generation drug without odor. It fights not only against woodlice, but also against flying and crawling insects. "Combat". Superspray. Low toxicity for humans and animals. Recommended for use in children's and medical institutions, offices and country houses. From crawling insects.
Concentrates are beneficial for treating large areas. Microencapsulated drugs are highly effective and have a long-lasting effect. Can be purchased in small or large packaging.
"Get." Available in the form of a concentrate. Has a slight odor. It can be used not only against wood lice, it also helps against cockroaches and bedbugs. "Tetrix". A strong remedy. The concentrate must be diluted. One bottle can treat the entire apartment. Long-acting.
TOP 5 means of combating woodlice
In addition to all kinds of folk remedies for getting rid of these bugs, special means are also used that are commercially available to the public for independent use, without the involvement of professionals in the field of pest control. Let's consider the most relevant of them.
Tarax
- The drug is universal and is capable of destroying not only woodlice, but also cockroaches, bedbugs, ants and fleas.
- The product relatively recently appeared on the insecticide market.
- One gram of powder can effectively up to 60 sq.m. “Tarax” is notable for the fact that it does not cause the notorious habituation of insects to the components contained in its composition, which increases its degree of active influence on pests and efficiency.
- Package 1 gr. powder is dissolved in water (200 ml - a glass) and the insect-affected area is treated with a spray bottle or sponge. Price – 80 rub.
Review: Natalya Ivanovna, Moscow
We removed woodlice under our bathtub using Tarax. We were very pleased with this drug. No poisoning was observed. The drug does not seem to be very toxic. The woodlice died immediately within a few hours. I recommend to all.
Scabengel
- This is a bait gel, which comes in a very convenient package - a syringe with the drug , ready for use.
- A thin stream in the form of a strip of gel is able to penetrate into the most inaccessible places , which creates maximum comfort in using such a drug.
- The consumption of one 30 g package can cover the treatment of 3 medium-sized rooms. Price – 40-45 rubles.
Review: Svetlana, Moscow
We recently bought an apartment in an old Khrushchev building, where we had to completely replace the plumbing with plastic pipes. It is clear that the old plumbing used to leak, the pipes were old, cast iron, there were a lot of small bugs under them, then I recognized them as woodlice. Since there were too many of them, I had to look for a German-made product - “Schabengel”, I heard that it is very effective. We did everything right, according to the instructions, and the woodlice died within a few hours. Everything worked out very conveniently and quickly.
Varan
- This is a new generation of dichlorvos, which has a universal effect on parasites and other crawling and even flying insects , as well as on bugs such as woodlice.
- It is noteworthy that “Varan” is completely odorless and is not toxic to people and animals.
- Price – from 48 to 100 rubles. and higher depending on the percentage of concentration of the active substance and the volume of the bottle.
Review: Sergey, Leningrad region
I used “Varan” against woodlice in my dacha. The drug worked perfectly, there have been no bugs for six months now. I think they won't appear for a long time. I really liked that this remedy against all kinds of parasites has no odor at all. I already thought that I would have to endure some kind of stench, like Dichlorvos, but it turned out that Varan has no smell at all and is not toxic.
Gett
- The drug Gett has its own analogue - “Master”. Both the analogue and its substitute are a liquid concentrate of high toxicity for fish , so in no case should you work with it near an open aquarium or pond
- the aquarium with something
- for humans and animals.
- The effect of its influence occurs only when the insect comes into contact with Gett microcapsules. Price – 700 rub. (100 ml).
Review: Vitaly, Ekaterinburg
We destroyed all the woodlice, which with their presence often caused us trouble in the kitchen near the trash can. Of course, we had to replace the trap under the sink so it wouldn't leak. And then we dealt with the woodlice using Gett. A friend recommended this product to us and it turned out to be very effective. There is still a little left in the bottle, which will be useful for other insects.
Tetrix
- A very strong and active product against many different household insects.
- The active component of Tetrix is cypermethrin, which is why it kills bedbugs, ticks, fleas and woodlice so quickly and for a long time.
- Complete death of insects is possible only after 2 days .
- The effect of the drug can last up to 70 days .
- The drug is produced in the form of an emulsion in bottles and canisters from 250 ml to 1-5 l.
- Expensive, but very effective drug. The price for a 250 ml glass bottle is about 2,000 rubles, for a 1 liter canister – up to 5,300 rubles, and for a 5 liter canister – 21,000 rubles, 20 liters – 80,000 rubles.
Review: Nikolay Savelievich, Moscow
Since we work with a construction company for finishing work inside apartments, our company is often faced with an invasion of various insects such as wood lice, bedbugs, cockroaches and other harmful insects. In order not to lose our clients, and at the same time our time while waiting for disinfection specialists, we decided to use insect control preparations ourselves. We tried everything, nothing helped. But when we used Tetrix once, we realized that there were no other poisons better than it. We have even begun to include Tetricos treatment in the cost of finishing work in apartments. Clients are happy and we are calm.
How to get rid of woodlice in an apartment:
Powders and crayons
Powders are insecticides that need to be sprayed around the perimeter. Woodlice are often found on walls. Therefore, this type of product is used as an addition to the main method.
The best of them are:
"Tarax." The most effective remedy for wood lice in the apartment. It is diluted in water and applied from a spray bottle. It forms a toxic film that does not immediately affect the pest, but gives it time to infect others. The drug is absolutely safe for people and pets. Does not cause addiction among pests. "Phenaxin". Insecticidal powder. Suitable for flat surfaces. It is necessary to remove pets and children from the premises during treatment. "Riapan." The powder is used to treat areas where wood lice accumulate. A solution of this product diluted with water can be applied to vertical surfaces. After treatment, wet cleaning is required.
Crayons have worked well as a remedy for woodlice in apartments. This is an excellent way to fight cockroaches. The insect walks along the chalk line, and at this moment the insecticide gets on its paws. Apply stripes around the perimeter of the room, along walls, baseboards. Ideal for vertical surfaces. Effective crayons - “Mashenka”, “Titanic”.
Why do they appear?
If you need to solve the problem and find a way to get rid of woodlice in the bathroom in a short time, the simplest solution will be to eliminate the main factor that attracts them to people’s homes. This is high humidity, which provides crustacean arthropods with optimal living conditions in a house or apartment. Among the risk factors in this case are:
disrupted operation of the ventilation system in the building; leaking pipes or accumulation of condensate on them - residents of the first floors often do not pay attention to these aspects for years; the presence in the premises of a large number of pots with indoor plants that require high humidity; rare ventilation; malfunctions of plumbing fixtures.
If the ventilation is operating normally, special devices will help to achieve a normal level of humidity in houses and apartments - dehumidifiers, as well as all kinds of “devices” that allow you to remove excess moisture, absorbing it like a sponge or silica gel.
Where can trouble come from?
It is important to understand that pests are not permanently present in the nest they build. On the contrary, they move quite actively in the living space, and even in dry rooms their appearance should not be a big surprise
After all, it is this option that is most often observed in buildings where wood lice simply move from apartment to apartment along ventilation ducts and water supply pipes. If the home is located on the ground floor, the source of danger may be the basement itself, from which pests can easily migrate even through barely noticeable cracks in the ceilings.
If you decide to carry out a comprehensive fight against crawling crustaceans, it is worth cutting off their escape routes from the very beginning and at the same time preventing a new expansion. To do this, all ventilation passages are covered with a dense and fine mesh, attached to the wall with screws. All cracks in the floors and seams between the slabs are sealed with cement, as are the technological (installation) holes used for laying the pipeline network. You can use foam or sealant.
Gels, traps, woodlice baits
Gels can be compared in effectiveness to crayons. They can be used as an additional means of pest control.
Sticky traps are suitable for prevention purposes.
Baits are effective in fighting cockroaches, but they are also suitable as a preventative against woodlice. The most popular are the following:
Schabengel. Can be used against woodlice, ants and cockroaches. Available in the form of a gel bait. Easy to use in hard to reach places. Gel "Raptor". Convenient for application. Easily gets into cracks. Has no smell.
All drugs have a destructive effect on the central nervous system of insects.
Rating of popular remedies
Among the popular means aimed at combating woodlice are:
- Tarax;
- Scabengel bait gel;
- Dichlorvos Varan;
- Get;
- Tetrix.
Tarax
Helps remove unwanted insects that have invaded your home. Effectively destroys:
- woodlice;
- ants;
- fleas;
- cockroaches
Has good reviews from customers.
Scabengel bait gel
A German drug, one package of which is enough to treat a two-room apartment. Available in the form of a gel bait, it is placed in places where parasites accumulate. Keep the drug away from children and animals, as it is toxic.
New generation dichlorvos Varan
A universal remedy that allows you to effectively destroy small parasites in the house. Easy to use and cost a reasonable amount of money. Observe safety precautions when spraying.
Get
Destroys the following insects:
- bedbugs;
- woodlice;
- flies;
- ants;
- fleas;
- os.
It is sold in the form of a liquid concentrate and does not have a strong odor. The result appears within a week after application.
Tetrix
An expensive product that belongs to the professional category. Used by sanitary services during pest control operations. You can use it yourself at home, but before doing this you need to study the instructions for use in detail and strictly follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Features of the use of chemicals
Before using any of the proposed remedies for woodlice in your apartment, you must:
Study the instructions for the drug. Be sure to ensure no contact with children or pets. Although many manufacturers indicate that the drug is safe for people and pets. When using chemicals, use gloves and a mask when treating the room. Take into account the fact that the number of woodlice may visually increase after treatment; they will begin to crawl chaotically around the apartment. After finishing the treatment, wash the room and ventilate well.
Various preventative methods can be used to prevent woodlice from appearing.
Disposal by chemical means
Dichlorvos is a popular means of getting rid of woodlice. It is sprayed in places where these creatures gather. During treatment, all household members must leave the room, and after some time it is necessary to open the windows in the apartment for ventilation.
Powerful means of destruction include the drugs Tarax and Tetrix. Thunder and Ideal will help protect plants. Remedies for cockroaches and ants are also suitable:
- chalk Mashenka;
- Gett;
- mole poison;
- Raptor;
- Varan;
- gel Absolute;
- Phenaxin powder.
They must be used as carefully as possible, following the instructions. It is better to use two products at once. They should be used in an apartment only after all possible ways of woodlice penetration into the living space have been blocked. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get rid of woodlice and poisoning is pointless.
Phenaxin powder - a remedy against woodlice
Help from specialists
If you cannot cope with woodlice on your own, we advise you to contact a specialist. This is a sanitary and epidemiological station or organizations that specialize in disinfestation of premises.
The positive aspects of this solution:
Specialists will correctly and thoroughly treat all possible habitats and breeding areas of woodlice. The apartment will be disinfected against woodlice.
Effective and safe means will be used. They are odorless and do not leave marks on furniture. The effect is guaranteed for at least 3 months. If wood lice appear earlier, treatment will be free.
Home Remedies
How to remove woodlice from an apartment using folk methods? The following time-tested options exist:
- You need to mix the following ingredients:
Red hot pepper, 3 grams. Soda ash, 3 grams. Tobacco mixture, 3 grams.
Dilute the mixture with water and treat the area with woodlice. After 8 hours, wash the areas with bleach.
2. Prepare a solution of boric acid with water (20 grams per 1 liter). Spray the product.
3. Dilute dry kvass (100 grams) in half a liter of hot water. Treat the area.
4. A popular remedy is dry salt. It is scattered in places where wood lice accumulate, under cabinets, behind baseboards.
5. If wood lice have infested flowers, it is necessary to replant the plant by treating the root system.
Prevention
In order not to look for the answer to the question - how to get woodlice out of the house, you should follow simple rules.
The apartment should not be too humid. You need to carefully monitor pipes, basements, attics, any plumbing and ventilation. All spoiled and diseased house plants should be thrown away in a timely manner. It is imperative to take out the trash every day; do not leave wet rags on the floor. Linen should be dried on the balcony or outside the window. Care should be taken to ensure that no gaps form in the walls. Woodlice can easily settle under the wallpaper, so it is better to glue it down.
Woodlice is a frequent guest in apartments where there are places with high humidity. It is absolutely harmless to people, just unpleasant. The life cycle of these crustacean insects is two years. But this does not mean that in two years they will disappear. They reproduce successfully
That’s why it’s so important to eradicate them in a timely manner. This can be done using bleach, dry kvass, red pepper
If traditional methods do not work, you need to turn to chemicals
They must be used very carefully, especially if there are animals or small children in the house. In addition to treatment, it is necessary to exclude conditions that attract insects so much
First of all, you need to eliminate moisture, without which woodlice will not survive. Most often, woodlice settles near leaking pipes in the bathroom. After the leak has been eliminated, you need to dry the air with a fan, and you can safely begin processing. Although, if the humidity no longer rises, the woodlice will go away on its own; it is not adapted to life without moisture, and your apartment will become cozy and clean again.
Additional control methods
Several methods of controlling woodlice in an apartment:
Birch brooms are moistened and placed in the corners of the room. A wet broom will definitely attract woodlice. Leave overnight. In the morning, carefully collect the brooms and take them out of the apartment. Can be repeated several times. Make traps for woodlice. You need to use potatoes. Cut out the middle of half. Place the cut on the floor. Leave for a day. Woodlice will collect in wet potatoes. The trap needs to be cleaned of woodlice from time to time. In a room with uninvited guests, leave a bucket of quicklime. Treat the areas where they accumulate with this solution. Do not enter the premises for 3 days.
It should be noted that woodlice do not like:
High air temperature, dry climate. Alkalis and acids. Corrosive substances. Strong odors.
Relapse Prevention
In some cases, the fight against woodlice can be difficult and lengthy
That is why it is so important to prevent their reappearance in the apartment. To prevent woodlice from returning to your apartment, you should follow a number of simple measures:
- Keep the apartment clean;
- do not allow dirty dishes to accumulate in the sink and on the table;
- take care of indoor plants, do not allow water to stagnate in the trays;
- control indoor humidity;
- regularly remove garbage from the apartment;
- ventilate the bathroom more often;
- check water pipes for strength.
Despite their relative safety, wood lice greatly spoil the aesthetic appearance of the apartment and the nerves of its residents. If you decide to fight these creatures on your own, determine for yourself the most optimal means of ridding your home of them. With an integrated approach, you can easily achieve the desired result and say goodbye to wood lice forever.
Preventive actions
To avoid having to use chemicals against woodlice in your apartment, it is better to prevent their occurrence. Here are some steps that will help you avoid this problem in your home:
Ventilate the room more often. Take out the trash can. Don't store trash. Wash and disinfect the bucket. Do not leave food out in the open in the kitchen. Fix pipe leaks in a timely manner. The plumbing must be in good working order. Cracks in floors, walls, and around baseboards must be sealed. The inlet and outlet of water and sewer pipes at the points where they connect to the floor and the gaps must be carefully sealed. After the floor in the kitchen and bathroom is washed, it must be wiped without leaving wet areas. It is necessary to thoroughly wash and wipe the floors under beds, closets, and behind sofas.
Clean ventilation shafts regularly. It is better to dry clothes outside, rather than in the bathroom or kitchen. Trays of flower pots should be wiped dry, avoiding stagnation of moisture. Peeled wallpaper must be glued and dried. During periods of high humidity, use dehumidifiers.
Let's summarize how to deal with woodlice in an apartment. First, block all routes of their entry from the outside. Choose an insecticide based on safety for humans and pets. An expensive product does not mean it is effective. Follow the instructions for use of any drug. By following simple prevention methods, you will protect your home not only from woodlice, but also from other unpleasant insects.
Source
Prevention as an effective way to combat
In order not to look for information on how to deal with woodlice in the house, it is better to engage in effective prevention and create the most unsuitable conditions in your home for the appearance and residence of these pests. Woodlice should not appear in the house if:
- Observe basic hygiene standards (carry out regular cleaning, take out trash on time, do not leave food and dirty plates on tables and other work surfaces, etc.).
- Ensure that there are no leaks and that plumbing fixtures are working properly.
- Maintain an acceptable level of humidity in the room. This is especially true for wet rooms – kitchens and bathrooms. In order not to “over-moisten” the apartment, you should organize a high-quality operation of the ventilation system.
- Carefully care for indoor plants (monitor soil moisture levels, prevent moisture from accumulating in trays, etc.)
- Dry bed linen and other large items outside, on the balcony or in a well-ventilated area so that the house or apartment does not become too damp and humid.
- Monitor the condition of the walls and check them for cracks. All holes should be repaired in a timely manner to prevent insects from entering from the outside, as well as to deprive them of comfortable shelters.
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