Who eats cockroaches in the apartment. What are black and red cockroaches most afraid of? How to distinguish a female cockroach from a male

Question. What could be more disgusting than a cockroach in a sandwich?
Answer. Poltarakan.

Eating cockroaches, cockroach dishes. Extreme cuisine.

This simple joke conveys the attitude of most people towards the humble person of the cockroach. Although there are those who believe that in the foreseeable future we will all change our minds about these insects. According to some scientists and nutritionists, over time, cockroaches will turn for us into a tasty and healthy pate that can be spread on bread like peanut butter. Or turn into a casserole with Italian pasta.

We have to realize that these are nothing more than representatives of the Blattodea detachment, just another group of six-legged living quietly, calmly, like other innocent representatives of the terrestrial fauna, and for the most part quite clean, peaceful and funny. It is no coincidence that a site called “Cockroach Care” appeared on the Internet, where everyone can get advice on keeping (including heating and litter composition), feeding and breeding these insects. There is also a Cockroaches Home Page run by the Blattodea Culture Group, formed in 1986, with the mission of "promoting the study and cultivation of cockroaches on a worldwide scale."

This organization regularly publishes a bulletin with information about their individual species. With articles related to this topic, encourages the practice of free exchange between members of the organization "surplus livestock". We should also keep in mind that there have been and are many peoples and cultures in the world for which cockroaches are an important source of food. True, only a few of these people live within the boundaries of the so-called civilized world. Although Nicolas Cage ate a cockroach in one of the films (Kiss of the Vampire), the appearance of these insects on the table of Euro-Americans will put the most daring and adventurous of them to flight. By the way, Cage later said that this was his most stupid act, and not because he was somehow especially disgusted or had terrible taste, but because the press and fans even now, years later, remind him of that scene with a question : “Did you really eat a cockroach then?”

Yes, it is safe to say that when cockroach products hit the market, manufacturers will need a massive and most inventive PR campaign to bring them to the consumer's table. First, let's get to know these insects better. Cockroaches have been living on Earth for at least 250 million years and in a certain sense they are very perfect living organisms. So, they are armed with a "compound eye" consisting of two thousand individual lenses, while the human eye has only one. The hairs on the legs provide the cockroach with a sense of touch, the antennae - the organ of smell, and two small "antennae" at the back work as indicators of movement. So if someone tries to sneak up on a cockroach from behind, they will warn him of the danger and let him run in time.

The mouth of a cockroach distinguishes not only the taste, but also the smell of food. As the insect grows, its outer shell is shed several times and replaced with a new one. A cockroach is able to hold its breath for 40 minutes and spends 75% of the time at rest, that is, resting. The largest cockroaches live in South America- they reach 15 centimeters in length and have a wingspan of up to 30 centimeters. The process of courtship to reproduce offspring is ignored by cockroaches. When a female is ready to mate, she releases pheromones that attract males. Some females mate only once and then lay eggs for the rest of their lives. Females of some species produce seven capsules (oothecus) in their lifetime, each containing up to 48 eggs. The life span of some cockroaches does not exceed 140 days. But at the same time, more than 35 thousand cockroaches can easily spawn from the offspring of one female per year.

Headless, this insect is able to live another week, since, unlike us, the cockroach's brain is not localized in the head, but is distributed throughout the body. Therefore, the cause of death of cockroaches is often thirst and "accidents", such as a collision at full speed with a wall. Entomologists admit that the long relationship between man and the cockroach began with people's interest in these insects as food. Given the availability of such a valuable source of protein in any hut and cave. Later, when a person began to make preparations for the winter, the number of cockroaches probably increased significantly, and they turned into his constant companions.

And now I want to refute one common opinion. Never in the history of human-cockroach relations has the latter been associated with any specific diseases, which distinguishes it from fleas and mosquitoes, which are considered carriers of plague and malaria, respectively. Nevertheless, today people perceive cockroaches as carriers of infection, which, apparently, is explained by the love of these insects for dark and humid places. However, I digress, because what has been said has nothing to do with eating cockroaches.

The cockroaches that we meet at home and on the city streets really should not be eaten. But there are about 3950 more species, representatives of which we may never have seen in our lives. They can become the food of our future, as they are able to satisfy the need of the rapidly growing population of the Earth for food, the need, the level of which exceeds the productive potential of the planet. Simply put, getting protein from cattle is perhaps the least efficient of all the ways that have been used in history. Agriculture. Too many forests are being destroyed to supply supermarkets around the world with steaks and hamburgers. On the other hand, everyone understands that a shoebox is enough to breed a myriad of cockroaches.

I exaggerate, of course. Cockroaches as a source of protein of the future will not be bred in boxes, but on special "cockroach farms". Insects will be offered a carefully designed diet, in relation to it there will be whole system norms and controls similar to those in force today in other livestock sectors. Perhaps, over time, society will reach such a level of tolerance for cockroaches that no one will sue a restaurant if they find parts of this insect in their salad. Moreover, gourmet branded cockroach salads will appear! And this is not a joke at all.

Based on the book "Extreme Kitchen".
Jerry Hopkins.

No one will approve of the settlements of "whiskered friends" in their apartment, but, unfortunately, cockroaches are not uncommon. Their appearance does not always mean that sloppy people live in the apartment. New settlers can come from neighbors, as they say, through a threshold or an air vent. If you are faced with such a scourge, consider effective home methods and professional targeted drugs.

Cockroach detection methods

Pests prefer to stay awake at night, which is how they are most easily identified. Try to stay up late, first turn off the lights in the kitchen, then turn on the lamp at 1-2 in the morning. You will notice mustachioed red or black enemies.

In cases where insects do not catch your eye, you can determine their presence by the following characteristics:

• cockroaches make sounds, they crawl on packages, paper and the floor;
• pests lay eggs, you can identify them in corner places;
• insects emit an unpleasant smell of mold;
• traces of life activity remain from cockroaches - brown or black "grains" on various surfaces.

Before doing hard methods like calling special services, carry out a series of manipulations on your own. In the future, these same actions will help you prevent the appearance of uninvited guests.

1. Mustaches love water, so they often settle in dampness or live where there is liquid. Before going to bed, wipe dry the cavity of the tub, sink and even the toilet, if necessary (pre-pump out the water).
2. Don't leave a crumb on the table. Pack food in airtight containers, plastic bags, containers, jars. Check cabinets, clean up anything that's crumbled.
3. Conduct a general cleaning of the entire dwelling (including under the furniture). Remove cabinets from the walls in the kitchen, wipe the wallpaper with a solution of vinegar. Wash the floors 2 times a day with the same composition.
4. Do not accumulate garbage, throw away leftover food immediately after a small amount has accumulated. Don't leave the bucket full overnight.
5. If you find that not only you, but also your neighbors have cockroaches, talk to them. It makes no sense to deal with pests alone, they will come again from other apartments.
6. Those who live on the lower floors have the hardest time. It is necessary to plug all the cracks through which cockroaches can enter the apartment.
7. Remove and inspect the baseboards, place medicinal herbs or special cockroach tablets under them. At the time of pest control, do not attach the attributes back.
8. Replace grilles on vents. Put a fine-grained mesh through which pests will definitely not crawl through. In addition, grease the area around the mesh with cockroach gel.

1. This method is considered the most effective. The advantages include budgetary cost, good results, short processing time (10 minutes).
2. Using a spray, cockroaches will quickly scatter. At the same time, there is no need to wash the walls and floors in advance, you just need to pack all the dishes, personal belongings, food in bags.
3. More expensive aerosols smell good, but do not “give away” chemistry. They are also relatively safe, but it is advisable to remove children and animals from the premises.

The most popular aerosol products aimed at combating cockroaches:

1. GETT- Available in powder form. Before use, you must read the instructions, then dilute the composition with water. Then this solution is poured into a container with a spray bottle and sprayed into places where pests accumulate.
2. DICHLOFOS- the tool has been winning the recognition of users for more than a decade. There is practically no unpleasant chemical smell left from the spray, and insects die after 1-2 uses.
3. RAPTOR- useful in that it acts as a geometric progression. If the mixture gets on one cockroach, then when it comes into contact with relatives, the entire colony will become infected. Efficient and fast!

Get everyone out of the room before spraying. Hermetically seal windows with doors, remove food and other important items. After processing, do not take risks, go to spend the night with relatives or take a walk in the fresh air for at least a couple of hours.

cockroach gel

The following drugs are considered the most effective:

1. GLOBAL- interesting because it is safe for humans and animals. It smells good, but repels and kills mustachioed pests. After entering the body of an insect, it dies after 5 hours.
2. COMBAT- cockroaches do not have to eat this composition, it is enough to step on it and come to the colony. All cohabitants will soon die.
3. RAPTOR- is in demand due to its economy, one tube is enough to process a large room. It works for a long time, subject to sanitary conditions, pests will no longer appear.

Read the instructions carefully before use. Despite the manufacturer's assurances of the absolute safety of the product, do not come into contact with the gel, work with gloves.

Temperature control of pests

1. If it is not possible to remove a small family of pests by chemical means due to the home environment, you can resort to a more tricky method. If you find living creatures in winter time year, try to leave the apartment with your family for a few hours.
2. Before leaving, close the heating pipes and open all the windows wide. Cockroaches will not endure the cold and will run away to another place more comfortable for them. If the temperature in the apartment drops below 5 degrees, the pests will die along with the laid eggs.
3. The freezing method has shown itself well in practice, but it should be borne in mind that the method has its drawbacks. At such a low temperature, an incident with the heating system can happen. It is also worth taking care of indoor plants in advance.
4. It is in flower pots and soil that insects can hide and survive. In such an environment, they will continue to breed and feel good. It is also important to understand that laid eggs may be in a place inaccessible to frost.
5. You can try this method, if only in order to significantly reduce the number of adults. The rest of the cockroaches will have to be removed by a more effective method.

You can get rid of pests with proven home methods. It is important to understand that the process is not easy, but the result will justify itself. Often, experienced housewives resort to the help of traps using boric acid. Such a composition destroys pests and even completely solves problems in a relatively short time.

1. Egg and potatoes. Boil egg hard boiled. Remove the yolk and grind with 1 tuber of boiled potatoes. Mix to the components 50 gr. boric acid. Make balls from the resulting mass small size. Dry the product near the heater. After that, spread the bait throughout the apartment. Do not worry, this composition is absolutely safe for pets and people.
2. Sugar and flour. Use a container of a suitable size and combine granulated sugar, boric acid, flour in it in equal amounts. Add a small amount of water to the components. As a result, you should get a dense dough. Then proceed as described above. Roll up the balls and distribute around the perimeter of the apartment for the whole night.
3. Boric acid and water. You can resort to more easy way. Dissolve a small amount of the chemical in running water and place a container in the kitchen near the sink. In this case, it is important to completely isolate the path of insects to other sources of liquid. As a result, cockroaches will be poisoned in a homemade drinking bowl.
4. Boric acid. Some housewives just sprinkle chemical composition habitats for pests. Most often, these include vents, bathroom, kitchen, sinks, trash cans and baseboards.
5. Starch and vanillin. Combine in a common container 40 gr. boric acid, 4 gr. vanillin and 65 gr. starch, powdered sugar. Pour in a small amount of water to make a sticky paste. Apply the product to a cardboard box and place such a trap throughout the house. Pests will not resist such a delicacy, and then they will die.
6. Home plants. Indoor flowers are no less popular in the fight against insects. Some of these representatives exude a rather unpleasant smell for pests, and the person does not feel anything. This will require small bouquets. Hang decorations throughout the apartment in places where cockroaches accumulate. Among such plants, eucalyptus, mint, elderberry, lemon balm, wild rosemary and chamomile are effective.
7. Citrus peel. This method cannot be accurately called effective, although experienced housewives assure the opposite. To get rid of the problem, it is enough to place the zest of citrus fruits throughout the apartment. The specific smell repels cockroaches, so they will not get to your products.

Getting rid of cockroaches is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. To fix the problem, please refer to simple rules and safety technology. If you do not want to bother yourself, you should seek help from specialists. Otherwise, household products that are sold in the store will help you. It is also worth paying attention to proven folk methods.

Video: how to get rid of cockroaches at home

Let's talk about cockroaches

"...terrible animal by name cockroach which does not disturb the hosts, but eats the guests alive ... ".

Bernhard Tanner

Guests from the Paleozoic

More than 300 million years ago, the earth was covered with a continuous forest of huge ferns and horsetails. In their shadow, in warmth and dampness, an innumerable army swarming and flying cockroaches. They were the most numerous insects on earth. Geological and historical periods changed one after another. The climate itself has also changed. The rainforests were dying off, becoming coal. The land was conquered by coniferous and flowering plants. Ancient lizards, having multiplied, inhabited the land, water and sky. A few more tens of millions of years passed, and they died out, giving their living space to a new species - mammals: animals, birds and, finally, people. All these ups and downs took place in front of the cockroaches, but they were not affected in any way. Modern cockroaches practically indistinguishable from their ancient ancestors. These warm and moisture-loving insects were very unhappy with the general cooling and shrinking of the territory. rainforest. And cockroaches had to adapt to new living conditions in deserts, forests and caves. It was here that the paths of man and cockroach crossed. Since then, the fate of people and some species of cockroaches has been intertwined forever...

Look into the tub - cockroaches are teeming there ...

Now more than 4 thousand species of cockroaches live on our planet. Almost all of them live in wild nature, and most of them - 80% in forests tropical zone. But some of them also settled in our dwellings. And when it comes to cockroaches, many people have only one opinion - "Fu, how disgusting!". Cockroach indeed, harmful and unpleasant. Yet it deserves our close attention. If only because it has long lived next to us.

The big black cockroach is widely known to the inhabitants of all parts of the Earth, except maybe Antarctica. It is difficult to say exactly where the homeland of this insect is located. In Europe, it has been living for more than three hundred years. In the 18th century, another type of cockroach appeared in Russia - red. It was called Prusak, as it was believed that it was brought by Russian soldiers returning home in 1762-1763. after the Seven Years' War from Germany. However, in western Germany he is called "French", and in eastern Germany - "hare". The opinions of scientists about the place of its origin differ: either Africa, or South Asia. Now this is no longer important, since with the help of man the Prussian settled widely throughout the globe.

In Rus', in wooden houses, in satiety, dampness and warmth, cockroaches multiplied throughout the year in huge numbers. In the words of Leo Tolstoy, “the walls moved.” If for some reason the owners of the house forgot to wash the dishes after dinner, in the morning it was clean - the cockroaches did not waste time. In some places they got used to them and considered them inevitable, if not necessary There were even signs: cockroaches start up in the house - for profit, run out of the house - to be a fire.

Rapidly developing and growing cities were mastered by cockroaches. Man erected strong stone houses, improved heating and sewage systems, in general, created comfortable conditions for himself and cockroaches. It turned out that in high-rise stone buildings, cockroaches settle even more willingly than in wooden ones. They are drawn to the central heating like a magnet. In sewers and collectors, they feel great. There is heat, there is food, there is moisture. What else is needed? From here they make their trips to our apartments. As they said in the old days, "if there was a hut, there would always be cockroaches."

The rapid growth of cities always entails the development of intercity transport. And although cockroaches have fast legs, they are happy to use everything. modern views Vehicle. They can be found on planes, ships and even submarines. With food packed in bags, boxes, boxes, cockroaches settle everywhere. To understand why we cannot cope with them, we will have to get acquainted with the biological characteristics of cockroaches.

Liquid-legged goat-bug

So the biological features of our ward cockroach.

First, the dimensions. There are several largest cockroaches in the world, according to various sources. Some call the largest cockroach living in Colombia, the female Kwgaloblatta longipennis, which reaches a length of 9.7 cm and a width of 4.5 cm, others - the winged Cuban cockroach, reaching a length of up to 10 centimeters, others - the Australian rhinoceros cockroach (Macropanesthia rhinoceros), more than 9 cm long and weighing about 33.5 grams. The inhabitants of our apartments are much smaller: the Prussian has a length of 10 to 13, and the black cockroach - from 18 to 30 millimeters. But from the point of view of cockroaches, size is not the main thing for them. Remember, their contemporaries - the ancient lizards were real giants - and yet they died out. And cockroaches live and thrive to this day. small sizes allow cockroaches to populate places not suitable for other insects. Their flat body can squeeze into the smallest half-millimeter gaps.

Secondly, their coloring. The Prussian is colored reddish-brown, with two dark stripes behind the head. Black, as the name suggests, black in color with a shiny lacquered shell.

Thirdly, long, longer than the body, cockroach whiskers. They are organs of smell and touch. Therefore, the cockroach constantly monitors them - cleans them with its front legs, this is vital for it.

Let's pay attention to the legs of a cockroach. Each leg has an organ that perceives the slightest vibrations and tremors. Cockroaches run pretty fast. For example, a Prussian, being frightened in a fraction of a second, can cover a distance of 30 centimeters. But cockroaches are not stayers, they are sprinters and therefore get tired quickly. Sometimes while running, they make short jumps, imitating their distant relatives - grasshoppers.

Cockroaches also have wings. It happens that the Prussians fly, but only in exceptional cases and for short distances. In blacks, only males have wings, but they do not use them for flight.

What do cockroaches eat? The same products as you and I: meat, vegetables, bread, fruits, sugar. The omnivorousness of cockroaches is striking, they can also eat paper, soap, and all sorts of garbage. The device of the cockroach mouth allows them to gnaw everything that can be gnawed. The stomach is equipped with strong muscles and sharp plates - millstones that grind everything in a row. But cockroaches spoil food more than they eat it. The ability of cockroaches to eat anything that comes across, as well as the ability to do without food and water for a long time, makes it possible for cockroaches to survive in the most difficult conditions. The main thing for them is to be warm enough, and a long hunger strike is not a hindrance for them.

And divorced their darkness-darkness ...

Cockroaches are mainly nocturnal insects, they are active at night. Late in the evening, at night and early in the morning, they crawl out of their shelters in search of food. If you saw a cockroach hunting in your kitchen during the day, it means that there are a lot of them, and all convenient shelters are already taken. It is not so difficult for cockroaches to fill all the cracks - they multiply with amazing speed.

The female lays eggs in an oval and durable capsule. The eggs in it are packed in dense rows and equipped with a mechanism for the respiration of the embryos. For a short time, the female cockroach wears a capsule with eggs on itself - at the end of the abdomen. But after 30 hours, the female black cockroach leaves their offspring, attaching the capsule near the food. The female Prussian wears a capsule almost until the offspring hatch. It happens that young cockroaches open the shell of the capsule when the mother is still wearing it .. Newly hatched small cockroaches are no different from adults. They live and feed with adult insects and molt regularly. With each molt, the differences between them are less and less. There is a constant struggle between the black cockroach and the Prusak. Faced with black cockroaches, the Prussians very quickly force them out. The Prussians do not openly fight black cockroaches, as they are smaller and weaker. The Prussians have different fighting tactics and more important advantages. Prussian females are more prolific and take longer to care for their offspring. The number of red cockroaches is growing like a snowball. They eat the eggs of black cockroaches, which develop more slowly and, due to their size, settle more successfully.

A tribe of cannibal Samoyeds.

The life of cockroaches, like our life, is full of accidents. It happens that cockroaches get injured and get damaged. Quite often this happens during molting, when a young insect emerges from the old larval shell. Hemolymph begins to flow from the damaged part of the insect's body. The injured fellow is immediately surrounded by other cockroaches, sympathetically licking the protruding hemolymph and eventually eating their comrade without a trace. This cruel instinct eliminates the crippled and weak individuals from the cockroach tribe, preserving the strength and vitality of the whole family. This instinct is so strong that the red cockroach, having injured himself, is able to begin to gnaw on himself.

A struggle that lasts forever.

The cockroach is an insect with very great potential. Small, agile, hidden, reproducing at an incredible rate, hardy and omnivorous, able to survive in adverse conditions, which changes behavior depending on external conditions- all this makes cockroaches a very dangerous enemy. It is extremely difficult to fight them. The war against cockroaches has been going on for more than one hundred years, but so far without visible results. One of the old Russian methods is freezing. In winter, all doors and windows were opened in a residential building, and the owners temporarily moved to their neighbors. A temperature of minus 5 degrees Celsius kills a red cockroach in half an hour. But today the main emphasis is on pesticides. But the peculiarities of the cockroach genus allow them to quickly get used to the next chemical novelty. Involuntarily, we grow a super-cockroach immune to any pesticides. Recently, there have been reports of the disappearance of cockroaches from modern homes. There are a lot of assumptions on this subject. These are the influence of high-frequency cellular communication, and genetically modified food products, and new finishing materials. environmental materials, and the destruction of the ozone layer, which knocked cockroaches off their biorhythm, but there is still no exact answer. But this already gives food for thought, if it has affected cockroaches so much, then how does it affect us.

Like any insect, cockroaches have many natural enemies. Tiny insects - eulophids - are especially effective against them. They look for cockroach egg capsules and lay their eggs inside them. The hatched Eulophid larva eats the entire interior of the capsule - all future cockroach offspring.

Say a word about the poor cockroach.

No matter how unpleasant and disgusting a cockroach is to us, we will treat it objectively: it has a number of advantages that we can use for ourselves. Cockroaches are an exceptionally convenient object for scientific experiments. In many laboratories of the world they use them as an object of research. They performed a lot of interesting work on the formation, growth and development, nervous and endocrine systems. All studies based on them require careful scientific study. Perhaps this will help humanity in the near future to create new more effective drugs.

And maybe our children, once in a research laboratory, will look with interest at swift-footed dark insects and be surprised: “But there was a time when this rare insect lived in almost every house” ... 

What is the secret of such fertility of domestic cockroaches? What feature of the structure makes them vulnerable to temperature extremes? Is the food familiar to us humans suitable for cockroaches?

Consider the main points of the life cycle of these unsightly arthropods in order to choose the most effective methods fight them and get rid of the unpleasant neighborhood.

Cockroaches are ideal creatures from the point of view of evolution. These arthropods are able to survive in truly extreme conditions.

They can survive without food for about 30 days, and without water - up to 7 days, they are very difficult to catch up (cockroaches move at a speed of 22 m / s) and almost impossible to drown.

Surprisingly, but these insects can survive without a head for a week, dying after this period of hunger!

Having met this shy and nimble arthropod in the territory of your own kitchen, you are unlikely to be interested in its gender.

Most likely, there will be an instinctive desire to catch the insolent and destroy it on the spot, using the right slipper that came to hand as a weapon.
However, many are interested in whether cockroaches have sex. Yes, they have gender differences, while males are more modest in size, have a genital plate (stylus) at their disposal and are provided with more developed wings compared to females.

How cockroaches breed

Reproduction occurs sexually, with the participation of both the female and the male.
The process is preceded mating games when a female "lures" a mustachioed partner by emitting an odorous secret produced by the glands.

At the same time, the male, in an attempt to please, spreads its wings, trying to demonstrate exclusive flight skills.

If the pair has developed, then mating occurs and the male with the help of the genital plate fertilizes the female, and then disappears back home.

In the female, in the back of the body, a special membrane sac is formed - ootheca, in which she forms the clutch.

It's amazing how fast domestic cockroaches breed! It takes a fraction of a second for a male to mate. Moreover, in the future, the female can use the “saved” (surplus) gametes to fertilize new clutches.

The female drags the formed ootheca with larvae for 2-3 weeks, however, the process of maturation of the offspring can be delayed indefinitely under adverse conditions (lack of water, uncomfortable temperature regime, lack of food).

A clutch in a leathery capsule can consist of 20-50 individuals in Prussians and 10-20 in black cockroaches.
At the same time, the red female is more prolific (more than 12 clutches), in contrast to her black girlfriend (up to 20-22 clutches over the entire life cycle).

The lifespan of these arthropods ranges from 4 months to 4 years..

The development of small cockroaches occurs in accordance with this scheme.:

1. 1. Stage of the larva developing in a container with eggs (lasts 2-5 weeks).
2. 2. The stage of the nymph, during which many metamorphoses take place with the young creature. So being born completely white, tiny and without a protective chitinous layer, cockroaches molt several times (8-9), acquiring standard colors and sizes. The development process takes from 1.5 months to several years (under adverse conditions).
3. 3. Imago stage, reaching maturity. Prussians turn into adults faster (2-6 months), while their black counterparts take longer - 6 months-2 years. Insects remain sexually mature for 200-220 days, and during this period you can greatly increase your population.

Delicacies for uninvited guests: what cockroaches like to eat

Any organic food is a delicacy for a hungry insect. However, these arthropod high-calorie foods are preferred:

• sugar;
• bread;
• baking;
• fruits;
• meat;

They do not disdain the organic remains of yesterday's dinner decomposing in the trash can.

In the case of total hunger, insects can even be content with:

• soap;
• book bindings;
• paper;
• particles of skin or dandruff;
• glue or paint;
• synthetic products (for example, nylon tights).

Females are more voracious, for life they need 20-50 mg of food, while males are content with 2 times less volume.
At the same time, insects do not spend energy on maintaining body temperature, they need a meager amount of food to exist.

Temperature Armageddon for a domestic cockroach

The most comfortable temperature for the existence of a cockroach is in the range from +2 to +28C.

Meanwhile, they belong to cold-blooded insects, their active vital activity directly depends on air temperature. If the thermometer tends to the 0 mark, then all physiological processes in the cockroach slow down.

A temperature of -1 already poses a threat to the life of an insect, at -5 and above they die en masse.

Knowing at what temperature cockroaches freeze, you can save your home from their invasion by artificially arranging an "ice" period: open windows and balconies on a winter day when the frost is more than 5C.

However, it is critical for these arthropods and heat(more than 30C), as they cannot regulate their body temperature.

In this case, the insect loses too much moisture, and eventually dies from dehydration and overheating: 35C - this is the temperature at which cockroaches die in summer.

Under unfavorable conditions, insects cease to reproduce, and their life span is reduced.

In search of more comfortable places for their existence, mustachioed neighbors are exploring new territories. Therefore, given the temperature at which cockroaches and their larvae die, it is possible to create an unbearable environment for their habitat.

What you did not know, but would like to find out about the life of cockroaches

Do cockroaches eat bedbugs
No, these pests, unfortunately, are ignored by cockroaches. However, with insufficient food (if the population has grown too much), they can include bedbug eggs in their diet.

Do cockroaches have wings
Yes, these arthropods have a couple of well-developed wings. Of course, they will not fly, and they will not be able to, but they will be able to plan effectively in case of danger.

Do mice eat cockroaches
Yes, they eat, these rodents are omnivorous and have an excellent appetite.

Do rams have a brain
Yes, even they have a brain located in the head. But these insects also have a group of nerve cells (ganglia) scattered throughout the body that control motor and signal functions - which is why a headless cockroach can exist for some time.

Do spiders eat cockroaches
Of course, after all, a mustachioed insect can be an excellent source of building protein.

Do cats eat cockroaches

Most often, domestic pussies disdain to dine with these arthropods, but if they wish, they can also profit from them. This situation is complicated by the fact that cockroaches are carriers of many dangerous diseases, and a cat, having eaten an infected insect, runs the risk of getting sick.

Can cockroaches live in a refrigerator

In the freezer, conditions are simply unbearable for them, however, in the refrigerator, where + 5C is maintained, insects can feel quite comfortable.

Do cockroaches have blood

Yes, these insects have blood, but it white color. Cockroaches have an open circulatory system, while the organs are washed with blood, and there are no small blood vessels.

What animal eats cockroaches
The hedgehog is a fan of cockroaches, he feasts on them, supplying his body with protein.

There are several thousand species of cockroaches in the world, but not all of them are synanthropic insects, i.e. coexisting with the person. They are one of the most ancient creatures on Earth and can live in countries with a climate from very hot to temperate, not meeting only the inhabitants of the North Pole.

It's hard to even say what cockroaches are afraid of. After all, these insects survived the dinosaurs, practically without changing their appearance, and in modern world they can survive at levels of radiation exposure ten times greater than a human being can bear.

Even one cockroach seen indoors is an indicator that his whole family lives somewhere nearby, since they live in colonies. At the same time, each individual leaves a scent trail behind it, so that others can easily find it.

Cockroaches are so common in the modern world and have become so firmly established in our lives that many people experience real fear when they meet them, which is scientifically called blatophobia (fear of cockroaches). Like other phobias, it is most often the result of a severe fright in childhood.

A scary movie or a loved one's violent backlash against these insects or their own traumatic experience lays the groundwork for why some people fear cockroaches as adults.

Strong blattophobia has to be treated with professional psychotherapeutic methods, for example, with the help of hypnosis. Neuro-Linguistic Programming is also effective in helping you stop being afraid of cockroaches. The fear of cockroaches, from this point of view, is a manifestation of certain models created by the person himself, but at the same time not working very well. With the help of various techniques, these models are changed so that blatophobia begins to recede and eventually disappear altogether.

Although cockroaches are associated with dirt and waste, they can appear in an apartment where cleanliness is maintained. On their paws, a nasty guest can carry dangerous bacteria and worm eggs, which is especially dangerous when there are small children in the house, pulling everything into their mouths. Chitinous covers shed during the molting period and various secretions of these insects can cause allergies up to asthmatic attacks. Moving inside household appliances or in an electrical outlet, cockroaches can cause a short circuit. All these factors force people to get rid of unwanted neighbors as soon as possible.

We fight cockroaches with folk methods

In an apartment, cockroaches prefer to live close to sources of water (leaking pipes, sewer drains) and food. The perfect place combining both conditions is the kitchen. True, during the day an insect in the kitchen is rarely seen (except for very dirty dwellings), from which the logical conclusion follows that cockroaches are afraid of light.

In addition, even when the lamps are turned on at night, they quickly scatter. In fact, you need to figure out why cockroaches are afraid of light sources. Like many other living creatures, these insects lead a more active life at night, hiding in various crevices during the day. At night, the sharp switching on of the lamp, accompanied by human footsteps, signals to the cockroaches that the danger is close, and makes them quickly run away from such a place.

Impact on cockroaches with industrial preparations

For a long time, chemists have tried to determine what smells cockroaches are afraid of, and use this in industrial development. The chemical method is the most effective way getting rid of various insects in the house. The most common insecticides are in the form of aerosols, gels, crayons, and poison traps.

But it is worth remembering that highly active chemical substances contained in insecticides can affect not only insects, but also the health of the person himself, especially with direct contact with them.

Toxic fumes can lead to a weakened immune system and the development of new or exacerbation of chronic diseases. The use of aerosol and gel forms of insecticides is especially dangerous if there are small children or pets in the house who can inadvertently eat poison intended for insects. Since the mass pet usually small, then there is an increased likelihood of problems with his health after enhanced.

Prevention of the appearance of cockroaches in the house

Even after completely getting rid of uninvited guests, simple rules must be followed to prevent their new visits. You will have to close up all the cracks and cracks through which nasty insects can enter the house, and treat these cracks with boric acid powder or insecticidal chalk. In addition, there should be a fine mesh on the ventilation holes. At night, be sure to dry the surface of the bathroom and kitchen sink, water indoor plants in the morning, not at night, fix dripping faucets and leaking pipes, depriving cockroaches of access to water.

All food that is outside the refrigerator should be stored in tightly sealed jars or resealable bags so that food odors do not remain. Cupboards and the area of ​​the trash can should be regularly wiped with detergents, try to get rid of food waste regularly.