The problem is white insects in the bathroom. Who is it and how to deal with them?

It happens that after turning on the light in the bathroom, they notice white transparent insects that quickly run away and hide in secluded places. They do not manifest themselves in any way in the presence of a person, leave almost no traces in the home. Therefore, they can be noticed only by accidental contact. Let’s figure out who these uninvited neighbors are, whether they are dangerous and how to deal with them.

All about small white bugs in the bathroom

What are these insects
How to get rid of them
— home remedies
— Pesticides
Prevention measures

What white insects live in the bathroom

To determine what kind of white insects settled in the bathroom and toilet, you need to carefully consider them. This can be difficult to do, as they are nocturnal and very shy. A sudden turn on of the light or footsteps cause the bugs to run and hide. Upon closer examination, it turns out that they have a very unpleasant appearance: an elongated body covered with small horny scales, several pairs of legs.

Most often, silverfish settle in the bathrooms. These are harmless, but outwardly unpleasant parasitic insects. Their body is elongated, up to 10 mm long. At the end there is a likeness of a ponytail of three translucent hairs. Twelve pairs of legs give them a resemblance to a centipede or wood lice, so some confuse them. The body of the bug is covered with small horny scales, which gave the name of this species.

The color of the scales is very light, silvery, sometimes greenish. After molting, silverfish become whitish and translucent. This is the color of their unprotected body. The scales grow back fairly quickly. Without them, the creature will die, because the plates do not allow moisture to evaporate. And it feels comfortable only in a humid environment. The scales are harmless. It does not carry pathogens and does not cause harm to humans. They also cannot bite. The structure of their mouth does not allow them to do this.

Beetles choose dark and damp corners of the house to build nests. Most often this is a toilet or bathroom. Here they are located in the most inaccessible parts of the room: against the wall under the bathroom, behind the toilet pipes, in the crevices of the plinth. There is a lot of food for small white silverfish in the apartment. They are omnivorous, eating whatever they find. They prefer damp paper, leftover food, mold, wallpaper paste. The breeding process is quite long, so the number of the colony increases slowly.

How to get rid of white insects in the bathroom

Silverfish are harmless, but their appearance is unpleasant. Therefore, they are trying to get rid of them. This can be done in different ways, we have collected the most effective methods.

home remedies

They begin the fight against white insects in the bathroom and in the toilet with a general cleaning. Its goal is to create unacceptable conditions for the life of the colony. First, throw out all the accumulated rubbish. They wash off limescale, dirt and dust from all surfaces, even the most inaccessible ones. If possible, remove skirting boards and decorative pipe boxes. After that, an aqueous solution of any chlorine-containing preparation is prepared and all surfaces are washed with it again. Let them dry.

While everything dries, prepare copper sulfate solution. A 1% composition will do. To prepare it, vitriol crystals are added to water in a ratio of 1:100 and the liquid is mixed well. All washed surfaces are treated with it, left for several hours, for example, overnight. Then rinse off with clean water. It is also a good idea to reduce the humidity in the room. To do this, it is well ventilated or dried with a heater.

Such treatment will destroy some of the pests, but, unfortunately, not all. Therefore, it is possible to supplement the performed processing with the use of folk remedies.

What means to use

• Spices. Silverfish do not like strong scents. Chopped cloves, black pepper are suitable for their expulsion. The powder is dusted with places where parasites appeared.
• Zest of citrus. Another unloved scent of parasites. Paths from powdered zest should be laid out in the bathroom or bathroom. After 4-5 days they are replaced with a fresh remedy.
• A mixture of chalk and boric acid. The powders are mixed in proportions of 4: 1, the resulting mixture is scattered under the pipes, near the sink or toilet. Change the product to a fresh one once a week.
• Essential oil of citrus or lavender. A few drops of any of them are added to the water before cleaning.
• Diatomaceous earth. The powder is completely harmless to humans. When it hits the body of an insect pest, it literally draws all the moisture out of it. The individual dies of dehydration. Diatomaceous earth is scattered under pipes, under the bath, in other secluded corners.

Good help in the fight against silverfish homemade traps. It will not be difficult to make them. The easiest option is rolled paper. You can take a small roll of toilet paper or towels. The future trap should be moistened with water and squeezed out a little so that the paper is damp, but not wet. At night, the rolls are placed around the apartment in places where pests were seen. In the morning, the rolls are collected, but not unrolled, because there are bugs inside. They are attracted to dampness. Used baits are immediately thrown into the trash or burned. You can make a reusable trap from a glass jar. To do this, it is wrapped around the outside with masking tape or adhesive tape. It turns out a rough surface on which the beetles can easily climb up.

One or two berries, a spoonful of jam or sweet syrup are placed in a jar prepared in this way. They set the baits late in the evening, before everyone goes to bed. In the morning, trapped individuals are removed.

In summer, damp birch branches are suitable as bait. They are tied in bundles and placed at night in the corners of the bathroom. Beetles will climb into the leaves, in the morning you will need to throw away the bait or burn it.

Chemicals

In advanced cases, home remedies may not be enough. If there are already a lot of white insects in the apartment, chemicals are used to destroy them. We have compiled a list of the most effective.

«Raptor»

Multi-component product with three active substances against crawling insects. Produced in the form of an aerosol, completely ready for use. Pest habitats are treated with a jet from a spray can. Instant drug. Effective against 17 types of domestic parasites.

Karbofos

Liquid concentrated product based on cypermethrin and malathion. Its variety «Karbofos-Extra» is distinguished by the absence of an unpleasant odor. For processing, a freshly prepared emulsion is used, which is diluted with water at room temperature. Mixing with other drugs is possible.

«Grandee»

Professional insecticide of instant action. The active substance is imidacloprid. It is produced in the form of a liquid concentrate, diluted according to the instructions before processing. Effective against crawling pests, including adults and larvae, as well as flies, midges, mosquitoes.

«FAS»

Insecticide based on deltamethrin. Available in the form of a water-soluble powder or tablets, from which a treatment solution is prepared. Breeding proportions depend on the variety of pests. The action is prolonged, the duration of the drug is 30 days.

All pesticides are hazardous to people and pets.. The working solution is prepared strictly according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Processing is carried out in protective clothing and in compliance with all safety rules. It is necessary to dispose of the remains of the drug in the manner indicated on its packaging.

How to prevent the occurrence

White insects in the bathroom or in any other room appear if the conditions for their life are comfortable. Dampness, warmth and darkness are the best «friends» for silverfish. Humidity at or above 75% is very comfortable for bugs. In addition, mold actively breeds in damp corners, which they feed on.

Wet bathrooms need to be ventilated. Therefore, the prevention of their occurrence must begin with the arrangement of ventilation. If natural ventilation is not enough, forced airflow is installed. There should be no small leaks, «dripping» pipes and leaking taps.

Order in the house will help prevent the invasion of silverfish. Junk deposits are their favorite places. They start up in old books, stacks of magazines, newspapers, papers. Here they find both housing and food. It is necessary to get rid of deposits of old things in time. If there are some of them valuable for the owner, it is advisable to pack them in plastic and only then send them for storage.

Mandatory regular general cleaning of the entire house using a solution of chlorine-containing preparations. This will prevent the appearance of not only small white insects in the bathroom, but also other unpleasant neighbors: fleas, cockroaches, ants, bedbugs. It is advisable to close all the ways in which pests can enter the house. To do this, it is necessary to close up all the cracks and cracks, install a fine, strong mesh on the openings of the ventilation shafts. The exits of engineering communications are carefully sealed.

Very rarely, but it happens that all the measures taken, including the treatment with pesticides, do not give the desired result. Long white bugs continue to appear in the apartment from time to time. In this case, you should contact pest control specialists who will carry out professional processing. They use special techniques and preparations that leave no chance for pests to survive.