Photo, text: / Li Jiashen Medical Reviewer: Lai Jianhan
When you are leisurely chasing the drama at home, a cockroach suddenly appears in front of you, and I believe that there is nothing more frightening than this. In fact, nearly 90% of the life on Earth are composed of insects and arthropods , which can adapt to a variety of environments , according to statistics , there are about 6 million to 10 million species of insects in existence. But whether we like it or not, they are still sometimes haunted at home, and some insects carry germs, if left unattended, in the long run, it may endanger the health of the family or cause damage to furniture items. This article will list 9 insects that may be lurking in the home, as well as suitable methods for pest control.
1. Dust cockroaches
Although invisible to the naked eye, Dust mites are bound to be found in every home, as their food source is dead cells, which can usually be found under the plush surfaces that are not frequently cleaned, such as beds, carpets, toy dolls, or various interior furniture and decorations.
Although we can't kill all the dust mites, we can still control their number by fixing cleaning, the sheets and bedding should be soaked in hot water at least once a week, and the carpet is recommended to be cleaned often with a vacuum cleaner, if you don't want to wash your beloved ragdoll, you can use freezing to deal with it, because the dust mites can't survive under deep freeze.
2. Bed bugs and carpet beetles
Bed bugs (also known as bed bugs) are somewhat like ticks, with a small, flattened shape, oval body, and a brownish red color, crawling and moving on 6 feet, mainly in the bedroom, sucking human blood for food. Bed lice are nocturnal insects, bites and suck blood, often cause the bitten person to have difficulty sleeping, although it does not infect the virus, but it can cause itching, blisters, rashes, and other allergy or psychological symptoms, and even some people will have fever and drowsiness.
Bed lice infections usually occur in poorly hygienic settings, and the bugs are difficult to eradicate because they can live up to 1 year even if they don't eat. If you want to eliminate bed lice, you can directly "burn" them with the hot air of the hair dryer, other ways to raise the indoor temperature, wash things with hot water, and vacuum clean often.
Also pay special attention to carpet beetles (or red-edged beetles), mature and harmless, but their larvae can eat carpets, curtains, clothes, books and other items. It is recommended that once the carpet is found to be bitten, be sure to clean and check it, and then use insecticide, boric acid or diatomaceous earth to eliminate the harm of carpet beetles.
3. Fleas and clothesworms
For people with pets at home, removing fleas (Flea) can be a chore because it likes to parasitize mammals and birds and suck up blood to survive. Because fleas have strong jumping power and strong front paws, they can easily jump from one host to another even if they do not have flying wings, but the most dangerous thing is that they may be attached to parasites, which often cause itching and allergies in hairy children.
To get rid of fleas in your home, you can simply make your own Witch Hazel water, mix it with 60 ml of witch hazel, 120 ml lemon juice, 4 cups of vinegar, and 2 cups of water, spray it throughout the room after cleaning, and continue for several days until there are no more fleas in the house.
There is also a silver-gray insect that resembles a "fish", called Silverfish (commonly known as silverfish or clothed worm), which belongs to the suborder Zygentoma, which is said to have existed before the advent of dinosaurs. The clothing worm prefers dark and damp places, such as bathrooms and storage rooms, and if it is to get rid of it, it will naturally leave by removing the piles of newspapers and old books, unwanted boxes and clothes, or sprinkling some cedar trees. Similar to the clothesworm, booklice appeared 300 million years ago and also likes to eat paste or bark moss on bound books.
4. Ants and termites
We've been taught from an early age that ants love sweets, but you know what? This small insect has lived on Earth for more than 140 million years and can be found in home kitchens, storage rooms, and cracked walls. While ants don't interfere with our daily lives, they are at risk of food contamination, and carpenter ant (or carpenter ant) can build a nest on wooden furniture, causing damage. To keep out ants, you can spray diluted dishwashing liquid where they haunt.
Termites often damage the walls and furniture of the house, causing a headache. (Pictured is provided by New Todo Crooked Termite/ZTE University)
Termites are different, they are invasive animals, feeding on dead plants and cellulose, including animal feces, wood and soil, although this property can help nature decompose substances, but they also destroy the walls and furniture of the house, making the owner of the house a headache. To get rid of termites, it is recommended to prepare a plank to attract them to feed, and when all the termites are on it, burn it with fire and planks.
5. Weevils
Mothers who buy rice and buy vegetables must have seen it, the real name weevil (commonly known as rice worm), it likes to hide in the grain to lay eggs, feed on the grain. To remove weevils, the easiest way to deal with them is to directly discard the food and food that already has weevils, and use insecticides to spray them on the place where the grain is placed to avoid fish that have slipped through the net. In order to avoid wasting food, it is best to adopt the principle of "prevention is better than removal" of noodles. For example, buy small packages of rice so that you can eat it in a short time, or use a sealable container to store rice. Alternatively, you can also consider freezing the rice in the refrigerator, where eggs can freeze to death at low temperatures.
6. Flies and gnats
In the face of delicious food, flies can be said to be our most disgusted uninvited guests, and the most common is the house fly. Although their life cycle is short, they are labeled as one of the home pests because they can spread foodborne illness and people eat food poisoning.
In addition, fruit fly (Fruit fly) also causes many family troubles, they especially stick to the fruit, and the closer to the warm season the more obvious. The most amazing thing is that their reproductive ability is extremely fast, from spawning to hatching as long as 24 hours, in order to prevent fruit flies from attacking, please put the fruit in the refrigerator, after processing the food, also wash the kitchen utensils as soon as possible, of course, do not forget to take out the garbage every day. Alternatively, you can prepare a fly trap with apple cider vinegar, dishwashing liquid and warm water, then close and poke holes in it until the flies cast their nets.
With the exception of flies, all the small flying insects classified under the nematocera can be called Gnat, such as the gray-white winged insects and drain fly that are often encountered in the bathroom. It does not bite, feeds on rotten sticky matter that blocks drains, and serves as a spawning ground. The best solution is to do remove the obstruction and finally pour in an enzyme cleaner to remove the eggs of the moth.
7. Mosquitoes
The most annoying thing about sleeping is that mosquitoes fly around the room, and while it sucks blood, saliva will also remain on us, causing symptoms of itching and rashes. Some mosquito species are more contagious to diseases, such as Dengue fever, Zika virus, malaria, yellow fever, West Nile virus and so on, causing 700,000 deaths every year.
The way mosquitoes are removed is believed to be familiar to everyone, such as the use of mosquito coils, electric mosquito coils, mosquito repellent sprays or shisha insecticides. However, doing a good job of home cleaning is the real cure, cleaning the home frequently, taking out the garbage regularly and not leaving a container with standing water for mosquitoes to lay eggs. Alternatively, you may want to consider installing screens to keep outdoor mosquitoes from invading your home.
Some mosquitoes can also transmit diseases, so be careful when you go outdoors. (Schematic/taken from the free gallery Pixabay)
8. Cockroaches
Cockroaches not only rank first in many people's "afraid of insects" list, but also have a large family, there are nearly 4600 species of cockroaches in the world, 30 of which overlap with the human environment. They have a tenacious vitality, whether in tropical or cold climates, they can survive. The reason why we feel that cockroaches are unhygienic and disgusting is that they often appear in food scraps or garbage, so that the bacteria they are contaminated with are attached to food, and if they are not carefully eaten, they may cause allergic reactions, and may also cause diarrhea, dysentery or food poisoning.
Cockroaches are undoubtedly a "disaster" for every family, and people should take action as soon as they are discovered, using pesticides or cockroach drugs to avoid their chances of spawning and reproduction. Of course, it is also necessary to clean the kitchen utensils as soon as possible after the meal, fix the garbage every day, and be sure to cover the food container properly.
9. Spiders and centipedes
Although they are not classified as insect families, their appearance is still unpleasant, you can set traps to trap spiders and centipedes ( Centipedes ) , release them, if you don't want to meet them, make sure that the room is free of cracks, and because centipedes like humid environments, so be sure to do a good job of dehumidification. As for people who like to collect spiders and centipedes as pets, this may be a good thing, because both do not destroy the home, but also hunt down domestic pests, such as termites and cockroaches.
No medical advice, diagnosis or treatment is provided.