White bugs in the bathroom: what kind of beast and how to deal with it?

Insects in the apartment

The appearance of small white bugs in an apartment will surprise the most experienced homeowner. Among the many types of insects, there are several similar ones, which may turn out to be white, beige or transparent.

Below are photos and names of white insects in an apartment or house:

• silverfish - small bugs up to 1 cm long, having a white, light gray or translucent, elongated body ending in 3 hairs; they are active only at night and can move quickly;
• woodlice - gray, gray-white or brown individuals, the body of which is divided into segments, each of which has a pair of legs, belong to the type of land crustaceans, breathe with gills - such insects are found in the house from dampness and their main diet consists of plant debris and water;
• mosquitoes and larvae - prefer to rest during the day in a room with high humidity;
• sewer beetle - distinguished by its gray-black color and large size (up to 3 cm), a strong shell that protects it from being crushed, very agile and fast, prefers warm and damp places;
• spiders, midges, centipedes or ants - are able to penetrate from the basement or neighboring apartment through ventilation pipes;
• small black bugs in the bathroom, called beetles or flour beetles, feed on cereals and bulk foods.

Insects in the apartment and bathroom

Bed bugs

home parasites

Bedbugs can live in almost any nook and cranny of the house, and they multiply at an extraordinary speed. Being parasites, at night insects jump onto the bed, bite people and begin to suck their blood. Surprisingly, the larvae begin to feed from the very beginning of their lives and differ from adults only in size.

By and large, several varieties of bed bugs can parasitize an apartment, but it is almost impossible to distinguish them from each other without a microscope and some knowledge.

It is much more difficult to poison these pests than cockroaches, since the majority of insecticidal preparations on sale are not effective against them. As a rule, special dusts, sprays, and aerosol insecticides are used to kill bedbugs.

House ants

thief ants and red ants

Speaking about the harm caused, it can be noted that these domestic insects - like many of their main brethren - can spread various infections and also spoil food.

The main problem with breeding ants is that very often their colonies have many nests, which are combined with each other and are even located in different apartments. It is for this reason that destroying one nest will not give the desired effect: as long as there is a single colony, the parasites will return to the apartment again and again.

It is necessary to fight them together - preferably by all residents of the house at the same time. Only in this case there will be a positive effect, otherwise, only temporary removal of ants can be achieved. Almost any insecticide is suitable for extermination, but the best method is still special poisoned bait.

Insect habitats

Absolutely all insects cannot do without water, therefore, when they get into an apartment, they look for rooms and places in them located closer to sources of moisture:

• pipes (water supply and sewerage) on which condensate accumulates;
• hard-to-reach and well-hidden areas in the bathroom, near communications;
• wet or damp rugs on the floor, various hygiene products with moisture residues;
• places where dust accumulates and is not removed (the floor under the bathroom, the backs of shelves in a cabinet, etc.).

On a note!

The appearance of white or gray bugs in the bathroom is most often caused by poor sanitary conditions in the room. In addition, some insects may come from neighbors after baiting has been carried out in their apartment. Some exceptionally tenacious specimens then migrate in search of a new home.

Color

If we talk about color, then compared to other insects, wasps (the species whose photos you saw above) are distinguished by a wide variety. Thus, some species are distinguished by quite bright contrasting yellow or black stripes, and have such an appearance that it is almost impossible to recognize them. They are often called wasp bees. The rest of the species may differ in completely different colors, ranging from rich black to purple or turquoise. In any case, they have a fairly recognizable body color, as a result of which they almost never become victims of random attacks, simply scaring away all kinds of birds or mammals.

It is worth noting that wasps have the maximum possible number of insect imitators, trying to copy their appearance and coloring in order to protect themselves from predators. The most famous example is the hoverfly, which is very similar to a wasp. Various mammals and birds, who know that an insect with a yellow-black color mainly has a dangerous sting, prefer not to attack, while in fact such a fly is completely harmless.

It is noteworthy that the body of wasps for the most part does not have as many hairs as is the case with bumblebees or bees, because the latter groups are standard pollinators, as a result of which they need hairs to collect nectar more efficiently. Some species of wasps do not have wings at all. Such wasps, the types and characteristics of which differ from other species, parasitize in the nests of ordinary paper wasps, while the absence of wings does not deprive them of a fairly strong poison and a powerful sting.

Silverfish

Such small, long insects are able to move very quickly on their numerous legs, penetrating into the narrowest crevices. They instantly hide when the light is turned on. Silverfish multiply quite quickly, so they pose a problem for apartment owners.

Their diet includes various substances: wallpaper paste, mold fungi, book bindings, sugar-containing products, fabrics and leather (not synthetic), food scraps and even wet paper and rags. Due to their nocturnal lifestyle, silverfish are difficult to spot immediately.

These gray-white beetles appear from dampness and choose corners with high humidity to live. They are not dangerous for humans: they do not bite due to their too small mouth, and they do not spread bacteria.

On a note!

The only harm such insects can cause is to the nervous system of people who are frightened by their rapid movement across surfaces, and if they also crawl over the body, then impressionable women may faint.

Silverfish and woodlice

Eating methods

The class Insects is also distinguished by a variety of feeding methods. Among them you can find parasites, predators, blood-sucking, saprotrophs and herbivores. This also determines the diversity of the structure of their mouthparts. Let's remember what insects pollinate plants. These are bees and bumblebees. Their gnawing-licking oral apparatus is represented by an elongated tongue. And butterflies receive nectar with the help of a proboscis, which forms a sucking-type mouthparts.

eats plant leaves. Its gnawing apparatus is capable of grinding food. And some insects can pierce the integument of animals and plants to obtain blood or juices. These are aphids, bedbugs, mosquitoes, lice, fleas. Their mouthparts are piercing-sucking.

Woodlice

These insects have an oval body of light gray, white, beige or brown, convex on top, and consists of several segments. The bug has 7 pairs of legs and a hard shell, and in front there are antennae up to half the length of the body. In nature, woodlice love damp places, which is where they got their name, but sometimes they settle near human habitation. They can climb into the cellar and into some rooms in the house (bathroom or toilet) where there is high humidity.

On a note!

You can see such insects in the toilet or bathroom only when you turn on the light at night, because during the day they hide in secluded corners. Woodlice feed on plant debris and can harm plants in the garden. Inside residential premises, they can live not only in the bathroom and toilet, but also in living rooms where there are decorative flowers in pots. Here they find not only water, but also food.

Penetrating into living spaces, woodlice can not only frighten people who are disgusted by insects that run quickly, but due to moisture and mold they become carriers of various fungal diseases, which pose a danger to human health.

Therefore, it is imperative to combat such moisture-loving insects, taking all possible measures to destroy them.

How is a hornet different from a wasp?

In fact, few people know that the only difference between a hornet and various types of wasps is its size. If the length of a paper wasp is no more than 3 cm, then the hornet reaches a length of 3.5 cm or more. Among other things, a characteristic feature of hornets is a pronounced wide nape, which is especially clearly visible when viewed under a magnifying glass, as well as the presence of characteristic red spots in those areas in which paper wasps have black areas. It should also be said that, compared to wasps, hornets are quite peaceful towards humans and practically do not bite them.

How to get rid of white insects in the bathroom

If the number of pests is small, then you can get by with simple physical home remedies for insects:

• carry out a general cleaning of the bathroom, removing dirt and condensation deposits;
• treat the entire room with bleach or other disinfectant, then apply a solution of copper sulfate;
• You can reduce indoor humidity by regular ventilation or drying using electrical appliances.

Methods for controlling insects in an apartment
Other means to get rid of small white insects:

• a trap made of a wet birch broom, which is placed in a corner at night, attracts domestic insects and parasites, they get entangled in the twigs of the broom, so in the morning you can burn it or take it away from the house;
• traps made of glass jars, wrapped on the outside with paper or tape, on such a surface any insects can easily climb up and fall down, wanting to eat the bait in the form of an apple, sugar, etc., they cannot get back along the slippery walls;
• moisten a roll of toilet paper and leave it overnight - moisture-loving bugs will rush to get into it, in the morning it must be destroyed, but not unrolled (otherwise they will run away).

Important!

If you do not kill insects, white or transparent bugs can spread throughout the apartment. Therefore, if you fail in your independent struggle, it is better to contact the sanitary and epidemiological service.

Bite

Each wasp has fairly powerful jaws called “mandibles.” They are used both for feeding on a variety of plant foods and for killing caught prey. For example, in the vast majority of cases, hornets, which attack even large insects like praying mantises and cockroaches, practically do not use a sting, but can simply use strong jaws, crushing the chitinous covers of their victim.

The wasp moves quite quickly, but at the same time it has far from the highest speed among insects, as a result of which even well-armed predators often end up being victims themselves. In particular, dragonflies and predatory duck flies feed on them.

Chemical and folk remedies

To destroy white insects in the house, insecticidal aerosols are recommended, which should be used every week (Raid, Raptor, Dichlorvos, Clean House, etc.). When carrying out processing, personal protective equipment should be used (respirator or gauze bandage, rubber gloves on hands).

Insect control products

Folk remedies against silverfish and woodlice:

• scatter diatomaceous earth in the cabinets - a substance that kills crawling parasites; its solution can be used to treat cracks in the walls, tile joints, baseboards;
• scatter spices (cloves, etc.), essential oils or citrus zest inside the cabinet, which must be changed every 4 days;
• sprinkle boric acid powder mixed with chalk (in a ratio of 1:4) on the pipes, under the toilet and sink; the solution can be used to treat the surfaces of the pipes;
• against wood lice, it is also recommended to use a solution consisting of soda ash (3 g), tobacco powder and ground red pepper per 1 liter of water - this mixture must be sprayed in places where pests accumulate (plinths, ceilings, cracks and corners in the bathroom, toilet and cellar) ;
• To catch woodlice in flower pots, baits made from potatoes or carrots are used; to do this, cut out the middle of them and leave them overnight - when they get in there, the baits are destroyed along with the bugs.

What is this strange beast?

The parasites that have settled in your toilet or bathroom are common silverfish. These are insects with a small oblong body, thin legs (short legs - 8 pairs, main ones - 4 pairs) and processes on the tail and head.

Silverfish belong to the order of crustaceans and resemble woodlice. These small white bugs move very quickly, penetrate into the narrowest cracks and hide if you turn on the light. They are quite tenacious and once settled, they will remain for a long time. It is useless to hope that the problem will resolve itself. Not only that, but these insects have a high reproduction rate, so the beetle population will grow larger over time!

Prevention of bugs

In order not to solve the problem when white insects appear in the apartment, the following preventive measures should be taken:

• regularly wipe off condensation and dust on pipes;
• Maintain cleanliness in the bathroom and toilet;
• check how well the ventilation works in service areas (toilet, bathroom, kitchen), if necessary, periodically clean the shafts;
• make cosmetic repairs by sealing all existing cracks near the baseboards, in the walls and on the floor;
• If there is a leak, the taps should be repaired immediately, avoiding the accumulation of moisture;
• dry corners that are too wet using a fan heater, because insects can lay eggs in such places, and hot air will destroy them;
• if mold appears, such areas should be thoroughly treated with chlorine and then dried;
• in the kitchen you should regularly check all cereal stocks and do not leave crumbs;
• prevent the accumulation of garbage, remove food and other waste in a timely manner.

With regular cleaning, drying and compliance with hygienic rules in service areas (bathroom, toilet and kitchen), no white insects will be able to settle in the house due to the lack of the high humidity necessary for them.

According to Feng Shui, where is the best place to place these winged beauties?

A good place for butterflies is above the bed. So, they will be the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning. This will charge you with joy and a positive attitude for the whole coming day. And for a family bedroom, such decor will also be useful: it will add romance to the space and, as a result, to your relationship.

By the way, according to Feng Shui, the southwestern part of the house is responsible for love and relationships. This is where it is best to use decor with butterflies, so you will launch an energy flow aimed at your love relationships, as well as all relationships with loved ones and others in general. By the way, very often decorative butterflies are planted on window sills and curtains, but Feng Shui advises against doing this: if you place the insects too close to the window, they can fly away, taking with them all the love and joy they brought.

Harm from mold to humans

The smallest mold spores will always be present in the air of the room where it has started. These spores, when placed in a favorable environment, germinate, giving rise to a new colony of the fungus. Such a colony can even develop in humans. Often, a mushroom body, similar to chronic sinusitis, is detected on an x-ray in the maxillary sinuses. How did it get there? Very simple. The person inhaled the spores, and they sprouted in the favorable environment of the nasal mucosa and turned into an extensive fungal body, gradually poisoning the body. If a person feels chronic fatigue and has been tormented by a runny nose for months, then it is likely that the cause is mold, which is gradually developing in his body.