Baiting cockroaches can be deadly

Before starting work, be sure to ask the exterminators what tool they use.

From time to time there is talk that cockroaches supposedly “left” Moscow and other large cities, but new and new episodes prove: no, they have not gone away. Moreover, each new generation of cockroaches is more enduring than the previous one. Therefore, the methods of their destruction have to be constantly modernized.

According to eyewitnesses who suffered in Podolsk, as soon as they entered the entrance, all the symptoms immediately appeared – a sore throat, cough and watery eyes. There was clearly an unpleasant smell. Most likely, the wall behind which the store was located was not airtight and the ventilation brought the chemical poison into the living quarters. So the first rule emerges. If cockroaches have started up in the house, the main thing to do is, if possible, block all entrances to the apartment: tighten the ventilation holes, check the pipes. It will not work to make the apartment airtight, but it is advisable to take all the steps for this. An easy way is to tighten the ventilation with an old nylon stocking: it really works! You also need to close up those gaps that you know for sure. In any case, this is useful – this way you will simultaneously protect your home from both the insects themselves and from chemicals when they start to poison them. Disinfector technologist Alexei Menshikov told MK about this:

— There is a certain regulation that must be observed when carrying out chemical work. In particular, all employees and residents must be notified so that they can leave the building in a timely manner. If people stay inside, then it is necessary to block the ventilation so that vapors of toxic substances do not enter the apartments. If we are talking about the persecution of cockroaches in shops and cafes on the ground floors, then the risk zone is primarily on the second floors.

According to the expert, when carrying out such work, it is necessary to take into account the active circulation of air – in each building it has its own.

– The work must be organized so that when the evaporation of chemistry goes outside, and not into neighboring rooms. If everything went well, then after 4 hours people can enter back. For those who are especially afraid, you can buy household respirators. What happened in Podolsk is a clear deviation from the norm, a clear violation. The company that carried out the work must provide a report: who, how and with what they were persecuted, the expert concluded.

To fight cockroaches, most often they invite specialists from the pest control service, which is associated with the management company responsible for your home. However, tenants can choose any other at their discretion. Before starting work, be sure to ask the exterminators what means they use: today, under the guise of dichlorvos, more gentle substances can be used. More modern – fipronil, as well as drugs on diflubenzuron, chlorpyrifos, diazinon.

Also remain relevant “folk” methods of pest control. For example, now the season still makes it possible to try to “freeze out” cockroaches: they die at a relatively low sub-zero temperature, so the option is to leave the windows wide open on a frosty day, leaving for work. And, of course, you need to make sure that there is no water left in free access: turn the tap tightly, etc. It is access to water that guarantees a calm existence for the cockroach. The same goes for food – no crumbs on the table after dinner.

Another important rule is to check the garbage chute every three months, which often turns out to be a refuge for cockroaches in multi-storey buildings. And you need to understand that one chemical treatment may not be enough, several visits of specialists are required.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28982 dated March 3, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Features of cockroach hunting