Often in an apartment or own home you can find various insects, and some of them we see for the first time and because of this we do not know whether they pose any danger - this is exactly what this article will help you figure out, offering photos and names of domestic insects.

By building his home, a person fences himself and his loved ones off from extraneous creatures, but one way or another, some of them still penetrate the house, causing harm to the health of the owners or simply annoying with their unattractive appearance. Of course, we are talking about insects, of which a lot are currently known. However, life in high-rise buildings or in an ordinary residential building does not appeal to everyone. But those who still strive to take over part of a person’s living space can be divided into several groups.

Depending on the degree of harm and danger to people, the following categories are distinguished:

If there are no sources of excess moisture in the house, food that is in the public domain is controlled, waste is regularly thrown away, and wet cleaning is carried out using cleaning products, it is likely that there will be no need to fight some insects at all.

Types of insects that live in the kitchen

Perhaps the most unpleasant thing is encountering insects in your own bed, as well as in the kitchen, especially when it comes to food. It so happens that some small insects choose kitchen area, because it is a favorable territory for existence. Moreover, some of them eat scraps from the master’s table, others prefer to live in grocery stores, and still others are interested in fruits and other fruits.

Cockroaches

Probably everyone has seen red and mustachioed cockroaches. The reasons for the appearance of these pests are varied, but the most common of them is one’s own uncleanliness or the sloppiness of neighbors. Sometimes cockroaches can be brought back from a trip along with your belongings, which were in a not very favorable hotel room. The alarm must be sounded as soon as at least one insect is noticed in the home, because crawling huge cockroaches are not only an unpleasant sight, but also a source of various serious diseases.

These include:

• dysentery;
• salmonellosis;
• gastroenteritis;
• meningitis;
• mycobacteriosis.

In addition to this sad factor, there are some others that prompt the urgent adoption of destruction measures. Thus, it is known that cockroaches can not only spoil food, but also damage equipment and damage insulation. In rare cases, they can crawl into the ear of a sleeping person or, when their hunger reaches its climax, even bite.

Ants

Often insects such as ants appear in apartments, which are attracted to a person’s home by warmth and, of course, an inexhaustible supply of food. You can find them in cereals, under the sink, behind baseboards, in the bread and sugar bowls, in the bathroom - in general, wherever there is food, warmth and moisture.

The ways of penetration of black or red ants into an apartment are the same as those of cockroaches. In addition, the priority for the existence of these small insects in the house is heating system residential premises in winter time year. This factor relieves ants from the need to hibernate and are in constant search for food and a warm, secluded place for a comfortable existence and reproduction.

For the simple reason that ants are absolutely omnivorous and can profit from both fruit, bread, and apple cores from the trash can, they are also capable of carrying pathogenic bacteria that cause the development of dysentery, typhoid fever, diphtheria, salmonellosis, cholera, and helminthiasis. Easily moving from one apartment to another through sockets, ventilation, small cracks in the walls, they carry dangerous microbes on their paws, which they leave in the food they eat: sugar, jam, berries, cereals and many other products they encounter along the way.

Fruit midges

If left on dining table fruits or vegetables, jam or honey in a plate or, for example, forgetting to throw out the trash on time, then very soon you can find small midges, a mass of people circling in the kitchen. They are especially attracted to spoiling and rotting fruits. Also, these insects are not averse to hovering over wet rags that have been left behind, or over animal feeders that are not cleaned and washed regularly. Sometimes pests enter the house in the form of eggs, which an adult laid on a particular fruit before it even reached the store counter.

The question arises: is it worth getting rid of such uninvited guests? Of course, because fruit gnats They live not only near their favorite fruits. It’s not difficult to trace their route: they can move throughout the apartment, crawling along the soil in flower pots, By dirty dishes, left in the washbasin, by dusty stains in the bathroom, and then by the remains of food, which one of the residents will certainly decide to finish eating. As a result, there is a risk of infection, fungi and harmful bacteria.

Food moth

Surprisingly, an insect such as a moth can damage not only clothing, but also food.

Moreover, depending on the food in which it starts, they distinguish different types pest:

It is not at all difficult to recognize such a guest: an adult individual, feeding exclusively on water, can be found on the ceiling or walls, but the younger generation, represented by caterpillars, usually crawls in jars and bags with flour, cereals and dried goods.

If all of the above products have not been properly sanitization, then moths will certainly appear in them, which will lay a large number of eggs in a short time. This pest can also enter the house through ventilation or a window if the owner forgot to install a mosquito net.

Flour beetle and red flour beetle

Flour and cereals are of interest not only to food moths, but also to flour beetles. It is very difficult to confuse it with any other insect, since its size is very impressive - usually 1.5 cm in length. The color of the insect is dark brown or black. The pest most likely enters the house along with purchased products. If it is found in containers for storing cereals, you must throw away all the contents and disinfect the jars themselves.

Sometimes small red bugs can be found in the same food products. This is the red mucous eater. It differs from the mealworm not only in size, but also in its longer antennae. These insects appear when flour is stored incorrectly and its moisture content is above 15%.

Bread grinder

A wider range of products interests the bread grinder. The bugs have an oblong body shape, the size of which does not exceed 4 mm in length. Adults make tunnels in the bread, but the larvae devour absolutely everything: nuts, tobacco, coffee, tea, dry animal food. Contaminated food should never be consumed, as this can lead to stomach upset and poisoning. To prevent these creatures from entering your home, it is necessary to install mosquito nets on windows and carefully check products brought from the store.

What insects are found in the bathroom?

The bathroom must be kept especially clean, because this is the room where a person maintains the hygiene of his body.

But sometimes the kingdom of sanitation created by the owner is disrupted by the appearance of various insects, which can be:

• silverfish;
• woodlice;
• centipedes;
• flycatchers;

Perhaps it is worth figuring out which of these insects are harmless and which pose a potential threat to the health of residents.

Silverfish and woodlice

Most often, these insects are found in single form. It is very easy to recognize them: they have an elongated body with three antennae at the end and two at the front. The color of silverfish is usually light gray, or white if the insect has recently molted. They do not pose any danger to humans, but with their far from attractive appearance they pretty much spoil the mood.

In addition to the mood, silverfish can also ruin toilet paper or cloths for cleaning the apartment if they have been left undried for a long time. Perhaps there are constant sources of moisture in the bathroom, which attracts silverfish. You can get rid of them by eliminating various kinds leakage causing moisture and drying out the room.

It is for these reasons that wood lice, which are essentially not insects, but related to crustaceans, can appear in the bathroom. It is quite simple to distinguish them from silverfish: woodlice are characterized by a chitinous cover that resembles armor, and when danger arises, they curl up into a ball, imitating their death. The body size does not exceed 1 centimeter, the color is usually gray. It should be noted that wood lice are not capable of carrying any infections, however, this does not mean that there is no need to fight them, because crustaceans can spread to such a scale that you will not want to go into the bathroom at all.

Flycatcher and spider

A flycatcher, which is characterized by a disgusting appearance, can inspire genuine horror in the owner of an apartment. This is a fairly large insect, reaching a length of up to 6 centimeters. The yellowish-gray and flattened body has 15 segments, each of which contains a pair of long legs. The flycatcher also has very long antennae. Thanks to such features, the insect is difficult to confuse with any other.

The flytrap starts absolutely different rooms, including in the bathroom. The main reason for the appearance of this insect is the presence of other pests in the house, which it feeds on. These could be mosquitoes, midges or silverfish. The owner of the house should not be afraid of infections, since flycatchers cannot tolerate them, but they are quite capable of biting for the purpose of self-defense, and the degree of pain of the bite can be compared to a bee sting.

Spiders are also harmless to human health; they are usually not found in large numbers; as a rule, there are 3-5 individuals. The only harm they cause is cobwebs in the corners of the room, which significantly spoil the appearance of the room.

Cockroaches

But cockroaches, which were discussed above, are a direct source of pathogenic bacteria entering the house, which entail many undesirable consequences. Therefore, it is these insects that need to be gotten rid of as soon as they are noticed.

Centipedes

Today, more than 13 thousand species of centipedes are known. The name of these insects speaks for itself: the pest has many legs, and if one species has 30 of them, then another may have several hundred. One more distinguishing feature- this is the presence of a long body. Favorite habitats of centipedes ‒ damp rooms, where cleaning is carried out irregularly (bathrooms, warm and damp basements, as well as attics). Having encountered this very unsightly creature at home, a person wonders what harm it can cause to household items.

Yes, none. Centipedes are not at all interested in books, damp paper, clothing or food, but other insects that annoy the owner with their presence will serve them as excellent food. Therefore, to some extent, centipedes can be confidently called useful cleaners Houses. However, there is one fact that can ruin this idyll: a centipede can bite in self-defense, and its bite is quite painful; as a rule, the pain is felt for about 1-2 days. In addition, there is such a species of these insects as the scolopendra, which is considered poisonous.

It is not capable of causing serious harm, but burns and irritation may well occur. In some cases, there is a slight increase in body temperature, severe weakness and numbness of the affected area of ​​the skin. In this situation, analgesics, as well as ice or, conversely, a heating pad, will help cope with these undesirable consequences.

Who bites at night?

Neighbor with insects that harm food or simply frighten appearance- this is not so bad, but to experience negative impact on yourself - this is a real disaster. Particularly unpleasant is restless sleep, during which an incomprehensible itching occurs every now and then, accompanied by the appearance of red spots on the body in the morning.

Perhaps you can immediately guess what the real reason very difficult, and the unfortunate person is ready to write off the detected rash as an allergy, irritation or mosquito bites. But if you take a closer look at your sheet, you can find a rather unpleasant surprise: black dots, as well as droplets of blood. This is where everything becomes clear - these are bedbugs.

Bedbugs are predominantly nocturnal, and when light appears they hide, so people often don’t understand where the redness on their hands and feet came from. But, if you carefully examine the mattress, try to lift it, look into the folds of the bed linen, you can find the culprit itself. To make sure that it really is a bug, you need to know a little about the features of its appearance.

Calling a special disinfectant service to your home, as well as observing certain preventive measures will allow in as soon as possible forget about the problem.

Ways to fight

Fortunately, modern technologies have developed many methods to combat insects, which allows you to choose suitable option taking into account your own preferences.

The following popular methods are distinguished:

• physical;
• chemical;
• mechanical;
• electric;
• folk remedies.

The physical method involves the destruction of insects using low or high temperatures. Thus, temperatures above 50 degrees have a detrimental effect not only on adult individuals, but also on their larvae. In this way, you can exterminate, for example, body lice and their nits by ironing infected clothing with a hot iron or taking it to the dry cleaner. Sometimes this method is also applicable when getting rid of bedbugs, if they are detected at the initial stage of spread. In some situations, freezing is used, the air temperature should be -25 degrees.

The most common method is to use chemicals, presented on store shelves in a wide range. The form of release of such drugs is quite diverse - they can be aerosols, gels, powders, liquid concentrates, smoke bombs and crayons. Gel treatment is rational for baiting cockroaches, house ants, woodlice, and silverfish. When exterminating fleas and bed bugs, powders are often used, which are scattered in places where insects are concentrated.

Use pencils and crayons to outline floors and baseboards, door and window frames, surfaces of various furniture. The latest innovation is the treatment of a room using smoke bombs, the effect of which is comparable to the treatment of cold fog: the infected room is filled with smoke, which, settling, penetrates into the very hard to reach places, destroying insects at all stages of development.

TO mechanical methods These include well-known traps, many of which are available for making with your own hands. Popular remedy - sticky tape, helping to fight both midges, mosquitoes, food moth, and with cockroaches and ants.

An expensive and highly effective remedy is electrical appliances, some of which repel pests by emitting ultrasonic waves, others – infect them electric shock. An ultrasonic device will do an excellent job of killing mosquitoes, but an electric trap will ensure complete disposal of cockroaches.

Widespread and folk recipes, serving as an alternative to insecticides, many of which cannot boast high level security. However, due to exclusively natural ingredients, folk remedies are not always effective.

Small insects can be found in almost any apartment, even the cleanest and most tidy. These “neighbors” are not always harmful and dangerous, sometimes there are so few of them that they are not visible at all, but practice shows that one or another representative of this entomofauna can be found in almost any residential area.

Note

It is interesting to note that the smallest insects in an apartment can significantly exceed the number of individuals of the same cockroaches, but at the same time, due to their small size don't pay attention to yourself.

Therefore, if you regularly encounter “incomprehensible” small insects in your apartment, you should not be dismissive of this fact. At least ask yourself: what do they eat, where do they hide, at what speed do they reproduce...

At the same time, the same ants are recognized by everyone, and there is no point in separately helping the reader in identifying them. Therefore we will focus on those small insects, which not everyone knows.

Silverfish: harmless extras

Some scientists consider silverfish to be the most ancient insects existing on the planet today. They have changed little over many millions of years of evolution and very much resemble the ancestors of all modern insects.

In the photo - sugar silverfish:

And here is a home thermobia:

Silverfish feed on various organic residues, which are found in dust and crevices; they can eat paper, bread and sugar crumbs. They do not cause harm, and to get rid of them it is enough to destroy the individuals spotted on the walls.

Small species of beetles

Small domestic beetles include skin beetles, grinders, and beetles. They damage various products, can feed on paper and spoil books. Carpet beetles also damage fur coats and woolen clothing.

In the photo there is a bread grinder, one of the smallest insects in the apartment:

This beetle reaches 1.5 mm in length and does not feed as an adult, although it makes passages in many products, damaging them. But its larva feeds on almost everything, including paper and fibers of semi-synthetic clothing.

Bread damaged by borer larvae becomes poisonous to humans. You can't eat it!

Very small insects, also often found in apartments - carpet beetles, capable of making holes in fur coats and furs, “cutting” carpets and eating the bindings of old books:

All of the above small beetles can be quite difficult to remove from the apartment. If their larvae are found in food, all supplies should be thrown away, and bedside tables and shelves should be treated with insecticidal agents. In closets and on bookshelves things and objects are treated with aerosol insecticides, and then it is useful to place anti-moth sections here, which are quite effective against beetles.

Fleas

Fleas are small in the apartment that suck the blood of people and pets.

The photo shows a rat flea, a potential carrier of plague:

There are also human, feline and dog fleas. They are all very similar to each other, and it will be problematic for a non-specialist to distinguish one species from another.

When fleas multiply abundantly, their bites can cause serious allergic reactions in humans.

Fleas are removed separately, first on animals, and then in the apartment itself. In the first case, special anti-flea drops on the withers, anti-flea shampoos and sprays are used, in the second - powerful tools against insects in aerosol form or in the form of concentrates for dilution and subsequent spraying.

Book louse

The book louse is a very small brownish insect that settles in book bindings in apartments and feeds on paste.

The photograph below shows an adult book louse (book louse):

These insects rarely form large colonies. Even a small group of them makes clearly audible ticking sounds, thereby giving away their presence.

They fight book lice by hanging fumigation products near shelves with books and zoological or botanical collections.

Springtails are enemies of house plants

Springtail is small white insect, in the apartment, settling in the ground in flower pots and feeding on organic matter. During mass reproduction, springtails can severely damage plant roots.

“I just don’t understand what kind of misfortune this is in flower pots. Some bugs white, tiny, but there are so many of them that you can’t see the ground. I was replanting violets and discovered that all the pots had them. Tell me, what kind of insects are these, are they dangerous?”

Tamara, Moscow

The photo shows a springtail at high magnification:

And below is a lump of soil infested with springtails taken out of a pot:

These insects can be poisoned with the usual means against garden pests - Aktara or Karbofos. You can also lay pieces of potatoes on the surface of the ground and collect insects on them every few days.

Whiteflies

Whiteflies are also plant pests that, unlike springtails, attack leaves and stems. These insects are easily recognized by their light wings.

In the photo - tobacco whitefly:

And here is the cabbage whitefly:

If these small insects appear in the apartment, the plants should immediately be treated with an alcoholic infusion of calendula.

Whiteflies reproduce very quickly and suck plant sap at all stages of development. Large quantity they can cause the death of the bush. In case of mass infection, they should be poisoned with Karbofos or Aktara.

Butterflies

These small insects with transparent wings usually appear in the apartment in the bathroom or toilet. Butterflies are small flies with dark fringed wings. They are clearly recognizable due to the special shape of their wings.

The photo shows a common butterfly (Psychodidae):

Butterfly larvae develop in garbage, basements and sewers, and adult flies can scatter throughout apartments, laying eggs in trash cans and dust in closets.

Sometimes in an apartment you can notice very small insects that vaguely resemble cockroaches or bedbugs. These could be their larvae early age(nymphs), sometimes having a translucent chitinous cover.

The photo shows a recently moulted red cockroach, which looks almost white immediately after molting:

This is what a bedbug larva looks like:

Such larvae can enter from neighboring apartments through ventilation ducts or through doors, settling or escaping from persecution. If such insects are found in single copies, they can be simply destroyed. If a room is massively infested, they are found as often as adult insects; in this case, a thorough disinfestation of the entire room should be carried out.

A clear example of how small insects in an apartment can seriously ruin life

How to choose an insect extermination service

Which insect pests are capable of infesting city ​​apartment and multiply, as well as what kind of harm to the inhabitants of the home - we will get acquainted.

Insects that have settled in an apartment are divided not only by type, but also by the damage that they can cause to residents and pets. People sometimes get along with some representatives of pests that have taken a fancy to human habitation, but there are also those that make such a neighborhood unbearable.

These insects are from the category of those who are capable of turning the life of the inhabitants of an apartment into a living hell, while posing a direct threat to health. When bitten, pathogens of dangerous infections are shared with the victim of the attack, which directly enter the bloodstream, causing a guaranteed infection in the bitten person. In addition, allergies occur in the affected areas, itching and redness are noted. The situation with bites can lead to dermatitis.

Bed bugs

These small insects are hardly noticeable in the apartment; they hide from the light, attacking only in the dark. They live and breed in dark, inaccessible areas - cracks, niches, behind cabinets and hanging pictures, in the bottom of sofas and armchairs, inside household appliances.

They are small, strongly flattened brown insects. They are discovered in the apartment most likely by the excrement left behind and blood traces on the bed.

They are suspected by science as carriers of the following infections for bites that are insensitive to humans:

1. Smallpox;
2. hepatitis B;
3. tularemia;
4. tuberculosis;
5. typhoid fever;
6. brucellosis;
7. anthrax.

But the most tangible sign of such a neighborhood is deprivation good sleep and itchy marks on the skin from nightly bedbug attacks.

By the way! Bedbugs getting to constant source food, without being detected and eliminated in time, will populate even the most well-kept apartment, absolutely regardless of the owners’ observance sanitary rules. Therefore, it is not entirely correct to assume that bedbugs are an indicator of sloppiness, and even less should you be ashamed of the fact of their appearance in the house.

Fleas

These frisky and painfully biting insects are also not easy to detect in an apartment - the flea moves with lightning speed in a jump that can reach half a meter. The bloodsucker can be noticed only at the moment of the bite, which, due to its pain and itching, cannot be confused with other types of insects that can inhabit the apartment.

The flea's body is small, devoid of wings, narrow at the sides, covered with tiny bristles, due to which the bloodsucker feels at ease in the thick of fur or lint; the chest and head have characteristic ridges. The color is predominantly brown.

Insects similarly try to occupy cracks, niches, carpets, soft upholstery and other areas of the apartment that are safe for them. When bitten, the victim can be endowed with the following “bouquet” of infections:

1. Sarcopsillosis;
2. pulicosis;
3. bacteria of plague, tularemia, brucellosis;
4. salmonella and rickettsia;
5. hepatitis and encephalitis viruses;
6. protozoa and helminths.

Pay attention to pets, the presence of rodents in the basement and attic of the house, and bird nests in the area of ​​windows and balconies. These are the most likely sources of flea infestation in an apartment.

Lice

The head louse is not literally a domestic insect that inhabits an apartment, since it lives and reproduces exclusively on the human hair zone. But the clothes one loves to live on the fibers of clothing, in its folds. From there it easily moves to the host’s body, where there is hair, and is saturated with his blood.

The body of the head bloodsucker is less elongated and has a color closer to gray, and the body cover of the body is transparent, through which the contents of the abdomen filled with blood can be seen.

The bites of these insects are very sensitive and are accompanied by a disturbing itching, which provokes scratching on the head. Infestation with lice and nits is called pediculosis.

These domestic insects in the apartment cause both damage to health and damage to property located in the room. Therefore, they are also actively subject to destruction by residents whose house they dared to take a fancy to.

Cockroaches

Everyone recognizes these insects running around the apartment, even without a photo or name. Of the many cockroaches, only two have taken root in humans - the brown cockroach and the black cockroach.

These household pests, being completely omnivorous, absorb almost all the organic matter in the apartment - food scraps, paper, fabrics, skin. There are documented cases of gnawing through the surface layer of skin in sleeping people.

Possessing a superbly developed gnawing apparatus with powerful hard jaws, the cockroach is capable of inflicting painful bites. And since this usually happens at night, when the insect feels safe and is active, sleeping children are especially susceptible to the threat.

By regularly contacting garbage waste, insects transfer pathogens of dysentery and salmonellosis to fresh food and utensils, which can cause digestive system disorders and cause allergies.

For your information! In addition to pesticides, they die from the cold. They love not only warmth, but also dampness.

House (pharaoh) ants

These yellow or light brown small insects are easy to notice in an apartment - they do not hide, openly traveling in colonies along the walls of the home, occupying any space they like, where it is warm, not dry and there is a lot of food. They can be found in the most unexpected places - between the pages of books, under wallpaper, in packaged cereals, in closets with clothes.

A family of insects can reach several hundred thousand individuals, and an anthill can cover an entire territory. apartment building. That is why it is so difficult to remove them from the apartment - all rooms in the house, both residential and common, have to be treated with insecticides.

They bite painfully, and at the same time they carry some dangerous viruses, in particular polio. Small pets can be killed by becoming trapped in their respiratory passages.

Mole

This inconspicuous butterfly also needs no introduction, as it is known to everyone for its ability to gnaw through fur, skin and fabrics, making clothes unsuitable for further wear, as well as spoiling food.

1. (domestic) “specializes” in furs, performing a “haircut” on fur products and laying offspring there.
2. (indoor) does not cause harm in the imago stage, but its caterpillars make holes in clothes and upholstery upholstered furniture, not disdaining plant foods - stocks of cereals and flour.

There is also grain moth, which is also called the granary, it can also appear in the home, because it feeds on rice, wheat and corn. But an apartment is not her typical habitat.

Literary sources:

1. 2.

Bei-Bienko G.Ya. Key to insects of the European part of the USSR in five volumes. Volume 1. Lower, ancient winged, with incomplete transformation, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow - Leningrad, 1964 - 937 pp.

3.

Beklemishev V.N. Key to arthropods harmful to human health. - M.: MEDGIZ, 1958. - 420 p.

4.

Vasiliev V.P. Pests of agricultural crops and forests in three volumes. Volume I. Harmful nematodes, mollusks, arthropods (part one). Team of authors. Ed. acad. V.P. Vasilyeva. K., “Harvest”, 1973, p. 496 p. OK

5.

Zhantiev R.D. Carpet beetles (family Dermestidae) of the fauna of the USSR. - M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1976. - 182 p.

6.

Zagulyaev A.K. Fauna of the USSR volume IV, issue 3. True moths (TINEIDAE) Part three. Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow - Leningrad, 1960, p. 270.

7.

Severinchik I.V. Medical disinfestation: educational method. allowance / I. V. Severinchik [etc.]. - Minsk: BSMU, 2011. - 71 p.

8.

Tarasov V.V. Medical entomology. M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1996 - 353 p.

9.

Shtakelberg A. A. Synanthropic Diptera fauna of the USSR. Keys to the fauna of the USSR, published by the Zoological Institute - M.-L. 1956. 164 p.

People sometimes don't even realize how many insects share their living space. Our invisible guests number about 20 varieties. Many of them need the presence of a person, and sometimes they share more than just shelter with him. These invisible neighbors eat our food, ruin our clothes, sleep on our beds, and feed on our blood and skin.

Even in a clean apartment there are uninvited six- and eight-legged guests, and what can we say about microscopic neighbors that can be on the skin of people and animals. They usually enter the house through windows, window sills, any cracks, drainpipes, ventilation holes. No human habitation could do without their presence.

In the kitchen you can most often find:

• Cockroaches;
• Weevils;
• Muravyov;
• Senoyedov;
• Fruit flies;
• Flour beetles.

Cockroaches are the fastest and hardiest creatures that have lived on earth for 4 million years and number 4,000 species. They move at a speed of about 400 km/h, can not breathe for about an hour and can go without food for 1 month.

Weevils. They pierce any packaging with their proboscis. These insects breathe using microscopic holes in the skin. Hiding from the straight sun rays in boxes with cereal, they lay up to 400-500 eggs.

Ants often get into apartments along with fruits and vegetables from home garden, vegetable garden. They feed on leftover human food. The bites of some ant species are very painful to humans. Therefore, it is better to get rid of them quickly. This is fairly easy to do by spraying the area with insect repellent spray.

Hay eaters appear in any premises with constant high humidity. These are small, fragile white insects with transparent wings. They eat organic food, but long time can do without food. Mold is a favorite delicacy that attracts hay eaters to the apartment. You can get rid of their presence by eliminating pockets of constant dampness.

Fruit flies. Their larvae develop in plant debris: fruits, vegetables, etc. They are also called fruit flies. Like flies, they are carriers of infection. Whole swarms of flies may appear over rotten fruit. You should get rid of them by throwing out garbage on time and following the rules for storing and processing fruits and vegetables.

Flour beetles. An adult beetle reaches 12−19 mm in length. Its body is flat, light brown, and reddish underneath. Their larvae are 2 mm in size, yellow and have no eyes. They eat cereals and flour. In addition to grain and flour, the beetleworm can infest itself in starch, dried fruits, seeds, and also feed on fabric and wool.

The bedroom is most often inhabited by:

• Dust mites;
• Bedbugs;
• Carpet beetles.

Ticks are creatures that feed on dead skin particles. Therefore, bed linen, mattresses, sofas and pillows are like a 24-hour dining room for them. On average, there can be about 10 billion individuals in each person's bed. Dust mites cause allergic reactions in people with asthma. The dust that forms from the remains of their vital activity irritates the respiratory tract and lungs. In 1 sq. m carpeting there are about 100,000 of them. Ticks do not survive at temperatures below zero.

Kozheed. His body contains enzymes that can process keratin. The larvae of the leather beetle eat wool, thereby spoiling woolen items. But at the same time, they can be useful because they eat dead insects and fallen hair.

Lice. Contrary to popular belief, lice grow in clean hair. Clean hair is easier to move through, as it slips less due to the lack of oil on it. IN long hair Lice appear more often than in short ones, because it is more convenient to attach to them. They cling to hairs using six legs with claws. On average, no more than 5-10 individuals live on an infected head.

There are still cocoons of lice in the hair. The louse, being on the head for about a month, lays many eggs. If you do not remove lice in time, everyone around you can become infected. Insects drink blood at least once a day. Lice saliva prevents blood clotting. Initially, the body of a young individual is colorless, but its color changes after the first meal.

Body lice hide in folds dirty clothes. Their lifespan is twice that of a head louse. They are more fertile. Their dried excrement can transmit dangerous diseases. For example, cootie can become a carrier of typhoid and other diseases.

Mosquitoes are blood-sucking insects. Moreover, only females feed on blood. Their upper and lower lips are elongated and form a kind of pencil case, which contains sharp and thin needles. Unlike females, males have poorly developed these organs and they do not bite, but feed only on plant sap. Mosquito larvae and pupae live in stagnant bodies of water. In cities, they fill warm and humid rooms, such as the basements of residential buildings.

Harmless bugs

The following insects can be found in the bathroom at home:

• Silverfish;
• Woodlice;
• Pintails;
• Flycatchers;
• Spiders;
• Centipedes.

The woodlouse is a garbage-collecting insect. Its body, covered with “armor,” reaches a length of no more than 20 mm. They eat rot, mold, excrement and members of their own species. Six times a year they shed their shell, becoming completely defenseless. To absorb oxygen, their gills, which are located on the abdomen, must remain moist.

These insects are capable of sucking water at both ends: by mouth and tubes near the rectum. Due to the high calcium content in their shells, there was a time when these insects were sold in pharmacies as a cure for indigestion. This is how they got the name “pill bugs.”

Silverfish. Little bugs that eat literally everything thanks to their body's ability to produce cellulase, a breaking down enzyme. These microscopic black bugs can be seen on book spreads. They are also called bookworms.

Pintails. Another name for this insect is earwig or mite. Also the most common name is pincher. This is an omnivorous insect. IN apartment buildings they are most likely attracted by the presence of a variety of food and other insects, which they also feed on (or rather, their remains). Pintails reach 12-17 mm in length. Long antennae extend from the head. They can fly, but are reluctant to use their wings.

They deserve special dislike for the fact that they bite painfully or pinch with their tongs, biting through the skin until it bleeds. But they do this solely for the purpose of self-defense. In addition, they are very useful because they eat aphids.

Flycatchers. They start in different rooms and look like furry caterpillars. They move quickly and feed on other insects: flies, mosquitoes, midges, and silverfish. They may bite in self-defense.

Spiders weave their silk webs using special glands. The thread they throw out hardens when exposed to air. They calmly move along their web, waiting for their prey. If the victim is caught, then she will never get out. The web in the corners looks unaesthetic, but still the benefits of the spiders themselves are undeniable. They kill harmful insects. Many spiders catch and eat insects twice their own weight in a day.

Centipedes. The length of centipedes ranges from 2 mm to 30 mm. Millipedes belong to the superclass of invertebrates, although some people mistakenly consider them insects. Kivsyaki is one of the types of centipedes common in Russia. They look very impressive because they look like a long black smooth caterpillar with many legs.

Flying arthropods

Some insects fly through open windows and doors and settle in the house for a long time. They can be seen with the naked eye and a fairly loud buzzing sound can be heard.

flies. According to recent research, most flies sleep at night and doze during the day. The fly has a complex eye structure. It consists of thousands of lenses, which gives her the ability to see in many directions simultaneously. Sensitive villi on the fly's body allow it to hear sound vibrations. Their taste buds are on their paws. When choosing food, flies moisten it with saliva and absorb it. Then they burp it to soften it, and then suck it up with a sponge-like mouth. They eat constantly, as well as mate. Flies live for about three weeks.

Wasps. They often make their nests in people's homes. Usually these are attics, balconies, loggias, verandas. They build nests from chewed wood and fiber. Wasps often drink water as well as sweat from people's skin. Every year about 1.5 thousand people die from their bites. But nevertheless, they provide benefits by eating other insects.

Mole- a well-known domestic pest, lepidopteran insect. Moth larvae eat not only fabric, but also products of plant origin: grains of wheat, corn, barley, oats, and also eat flour and even dry bread. Moths are known to enter the home when attracted to bright light. And when they get into a home, they settle in it forever.

Insect pests

Woodworms are furniture pests that lay eggs in recesses and small cracks. In three years, the larva grows into an adult. They make passages in the wood where they live.

Most often, only secondary signs of this insect’s presence are noticeable - small holes, mounds sawdust, damaged wooden furniture.

Human life is connected with living nature, and insects are part of it. This neighborhood has been going on since time immemorial. People have even managed to domesticate some insects. For ants, there are special farms for raising them in apartments - formicariums.