How to deal with wood lice: practical tips for ridding a house and garden of a pest

Good day! I remember, ten years ago, I lived in a city apartment with my grandmother.

We had many houseplants, which were used to plant almost all the rooms. Once they began to seriously suffer from the activity of wood lice. A couple of flowers had even been thrown away.

The source of the appearance of these insects was the bathroom. After a short struggle, the victory remained with us. The plants were safe. Want to learn how to deal with wood lice? How to prevent their occurrence? Then read about all the nuances in the article below.

Woodlifters in the apartment

Woodlouse in the apartment: how to get rid, how to deal with woodlice in the bathroom and remove insects forever, photo.

Insects appear throughout the year and are more active in spring and autumn, breeding occurs in the summer, and it is curious that the female carries her eggs in a pouch, on her body, until she finds a place hidden from predators to lay them down. Of all the representatives of their subspecies, these are the only insects that are best adapted to land, but despite this they still breathe with gills.

Who is and what does it look like

Externally, wood lice are similar to caterpillars with many small legs. Have a white or grayish color. Their eyes are located on the sides. They also have two pairs of antennae, one more developed than the other.

Seven pairs of front legs (and a total of fourteen) are designed for movement. The chest of an insect consists of seven hard plates. Their length reaches ten to fifteen millimeters.

Reason for occurrence

For the most part, woodlice in the apartment appear in places where it is damp: under the tiles, in the basement, in the bathroom, under a fallen, damp tree, under stones, in showers, toilets and cracks. Their life expectancy is two to three years.

Catching an insect is not so difficult, it’s enough just to block their path as soon as they stop. Their protective reaction is that wood lice are curled into a ball, with a dense "carapace" outward, as if pretending to be dead.

The reasons for the appearance of wood lice: in one hundred percent of cases it is damp, as this is an ideal environment for their habitat, and in comfortable conditions they grow and multiply quickly, for example wood lice are very common. Of the one hundred and sixty registered species of wood lice (and only about three thousand), only a few can withstand dry air.

Woodlifters in apartments live in inaccessible places under the floor, under the wallpaper, under the tile (in the bathroom). Insects can appear from dark corners and crevices, as well if you store wet towels or rags.

For the appearance of wood lice in the apartment, special climatic conditions are necessary, but these outbreaks of their invasions do not last long. Woodlifters do not like light and lead an active lifestyle at night.

Why are they dangerous?

Nothing really. Absolutely harmless insects, they do not bite, do not sting, do not tolerate any disease, and generally do not cause any harm to humans, unless they have a not pleasant appearance. They are also completely harmless to your home, food and clothing.

Despite this, it is very difficult to destroy wood lice in an apartment. If the fight against wood lice is carried out, it is important to remember that insects appear precisely because of dampness.

Therefore, first of all, you need to dry the apartment. It is necessary to eliminate the leakage of water and further maintain dryness. However, if the hearth is not in your apartment, but is assumed by the neighbors, it remains only to receive guests, without the dampness necessary for their normal life, for a long time they will not linger.

In order to get rid of wood lice in the apartment, you should remove all waste that can feed them. It is advised to get rid of insects by means against ants, another remedy against wood lice, you can dissolve one hundred grams of alum in half a liter of boiling water, and spray this solution directly in places of localization.

In order to get rid of insects in the bathroom, you can sprinkle salt along the walls and corners, a solution of boric acid will also help.

Remedy for wood lice

The tool for combating wood lice can be purchased at the store, if it does not help, then you can put in the apartment the so-called "traps" of raw potatoes with a tunnel made inside.

Before all of the above means, it is worthwhile to dry the apartment (you can do this with a fan or heater), and only after that start processing. In very extreme cases, if it is possible not to enter the apartment for several days, then you can pour lime in a bucket and close the door tightly.

Chemicals. The list is quite extensive and has a different level of effectiveness:

It should be remembered that when using chemicals against insects, precautions must be strictly observed, especially if there are animals or small children in the apartment. Be sure to wear gloves when using crayons, use a mask when spraying aerosols.

After processing in the apartment is completed, be sure to ventilate the room. It is advisable to go out for a few hours, and give your beloved pet to neighbors or relatives.

Prevention of occurrence

In order to prevent the occurrence of insects in the apartment, it is necessary to check all ventilation passages, attics and basements, plumbing and sewer systems, and if there is a leak, eliminate it. It is necessary to maintain dryness in the apartment, throw out spoiled plants on time and not create favorable conditions for them.

If wood lice are constantly returning to your house, or you cannot completely get rid of them, then it is better to contact the sanitary and epidemiological station.

5 remedies for getting rid of wood lice

Any person has encountered wood lice at least once in a lifetime. It is worth going down to a dark damp cellar or lifting a rotten driftwood - brisk wood lice are right there - small creatures covered with rows of solid gray records.

It remains only to pick up a creature pretending to be dead and carefully examine it.

Structural features

The body of a woodlice is flattened - an excellent adaptation to life in various crevices and under the bark. On top is covered with several convex chitinous shields, impregnated with calcium for strength.

Such a cover provides good protection and serves as an external skeleton (support) for the body. From moisture insect guards shine. On the head there are eyes and a long jointed antennae, and under the head shield there are a couple more small and inconspicuous mustaches.

If you count the number of scutes, then you can count seven larger pectoral, and 6 narrower, covering the tail section. Shields are found one on top of another, reliably protecting the soft parts of the body under them. These creatures often settle in apartments.

If you went to take a shower and found small creatures with the indicated signs on the floor, you can be sure that you have got wood lice in your bathtub.

Origin

Most people for some reason are sure that wood lice are insects. Nothing like this! Scientists attribute them to the class of crustaceans, so these creatures are relatives of ordinary crayfish and shrimp, and are much less similar in structure to cockroaches or beetles.

If you turn over the wood lice and look from below, then on the abdomen you can find small branching legs on which the gills are located. This is the respiratory organ of crustaceans.

That's how woodlice adapted to life on land and in our bathrooms. Only all the same they have to lead a nocturnal lifestyle and hide from the withering sun.

The life of wood lice does not threaten surrounding creatures in any way, since they feed on rotten wood and other dead organic residues. They do not attack anyone or eat anyone, but they themselves are food for some small mammals, spiders, birds. For their love of rotten trees, the English call them tree lice.

They are also found in human dwellings, preferring basements, places for laying pipes, wood lice also settle in the bathroom itself. Woodlouse living in the bathroom is completely safe for humans.

Therefore, wood lice in the room is only a signal that the floor and corners do not dry out here. If you eliminate the increased humidity, then they will disappear by themselves and you will not have to think about how to get rid of wood lice.

Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to remove moisture in the bathtub or shower, unless you go to wash there, so you may need other methods to destroy wood lice in the apartment, for example, folk ones.

How to withdraw

Using lime. You can carry out a “chemical attack” with quicklime.You need to put a bucket in the bathtub, fill it half with lime and pour two-thirds of the water. (Pour water carefully so that boiling water and splashes do not get on the skin and eyes).

They say that this is quite an effective remedy for these creatures, however, it is not a very suitable way for those who have a combined bathroom or who are used to taking a bath or shower daily.

The destruction of woodlice with pepper and tobacco Grandmothers know one more effective remedy against wood lice: a more laborious, but less time consuming, artisanal method.

You need to mix a bag of red pepper, tobacco, soda and dissolve it all in one liter of water. Spray the floor and corners in the bathroom. Remember to protect yourself by wearing gloves and a mask. You can do this all in the morning, before going to work.

After 8 hours, having arrived home, wash the room with bleach and ventilate. Try to eliminate the accumulation of moisture under the bathtub so that from the increased humidity, the wood lice are not divorced again.

Why brooms in the bath? But in the villages they came up with another way to remove wood lice in a bathhouse or in a hut. Wet brooms after the steam room were placed in the corners at night. In them, under the cover of darkness, woodlice necessarily climbed.

Then, before dawn, the brooms had to be carefully collected and shaken over the fire, pouring out all the wood lice. So at one time it was possible to get rid, though not of all, but of a sufficiently large number of these unpleasant neighbors.

Long live chemistry!. Fortunately, modern people can use more effective ways to destroy unwanted cohabitants.

The chemical industry offers various poisonous agents that can get rid of woodlice:

1. “Gett” and a newer tool on the same basis as “Get”. It is recommended, however, as an effective remedy for cockroaches, but they also kill other arthropods, including wood lice;
2. other insect repellents, which also act on crustaceans, such as Tarax and Tetrix.

Drugs must be diluted in accordance with the instructions and process the floor in the bathroom. According to manufacturers, the effect is guaranteed.

They probably crawl through slots and ventilation from neighbors or from the basement. In the latter case, the best thing you can do is to contact the management company so that it concludes an agreement with special services involved in the destruction of parasites.

Prevention of occurrence

And you should always remember that the life condition of wood lice is high humidity, which means that you need to get rid of faulty taps, leaking pipes and poor ventilation.

Drying the laundry in the bathroom, rare airing - all this also contributes to the emergence of high humidity, and in this case, not only woodlice, but also much bigger troubles such as fungus and mold can become your guests.

So, we learned that wood lice are a crustacean that can live only in conditions of high humidity.

Therefore, the main factor that will help get rid of wood lice is a dry room. Make your bath drier. And only in this case, the use of means to destroy wood lice will help get rid of them forever.

How to deal with wood lice at home and in the garden

Woodlice are pests that have a very nasty repellent appearance. Surprisingly, they belong to the crustacean family. In total, more than 200 species are known to date.

During the day, woodlice hide in secluded corners, and with the onset of darkness they go in search of food. They feed on both living and decaying plants, therefore they can harm some garden crops.

To notice that these insects visited "away", it is possible through holes on the outside of the leaves, since they cannot crawl along the bottom. After their visits, the plant can die very quickly.

The body of the wood lice is oval in shape with plates on the back that replace the shell. Interestingly, the patterns on them often resemble bizarre oriental hieroglyphs. The body is divided into several segments, each of which has a pair of legs. The color of the insect is gray (its different shades).

Its average length is 2 centimeters, but individuals more than 30 centimeters long are found in nature.

When woodlice feel danger, for example, if a person takes them in their hands, they turn into a ring and pretend to be dead.

Reasons for the appearance

Typically, wood lice appear only in places where they have comfortable conditions. Most likely causes:

• a large number of sawn trees piled in a pile of boards or just cracks and crevices in any buildings. These parasites are very fond of darkness;
• dampness. Do not forget that woodlice belong to the crustacean family, which means that they breathe with gills and absorb oxygen from the water. They especially like linen that is dried in the bathroom or wet rags lying around;
• the presence of organic residues. If there is a pile in the garden into which the trash can is emptied, wood lice are likely to live in this place. So such inaccuracy not only spoils the appearance of the site, but also contributes to the multiplication of various pests on it.

If it is noticed that the parasites have already appeared on the site, it is important to start getting rid of them in time and not letting the situation go by itself.

Why are they dangerous?

If you do not begin to get rid of the insects discussed, then soon you can lose not only many of your favorite plants, but there is also part of the crop. Moisture-loving cultures with a delicate thin root system are especially affected by their proximity.

With great pleasure, these insects crack down on the vegetable and fruit crops stored in the cellar.

In addition, these pests contribute to a very rapid compaction of the soil. As a result, the roots of the culture will lack oxygen and they will begin to suffocate. It is also known that woodlice can tolerate various diseases on their antennae and paws, which are dangerous for both domestic and garden plants.

To protect your site from all these problems, you need to start a competent fight against parasites in time.

As you can understand from the reasons why these insects most often appear, you need to start by removing excess moisture at home, in the cellar or in the garden. This is the very first important stage of the struggle.

It just crumbles on the floor or in special shallow containers. In greenhouses and hotbeds it will be necessary to reduce the amount of watering, as well as slightly dry the soil.

Folk recipes

Today, there are many popular recipes that will tell you how to get rid of wood lice.

Many private homeowners know how to deal with wood lice with red pepper, soda, and tobacco. You will need to take 3 grams of each of the listed ingredients, and then dissolve them in a liter of water and spray the mixture in the places where the pests discussed are concentrated.

You can also make a strong solution of salt and water, and then spray it on problem areas. A solution of boric acid helps to get rid of woodlice. This tool destroys the "shell" of insects, without which they die quickly enough.

Another effective solution that everyone who wants to know how to get rid of woodlice needs to get acquainted with is prepared from boiling water and dry kvass. Proportions: 100 grams of dry matter per 500 milliliters of water.

You can make a trap for wood lice yourself. To do this, you need to place a damp rag or a birch broom near the habitat of the pests. By morning, a lot of woodlice will be trapped. All that remains is to shake it out over a deep container and pour boiling water over the fallen parasites.

For the preparation of insect control products according to the indicated recipes, only the most affordable and inexpensive ingredients will be required.

Ready Means

In modern stores you can find many chemical products that will also help get rid of wood lice. They will be needed if folk recipes did not help.

Among such means: universal gel bait “Schabenge” l, “Varan”, which also effectively destroys moth, “Mole”, “Ideal”, “Thunder-2” and many others.

Using any of the ready-made purchased products, it is very important to strictly follow the dosage and follow the instructions so as not to harm surrounding plants and animals.

How to get rid of wood lice?

Woodlice (lat.Oniscidea) - a family of crustaceans (Crustacea) pests from the order of isopods (Isopoda).

During the day, wood lice are hiding, and go out in search of food in the evening or at night. They feed on plants, partly decaying, partly alive, and can sometimes do some harm to garden plants (but at the same time they eat harmful plants).

Food can be moss, bark, algae, and with a large population, and a favorite plant, for example spathiphyllum or calathea. In this case, holes on the leaves, as a rule, appear from the outside, since the insect is not adapted to crawl along the bottom of the leaves.

By the way, wood louse is very similar to mealybug, only it is much larger, although both can destroy the plant, and very quickly.

The first pair of antennae is underdeveloped and very small, the second is highly developed. Eyes on the sides of the head. The upper jaw lacks tentacles. The first thoracic segment for the most part covers the head from the sides, the 8th has a deep notch in the back.

There are 7 pairs of chest legs of the same structure, with the help of which woodlice move. All segments of the abdomen are free.

In case of danger (for example, if you put them in the palm of your hand), wood lice are curled up and pretended to be dead.

In some species, patterns similar to oriental hieroglyphs are visible on the plates of the back.

Why are they dangerous?

If you don’t take out wood lice and leave everything to chance, then you can soon say goodbye not only to your favorite plants, but also without part of the harvest of your garden, in extreme situations.

Wood lice are usually found in tubs and pots, the soil in which is nutritious and loose or contains additives in the form of fallen leaves, wood dust, moss. Tropical hygrophilous plants with thin delicate roots, such as orchids, ferns and some species of cacti, are especially affected by this pest. Mostly the underground parts of indoor flowers are affected.

Woodlice also contribute to the rapid compaction of the soil, which negatively affects the root system of the plant. From a lack of oxygen, the roots may begin to suffocate. The first signal to the defeat of the soil with woodlice is a constant rash of pieces of soil in the pan of the pot. If these pieces are removed, then after 2-3 days they appear again.

Woodlice fall into the pots, as a rule, when the plants are in the summer months on the street, for example, in the garden.

According to various sources, there is evidence that wood lice both carry and do not carry any infection on their paws and antennae. Choose you. I recommend not to go into the intricacies of this issue, but still try to get rid of this pest.

They need to know in person!

How to get rid?

Before fighting against wood lice, they must first be discovered. Pay attention to dark and humid places. They can be: in wall cracks, under baseboards, on the knock of walls, in a pallet of a flowerpot, in a bathroom under a rug and other similar places.

To begin with, dry the room in which wood lice are wound. Ventilate it well. You can use air conditioning or a fan. Use the following products to remove wood lice:

If a plant is affected: transplant it into a new substrate. In this case, the roots must be thoroughly washed in warm water, so as not to transfer the hidden insects into a new pot.

In combination with the above methods of combating woodlice, it is necessary to eliminate the causes of moisture in your home: check the plumbing or other sources of possible moisture.

Chemicals

The use of chemicals to fight against woodlice is rare. But if necessary, you can use drugs such as:

• Universal gel bait "Schabengel" (Frunol Delicia GMbH - Germany);
• Dichlorvos universal "Varan". By the way, it can also be used in the fight against moths;
• Universal remedy against household insect pests "Tarax";
• Tetrix (Netherlands);
• Gett;
• "Mole".
• Soil cultivators:
  • "Thunder", "Thunder-2";
  • "Ideal";
  • "Actara."

When using these drugs, in no case should you exceed the application rates indicated on the package, otherwise it will adversely affect the plant and the environment.

If there are a lot of wood lice, then in the fight against them, they will begin to actively move around the house.The view is not pleasant, so I recommend this in the absence of roommates who are extremely unpleasant in the appearance of these pests.

Prevention of occurrence

To prevent the appearance of wood lice at home, whether it be an apartment or a summer cottage, it is necessary first of all to maintain cleanliness! Try to keep clean on the terraces and in greenhouses, make sure that no rotting leaves or organic waste that can attract wood lice are left on the floor.

Also, make sure that there is no excessive moisture in the rooms, as this is one of the primary sources of the appearance of wood lice. Moisture can be caused by faulty plumbing, an extractor fan, and for example, just drying the laundry in the room.

If there are potted flowers, periodically wipe the pallets, the bottoms of pots and boxes with potted flowers so that moist soil does not stick there. Try not to leave dirty dishes on tables or in washbasins. It is advisable to take out the garbage bucket as soon as it is full.

Pay attention to the health of plumbing. Check for leaking pipes and taps, drains, etc. If possible, dry the laundry on the balcony or outside so that it does not increase the humidity in the room.

If there are cracks in the walls, seal them with satenghips or cement, depending on your layout and design.

Check chimneys and exhaust hoods. Grids should be clean and not torn, because through the chimneys, wood lice can come to you from neighbors.

Keep your floors clean, not only where you move, but also where wood lice can move, such as under cabinets, gas or electric stoves.

If nothing helps

If you can’t fight against wood lice, and they lose their nerves from their presence, contact the sanitary epidemiological station (SES) or a special service that deals with the elimination of all unnecessary insects in apartments.

Escort uninvited guests

The “living” of wood lice in your house is, of course, an undesirable phenomenon. I must say that I want to get rid of them precisely because of their repulsive appearance - these crustaceans do not pose any danger to people: they do not bite and do not tolerate the disease.

Why do wood lice appear

If you find wood lice in a room, it means that the house has conditions for their comfortable existence.

Mokritsky people like to settle in bathrooms, because they rarely turn on light there, and usually there is high humidity. If you live in an apartment in a high-rise building, then eliminating the cause will be more difficult. Well, wood lice are also entering the private house from the garden.

How to fight

It’s better to use several measures at once. In all rooms located in the basement and in the basements, ventilation must be arranged.

These rooms are usually dimly lit, so take extra light. In Here, LED lamps on batteries will help get rid of wood lice: they do not require the installation of additional electrical wiring. After the basement is restored to normal, the number of wood lice decreases or they completely disappear.

First of all, clean the hood in the apartment so that it works one hundred percent. Seal all the cracks with sealant so that wood lice have no chance to get into the room - so it will be easier to get rid of them.

If these measures do not help

How to get rid of wood lice in the bathroom if the previous methods did not help? Where accumulations of wood lice were noticed, an aqueous solution of boric acid, borax or alum was sprayed (for 0.5 l of water - 100 g of alum).

You can dissolve a mixture of red pepper, grated tobacco and soda ash in water in equal amounts. After 8 hours, treat the surface with a solution of bleach.

A powerful tool is insecticidal bait ("Mole", "Gett"). Put them on the floor in the toilet or in the bathroom and leave for two days. After 10 days, repeat the procedure again. Just remember to wear a respirator and rubber gloves. This tool will not work if there are children and animals in the apartment.

So, getting rid of wood lice in a house or apartment is quite simple. Of course, this will take some time and effort. But in the end - they will leave and will no longer bother you. Of course, if you regularly clean the ventilation and monitor the microclimate in the basement and cellar, then you will no longer have to fight against wood lice.

Proven ways to fight and prevent

Woodlice are very unpleasant insects. They may appear in the apartment suddenly, for no reason. Woodlice are very tenacious, breed quickly and can live anywhere in the house.

These insects belong to the class of crustaceans and can easily destroy all indoor plants in the apartment, as they feed not only on rot, but also on healthy shoots of flowers.

There are many ways to get rid of these parasites.

Causes of occurrence

In the house, woodlice can appear if there are several conditions. These crustaceans feel best in damp rooms, such as in the bathroom or cellar. If pipes leak in your bathroom, toilet or kitchen, your laundry is often too wet, ventilation is clogged, then wood lice can start at any time.

The second reason that these crustaceans can settle in your apartment is rotting vegetables, fruits, plants and garbage. Sometimes, wood lice can get into the house from neighboring rooms through the water supply, cracks in the walls or balconies.

How to fight?

Wood lice are believed to be safe and pose no threat to humans. But here the opinions of experts differ. Some believe that insects can carry pathogenic bacteria and germs on their paws.

Such compounds are diluted in water and treated in rooms. Rinse products with water should not be, since chlorine has the property to evaporate. If at least once a week to carry out such treatment, then very soon the wood lice will completely disappear.

Powder or boric acid solution copes well with these insects. Sprinkle with powder or spray with liquid means those places where you found the maximum accumulation of parasites.

The advantage of this method is that boric acid is safe for people and pets. Salt has similar properties. Just sprinkle it where the woodlice live, and they will soon disappear.

Dissolve 100 g of alum in 500 ml of water. Spray this solution in the place of accumulation of insects. It does not need to be washed off.From wood lice should not remain a trace.

Specialty insecticides like Mole, Getta, Taraxa, etc. are sold in household chemical stores. Apply the composition to places where wood lice often appear and leave to dry for 2 days. After 5 days, be sure to repeat the procedure to fix the result.

When using chemicals, do not forget about safety equipment: a respirator and gloves. In a house where there are children and pets, it is better to do with less dangerous methods of combating parasites.

If it is impossible to independently get rid of insects, it is better to invite specialists who will not only remove wood lice, but also give you a guarantee for their absence for a certain time after processing.

How to remove wood lice so that they do not appear again?

Even if you deal with wood lice, but don’t remove the cause of their occurrence, they will visit you again soon. To completely get rid of these crustaceans, you should constantly maintain cleanliness in the apartment, often ventilate the room, and prevent the appearance of damp floors and walls.

In order to circulate air in the premises, it is recommended to install an air conditioner, ventilation or a fan. In addition, keep an eye on your indoor plants, vegetables and fruits in the pantries. Do not let them spoil, but in case of decay, throw them out immediately.

If wood lice are wound up in indoor flowers, then the plants must be transplanted. At the same time, their roots should be thoroughly washed during transplantation in warm water and treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate - this will guarantee that the flower will not attract wood lice.

Using old pots for transplanting even after careful processing is not recommended.

Woodlice are very unpleasant insects that cause a large number of problems to residents of apartments and private houses. Despite the fact that they are practically harmless, few people want to share their living space with these insects.

In addition, wood lice are such parasites that can easily destroy all indoor plants. It is not difficult to get rid of these insects, but so that they do not appear again, you need to monitor the level of humidity and cleanliness in the house.