Any apartment owner often encounters such a parasite as a mole. It is a rather small but very nasty butterfly, which can lead to large losses. One such crumb can damage an expensive fur coat so that it will be impossible to restore it. Let's find out how to deal with this problem or even prevent its occurrence.
Mole and the reasons for its appearance
The moth is a small gray butterfly. It is quite common parasite and brings a lot of trouble. These insects are divided into body and food pests. First feed on keratin, which is formed on natural fur, wool and fabrics from natural materials. The second prefers food such as cereals, nuts, bread and dried fruits.
All listed parasites can appear both in a perfectly clean, well-kept apartment, and in a neglected room. The main reason for the activation of the moth is the presence of her favorite food in the house. This butterfly can penetrate the human abode in various ways, but often the food moth is brought from the store along with cereals or other food.
Read also how to get rid of bedbugs and cockroaches in the apartment
Wardrobe butterfly you can bring to the apartment with a new fur coat, sweater or other product made from natural materials. Long-haired dogs are also an excellent transport for the parasite. The moth hides in the animal's fur and enters your home. Often this parasite settles in the new furniture, which is covered with natural materials.
Habitat and parasitization
All kinds of moths settle exactly where the stocks of their favorite food are concentrated. You can find a wrecker in the closet, on things, under the main lining of clothes, inside the furniture. Insect hates drafts, light, fresh air, as well as strong flavors.
Food moth loves the kitchen - it is there that the main stocks of cereals are concentrated, and this food is the most attractive for it. Often the parasite can be found in plastic bags with buckwheat, rice, corn, semolina, oatmeal, millet, barley. Dry parasitic infants, flour, dry pet food, nuts and dried fruit are also favorite parasitizing sites.
Varieties of home moth
In nature, there are a large number of species of moth:
- clothes room;
- fur coat;
- fruit;
- furniture;
- food or grain;
- carpet;
- book.
Fruit The pest specializes in eating dried fruit, nuts, and tea. It lays eggs directly into the food product itself and thus creates just the ideal conditions for the growth and development of offspring. Due to this, it is the fruit moth that breeds and fills the house faster than any other species.
From the name it is clear that the grain moth is a lover of cereals, pastries, bread.
May beetles, a bear, a mole rat, locusts, voles, moths, tsikadki, mice, shrews, moles, Colorado beetles do great harm.
Carpet species of butterflies prefers to lay eggs in dense and fluffy pile. Because of this, her offspring is difficult to detect.
Book pest destroys paper, loves to settle in old, dusty bookcases. There are quite favorable conditions for life, reproduction, as well as an abundant supply of food.
Important! Food in which the grain mole was found must be disposed of immediately. A butterfly or a larva could have time to leave there its excrement and other waste products.
Stages of moth development
Mole refers to an insect that has a complete development cycle. The future butterfly forms in the egg, then hatch and becomes a larva. At this stage of development, the pest actively seeks and absorbs as much food as possible. This is explained by the fact that in order to turn into a pupa, and then an adult butterfly larva, you need to collect a certain amount of "fat" reserves. After reaching the goal, the insect pupates, and after a couple of days, a full-fledged adult ready for breeding is born.
Consequences of the presence of moths
The harm from the presence of small gray butterflies can be quite large. Clothes moths spoil clothes gnawing holes in it. Also these insects are very multiply rapidly so you may not even notice how they occupy the entire apartment.
Did you know? Moth eggs and larvae are very poorly attached to clothing. Therefore, regular shaking of things will help get rid of pests.
Food moth can deprive you of food. She lays larvae in cereals and other favorite places. From the product in which eggs or larvae appeared, it is necessary to get rid of. Often insects gnaw through packages, and their contents just pour out, polluting the kitchen. They can also destroy dried fruit, nuts, and loose tea stored for the winter, and if the pest is brought in a jar with a mixture for babies, it can lead to the poisoning of the baby.
Mole Control Methods
Mankind has invented a fairly large number of various means to combat these hated parasites. They exist in a large assortment with a different type of action. In addition, popular methods that have been proven over the years are often used to correct the problem; in particular, temperature effects can be applied.
Heat treatment
Impact on parasites very low or high temperatures is the most effective method of destruction. Due to the biological features of insects, they instantly die at temperatures below -5 ° C and above +45 ° C. With this method, both adult insects and their larvae and eggs die.
Do-it-yourself chemical processing
Special chemical fumigators and aerosols have been created for chemical processing. The composition of these drugs is a substance that causes irreparable harm to insects, blocks their receptors, and soon kills. With these tools you can easily and quickly defeat the parasites. To get rid of the pest using an aerosol, you need to spray it on all the places where the mole could theoretically live.
Fumigators work from the power supply network and heat a special plate that evaporates substances harmful to moths. When using this insect repellent, it is recommended to put a new cartridge before each use. The most effective solution would be to place the fumigator in places where a hated insect is most likely to live. If you have already found a place where the pest has laid the larvae, then feel free to place the device as close as possible to the find.
Important! Be careful when using the spray. This remedy is quite toxic and can damage the airways. It is recommended to work in gloves and a respirator.
The advantage of these methods is that they work at all stages of the development of moths, are quite safe for humans, and also convenient to use. The downside of aerosols and fumigators is that that they are quite expensive and uneconomical: the first option is sold in small cans, which are often not enough to handle the entire apartment, and the second quickly burn the plate.
Scare sections
You can scare away the mole with the help of rich aroma. Smells of a lavender and a geranium most strongly operate. This type of pest control does not provide complete disposal of them, but if you use the section after the destruction of pests, they will serve as a guarantee that the parasite does not appear again. This method of struggle affects already adult individuals. For the larvae is not effective because it is not able to kill the parasite.
Folk remedies
Among the most common means in the people to combat moths are listed naphthalene, lavender and fir oils, orange skins, and strong tobacco. All these products have a very sharp and unpleasant smell for parasites. The principle of folk remedies is the same as that of the scaring sections. They produce a very pungent odor that insects do not tolerate. That is why the parasites rush to leave the place where any of the listed products lies.
This method is the most economical and well deters pest from favorite things in the closet or cereals in the kitchen. It acts only on adult butterflies. The larvae are not affected by strong odors and cannot be destroyed by the listed folk remedies.
Note that moth is a pest of grapes, pears, peaches, azaleas, dill, viburnum, carrots and spruce
Professional pest control
Professional pest control, Of course, the most productive and successful way to deal with any kind of moth. Special agents act both on butterflies and larvae and even on parasite eggs. This method is most effective and always brings only positive results. Its disadvantage is that professional pest control is quite expensive and also toxic. After the procedure, it is advisable not to enter the treated room for at least three hours.
Prevention of destruction
After applying the main methods of parasite destruction, it is necessary to make sure that it does not appear in the house again. For this you need to take appropriate measures. The most effective and proven method is treatment of the apartment with a special aerosol a week after the main procedure. Need to handle all the sofas, furniture, carpets, as well as things in the closet. This will help destroy the remaining parasites.
You can also use the above fumigator for this purpose. Every day throughout the week it must be turned on for a couple of hours in all rooms. Due to this, the apartment is saturated with a smell that is hated by insects and all the remaining individuals will leave the room.
Ants are quite popular pests. Learn how to deal with them, with: ammonia, boric acid, the drug "Muravin", as well as read how to get rid of ants in the garden with the help of folk remedies.
Preventive measures
It is much easier to prevent the appearance of moles than to fight with her. For the dressing and food pest, fresh air is hated, so you should often ventilate the apartment. For full confidence that the parasite does not live in the closet and does not spoil your favorite things, you can hang a scaring section. They exist with different flavors, so you will have the opportunity not only to get rid of parasites, but also to give things a pleasant smell.
Of the proven folk remedies, the most effective is the use of strong tobacco or cigarettes. They need to be wrapped in a thing or put in a pocket of pants. This will give the clothes smell of tobacco unpleasant for pests. A popular method is also the use of aromatic oils, which are applied to a small piece of fleece and hidden in things. They act on the same principle as tobacco. It does not hurt to decompose such fragrant fleeces throughout the house so that the mole does not even come close to it.
Of course, it is easier to prevent the appearance of moths in the house than to deal with the consequences of its activity. However, sometimes the mole is brought into the room unintentionally, and you need to get rid of it. As you can see, there are lots of ways to combat insect pests, and it is useful to know about them.
