Remember the old joke when a man, looking at his burning house, says: “Well, if after that cockroaches remain, then I don’t know what to do!”? As you know, in every joke there is only a fraction of a joke. Cockroaches are indeed very tenacious and dangerous insects. What to do, if cockroaches in the apartment?
There are almost five thousand varieties of cockroaches. Fortunately, only two of them are found in our apartments - black (kitchen) and red (Prussian). The first is larger than the second, reaches 2.5-3 cm in length; the second one does not exceed 1.3 cm. The flattened body allows cockroaches to climb into narrow cracks, and the special device of the paws allows them to move along steep surfaces. By the way, they run fast.
They say that cockroaches appeared before dinosaurs and, unlike them, survived. Vitality is their main feature. They easily adapt to everything. There is an opinion that cockroaches will inherit the Earth after a nuclear war. But for a comfortable life they need food and moisture. At the same time, the Prussian can live without food for 40 days, the kitchen - 70. "Hungry" insects become dangerous: they begin to eat each other and bite people.
The danger of "neighborhood" with cockroaches also lies in the fact that in the process of life they climb into toilet bowls, garbage cans and other places where bacteria accumulate, as a result, they are their carriers. Cockroaches can cause a variety of diseases, from worms and dysentery to tuberculosis and typhoid.
Often, the number of cockroaches in an apartment grows catastrophically: they multiply rapidly, in addition, their feces contain enzymes that attract other individuals. However, detecting their presence in the house is not so easy. As a rule, the owners understand that they have got cockroaches when they start to “walk” in a brazen manner.
How to discover?
There are several indirect signs by which this can be done:
- black dots on dishes, furniture, wallpaper (insect excrement);
- specific smell;
- the appearance in the corners and crevices of clutches with eggs and others.
However, they do not pay attention to such “little things” until they personally encounter a mustachioed guest. Cockroaches are sociable "guys", and if you notice at least one in the apartment, be sure there are a lot of them. We urgently need to take action!
How to fight?
Folk methods
The most popular folk remedy is baits with boric acid. Cockroaches love mashed potatoes, liquid yeast, boiled yolk and granulated sugar. A tasty bait is mixed with boric acid, rolled into small balls and laid out in places where insects were seen.
Cockroaches are cold-blooded. At temperatures below +7 they cease to multiply and gradually die. Therefore, "freezing" is a very common and quite effective method of dealing with them. True, in city apartments it is unlikely to be used without damage to the heating system.
Cockroaches are "secret", active mainly at night. At the same time, leaving the light on is useless, they are not afraid of it. But from the noise and approaching steps they scatter. Therefore, at home, you can make a trap: put the bait on the bottom of a sufficiently deep enameled or glass dish, and grease the edges with grease or petroleum jelly. Climbing inside in search of "sweets", the cockroach will not get out. Prisoners are destroyed with boiling water.
Thanks to the “convenient” body shape, cockroaches climb into the cracks between walls, furniture, under skirting boards and even under wallpaper. You can get them out of their shelters with a vacuum cleaner. But remember: they are still alive in the dustbin.
This is a type of disinfection, which is the destruction of insects using various methods, the most effective of which is chemical.
You can poison cockroaches on your own or with the help of specialists.
The stores sell a lot of preparations for home pest control - gels, powders, crayons, etc. They are considered low-risk and are used almost without restrictions. But, if you decide to use them yourself, follow these rules:
- Read the instructions carefully.
- Use personal protective equipment (gloves, mask, goggles, etc.).
- Don't cook baits in the kitchen.
- Never place chemicals in places accessible to children and pets.
If you can't handle it on your own, call the professionals. There are many companies on the market that provide cockroach removal services. Pest control activities, as a rule, include: a preliminary survey of the premises, the choice of a method of control and direct pest control.
According to SanPiN 3.5.2.1376-03 "On the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population", pest control companies must use only approved drugs, carry out the procedure with open windows, in the absence of people. Before the procedure, it is recommended to remove food and personal belongings that the chemical can accidentally get on, and after that, thoroughly ventilate the apartment.
Professional pest control is more effective than independent measures. Often it is necessary to process several apartments at once, as well as common areas.
How to prevent?
Firms give a guarantee that the insects will not return. If cockroaches are wound up with neighbors, you can prevent their appearance in your apartment by ordering preventive pest control.
But, as you know, guests and cockroaches are united by the fact that they are removed in connection with their arrival. Insects start up where it's dirty. Therefore, the main preventive measure is hygiene. Clean regularly, do not leave dirty dishes in the sink for a long time. Put leftover food in the refrigerator. Make sure that the taps in the house are in good working order - cockroaches are very fond of moisture. Take out the trash more often. Seal up any cracks and holes that appear in the walls. Then the "cockroaches" will remain only in the heads.
They lead the night, which is why they can often be seen only in darkened rooms. In the daytime, they hide behind furniture, baseboards, in crevices, on the ceiling.
Where do cockroaches come from in an apartment? And how to get rid of them?
Are there cockroaches in the apartment? What to do? The very first question at the sight of mustachioed "friends": where did they come from and? In insects There are several ways to get in:
- from neighbors- after persecution, through ventilation, garbage chute, through cracks in the walls;
- with purchases- they can be brought with food, clothes and even furniture from the store;
- in things from the trip;
- with parcels via the Internet, goods sent in this way can be an excellent method of transportation for a wide variety of insects.
Now you know why cockroaches appear and will be more careful in the future. They are multiply very quickly if there are too many of them, they begin to develop neighboring territories. At such moments, the whole entrance and even the house can suffer from them.
Where do cockroaches hide and how to find them?
How do you know if you have guests? Signs of cockroaches in the room:
- black dots on walls, dishes or furniture;
- specific smell;
- insect eggs.
Most often, people do not notice these signs until they see insects with their own eyes. Even while maintaining sterile cleanliness, there is always a trash can in the room, insects secrete special pheromones, thanks to which the entire population learns about the whereabouts.
prefer to live near a water source, any access to water is used for drinking, incl. toilet bowl, pet bowl.
Most often, they are localized in secluded places hidden from human eyes, they can be found behind the back walls of kitchen cabinets, in household appliances, in the crevices of baseboards, in ventilation ducts, grilles. A small space between appliances, furniture and a wall is enough for cockroaches to equip a nesting place, from which it will be quite difficult to drive them out.
The kitchen is an important living space where food and nutrition is as accessible as possible.
Insects can live for a very long time without food, but they cannot stand the lack of water, which is why they are most often localized in kitchens, near the water supply.
Cockroaches prefer dark, hard-to-reach places where it is quite difficult to catch them; in such places they can sit out in columns. They are predominantly nocturnal their presence during the day indicates that there are too many of them.
What to do if cockroaches run away from neighbors?
Cockroaches do not always start up in an apartment from unsanitary conditions. There are several other ways in which they can appear in your home.
If cockroaches climb from neighbors, it is recommended to maintain perfect cleanliness in the apartment, throw away garbage daily, clean up food, wipe even small puddles, wipe the bathtub and sink at night, prevent leaks in plumbing, water pipes, put meshes on ventilation, close up all cracks and holes.
If there are too many cockroaches in the house, the following will help you: all kinds of ready-made and (for example), and also, they may help. If it was not possible to cope with pests, more drastic measures will have to be taken.
If cockroaches crawl from neighbors, it is recommended to agree with them at the same time to invite, which will take the necessary measures. If the neighbors refuse to poison, they can be forced to do so in court, for the ego you will need a document confirming the unsanitary conditions in a particular apartment. You can get such a document at the management company, as well as the sanitary, housing inspection.
Can they spawn from the sewers?
Sewer cockroaches are considered the most dangerous, they are potential carriers of dangerous diseases.
They became widespread about twenty years ago, they are noticed in toilets and bathrooms, they get into apartments through toilet bowls, piping systems, and drain holes.
The use of insecticides will help get rid of them, if the pests got into the apartment from the sewer, it will not be easy to get rid of them. The best thing in this case is contact a special service, other means are ineffective, even such effective ones as insects will simply sit out in the sewer.
Professionals will carry out insecticidal or all premises, garbage chute and even the entrance. When disinsection, only natural chemicals are used that are safe for people and pets.
To make it easier for you to choose remedies from "annoying neighbors", we have compiled proven remedies for fighting cockroaches. We also prepared a series of articles about them, about which ones exist at all, and which ones can be taken.
Here is a photo of sewer cockroaches so that you are always on the alert:
Can they live in microwaves, laptops and how to get them out of there?
In connection with the development of technology and the emergence of a variety of household appliances, baleen began to settle directly in electrical appliances. It is not clear to many how insects can live in microwaves and not die, but nevertheless, this is so.
Therefore, let's find out the main places where cockroaches live? Very often they choose TVs, toasters or microwave ovens where they are warm and comfortable, where they feed on leftover food and can live there for a very long time.
- put the device on heating for 30 minutes;
- expose to frost from eight degrees of cold;
- put a bait soaked in boric acid into the device.
When heated at high power, they will not fry, but will escape from it in order to return back after a while.
Neighbors are rather unpleasant, they appear, as a rule, unexpectedly and carry a lot of negative aspects. They are ubiquitous, you can find them in almost every corner of the house, both in the kitchen, in sanitary facilities, and in all rooms.
For the human body, they carry a serious danger, because they are carriers of many diseases. They are hard to destroy, they can be reborn if they get to a comfortable environment for them.
Where do black cockroaches come from in an apartment?
Places for black arthropods to enter the apartment include cracks in doors and walls, garbage chutes, and a ventilation system.
In addition, they enter the home in the following ways:
- At the moment when the neighbors decided to persecute insects, smart individuals will always find their way to another apartment and immediately change their place of residence.
- If there are rooms in the neighborhood that have a comfortable temperature and a large amount of food, then the cockroaches will definitely go there. And if there is a dining room or a cafe nearby, then the appearance of unpleasant individuals is practically guaranteed.
- Where can black cockroaches appear in an apartment from? The answer is quite simple: you can bring on items of clothing from infected places.
- You can deliver the pest home in store packaging and with any things. They can travel in parcels and arrive from a completely different locality.
- Given that the female can increase the population in a relatively short period of time by several dozen individuals, one can imagine how many there will be in a short period of time.
What does a black cockroach look like?
The body of the insect is covered with a black chitinous shell, has a beautiful shiny sheen. The shape of the body is flat, which helps it move perfectly through any hard-to-reach places.
The body, like other insects, has a head, chest, and abdomen. In length, they can reach 5 centimeters. Mouth organs, mustaches, eyes are placed on the head.
Males have much better vision than females. Whiskers are in constant motion and are the organs of smell, touch and temperature perception. Females look a little different: their mustaches are shorter. There are 3 pairs of legs on the chest, the last of them has wings (in females they are shorter than in males). Pushing off with their hind legs, they are able to make small jumps.
The structure of a black cockroach
The insect has a simple structure of the oral cavity of the gnawing type:
- The jaws, located at the top, have teeth at the top, intended for biting off food.
- Taste buds are located on the appendages of the mouth.
- The structure on the inside is the same as that of all insects.
- The body cavity is similar to other arthropods. It is formed by the merger of the primary and secondary cavities.
- The musculature is attached to the external skeleton.
The digestive system consists of:
- Oral cavity.
- Pharynx.
- Chewing stomach.
- Esophagus.
- Digestive secretions, which are busy absorbing and assimilating food.
- The hindgut is for excrement.
They have well developed respiratory, circulatory, nervous and excretory systems.
Earlier we showed what it looks like.
Harm of a black cockroach
As everyone knows, they penetrate into the home from unsanitary places (garbage containers, garbage chutes, sewage systems, etc.). On their paws, they carry helminth eggs and a huge number of pathogens.
They can be carriers of infectious diseases such as:
- Typhoid fever.
- Helminthiasis.
- Diphtheria.
- Dysentery.
In addition, they spoil food and household items.
Can a black cockroach be useful?
Despite all the negative reviews, the black cockroach can be useful. They are used to make tincture and powder, which effectively cure many diseases, for example, stop asthma attacks.
Tincture and powder are used as a diuretic. This insect in processed form is widely used in oriental medicine.
What do black cockroaches eat?
Due to the structure of the oral cavity, insects are recognized as omnivores.
The menu of the home black representative is quite diverse:
- Food:
- cereals;
- sugar;
- confectionery;
- meat;
- fish;
- vegetables, etc.
- Leather products.
- Indoor flowers.
- Soap.
- Paper.
- Glue.
- Books etc.
Despite the fact that there is a huge list of what he eats, he prefers food leftovers that are rich in carbohydrates and fats. They are very fond of beer, this drink is often used as bait.
If the room is not very crowded with pests, then you can see that they like to eat at night. During the day they hide in secluded places.
Which cockroaches are more dangerous: red or black?
Two types of cockroaches can start in residential premises - black and red. As noted, they cannot get along with each other, since there is fierce competition between them, both species claim the same place to live and they eat the same food.
Red-colored cockroaches always win in interspecific struggle. They multiply much faster, while the black one reaches puberty, the red one already has time to grow up and bring huge offspring.
The appearance of the black representative causes horror among others: the size is about 5 centimeters in length, the surface is shiny, and an unpleasant odor emanates from it. Such a phenomenon for a residential apartment is unnatural.
In principle, the presence of representatives of any kind in the apartment is highly undesirable. These insects contaminate food products with their vital activity, disable sockets and switches, harm household appliances, and have negative consequences for the general condition of a person.
Finding a house of black cockroaches, on the body of which there is a huge number of harmful and dangerous microorganisms, is harmful to human health and indicates poor sanitation of the premises.
How to get rid of large black cockroaches in the apartment?
As soon as black cockroaches appeared in the apartment , the owners of the premises begin to think, quickly and efficiently.
Pests are also called sewer representatives. They differ from the Prussians in their huge size, reaching up to 5 cm in length. In addition, they are much more developed. Their bodies are covered with a large number of antennae and hairs, thanks to which they are perfectly oriented.
Pests feed on almost everything, and in order to destroy them, you need to place traps throughout the living space. There are a huge number of drugs and methods for getting rid of, however, what to do with the treatment, it is up to the owner to decide first of all.
Fighting methods
From the moment when mankind became aware that preparations and methods for the destruction of black pests could be found, people began to exterminate them with extreme zeal. Thanks to new developments, they can do it.
We can say with confidence that getting rid of these malicious representatives is a completely feasible task. The main methods of struggle include the following impact.
mechanical extermination
However, this applies to partial extermination, and this method, of course, is not suitable against a pest battalion. We need to look for more efficient methods.
Heat treatment
This method of destruction has come down to us from ancient times. Its validity is in freezing buildings(cockroaches are afraid of the cold). However, it is worth noting that for city apartments with central heating, such an effect is not suitable.
Repellents
The way to get rid of it is not to exterminate, but to repel insects. It was noticed that black individuals categorically do not tolerate certain smells. Each experienced housewife has her own, effective preparation in her arsenal (bay leaf, rye collected during the flowering period, elder flowers, etc.).
The use of natural products impresses with its safety. Unfortunately, cockroaches quickly adapt to everything, and it is likely that they will crawl and not respond to the bouquets laid out for them.
Traps
It is difficult to completely expel arthropods from an apartment, but it is quite possible to deceive them. Food is used to attract the attention of cockroaches.
Treats must be placed in a place that is visible to them. He will not refuse to eat a treat. Here there is a place for the development of human imagination.
So, traps can be like this:
- The delicacy can be placed in a glass jar, after lubricating the inner surface with vegetable oil. Once there, arthropods will not be able to get out.
- The same effect can be obtained if you smear the path before the treat with a sticky compound, the pests will simply stick.
- The devices of the modern direction are diverse: having reached the destination, he can be killed by electric shock.
- In addition, it can be subject to disinfestation by the same electrical discharge.
Insecticides
This product of the chemical composition acts on the body of the insect, destroying it.
This is a group of devices, using which you can get a positive result, thereby answering the frequent question of how to poison black cockroaches in an apartment. It is they who will effectively help get rid of cockroaches when the above methods of effect did not bring.
Finding a remedy for black cockroaches in retail outlets is quite simple. The malls are literally filled with various drugs. These include gels, powders, crayons, aerosols and more.
Before purchasing a particular product, you need to get advice from the seller, who will explain in detail how best to carry out processing, point out the nuances.
As you know, manufacturers produce various drugs that effectively destroy creeping pests, such as:
Is it possible to get rid of black cockroaches forever?
It is almost impossible to completely get rid of uninvited guests. You can invite representatives of the SES, who will carry out a thorough treatment of pests.
Perfectly help folk remedies (boric acid + yolk), chemicals. But, people living in apartment buildings should remember one simple but important rule: if the main source of reproduction is not eliminated, they will visit the apartment again.
The thing is, who connects the apartments with one ventilation system, and if there is a room with a breeding ground for pests, the owners of which do not try to process, then the cockroaches will come again.
Neighbors need to act together, agreeing on the same day to carry out the pickling of all apartments in one riser (ideally, the entire entrance). Here, pests will have nowhere to go, they will die and for a long time, or maybe not at all, will not appear in residential premises.
Conclusion
Before scolding neighbors and looking for the causes of pests, it is necessary for the owners of the premises to carry out elementary preventive actions:
- The living quarters must always be kept clean.
- Wet cleaning should be carried out at least 2 times a week.
- Do not leave food, bread crumbs on the table and cabinets unattended.
- Seal the ventilation window with a thin mesh so that pests cannot enter the premises through it.
- Plug sockets.
- Do not leave water in the sink or on the floor.
- Do not store unwashed dishes.
- Communicate with neighbors for the appearance of each cockroach.
Greetings, dear readers. Have you ever wondered where cockroaches come from in an apartment? Probably yes, since you are reading this article. Well, you've come to the right place.
I will tell you where cockroaches come from in clean apartments, how they can enter your home and why they like to live next to us. We will discuss the main reasons provoking the appearance of the Prussians. You will learn what harm they can cause to people, and what to do if insects decide to settle near you.
Avoid cockroaches
For a long time, cockroaches were considered companions of hostels and disadvantaged tenants in apartment buildings. In fact, the Prussians are such a misfortune that can happen to any of us, regardless of status, financial well-being and perfect cleanliness in the house.
Today you are a clean owner, and tomorrow arthropods appear in your house and climb literally from all cracks. Therefore, you should not be ashamed and put off resolving the issue, the sooner we start disinfestation, the faster we will defeat the mustachioed enemy. But first, let's find out how he got into our house.
How did they get into my house?
Cockroaches are fast and agile creatures, and their flat bodies help them seep into even the narrowest gap. Moreover, they are predominantly nocturnal, so often we notice them only at the moment when the colony has grown to an impressive size. But how could they get into your house?
Here is just a small list of ways in which the Prussians penetrate our apartments:
- They came from neighbors, from the basement, from the garbage chute through the ventilation shaft, from cracks in the walls, from the sewer riser, etc.
- Came with a parcel from the online store.
- You yourself brought them home along with fruits from the supermarket.
- Returned with you from a business trip or travel.
The last three points seem ridiculous, but in fact such cases are not uncommon. One pregnant female in your travel suitcase will be enough to establish a fast growing colony.
Especially often people bring Prussians from business trips. During such trips, you often have to live in inexpensive hotels, which sometimes sin with insects. One pregnant female has chosen your bag, and now you are already going home not alone, but with new neighbors.
Or you flew away on vacation, but settled not in a hotel, but rented a house. A little later it turned out that he was teeming with Prussians. The most curious of them can easily be buried in your things, so you won't even notice how the insect has made a nest in your bag, and you can safely fly home with this bag. 
Well, there is a stone's throw to a colony of arthropods, because once a fertilized female Prusak can breed all her life, and she does not need a male for this. So if, after resting, you notice a mustachioed reptile running away from your suitcase towards a hole in the wall, cross your fingers that it was not a pregnant female.
It happens that on a trip, female cockroaches lay their eggs in the suitcases of vacationers, who then carry these eggs to their homes. So he left alone, and returned with a whole offspring - an unpleasant prospect, but it is impossible to insure against this. Unless you choose hotels and houses where there are definitely no insects.
We read on the topic: how cockroaches breed they will conquer the world
However, in a new home, cockroaches sometimes have a hard time. For example, if the owners are clean people, they do not have the habit of leaving food in the public domain and their taps do not leak. And sometimes vice versa - in a new home there are all conditions for a comfortable life and, importantly, the reproduction of insects. Let's find out what factors contribute to the appearance of the Prussians in the apartment, and why they like to live next to people so much.
What contributes to the appearance of cockroaches in the apartment?
As I said, the Prussians can start up even with the most clean owners. However, most often they choose houses where people often forget about the elementary rules:
- They don’t take out the trash every day and leave leftover food, vegetable peels, etc. in the bucket.
- Do not wash dishes immediately after eating.
- Do not wipe the table and the floor under it from crumbs immediately after the meal.
- Leave food in the open, do not put food in the refrigerator and sealed containers.
- They ignore leaking pipes and taps - after all, this is the main source of water, without which the Prussians cannot survive.
- Do not put nets on the opening of the ventilation shaft and do not close the cracks in the walls and floor.
These are the main factors that contribute to arthropod invasion. But all of them, fortunately, are easily eliminated. Below we will discuss tactics that, coupled with special insecticides, will help to forget about the problem.
Why do cockroaches like to live in our homes?
Apartment buildings are, without exaggeration, a paradise for cockroaches and many other types of arthropods. Judge for yourself:
- in our apartments it is warm and humid in places;
- there are no natural enemies for cockroaches;
- but always full of drinking water and a wide variety of food. Moreover, if the Prussians calmly manage for weeks without food, then water is something that they cannot refuse for a long time;
- there are many secluded nooks where you can organize a nest for a colony or lay eggs;
- if pest control has begun in one apartment, you can always move to a less vigilant neighbor through a ventilation shaft or a sewer riser.
All these factors make human apartments an ideal place for a calm and comfortable life for the Prussians. Sounds like an advertisement for an apartment complex, but it's true - where else could they feel so secure and comfortable?
That's right, nowhere. So cockroaches are the eternal companion of mankind. As soon as they appear in at least one apartment, they begin to slowly but surely settle throughout the house. Fortunately, getting rid of them is not so difficult if you approach the problem responsibly. But before we start talking about the destruction of redheads, I will talk about the harm they can do to people.
Why are cockroaches dangerous in the house and why do you need to get rid of them?
There are people who absolutely do not worry about the presence of insects in the apartment - it is from them that the Prussians then settle throughout the entrance. Especially for those of you whose neighbors do not consider it necessary to disinfest, I have prepared a small list of arguments in favor of the destruction of arthropods.
- Before getting into the apartment, the cockroach makes a long journey through the basement, sewers, and who knows what his little paws touched. And now he crawls with these paws on your dishes, cutlery, on your food.
- The Prussians can carry many different diseases - from the banal, but very unpleasant helminthiasis to salmonellosis and gastroenteritis.
- Red dwellers often settle inside household appliances - in microwave ovens, refrigerators, etc. Wiring may suffer from this, and there it is not far from a short circuit, which in turn can cause a fire.
- When the number of the colony increases significantly, the insects no longer have enough food, and then they can bite people at night - they especially love the delicate skin of the lips and eyelashes.
- And cockroaches often crawl into the ears or noses of sleeping people. Such an invasion can have a variety of consequences, up to complete hearing loss, and this is not the worst.
We read on the topic: Cockroaches in the kitchen, we take the fight
I hope that with the help of these arguments you will be able to convince your neighbors that you need to fight cockroaches. Moreover, they can only be defeated by uniting with neighbors, so it is simply necessary to conduct an explanatory conversation.
By the way, some especially amazing characters firmly believe that cockroaches in the house are a must for something good. For example, there is a sign regarding black cockroaches - supposedly they bring peace and tranquility, material well-being to the house. I hope this blog is read only by sane people who do not need to be explained why this is absurd.
How to get rid of cockroaches?
Now that we know exactly how the Prussians got into our house and why they like to live here, we can talk about what to do and how to eradicate them. I will tell you why you need allies in the face of neighbors and how to prepare an apartment for processing. And as a bonus, I’ll share a little secret on how to prevent the mustachioed enemy from re-invading your cozy apartment.
Looking for allies in the coming war
As I said, the first step is to enlist the support of neighbors. Otherwise, the Prussians will run from one apartment to another, after which they will return again as if nothing had happened. By the way, it would be nice to negotiate with public utilities - there are often a dime a dozen insects in basements, so such premises also need to be processed.
Choosing the right weapon
In the nearest hardware store or supermarket you will find a huge arsenal of insecticides - powders, gels, traps, aerosols and emulsions. You can read about all these drugs in detail in our blog.
Choose the right tool based on your preferences and capabilities. Most importantly, remember that before processing the apartment, you must carefully read the instructions and strictly follow it during the disinfestation.
Preparing the apartment for hostilities
Of course, you can just open the package, scatter the poison around the house and lie down to watch the series with a sense of accomplishment. But in this case, you should not count on any decent effect. Before proceeding with pest control, the apartment must be prepared:
- Send children and pets to stay with their grandmother for a day or two.
- Roll up carpets, remove paintings, move upholstered furniture away from the walls.
- Vacuum and mop the floors.
- Collect dust on shelves, take out the trash, dry the sink, bathroom and kitchen sink.
