Cockroaches in the refrigerator: what to do, how to get rid of them

Cockroaches lead a secretive lifestyle. They go out in search of food at night or during the day in the absence of people. Whiskered insects prefer to build nests in dark, warm and humid places. The secretive lifestyle is a key reason why it is difficult and almost impossible to detect Prussians in the early stages of their appearance.

Insects have a flattened soft body, which allows them to easily penetrate small cracks, openings, and openings. Sometimes the nests of red cockroaches can be found in the most unexpected places - on the inner surface of the back wall of the stove, microwave oven, in household appliances and coffee machines. Insects use almost any dark, secluded place to live. But can cockroaches end up in the refrigerator?

Can cockroaches get into the refrigerator?

Can cockroaches get into the refrigerator? How safe is it to store food in it? Of course, insects will not get into the refrigerator and freezer itself. Air temperatures that are too cold will kill them within minutes or hours. Insects can only get into the refrigerator for a short time. This is possible if the rubber seal on the equipment has worn out. Through the resulting cracks, the Prussians can easily enter the refrigerator compartment, taste the treats and leave the uncomfortable cold place.

But red cockroaches are quite capable of climbing into other elements of equipment. Typically, a cluster of Prussians is fixed on the inner surface of the back wall of the refrigerator. To arrange the nests, they choose the space near the compressor or condenser. The most comfortable air temperature is observed at these points. Under the back panel of the refrigerator it is not only dark, but there are also a large number of cracks and recesses in which insects can quickly hide from human eyes.

The temperature is comfortable for life

Cockroaches live at different temperatures, but the optimal conditions for them are values ranging from twenty-five to thirty degrees.

In such conditions, insects multiply intensively, and the number of colonies rapidly increases. Also, such temperature conditions are especially favorable for the rapid maturation of eggs.

Without harm to the body, cockroaches can live at temperatures up to fifteen and not higher than thirty degrees. When the values decrease, the processes in the organisms of parasites slow down and the reproduction process stops. The maturation of eggs under such conditions continues, but this process may take several months.

Cockroaches in the refrigerator: why are they dangerous and what to do?

Why are cockroaches dangerous in the refrigerator? Single individuals are unlikely to disrupt the functioning of equipment. But when the number of Prussians increases significantly, crawling insects and accumulations of their metabolic products can damage important parts of the refrigerator. And in old faulty devices, the Prussians can even cause a short circuit.

Whatever habitat red cockroaches choose, they need to be fought. As soon as suitable conditions arise, insects go out in search of food. They contaminate and make unfit for consumption any food they crawl on. Do not forget that Prussians carry pathogens of intestinal infectious diseases on their limbs and chitinous cover. Their waste products provoke an allergic reaction in sensitive people.

Carefully!

Any insecticide must be used in strict accordance with the instructions. Do not exceed the recommended dosage and consumption. Only in this case will you be able to ensure the safety of your household and furry pets.

The need to fight throughout the room

In rare cases, the source of infection in an apartment is a new household appliance; usually cockroaches take up residence in the refrigerator after they have finally settled in the kitchen. In this case, a complete disinfestation of the premises is carried out using concentrated emulsions and professional preparations. Upon completion of the procedure, the pests disappear throughout the house and die in the refrigerator.

Pest control

On a note!
If you destroy the Prussians in a household appliance without paying proper attention to the room, they will start there again within a week.

Cockroaches in household appliances: reasons for their appearance

This is not to say that cockroaches in household appliances are very rare. This is one of their most common nesting sites. More often, they choose devices in the kitchen, where crumbs, food scraps and other sources of nutrients are always within easy reach. Sometimes cockroaches make nests in the washing machine, where it is warm and humid.

The reasons for the appearance of Prussians under the casing of the back wall of a refrigerator, stove and other equipment do not differ from the standard ones. A cockroach infestation may be due to one of the following factors:

The apartment is not kept clean, there is unsanitary conditions, garbage and unnecessary rubbish are stored.
For active reproduction of Prussians, all that is required is a comfortable temperature, high humidity and the availability of accessible food supply. If there is always food waste in the sink, garbage rotting under the sink, bread crumbs lying on the floor, uncovered cookies and fruit on the table, and sweet tea on the cabinet, sooner or later cockroaches will definitely inhabit such an apartment.
If unsanitary conditions and the conditions listed above are typical for your neighbors, some of the Prussians from their apartment will suddenly begin to crawl towards you.
This happens when cockroaches are actively breeding, and the previous territory and amount of food is no longer enough for them. Some insects go in search of new nesting places. They crawl into the apartment through a ventilation hole, a balcony, windows, and through sewer and drainage pipes.
If your apartment is located on the first or second floor, while treating the basement for insects, cockroaches may crawl towards you in search of a safe place
. To prevent this from happening, before disinsection, you should apply an insecticide to the ventilation grille, door and window openings, and seal vulnerable areas - cracks and crevices - with sealant.

Eliminating the cause of the appearance of cockroaches in an apartment is the first and mandatory step towards the complete destruction of synanthropic insects.

How do insects behave after disinfection?

Professional home disinfection involves the use of substances that are strong and poisonous to insects, and if the requirements are met, it can deal with them at once:

three-hour post-disinfection sanitation, which involves closed home spaces in an apartment, takes 3 hours;
15-minute ventilation;
actually cleaning up dead pests.

The use of special special means at home assumes that within 1-2 weeks all household pests will be destroyed.

If they do not disappear after the procedure:

The result should be monitored after approximately half a month.
In case of ineffective home disinfestation in the apartment, you should contact the service again for a free repetition of the procedure.

The owners are alarmed by the unexpected disappearance of their mustachioed apartment neighbors. They may leave their home for several reasons:

strong electromagnetic radiation;
advanced new generation household insecticides;
modern finishing products that are too tough for insects.

Sly red cockroaches live in apartments even in the most difficult home conditions. At the same time, even if you hit it with shoes, you cannot be sure of the death of the barbel due to the characteristics of the body cover. The most effective deprivation in an apartment is the lack of water and heat.

Cockroaches in technology: how to get rid of them using professional methods?

Did you know that...

Independent fight against red cockroaches often ends in failure.
Over hundreds of years of existence, synanthropic insects have managed to develop protective mechanisms against most household insecticides. The first chemicals that appeared quickly destroyed pests. But gradually the Prussians adapted and developed resistance to them. If you have cockroaches in your appliances and other places in your apartment, and you don’t know how to get rid of them, seek help from sanitation specialists. A comprehensive professional approach will help to destroy the Prussians, detect and eliminate the cause of their appearance.

, officially registered as SES, offers services for disinsection of apartments from red and black cockroaches. Experienced specialists successfully solve the most difficult situations. They know how to quickly remove any synanthropic insects, create a protective barrier and prevent the reappearance of pests and parasites.
When disinfesting an apartment, it is important to detect all insect habitats. The rich experience of Dez Group specialists helps to quickly solve this problem. Not only obvious, but also hidden nesting points of Prussians are subjected to careful processing - the space behind the refrigerator and stove, under the cabinet, bathroom and baseboard, socket boxes, sections of walls with peeling wallpaper.
To treat premises, Dez Group employees use an insecticidal preparation with a prolonged effect and the cold fog method. This method of disinfestation is carried out using a generator that sprays a working chemical solution in the form of fine drops.

Main advantages of the approach:

thorough cleaning of the entire apartment in a couple of hours;
the insecticide continues to have a fatal effect on insects for several weeks after treatment;
the certified drug is safe for humans and pets;
After airing the apartment, the insecticide does not leave odors and is not absorbed into furniture and textile items;
fine drops of the drug settle on the surface, penetrate into all hard-to-reach corners, crevices, cracks and depressions.

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For maximum effectiveness of fog treatment, it is important to properly prepare the apartment. Dez Group specialists will tell you what needs to be done before the team leaves. First of all, wet cleaning should be done. The presence of dust and dirt significantly reduces the area of contact of the insecticide with the surface. This negatively affects the effectiveness of disinfestation. It is also necessary to turn off the power to household appliances in which insects live, move furniture and appliances away from the walls, and provide access to all corners of the rooms.

Folk remedies

One of the most popular and at the same time effective folk remedies in the fight against the red pest remains boric acid . The drug has no pungent odor or taste and does not attract rams as food. Additional bait is needed here. This could be egg yolk, vanillin, berry puree and other products.

Preparing egg bait:

Boil one chicken egg.
We extract the yolk from it.
In addition to boric acid, add powdered sugar or regular flour.
Mix until a viscous consistency.
We roll several balls from the mass and place them in places where pests accumulate.

Boric acid for cockroaches

Ammonia

Ammonia is also considered an equally effective means for removing cockroaches. Pests run from it like fire. But due to the specific and unpleasant smell, not every person is ready to adopt this method.

To prepare the solution you will need 1 liter of water and 10-15 drops of ammonia (about half a teaspoon). It is necessary to treat the entire area of the refrigerator with the resulting composition, and inject alcohol into hard-to-reach areas using a syringe.

Ammonia from cockroaches

Cold

This option is suitable for those who live in private houses. The surest way to get rid of cockroaches is to take the refrigerator out into the cold. The equipment is left for 3-4 hours with all doors and technical openings opened for maintenance.

In severe frost, cockroaches die quickly. Remains of insects should be removed not during, but after the procedure. It’s good if this method is combined with one of the above. In this case, re-processing does not need to be done, due to the high efficiency of the method.

After freezing the equipment, do not turn it on under any circumstances: ice will probably form inside. You should wait at least a couple of hours until the refrigerator reaches room temperature. Otherwise, a short circuit may occur.

Temperature of death of cockroaches

Removing Prussians from the microwave

What to do if, after taking out food heated in the microwave, the housewife discovers cockroaches scurrying around it? This not only discourages your appetite, but also any desire to subsequently use the oven. To make the microwave sterile, you must first rinse it thoroughly using detergents and wipe dry. The Prussians will not die from this, but they will also have nothing to eat.

Note: The presence of cockroaches can cause a fire in the stove if they are present inside or if the wiring is damaged or the internal mechanisms malfunction.

You can eradicate red-haired “guests” using:

Important! You cannot use boric acid in the form of an alcohol infusion, the smell of which cockroaches cannot tolerate. An aqueous solution will also not lead to the desired effect.

Aerosols are sometimes used for microwave use. But they are poisonous and have a temporary effect, causing the death of the individuals that catch the eye. Using aerosols to expel cockroaches from the “insides” of equipment is problematic.

Advice! When treating insects, there should be no source of water nearby. Check for containers with liquid, eliminate leaks on the walls and in the bathtub, and fix a dripping faucet. Otherwise, the individuals will “rise from the dead” and continue their life path.

Stages of development

Representatives of the cockroach family are characterized by an incomplete development cycle. That is, almost all insects of this order bypass the pupal stage, which is present, for example, in butterflies. The development of cockroaches consists of three main stages:

egg;
nymph (young growth);
imago (sexually mature individual).

A female insect can lay from 12 to 50 eggs. The specific number of the latter depends on the subspecies of cockroach. For example, a red pest can have from 25 to 50 eggs, with annual clutches of around 10-12 eggs. While for the black cockroach these data fluctuate around 12-18 and 20-22, respectively. The well-known Madagascar individual makes only 6 clutches of 40-50 eggs per year.

Cockroach egg Nymph Adult (imago)

At the initial stage, the eggs are reliably protected by a special capsule made of protein material - the ooteca. It is located under the abdomen of the female. Such a cocoon has a number of significant advantages over other methods of development.

Useful properties of ootheca:

does not allow poisons and water to reach the eggs;
can develop without the direct presence of a female;
resistant to temperature changes;
well protected from physical impact;
provides food to newly emerged nymphs.

If the female is in danger, she can shed the capsule without harm to the offspring. The eggs will mature without any problems even without the participation of the mother. Larvae can survive extreme heat and cold in the ooteca. In this case, you can safely add 10 degrees to the temperature range that is critical for adult cockroaches.

The main places where cockroaches accumulate is in the kitchen. Why do we only see part of the iceberg? Nests

Most often, at the initial stage, insects go unnoticed. Even if they crawl out, they rarely catch your eye.

As a result, you can already see several individuals, because they do not move as a whole colony, most of them remain in the nests. For this reason, it is difficult to estimate how many cockroaches are at home. They hide in hidden areas:

inside kitchen cabinets;
behind the trash can;
under baseboards;

behind, under, and inside equipment;
behind the battery;
under wallpaper, laminate, tiles (where the coating has come off).

Parasites hide in kitchen cabinets and in leaky packaging of bulk products

Check the ventilation system

You cannot be sure that there are no pests, even when your home is perfectly clean. Ventilation is a favorite place for insects. Through it they enter the apartment, especially if it is a multi-storey building.

The device is designed to remove exhaust air. There is a fan inside the network, which provides air exchange. It can become clogged, creating an ideal environment for cockroaches to live.

Sprays help for 3-4 days, then the pests return.
Boron balls help three times out of five cases. Disinfection of the premises retains the results for up to three months.

Ventilation becomes a breeding ground for insects if people live who do not comply with sanitary standards.

Agree with neighbors about joint persecution - get closer to exterminating pests. Conscious residents will support the idea and agree to involve a sanitary station.

Tightly closed ventilation will protect against insects, but it will make air circulation more difficult. A special mesh is used.

They will lay eggs on the back side, newborn insects will enter the apartment. The optimal solution is the services of a pest control service.

Why are sewer dwellers dangerous?

Cockroaches that live in sewers are more dangerous than ordinary representatives. They make their way through the drains of the bathroom, toilet, and kitchen and lead to serious illnesses.

Pests on their legs and antennae carry infections and microorganisms that remain on table surfaces when insects defecate. Leads to human diseases:

Readers of the site write to us

Oh, we are tired of cockroaches in our apartment!

They are so disgusting, and it is difficult to eradicate them. My wife tried a lot of things! Nothing took them

There are cockroaches in the refrigerator: how to save a household appliance and food