The two-tailed insect, also known as the earwig or forktail, is a narrow and flat insect, reaches a length of 4 cm. The body color is dark brown. It moves on six legs, at the end of the body it has a tail with two clearly visible pincers. They are used by insects to hold prey and reproduce.
Despite their aggressive appearance, double-tailed fish do not pose much of a threat. They do not carry diseases, and their bites are only inflicted in self-defense and are not painful. Very rarely this can result in an allergic reaction, but it will not cause significant harm to health.
Although people have been persistently rumored for many years that two-tailed earworms can penetrate the ear at night and damage the eardrums. In fact, this is a myth.
Where do double tails come from?
The natural habitat for living and breeding of two-wests are places with high humidity. Damp soil in vegetable gardens, shady places in gardens, grass near ponds.
In human habitats, these insects settle near sheds, on compost heaps, in basements, under stones. They feed on decaying organic matter. They are most active at night.
These insects can cause great harm to gardens and vegetable gardens, using the soft above-ground parts of plants to feed and eating holes in foliage and flowers. They can especially cause a lot of grief at the dacha, damaging the planted seedlings.
Often, trying to find food for themselves, the breeding site of two-tailed two-tailed birds occupy residential buildings. Once indoors, the two-tailed bird will find shelter and will not be immediately detected. To find where they accumulate, examine areas where moisture constantly forms.
Natural enemies
The two-easted bird has many enemies in nature. Birds readily peck at them - perhaps this is one of the reasons why these creatures are nocturnal. But danger awaits them in the soil too. Shrews and moles willingly feast on two-tailed fish and destroy their clutches.
These creatures are also destroyed by soil insects, for example mole crickets. The predatory larvae of many beetles also destroy two-easted beetles. But these creatures deftly avoid natural enemies, as they quickly move between particles of the earth thanks to three pairs of short but strong legs.
Two-tailed fish can exhibit cannibalism, eating small fellows of their own or other species. This is especially true for predatory representatives of the order.
What to do if double tails appear
Taking into account the main condition for the presence of two-way glass in a private house - excess moisture, it is necessary to exclude conditions that contribute to its formation. It is enough to complete the following steps:
- Locate the storm drainage system away from the foundation.
- The boundary around the perimeter of the house should remain dry and clean.
- Clear the area under the floor of debris and rotting debris.
- Avoid leaks at the exit points of sewer and drainage pipes.
Reasons for appearance
To get rid of uninvited guests, you need to eliminate the reason for their appearance. To do this, you need to know where the double tails come from in the house.
They usually appear where there are three main conditions for their comfortable life:
- water;
- high humidity;
- food and other waste residues.
In other words: dampness and dirt are their favorite places. Plant residues, which become humus due to moisture, provide them with nutrition for a long time. Moreover, there should not be a lot of them: ordinary accumulations of dirt in the corners, invisible to the human eye.
When a minimum of moisture gets there, processes occur that attract these pests. Then only proven means of struggle help.
Another source of trouble is holes and cracks, especially in old wooden or private houses. Two-tailed insects can live between ceilings, but do not penetrate into the room. The presence of tiny holes makes it possible for them to move inside.
If these reasons are removed without taking any additional actions to destroy them, the two-tailed birds will disappear. Or rather, they will move to places where there are more comfortable living conditions.
Can double-tailed birds appear in an apartment?
Two-tails can get inside a person’s apartment along with soil for flowers, on vegetables or fruits. The cause of insects can be high humidity conditions in toilets and bathrooms. As a rule, they accumulate in the area of the foundations of wooden houses, and from there they enter apartments through thresholds and window cracks. Residents of the first floors are most at risk from insects.
The fight against double-tailed insects must begin immediately from the moment they are discovered. If you delay, they will increase their numbers through their ability to reproduce quickly.
Methods of dealing with uninvited guests are conventionally divided into: chemical (use of insecticides) and folk.
Why is it dangerous for humans?
The double-tail itself, located in an apartment or house, is not dangerous. However, its appearance suggests that from a hygiene point of view, not all is well. Of course, you can remove pests using modern means, but, as a rule, you first need to eliminate the causes.
That is, restore order, reduce humidity, wipe walls and corners. Otherwise, after a short period of time they will appear again.
There is a myth that the two-tailed earwig is the same as the earwig, which supposedly can penetrate through the ear of a sleeping person into the brain. Scientists say such claims are groundless. There is not a single fact that would confirm this fiction. In addition, they belong to different classes in the classification. Their similarity is limited to 2 tail-like cerci.
How to get rid of bivost chemically
When resorting to the use of chemicals against bivostok, precautions should be taken. During chemical treatment of the room, exclude children and pets from being in it. Use personal protective equipment: cotton-gauze bandages, respirators, safety glasses.
Of the variety of chemical agents against double-east, the most popular ones should be highlighted.
- Aerosol (Dichlorvos, Raptor, and others). Easy to use. It is enough to simply spray the forktail in the area where the forktail gathers. The effect of the drugs lasts 8–10 hours.
- Concentrated (Tarax). A small amount of the substance is diluted in water and then applied to the surface using a spray bottle. The toxic substance forms a kind of film, upon contact with which the pests die.
- Solid (chemical chalk like “Mashenka”). Distributed along skirting boards, thresholds and joints. They are affordable and odorless.
- Solutions (Anti-bug). Destroy various types of insects. Can be used both indoors and outdoors. Highly effective for treating wood surfaces.
As experience in the use of chemicals shows, home treatment should begin in basements and cellars and end at the exit. You should especially carefully check the cracks, cracks, and spaces near the baseboards, where double tails may appear.
After completing all chemical exposure procedures, the room must “stand” for 7–8 hours, then it must be thoroughly ventilated so that the smell disappears. After some time, wet cleaning should be done.
Preventive actions
To prevent double-tailed bugs from appearing in a person’s home again, it is enough to follow some recommendations:
- Make sure that there is no high humidity in the house or apartment.
- Maintain plumbing fixtures in working order and ensure there are no leaks.
- Do not overwater indoor plants.
- Seal cracks in the floor and windows in a timely manner.
- If possible, do not dry clothes at home, as this leads to increased humidity.
- Do not leave leftover food overnight; store all food in hermetically sealed containers.
Thus, the double-tailed bird is an unpleasant neighbor for humans. There are many different means to get rid of it. For prevention, the most important thing is to prevent excess humidity in your house or apartment.
How to remove bivost using folk remedies
If the use of chemicals for some reason seems unattractive or impossible, turn to the help of old recipes passed down among the people.
Garlic and onion broth
Our ancestors noticed that onions and garlic not only improve health, but also help drive the two-east from the house. Finely grate the onion and 2-3 heads of garlic (depending on size). Mix thoroughly until the resulting mixture resembles a paste. Pour boiling water and let the solution sit for no more than a day in a dark place. Spread the prepared infusion around the baseboards, in cracks and corners. After a couple of days, the procedure is repeated.
Horseradish recipe
An equally effective remedy is pureed horseradish root. It is laid out on pieces of paper in places with high humidity. Two-tails do not like the strong aroma of horseradish and will disappear after a couple of days.
Herbal infusion
An infusion of herbs with a strong, persistent aroma is no less effective. It contains lavender, wormwood, and yarrow.
Boric acid
Use boric acid powder; when it enters the forktail’s body, it has a poisonous effect. To attract the insect's attention, many recommend using “Bourne balls”. They are easy to make by rolling them from a mixture of two tablespoons of boric acid and boiled egg yolk. When working with boric acid, be sure to protect your hands with rubber gloves.
Reproduction and types of insects
The earwig (Dermaptera lat.) belongs to the order Leatherwings, insects with incomplete metamorphosis (no pupal stage in insects). This is a small insect about 2-3 centimeters long, brown in color. The insect got its name from its tail with two claws (toothed forceps) at the end.
The shape of the tail resembles a cosmetologist's tongs, with which women's ears were pierced. It has a pair of short wings, but flies extremely rarely. The head contains eyes, mustache and powerful jaws. The earwig is afraid of daylight and is nocturnal.
Photos of earwigs:
Reproduction
Fertilization of the two-east usually occurs in late summer.
Fertilized females overwinter in the soil in pre-prepared nests. Egg laying usually occurs in the spring, but sometimes in the fall, in which case the female overwinters in the nest along with the laid eggs.
The male is also in the same nest with the female, but rarely survives until spring.
Having laid eggs (one clutch contains from 40 to 100 eggs), the female is constantly close to the future offspring, protecting the eggs from the encroachments of uninvited guests throughout the period of their maturation until the appearance of the larvae.
Larvae differ from adults in the size of their body and the absence of wings. A gradual transformation occurs as the earwig molts until it becomes an adult insect.
Earwigs are not the only insects that can be found in our vegetable gardens and garden plots. Most of them are pests.
Representatives of earwigs
There are about one and a half thousand species of this insect all over the world.
Here are just a few of them:
- Common earwig . Reaches 1.5-2 cm in length, has a dark brown color and highly developed muscles.
Skillfully uses pincers, is able to capture and hold prey with them, and also defends itself like a spear. It is predominantly nocturnal, hiding during the day and foraging for food at night. The diet depends on the habitat: plant foods, wood fungi, small insects.
Common earwig
- Coastal earwig . Distributed throughout the world and lives in a wide variety of climatic and natural zones. The type of soil is important - sandy and supersandy soils along the banks of rivers, lakes and seas, as well as in forest belts.
Coastal earwig
- Lesser earwig .
The smallest representative of this family. Distributed everywhere, does not exceed 6.5 mm in length. A distinctive feature is that it leads a diurnal lifestyle.
Lesser earwig
- Asian earwig . It is distinguished by its bright color - black with yellow spots in the area of the elytra.
It has strongly curved pincers and is diurnal. As the name suggests, it lives in Asian regions. Can migrate by flying. At low speeds, the altitude of movement can be up to 100 meters, the duration of such mass flights is two weeks.
Asian earwig
- Central Asian earwig . A species that has completely lost its wings, lives high in the mountains, in the forests of the subalpine zone.
Central Asian earwig
- Guinea cave earwig . It differs from other species due to the specifics of its habitat. Lives in caves, where it is completely deprived of sunlight. As a result, there is practically no vision, the limbs and antennae are greatly elongated, and the pigmentation of the outer integument is very pale.
- Arixenia . Indo-Malayan species of earwigs. They live in caves, and some subspecies are capable of parasitizing their neighbors - bats. Outwardly, they look more like a larva, the wings are completely absent, the claws are very weak, the eyesight is poor, and the body is covered with dense vegetation.
- Hemimera . Lives in tropical Africa. This species is classified as a parasite because it lives mainly on the skin of the hamster rat. There is no vision, short limbs and no wings. A distinctive feature is that the eggs develop into larvae directly in the female’s body. Some scientists propose to separate these insects into a separate order and not consider them earwigs.
Forktail food
Forktails are omnivorous insects.
They can feed on small insects, as well as their eggs and larvae. Some individuals eat already dead insects. In addition, doubletails eat moss, pollen, algae, stems and roots of plants. These insects do not like fresh fruits and vegetables. They can eat them only when the fruits begin to rot or other insects have already begun to eat them. Forktails may also destroy a hive to find honey.
If two-tailed insects appear in a house, they destroy everything they encounter on their way: house plants, clothes and shoes, food and their remains, garbage.
Treatment
When double-tailed animals bite and the bite is slightly inflamed, they use antiseptic drugs. Before treating the wound, the bite area is washed with soap and water.
- Chlorhexidine,
- Peroxide,
- Iodine.
Among the healing medications used:
- Bepanten,
- Akriderm,
- Fenistil gel.
To prevent the development of allergies, patients take an antihistamine. No specific treatment is required. Use folk recipes such as chamomile and calendula lotions. To speed up healing and disinfect the wound, use a soda solution. It will help relieve swelling and reduce itching. To prepare the solution, take 250 ml of boiled water and a teaspoon of soda, mix the ingredients and use them as irrigation, compresses, and wound treatment.
It is important to immediately treat the wound after biting the double-tailed hook. Otherwise, there is a risk of pathogenic microflora entering, which will lead to a pathological condition of the skin and possible suppuration.
When earwigs bite, there are no serious consequences. Adult insects pose a danger to curious children; the insect will defend itself if the child wants to “play” with it.
Insecticides
Chemical means allow you to get rid of double-tailed insects; they are quite effective and can destroy colonies of unpleasant neighbors.
- An old proven remedy - "Dichlorvos" - is a recognized fighter against insects in the house, but its disadvantage is a strong odor and high toxicity to humans. When spraying an aerosol, you must use respiratory protection, leave the room for several hours, and then ventilate well.
- Raptor is also an aerosol, although its smell is more pleasant compared to the previous drug, this does not make it less toxic, so protective measures should not be excluded either. Sprayed in close proximity to places where insects live.
- The Anti-Bug solution is designed for wooden surfaces; it is an ideal option for the veranda of a private house; it can also be used to treat baseboards in an apartment. Available in the form of liquids that are applied by brush or spray.
- Chalks are effective in the fight against any domestic insects; it is enough to draw stripes in the path of the two-east and they will die. This insecticide is inexpensive and relatively harmless to animals and humans.
- Some people use fly repellent tablets, inserting them into the fumigator; their effect also extends to the two-tailed fumigator.
- An effective remedy is Thiuram powder, it crumbles in small quantities, after tasting it, the two-tailed worm dies.
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However, in the fight against double-tailed insects, any drug created to kill insects is suitable; here it is important to strictly follow the instructions and protect yourself from poisons entering the body.
