Fight basement lice & successfully distribute it

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Wood lice are not dangerous, but many are disgusted by the crustaceans. Here you can find out how you can successfully control and drive out wood lice.

Wood louse on foliage leaf
Wood lice are useful - but not in our basements or kitchens [Photo: Marek Velechovsky / Shutterstock.com]

Cellar lobsters (Porcellio scaber) are only at first glance small, useless animals that hide under flowerpots or stones all day long. Because wood lice are actually very useful and they play an important role in nature's cycle. Similar to earthworms, wood lice, for example, ensure nutrient-rich soil and should therefore only be combated when there is a real plague. By the way, there is also the possibility of catching the small woodlice with a trick. This will get rid of the animals in your apartment - in the garden, however, they will provide fertile soil.

contents

  • When does it make sense to control cellar isopods?
  • Cellar lobsters in the house
  • Fight wood lice
    • Fight cellar lobsters with home remedies
    • Combat cellar lice biologically
    • Fight basement wood lice with beneficial insects
    • Fight cellar lice with chemical sprays

We explain to you in which case wood lice should be combated and why they feel comfortable in the house at all. Then we will introduce home remedies, chemical sprays and biological control methods - there is the right method for everyone.

When does it make sense to control cellar isopods?

Since the wood louse is actually a beneficial insect and is also completely harmless to humans, the question arises in which cases it can be useful to control wood lice. Under certain circumstances the wood louse can appear as a warehouse pest. For example, if you store vegetables in the cellar, wood lice could view them as food. Rot and mold can quickly spread through their feeding tunnels. However, the humidity in modern cellars is often so low that no wood lice can actually survive there.

Cellar lobsters in the house

Basement wood lice are therefore always an indication of high humidity, which can also lead to mold growth in living spaces. For this reason, measures should be taken to lower the humidity and drive away the wood lice. You can find out how you can reduce the humidity in your rooms in this special article Home remedies for the basement louse. In short, you should ventilate properly and frequently enough and avoid washing or damp To store food in the affected room - unless structural damage does not affect the moisture problem caused.

Important: All control measures should be done in connection with a root cause, because otherwise it happens again and again that the sub-tenants want to move in with you with their 14 legs.

Wood louse climbing on wall
The basement louse is a climbing artist - as long as there is something to get in the house, it will return there [Photo: Pattarawat Loharnchoon / Shutterstock.com]

Fight wood lice

Fight cellar lobsters with home remedies

Once the causes of the moisture have been clarified and remedied, you can start driving away the woodlice. Depending on how much time and energy you can invest, you can choose home remedies that will help you get rid of the small tadpole shrimp in the long term. With the help of trap constructions or repellents (deterrents), they are gradually removed or convinced that the flying visit to your apartment was not a good idea. Regular checks and renewed deployment of the traps or household remedies are necessary so that you can achieve sustainable success. With these methods, all human and animal residents and the environment are guaranteed to be protected. The use of our is an equally gentle and significantly less complex option Plantura ant remedy represent.

Combat cellar lice biologically

Quite a few of the active ingredients approved in organic farming are nonetheless harmful to aquatic organisms and not necessarily gentle on beneficial organisms. Our Plantura ant remedy, with its very fine kieselguhr (also known as diatomaceous earth or silica flour), enables it to be combated in a non-chemical way. The purest diatomaceous earth is created from fossil diatoms and has a sharp-edged, very large surface. Our Plantura ant remedy Due to its special purity, it is not dangerous for the user, but its effect on many annoying arthropods such as ants, silverfish and wood lice is very effective. It absorbs the fat layer of the chitin shell, which causes the affected animals to dry out. In addition, it seals the breathing openings, which leads to an early death from suffocation. Our ant repellant is distributed in cracks, crevices and heavily frequented places in the cellar isopods or around an attractant - a boiled, somewhat rotten potato, for example. If the woodlice come into contact with the powder, it is very likely that they will no longer be a problem for you after four days at the latest.

Tip: Our Plantura ant remedy also works against Ants (Formicidae) and Silverfish.

Plantura ant remedy
Our Plantura ant remedy can also be used effectively against woodlice

Fight basement wood lice with beneficial insects

For some time now, beneficial insects have also been offered that you can use to combat woodlice. Tiny roundworms or nematodes are used (Steinernema carpocapsae), which use bacteria to fight the wood lice. Since the roundworms are practically immobile, the woodlice have to be attracted to the roundworms. For this reason, some providers of beneficial insects sell ready-made cellar lop traps. These contain an attractant that attracts the woodlice. As a result, they get caught in the trap and come into contact with the roundworms, which seals their fate. The tiny roundworms penetrate the woodlice and secrete bacteria that digest the woodlice from the inside. The trap system only works reliably at temperatures above 12 ° C, as the nematodes are inactive at lower temperatures. In our article too Nematodes as beneficial insects find out which pests the roundworms can still be used against.

Fight cellar lice with chemical sprays

If you want to see quick results without having to worry about a lot, you can distribute chemical biocides in your basement. However, because of the often poor ventilation and the use of basement rooms for laundry, supplies or the like, we would strongly advise against it. Pets and children also often get into the prepared areas and you are safe it is better if there are no toxins anywhere in the form of jars, powders or invisible deposits are found.

Wood louse sitting on mold
Wood lice love mold - this is very interested in a slime mold (witch butter) [Photo: Matauw / Shutterstock.com]

Tip: Biocides are those spraying agents that, in contrast to pesticides, are not used for plant protection serve, but are only used against pests that are annoying or dangerous for humans. However, the active ingredients contained are mostly the same as those found in pesticides.

If you want to know more about the Basement louse want to know, you can find more information in our special article.

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