Winning the fight against cockroaches is not easy, since these insects are very tenacious and easily adapt to various unfavorable conditions. But nowadays it has become easier to solve the problem, since there are many different drugs on sale to kill these harmful insects. Popular remedy is a cockroach chalk, called affectionate by manufacturers female name"Mashenka."
Cockroaches are the scourge of many homes; picky insects can also settle in country house, both in an ordinary city apartment and in luxury apartments. Insecticides, which come in a variety of forms, are successfully used to control insects.
One of the easiest to use and cheapest medications for cockroaches is the “Mashenka” chalk (pencil). At the same time, the product allows you to get a good result, especially if there are few insects in the house.
Chalk “Mashenka” is an insecticidal agent that has a contact effect, that is, in order for the insect to receive a dose of poison, it needs to come into contact with the surface treated with chalk.
The drug contains an effective insecticide - chlorpyrifos, but the main substance of the product is a cementing composition. If particles of the drug enter the digestive system insect, cement blocks its work, as a result of which the insect dies.
Advice! You can buy Mashenka chalk in almost all hardware stores. The product is inexpensive, one pack is enough to treat 20-30 meters of area.
Externally, the product looks like ordinary school white chalk, which does not have a distinct odor. Packaged in paper or polymer packs, decorated in blue tones. Instructions for use must be printed on the package. The weight of one package is 20 grams.
So that the chalk does not lose its insecticides, it is important to store it correctly. Storage conditions:
Advice! Chlorpyrifos is unstable to ultraviolet radiation, so Mashenka’s pencil should not be stored in places exposed to direct sunlight.
The product belongs to the IV (highest) safety class, that is, the chalk is of low toxicity for humans, of course, if you do not start using it internally large quantities. However, you should not neglect basic security methods:
Let's look at how you can use Mashenka's pencil to carry out pest control in your apartment.
There are three different ways carrying out disinfestation using chalk:
Since, most often, a pencil is used to draw lines in the habitats of cockroaches, let’s consider how to use this tool correctly so that the effect is maximum.
The completed lines retain their properties for about a week, then the treatment can be repeated.
If the infection is severe, you should not use the product; you will need to select a more concentrated and effective insecticide and carry out a total treatment. As a preventative measure, Mashenka's pencil is very convenient. For example, if neighbors start poisoning cockroaches, then the insects will begin to actively crawl into adjacent apartments.
To protect yourself, it is worth drawing and regularly updating lines at places of general building communications - ventilation, pipelines, electrical wiring. You can use a pencil after a total treatment to prevent re-infection.
So, a cockroach pencil with the romantic name “Mashenka” is enough effective remedy to prevent cockroaches from entering the house. You can also use chalk if the premises are mildly infested. But if there are a lot of insects in the house, you should choose more “killer” products.
Pencil "Mashenka" is a contact insecticidal preparation - it acts on cockroaches after they come into contact with the treated surface. The product comes in the form of a white pencil, packaged in blue cellophane packaging.
Chalk "Mashenka" has a lot of important advantages:
Important! Despite its safety, it is better not to use chalk in a home with small children.
As for the disadvantages, there will not be many of them:
A cockroach infected with insecticides contained in Mashenka chalk carries the infection into the nest of its relatives and they also die
Important! Outlining the right places, make sure the line is continuous. This is the only way to eliminate all possible loopholes!
The Mashenka pencil can be used in several ways.
Method 1. Drawing
Involves applying a chalk line to the surface being treated. Perhaps this is the most convenient method that does not require special protective measures. The main thing is that the line remains continuous, otherwise insects will easily cross it. It is best to apply the stripes along the entire perimeter of the apartment, carefully circling the baseboards and doorways. One chalk is enough for about 30 meters.
Method 2. Powdering
In this case, the surfaces are covered with crushed chalk powder. This method is justified in cases where you have no way to draw a continuous line (solid unevenness or hard-to-reach areas). To the disadvantages this method can be attributed increased risk poisoning In addition, when dusting, the adhesion strength of the insecticide to the surface is significantly reduced. Therefore, it is only justified as an additional measure in hard-to-reach areas.
Important! When choosing this method, take care of protective equipment. To avoid contact with the poison, put gloves on your hands and protect your mouth and nose with a cotton-gauze bandage or a respirator.
Method 3. Aqueous solution
Chalk can also be used in liquid form. To prepare the solution, you need to grind the chalk to a powder state, and then dilute it in 5 liters of water (warm). The resulting liquid is used to wash floors and wipe other surfaces. This method allows you to significantly increase the treated area. But do not forget - the concentration of the poison will be an order of magnitude lower, reducing the effectiveness of the product. A solution prepared from one pencil is enough for an average 2-room apartment.
Dissolve one Mashenka chalk in a bucket of water and you will get an excellent solution for treating walls and floors
Advice! After about a week, the effect of the chalk begins to decrease, so the procedure will need to be repeated. Be sure to remove any remaining product before doing this. damp cloth. Carry out the treatment until the insects are completely gone.
IN summer period It is necessary to treat the space behind the heating radiators or close to them. During the heating season, this product will not give any results, since elevated temperatures completely kill the insecticidal properties of the chalk. All surfaces must be pre-washed and wiped dry.
Important! Before starting work, be sure to inspect your home and try to find all cockroach nests.
You also need to follow a few simple rules:
They eat everything that comes their way. They will not miss the opportunity to taste the chalk applied to the baseboard or furniture wall. When the insecticide enters the body of a cockroach, it paralyzes its work and the insect dies.
Among the benefits of chalk:
IMPORTANT: Although the drug is low toxic, it should be stored correctly - kept in a dark place at temperatures up to 25 degrees.
The disadvantage is its ineffective in case of heavy insect infestation.
And here you have to choose - or are you ready to be patient and wait for the product to work on the cockroaches. Or you will have to choose a more effective drug.
The drug is dangerous for small children. Therefore, you should always hide the chalk so that children do not confuse it with chalk for drawing. But for prevention, chalk is indispensable. He will save you from the neighbor's cockroaches who have started a fight against them and will get rid of unpleasant odor, which is often characteristic of aerosols.
IMPORTANT: Mashenka chalk is popular. It has proven itself to be inexpensive and effective remedy. There is a version that it was developed to preserve military supplies in the early 80s. The products, created by order of the Ministry of Defense, showed effectiveness and soon went on sale.
To achieve maximum effect, it is important to follow the instructions. It is better to work with chalk while wearing gloves. Make sure that microparticles of the powder do not get on the mucous membranes or respiratory organs. Be that as it may, we are talking about chemical substance, which can cause poisoning.
The tool is used not only for “drawing”. The chalk can be crushed and used as a cockroach powder. A solution is prepared from it. Dilute in 5-6 liters warm water. The resulting product is used to spray surfaces or wipe the floor. But the traditional method is the safest and most convenient.
IMPORTANT: Remember that cockroaches cannot live without water. Dry the sink at night and do not leave wet sponges. Finely sand the bottom of the sink and nearby walls.
Different crayons have different duration of action. It varies from one week. If the cockroaches do not disappear, the treatment should be repeated.
Cockroach chalk is used as preventative measure and is suitable for those who want to protect their home from " uninvited guests" It is not suitable for instant action, but is relatively safe and easy to use.
Read other articles about cockroaches:
Below is a list of drugs that have proven themselves:
Chalk Mashenka for cockroaches is today one of the oldest remedies for these insects in the CIS countries. For a long time it has been shown that this remedy remains effective, despite a number of shortcomings. This drug was produced by Soviet chemists, who made it from an analogue of Chinese origin.
Cockroach chalk is usually produced in 20 gram packages. The chalk is in a plastic bag that protects it from moisture and sunlight.
The drug itself has the shape of a small block white, and the wrapper is blue. Chalk for domestic cockroaches “Mashenka” was made from a Chinese pencil. It contains strong insecticides.
Includes plaster and chalk to maintain the pencil shape to facilitate application of the drug to the surface. They make up 95% of the pencil's total mass.
And also zeta-cypermethrin, deltamethrin, which have an effect on the body of insects. These chemical components belong to the pyreroid group of toxic substances. This poison takes effect after domestic cockroaches come into contact with the poison.
The principle of action of chalk as a remedy for cockroaches is that the insecticidal components in the composition of the drug have a strong effect on the body of insects. Since toxic substances are activated upon contact with the pest, it must be applied to the surface near the areas of greatest accumulation.
It is enough for a cockroach to simply run over this product for toxic substances to begin to penetrate the body. “Mashenka” has a prolonged effect and does not immediately show its effect. Signs of poisoning of individuals may appear after some time.
The more cockroaches cross the path that was drawn with chalk, the stronger the effect will be. Insects are able to transfer the insecticide to their colony. If an individual dies, it can become food for its fellows. Thus, the affected area is a short time will increase significantly.
Thanks to the prolonged action of Mashenka, you can immediately get rid of a large population of cockroaches. After some time, the colony will shrink significantly, and this may lead to the fact that they begin to leave the living space, moving to a new place.
On average, the effect of the drug can be seen 5 days after applying it to the surface. On the floor you can find the appearance of twisted corpses. The entire colony can disappear in a few weeks if treatment is carried out periodically in those places where it was largest cluster pests.
To enhance the effect of the drug, you need to apply tracks 2 centimeters thick. This will allow every individual that crosses the line to get very dirty. Abundant accumulation of toxic substances on their body will accelerate the effect of the poison. As a result, the cockroach can die within 5 minutes.
The video shows how cockroaches relate to chalk and how the chalk affects them.
Using the Mashenka pencil is very simple. It must be unpacked so that the plastic part allows you to hold the drug on one side. It is advisable to use rubber gloves when processing to protect yourself if you have very sensitive skin.
The pencil should draw a continuous line so that insects are more likely to cross it and become poisoned by insecticides. It is advisable to draw lines with a pencil near the trash cans, kitchen sink, near the food cabinets, refrigerator, dining table, as well as near the stove where food is prepared.
Its effectiveness will depend on the correct choice of place for applying the drug. For this reason, before using a pencil, it is advisable to carefully inspect the premises in search of characteristic features clusters of cockroaches.
This product can also be used in the form of a solution. To do this, one chalk will need to be crushed to a powder state, and then dilute 20 grams of poison in warm water. For one pack of cockroach repellent, it is enough to take 5-6 liters of warm water. You will need to mix it thoroughly until it is completely dissolved.
Then the resulting solution will need to be wiped off the floor and other surfaces in the room where you do not need to reach with your hands. One package will be enough to treat an area of about 30 square meters.
Also keep a close eye on children in the apartment. It is very important that they do not reach the treated areas, since this product is also dangerous for warm-blooded organisms (humans and domestic animals).
The advantages of the Mashenka chalk include the fact that it is very convenient to use, thanks to its successful shape. It is also very accessible and low cost. The advantages include the fact that it does not have any unpleasant odor. Has a long validity period.
The disadvantages include the fact that this product has a hazard class of 4. High level toxicity makes it effective drug against insects, but it also poses a threat to human health if safety precautions are not followed. Try to wear rubber gloves before treating the room, and you will also need to prevent children from appearing in places where the poison was applied.
An excerpt from the TV show “Everything will be fine,” which talks about several ways to fight cockroaches and selects the most effective one.
There are many products that protect our homes from harmful insects, but many housewives like the good old Mashenka chalk for its effectiveness and ease of use. This remedy has been known for a long time, and recommendations were passed on from mother to daughter: to draw white stripes along the floor and walls. This method is effective, but if you use only it, you will not get half the benefit from the popular insecticide. If you have already chosen white bars, try to reveal all their positive qualities when using them.
An inexpensive white block can solve the problem of harmful insects in an apartment where children or allergy sufferers live. The drug deserves a lot positive feedback. Consumers especially like the low toxicity to people and pets and high efficiency when killing insects.
TO positive qualities also applies:
Of course, any poisonous drug is dangerous for babies, who, crawling on the floor, can erase a line with a pen and then put their dirty fingers in their mouths. If there are small children in the apartment, draw lines only in places inaccessible to them. Adult cats and dogs are unlikely to lick crayon marks, and kittens and puppies may be interested in an incomprehensible pattern - protect them from contact with poison. It is most convenient to treat the apartment when the whole family and pets go to the country for several weeks; before they return, you will carry out a wet cleaning, collect dead insects with a vacuum cleaner - and there will be no dangerous traces left.
The drug “Mashenka” also has disadvantages. An apartment with white stripes on the walls and along the baseboards does not look very aesthetically pleasing. It is advisable to carry out the treatment at a time when guests rarely come to you. Users also note that the drug acts for a short time as a disadvantage. The lines have to be renewed periodically; the drug is destroyed especially quickly by sunlight.
Chalk "Mashenka" is not a brand, its name is not protected by copyright, and many companies produce this drug. Often negative reviews come from those who bought a block on the market cheaply, produced in an unknown place. Chalk is not that expensive; when purchasing, give preference to companies that specialize in producing insecticides and have earned a good reputation.
The active ingredients of the crayon - zeta-cypermethrin and deltamethrin - make up only 5-10% of the weight of the pencil. The rest of the mass includes gypsum and chalk. Contact action drug: for an insect to be poisoned, it must touch the drawn strips. Usually one bar is enough for large room, to process a private house or apartment you need to stock up on 3-4 crayons.
Using the Mashenka chalk is very simple; it has the shape of a block, familiar to everyone since school. Do not rely on your skills, the instructions for use were written for a reason, you should read them. You can simply draw lines in places that are difficult for children to reach and inconspicuous, but there is no guarantee that active movement of insects will occur there. For maximum efficiency, outline the entire perimeter of the room with a continuous line at least 2 cm wide. Draw a closed outline along the baseboards on the floor and on the walls. Now the cockroach will not be able to leave or enter the room without touching the poisonous trail.
Treat the entry points of communications, ventilation holes, window sills. If there are cracks or holes in the structures, draw a continuous closed outline around them. Draw a circle hard to reach places where insects like to nest: back walls furniture, internal cavities of cabinets and sofas. For convenience, you can chop the block and sprinkle powder on the places where pests accumulate.
When fighting harmful insects You need to take precautions and protect yourself from contact with poison. When drawing the lines, you can open one edge of the package and hold the drug by the cellophane wrapper, but it is better to wear rubber gloves. Try to prevent particles of the drug from getting on your face: if you are crushing chalk or sprinkling powder on insect nests, it is advisable to protect your eyes with glasses. After work, wash your hands and face with soap, and only then can you touch food products.
We cannot always choose clean neighbors for ourselves. If behind the wall there is dirt, disorder, insects run freely throughout the apartment, then soon they may move in with you.
For prevention, carefully treat all places where uninvited guests may appear:
First, arm yourself with a vacuum cleaner and clean all hard-to-reach places, crevices, upholstered furniture and toys, so you will collect the bulk of both insects and their eggs. Burn the filter or treat it with an insecticide. Take Mashenka crayons and draw stripes along the floor and walls. The cat's or dog's bedding can be covered with powder, and after a while washed in hot water.
Cockroaches and fleas may jump or fly over the drawn lines. Ants do not have such abilities, and a line 2 cm wide will become an insurmountable obstacle for them. They will bring pieces of the “delicacy” to the nest, feed all the inhabitants, and treat the female laying eggs. After some time, the entire family will be destroyed.
On garden plot You can sprinkle the powder on the ground around the anthill. If there are aphids on the plants, make a water solution and spray the affected bushes with a spray bottle. This way you can deal with 2 types of pests at once. The same liquid composition You can pour it directly into the anthill. Remove upper layer soil and pour the powder or pour the liquid preparation into the place where insects accumulate. The principle of action of the drug in any form is absolutely the same.
