Houses made of wooden beams attract many people with their environmental safety, as well as the fact that they have a special atmosphere of comfort and warmth. Furniture, dishes, and wooden crafts decorate the interior of any home and create a calm and comfortable mood in the house. However, during the construction of buildings and the production of furniture, additional treatment of wood against pests is not always carried out, which leads to their premature destruction.
Chashel is the main enemy of wood
One of the most dangerous pests settling in a tree is a shashel. It is a misconception to think that this pest can live in cereals or other food products. This black or dark brown wood-boring beetle has small sizes(its length is 3-4 mm), it can even be confused with flies. But to be sure whether this pest is in the house, it is advisable to know what a shashel looks like, photo below.
The beetle often chooses wood with a 5-6-year service life and spoils it very quickly; after a year, the result of its actions is noticeable to everyone. When the shawl beetle gets on wooden surface, he instantly begins to bite into it in order to create passages and lay eggs in them.
Shashel larvae also threaten the integrity of the wood; they gnaw long tunnels and tightly clog them with digested pulp and their own excrement. Then they try to find the most comfortable place in the tree, relative to temperature, where they pupate. This pest beetle reproduces with great activity. Females lay about 80 eggs in their nest, from which larvae emerge.
The larva can live in wood for up to 7 years (in some cases up to 15 years) and drill about 40 km of passages during its stay. It is considered the main culprit in damage to timber.
The main reasons for the appearance of shashel in the house
Shashel may appear in the house due to:
- use of contaminated wood during construction or renovation;
- improper storage of lumber and firewood;
- purchasing beetle-infested furniture from unscrupulous manufacturers;
- excessive moisture in wood.
So that you don't have to worry about how to get rid of shashel in wooden house, try to inspect everything more often wooden parts and the structure of your home, and if you find even minor damage, treat it with special means. In addition, make sure that there are no high humidity, and at the construction stage, pay attention to the quality of building materials. It is important that when constructing a structure, only new and bark-free wood is used.
Ways to effectively combat shashel
Before getting rid of shashel, you need to find out in what places it lives. For this purpose, you need to carefully inspect the walls, beams and partitions, pay attention wooden floor. In addition, furniture (upholstered and wooden) should also become the object of your research. The pest can be found on wooden frames and other wooden elements.
You can get rid of shashel with the help of both industrial preparations and folk remedies. The most famous and popular means for destroying shashel:
- Antishashelin- the drug is intended to destroy any type of wood-boring beetle in boards and wood; it penetrates perfectly into the deep layers of young and old wood.
- Antibug- an antiseptic that has an effective effect on adults and larvae of all pests. It is recommended for use both to combat the beetle and to prevent its occurrence.
- Drevotex- the drug is known for excellent results in the fight against shashel, its effect lasts for another 6 months after use. Using a syringe, the preparation is used to fill the passages made by the pest beetle, and then the holes are clogged with Vaseline or paraffin.
- Empire 20- the drug is slightly toxic to humans and is effective even with a large number of insect colonies.
- Lignofix- a non-toxic antiseptic that can only kill shashel, but not harm humans. The drug has a prolonged effect for 10 years.
Regardless of the choice of remedy for shashel in the house, it is important that during treatment the insecticide penetrates deeply into the wood. To do this, you need to apply it in at least 2 layers with an interval of 2-3 days!
Fighting shashel with folk remedies
If you prefer to get rid of pests using folk remedies and are concerned about how to remove shashel, pay attention to the following recipes.
- To 10 liters hot water 250 g of sodium fluoride solution is added. After mixing, the mixture is applied to wooden surfaces using a household spray bottle.
- For 3 liters of turpentine, take 1 liter of kerosene. After mixing, this solution is treated wooden crafts.
- For this composition you need to take 10 liters of turpentine, 300 g of creolin, 500 g of wax and 500 g of paraffin. Everything is mixed and the resulting homogeneous mass is processed.
This small black insect is most often found in wooden houses, in wooden beams, floors and even wooden furniture. A characteristic indicator of damage to wood by this insect are small holes that the shawl gnaws.
Several types of beetles live in Russia: wood beetles and furniture beetles; they can infest not only wood, but also books and leather goods. Chashel often appears in cereals. It has an elongated black or dark brown body with a dense shell, which is clearly divided into the head and abdomen.
On the head there are long, slightly curled, indirect antennae. The size of the bug does not exceed 5 mm, which allows it to remain unnoticed for many months, or even years.
Important: the beetle does not pose a danger to human life and health. The only thing it affects is property.
Reasons for the appearance of shashel in cereals
Important: If you do not notice the appearance of beetles in time, they can move to other rooms where there is food.
- importation from outside: purchase of affected cereals (especially if the sale is carried out by weight);
- unsuitable bags and containers for storage: they need to be washed regularly and doused with boiling water; the most suitable for storing bulk products are glass jars with tight-fitting lids and plastic containers;
- too high humidity in the room;
- high or low temperature in the apartment, temperature changes;
- purchase large quantity croup at once. Housewives are advised to buy no more than two packs of cereals, pasta, cookies and other flour products.
Advice: buy cereals in transparent bags or with transparent “windows” so that you can see the pest. Pay attention to the folds in the packages, carefully review each package purchased in the store. If you once noticed packaged beetles in a store, exclude the products of this company from your purchases and inform the store administrator.
Methods for removing beetles
Insects even get into food products that they do not eat, so even they are then not ready for consumption. How to raise shashel in cereals in the kitchen?
Fighting kitchen pests sometimes takes weeks and months for many housewives. There is no need to be lazy about washing all the furniture and processing it.
In rare cases, you can save yourself from beetles using folk remedies: garlic, bay leaf and vinegar. If the shashel has spread throughout the kitchen, it is necessary to resort to more serious measures.
During the construction of any building, wood is used for certain structures (doors, windows, window sills, floors, rafters). Very often, additional treatment of the wood against pests is not carried out, which causes premature destruction. The main enemy of wood is the wood-boring beetle (shashel, house beetle).
If a specific unpleasant creaking sound is heard in the house, and wood flour begins to fall out of the tree, then a woodworm has appeared. Insect larvae are especially dangerous. They make huge passages in the boards and beams, gradually destroying the house. Therefore, you should start fighting the shashel as early as possible in order to keep your home intact.
Description of the wood beetle
This is a dark brown or black flying insect from the family of beetles. The beetles are several millimeters in size and can be confused with small flies. Outwardly they are quite harmless, but by eating wood they cause a lot of problems.
Most of the time, pests are in the wood, making passages there. And they come out during the mating season. Shasheli reproduce very actively. In gnawed tree holes (2-6 cm deep), females build a nest and lay about 80 eggs there. As soon as the larvae emerge from them, they immediately begin to destroy the tree. The larva can live in wood for 6-7 years (sometimes up to 15). During this time, she drills about 40 km of passages. It is the larvae that cause damage to 99% of timber.
Reasons for appearance
Wood-boring beetles can appear in the house for several reasons:
- Use of contaminated wood during the construction phase of a building.
- Old, unkempt wood with cracks and crevices.
If felled trees are stored improperly (staying in a humid environment for a long time), beetles begin to lay eggs in them. If contaminated material is used during construction without treatment, soon the emerging larvae will begin to destroy the wood.
In order not to have problems and not to fight wood-boring beetles, you need to protect yourself in advance from their appearance in the house. To do this, you should take a responsible approach to the selection and use of wood.
- Once a year, conduct a thorough inspection of wooden structures for damage.
- For construction, use only dry wood, cleared of bark. You can drop iodine onto the surface. If it turns blue, the material is not dry enough.
- Structures exposed to moisture are most susceptible to pests and must be treated with protective agents. It is better to impregnate with pastes that will protect the wood for several years.
- All wood used for construction should be coated with antiseptics to prevent infection. It's not worth saving on them. Fighting shashel will cost more.
- During reconstruction work, infected wooden elements It’s better to destroy them and replace them with new ones.
The wood-boring beetle is one of the most dangerous pests in the home. It practically goes unnoticed; it stays in the wood all the time, gradually destroying it. The presence of beetles can be recognized when the house is already dilapidated. To prevent this from happening, you need to check the materials for construction in advance, use protective equipment for processing, and use them correctly. wooden structures.
What means and how to treat wood against wood-boring beetles? Useful tips in the following video:
If there are wooden structures in your house, then the shashel, a wood-boring beetle, will probably appear in the near future.
Shashel can be dangerous itself, but most of all, their larvae cause trouble, digging long passages in floor boards, ceilings, window sills and other household and household items. Today the question on the agenda is how to quickly get rid of shashel in the house.
The first sign of the presence of shashel in a home is a subtle creaking of wood, after which wood dust appears. Many people, when buying a house or before starting construction, choose wood as the main material, since it is considered the most environmentally friendly.
Even if the main structures are made of synthetic materials, there are still wooden structures, furniture, various decorations, which create a special atmosphere of coziness and comfort. For this reason, there is a need to think about pest infestations. They are the wood-boring beetle or shashel.
Appearance
Belongs to the family of grinders. The insect is very small in size. Its length reaches only a few millimeters (3-4), for this reason the primary signs of their presence in your home are invisible. The shawl is often confused with midges, since the insect can fly. The color of an adult insect ranges from black to dark brown.
It has a pair of antennae and three pairs of legs, usually lighter in color than the body. Its shell is very dense, covered with small hairs. On the upper hard elytra there are several clearly defined longitudinal grooves. The torso has cylindrical shape with a small head.
The larva resembles a thick worm, the body of which is segmented. Has a yellow color. On the head Brown you can see very powerful jaws. The larva can be observed only after sawing a board or log. In life she never leaves her hole.
Life cycle and reproduction
Characteristics such as wood type, color, and shashel format are not of interest. A five-year-old tree with low humidity is suitable for its life. Once on the surface of the board, the beetle quickly bites into it and begins to dig passages in order to lay eggs faster. The first signs of destruction are visible already 12 months after its penetration into the home.
The beetle reproduces very quickly. One female lays up to 80 eggs at a time, after which they beneficially transform into larvae. Greatest harm brings the beetle in the larval stage. It is a known fact that one larva lives for about 7 years and digs tunnels over 40 km long.
When digging, the larvae fill them with waste material and their excrement.
After drying, this content spills out and spoils the aesthetic appearance of the tree. During the trip, when favorable conditions(dryness, elevated temperature, darkness) the larva looks for a place where it subsequently turns into a pupa.
Features of shashel:
- The adult lives only from a week to one month. It is necessary for reproduction.
- The egg turns into a larva in 12-15 days.
- After the larva emerges, several moults occur. The last capsule reaches a size of about 4 mm. In this case, the beetle is 2 mm in size.
- All stages comprise a time period of two years. The larval stage is considered the longest.
The shawl larva alone is capable of damaging more than half of all lumber.
How shashel penetrates the home
The main reasons for the appearance of woodworm in the house can be:
- Use of untested lumber in construction.
- Using old wood that has cracks and crevices.
- Improper storage of wood in warehouses, which become unsuitable for construction and repair.
- Purchased furniture with shashel larvae.
The first signs of the pest, as a rule, are not visible, but after the symptoms of its presence in the house appear, it becomes very difficult to cope with the insect. Therefore, if the house has already been built or there is homemade furniture from damaged material, try to carefully inspect the wood for holes and damage whenever you do a deep cleaning.
Important! When choosing timber for construction, inspect the timber. They should be without bark and visible holes, entrances for beetles.
To begin the fight against the enemy, you need to determine his location, for this you need to inspect wooden partitions on the ceiling, floor, window sills, doorways, all furniture made of wood.
You should pay attention to upholstered furniture, the frame of which is also made of pressed sawdust or wooden beams. You can easily determine if you hear a sound that resembles a clock or light tapping. Such sounds are characteristic of adult individuals during mating, which occurs on the surface.
After you have managed to detect the unpleasant neighbor, you need to start destroying them. The choice of method will depend on the residents’ capabilities in terms of finances, time and effort.
Video: Fighting shashel in books and antiques
Chemicals
The proven and most popular broad-spectrum insecticides are used:
In any case, the choice is yours. If you find it difficult to choose an antiseptic or insecticide, you can ask a consultant in the store for help.
Traditional methods
You can cope with shashel using recipes invented and tested by people over a long time.
The most effective are:
- Dilute 1 cup of sodium fluoride into a ten-liter bucket of water. A wooden surface is treated with this solution from a spray bottle. The advantage of the method is the treatment of hard-to-reach places.
- The next solution is prepared as follows: take 3 liters of turpentine and mix with 1 liter of kerosene or gasoline. Lubricate wooden partitions affected by shashel with paint brush. You should not treat all boards and structures, only infected ones. This solution is very smelly and can harm human health. After complete absorption, the room should be well ventilated.
- For 10 liters of turpentine, take equal amounts (0.5 kg each) of creolin and paraffin. Mix everything thoroughly and lubricate the affected areas.
Important! All wood processing manipulations must be carried out using rubber gloves and a respirator.
Listed traditional methods have unpleasant pungent odors, which, if more contaminated, are not suitable for treating residential premises, so they are suitable for warehouses, livestock farms, poultry farms, vegetable stores, etc.
Conclusion
There are a lot of methods to combat shashel. In addition to those listed chemicals And folk solutions, you can use hot steam treatment, fumigation, microwave destruction.
But unfortunately, such methods are acceptable for specialized services, and they are usually very expensive.
Shashel is a wood-boring beetle whose larvae feed on wood. This is why the insect causes a lot of harm to its owners. country houses and cottages from natural wood. But if your home is built of brick, this does not mean that you will never encounter shashel; it can spoil wooden furniture. In this article we will tell you how to get rid of this annoying “neighbor”.
First you need to make sure that the insect that is ruining your furniture is really a fly. If you hear a characteristic tapping sound at night, similar to the ticking of a clock, you can safely say that a shashel lives in your neighborhood. The adult does not feed on the tree, dangerous for wooden houses only insect larvae. If during the construction of a house you find passages inside the timber, return the product to the store. In just a few years, there will be nothing left of the house but rubble. If you find woodworm in furniture or garden trees, use sodium fluoride. To prepare the solution, pour 250 g of the substance into a bucket with hot water. Stir the mixture, and after cooling, treat the surface of the wood with it. To treat fruit trees, use a spray bottle. To kill woodworms in furniture, wipe its surface with the prepared solution. Make sure that the product gets into all the cracks. You can cope with the pest using turpentine and creolin. To prepare the mixture, dissolve 50 g of wax in 1 liter of turpentine. It can be taken from a regular candle. After this, pour 50 g of creolin into the mixture. As a result, you will end up with a solution that feels greasy to the touch. Treat all the furniture with the product, coat the cracks and recesses, and use a syringe without a needle to treat the passages. Take a little substance into it and fill the hole made by the shawl larva with it. Apply the mixture to the fruit tree using a brush. There is one more effective remedy based on turpentine. To prepare the poison, heat 3 liters of turpentine and pour 1 liter of kerosene, gasoline and petroleum jelly into it. Add 100 g of naphthalene and two pieces of soap, previously ground on a grater, to the mixture. Wipe all furniture with this product. It has bad smell, so it is advisable to take the furniture outside or not close the windows in the house for several days. Apply the mixture to the wood with a brush.
You don’t have to experiment and buy special remedy V hardware store. Nowadays, the most popular woodworm poisons in the retail chain are: anti-shashelin, anti-beetle, Impralit. These substances are used not only to combat beetles, but also for prevention purposes. Apply these poisons once a year to wood products and fruit trees, and you will forget about shashel forever.
