Understanding Furniture Beetles
Before you can get rid of pests, you have to be able to identify and understand their common behaviors. Pest behavior varies from bug to bug, so becoming an expert on the one you are struggling with is key to controlling these pests!
Identifying a Furniture Beetle
Furniture beetles are a type of wood-boring beetle that infest and damage wood furniture and sometimes the foundations of your home. Another common name for them is woodworms, and their larvae feed on wood, too.
These dark brown beetles are typically 1/4 of an inch long with an oval-shaped body. While other species are known for being quite large and easy to spot, furniture beetles are smaller than the point of a pencil! Spotting them require some close attention to detail.
Furniture Beetle Life Cycle
Like most insects, furniture beetles start out as an egg, develop into the larval stage, then pupa, and then they become fully grown beetles.
The life cycle can be broken down into a straightforward timeline:
- Eggs- Each furniture beetle lays around 20-100 eggs each summer. The eggs will only hatch once the humidity dips down, but they still require warm conditions.
- Larvae- After 3-5 weeks of developing as an egg, the larvae emerge. This is the stage that most people recognize the pests as woodworms. While many insects become fully grown relatively soon after, the furniture beetle's larval stage can last as long as 10 years!
- Pupa- This phase is the next growth stage of the life cycle. It will last around 2-8 weeks, and gives the insects time to full develop and begin feeding on the wood from just beneath the surface.
- Adult Beetles- This is the final stage of the cycle, and is when people will start noticing the infestation. This is when exit holes emerge, however, it's less about eating wood and more about reproducing. As an adult, they only have about 2-4 weeks to live.
Signs of Furniture Beetle Infestation
Uncovering the Problem
One easy way to tell if you have furniture beetles without seeing them is by looking for round exit holes in the areas of your home that have wood. The exit holes can look tiny, but the small piles often give these pests away.
Exit holes measure between 1/16 to 1/8 inch in diameter, and the packed clumps of sawdust can tell you where they are burrowing. While we refer to them as a furniture beetle, they are known for causing decay in living trees, which is typically their meal of choice. However, these pests aren't picky, so they'll take a free bite anywhere they can.
Causes and Prevention of Furniture Beetle Infestation
Understanding the Source
While most pests find their way into your home with the clear goal of gaining access to your resources, furniture beetles often end up inside by accident. They hitch rides on firewood or hidden within old pieces of furniture. While they can crawl inside through cracks and gaps, it's pretty unlikely.
The females are looking to make nests in decaying or damaged wood, so a quick and easy way to prevent these beetles is to inspect your newfound furniture or firewood before bringing any of it around your property.
Additionally, and fast and easy way to spare yourself the headache is to simply paint on some varnish, polyurethane, or regular paint to seal wood surfaces.
Treatment and Management of Furniture Beetles
Effective Solutions
Because these beetles reproduce in very large numbers and can be hard to spot, the best solution is to hire a team of professionals for help. While many people turn to store-bought solutions, the efficacy is just not as high as what pest control companies can offer, and most treatments will only kill the beetles that have made their way to the surface.
Effective Management Strategies
Management begins with regular pest control services. Dealing with furniture beetles requires that you know how to look for and identify them, and from there, you need to keep in touch with your pest control company. Greenix helps with solutions, but we also help with prevention tactics. We can help inspect your furniture, any unfinished wood around your home, and even the foundations to ensure that you're home is free and clear of these pests!
If you suspect a furniture beetle infestation, call Greenix today to schedule your next appointment!
