Oftentimes when homeowners think of damage to their homes, they associate the damage with termites, carpenter ants, carpenter bees and rodents, but there are other creatures out there that can also do damage to the wood in your home. Wood beetles have the potential to be damaging if not properly disposed of and your friends at All-Natural Pest Elimination can help.
How Do I Know If I Have a Wood Beetle Problem?
When it comes to these beetles, the most obvious sign of wood beetles are holes in wood. The adult beetles aren’t generally the problem; its their larva that do the damage. If you see holes in the wood of your home, there are several suspects. Wood beetles have some other signs that help identify an infestation.
- One of the first signs, beside holes, are a powdery substance called frass which is excrement and wood fragments mixed. It usually piles up beneath the holes or can be found in structural cracks. Depending on the species of beetle, frass can be course or fine.
- Another sign of beetle infestation is blistered or stained wood caused by larval tunneling beneath the surface of the wood.
- Finally, another sign less noticeable, except when quiet, is an audible ticking or rasping sound coming from the larvae chewing through the wood.
How Do I Know What Kind of Beetles I Have?
In Oregon, the most common types of wood beetles are the Powderpost Beetle, the Emerald ash borer, and the Agrilus anxius. These beetles are pretty easy to distinguish because they all look very different.
Powderpost Beetle
Powderpost beetles are slender, about 1/16th to 1/4th of an inch long. They have six legs like a typical insect with antennae, and they have a hard carapace or shell and are usually reddish-brown or black. The larvae of these beetles are usually whitish or cream-colored in appearance and their bodies are shaped like a “C”. There are about 70 different species of powderpost beetles across the US, and they are among the most common found in most states.
Bronze Birch Borer
Agrilus anxius adult beetles are very slender, sub cylindrical with a flat head. Their coloration ranges from an olive green with bronze reflections to black with bronze reflections, though their typical morphology presents with a copper-bronze metallic appearance. They are 6-12 mm long; the females are slightly longer. The Bronze Birch Borer larvae are also white to cream colored, but have flat segmented bodies, small and protracted heads and usually their bodies present with eight abdominal segments with two caudal segments ending in two small, tooth-like appendages. Mature larvae can be 8-20 mm long, before they morph into pupae.
Emerald Ash Borer
Emerald Ash Borers (EAB) are an invasive species of beetle that have devastating effects on ash trees. Though they are not usually found to infest homes, their damage to ash trees is legendary. These creatures, although they prefer ash trees, have been known to infect other species of trees, but their devastation to ash trees has been widely recorded. One incident recorded blame to the Emerald Ash Borer for killing an ash tree that fell on a home. The adult EAB has a striking metallic green appearance, they can get to be half an inch long and an eighth inch wide. The larvae are creamy-white and wormlike with flattened segments shaped like nested bells.
Worse than Termites
Beetle infestation is worse than termites because beetles are larger and harder to access to eliminate. They damage your home the same as termites, only faster and on a larger scale because of their size. Treatment for termites takes about 3-4 days, while wood beetle treatments can take as long as a week.
If you suspect you have a wood beetle problem, call All-Natural Pest Elimination at 877-662-8449 and let us come assess your home and get an estimate.
