Wood borer beetle larvae can spend up to five years tunnelling through the wooden structures in your home.
Most houses are built with wooden structures which include roof trusses, door frames and skirting boards. These structures are an ideal breeding ground for this pest as the larvae feed on wood and wood products. Wood borer beetle adults lay their eggs in the cracks and crevices of exposed wood. Once the eggs hatch the larvae will bore into the wood for between two and five years. The adults that emerge from the wood often only live for a few days though.You can spot the signs of a wood borer beetle infestation if you look closely enough.
If you recently purchased wood for the fireplace and noticed that a beetle travelled inside with you, don’t fret – you need to look more closely to see a wood borer beetle infestation. The adult wood borer beetles will emerge from inside the wood. Look closely at your home’s wooden structure and your fireplace wood, if you see tiny round or oval holes which are between one to two millimetres wide then they are likely to be exit holes. Furthermore, reappearing little heaps of fine sawdust or frass (theirfood fragments and excrement) are indicative of an active wood borer beetle infestation.In South Africa, wood borer beetles are most commonly found throughout our coastal regions.
Wood borer beetle infestations can occur in anybody’s home but those living in our coastal regions are more prone to these pests as the climate is conducive to breeding. Inland properties that become infested can often pinpoint the problem to imported furniture or wooden items that they have transported from the coast.A wood borer beetle infestation requires immediate attention if you want to successfully eradicate the problem.
If you find that you have an infestation then it is best to contact a professional pest controller immediately. A professional fumigation is necessary to eradicate the infestation and free your property of beetles entirely. If the problem can be pinpointed and localised to a piece of furniture then the item will be removed from your premises and treated off-site. However, if the problem spans across your property then your entire house will need to be treated. To find out more about pest infestations, fumigation procedures or to have us do a professional inspection of your property to detect any infestations you might have, please contact The Specialists directly at our branch near you.[hs_action id="1098"]
Image credit - Yellowstone Photo Collection
