Insect Damage & Pest Identification
Other Insects &
Pest Identification
Serving Eastern Massachusetts since 1993. Powder post beetle larvae cause millions of dollars worth of damage in the United States each year and are second only to termites in their destructiveness — and in hidden areas such as crawl spaces and basements, serious damage may be done before the infestation is discovered.
Wood Destroying Insects
Powder Post Beetle Insect Damage
The term “powder post beetle” can be used to indicate any of three closely related families (Lyctidae, Bostrichidae and Anobiidae beetles) within the super family Bostrichoidea. This common name is appropriate because the larvae of these beetles can reduce timbers to a mass of very fine, powder-like material with hollowed out areas in the wood. The adults do very little actual damage to wood, serving primarily a reproductive function.
Adult beetles lay their eggs in the surface pores of wood, and the larvae bore into the wood as soon as they hatch. Living in the wood, they create tunnels called galleries as they eat their way through the timbers. When the larvae are nearly full grown they bore near to the surface of the wood and pupate, and the adults bore out through the surface soon after pupation, pushing a fine powdery wood dust — usually a copper to yellow-gold colour — out of the wood as they emerge.
They are small, varying in size from 3/32 to 7/32 inch long, and are reddish-brown to black in colour. Pin hole openings, often called shot holes, perforate the surface of infested wood. Infestations are often built into structures as a result of using infested lumber, and in hidden areas such as crawl spaces and basements serious damage may be done before the infestation is discovered. Inspection by a pest professional is the best way to determine if an infestation has occurred, and immediate treatment will halt any further damage.
Treatment
Beetle Treatment Is Not Termite Treatment
Termites
To treat for termites we need to inject the soil around the house.
Powder Post Beetles
To treat for powder post beetles we treat all affected wood areas directly, with an odourless, low toxicity treatment that lasts for many years.
Common Questions
Powder Post Beetle FAQs
Look for pin hole openings — often called shot holes — perforating the surface of the wood, and for a fine powdery dust, usually copper to yellow-gold, pushed out as the adults emerge. The beetles themselves are small, 3/32 to 7/32 inch long and reddish-brown to black. An inspection by a pest professional is the best way to be sure.
Infestations are often built into a structure as a result of using infested lumber. Adult beetles lay eggs in the surface pores of wood and the larvae bore in as soon as they hatch, so the problem can arrive with the timber itself.
Powder post beetle larvae cause millions of dollars worth of damage in the United States each year and are second only to termites in destructiveness. The larvae reduce timbers to a mass of very fine powder with hollowed out galleries inside.
Because the damage happens in places nobody looks. In hidden areas such as crawl spaces and basements, serious damage may be done before the infestation is discovered.
No. Termite work means injecting the soil around the house. For powder post beetles we treat all affected wood areas directly, with an odourless, low toxicity treatment that lasts for many years.
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