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What You Should Know About Larders Beetles

You know what it's like to have larder beetles in your home if you've ever gone into your kitchen, opened your pantry, or larder, and noticed little brownish-black bugs having a picnic. Most likely, you weren't overly happy about it.

 

Our goal at Environmental Pest Management is to keep pests out of your house. You can rely on us to utilize the safest, greenest products to complete the task, whether we're helping you evict unwelcome guests or preventing them from coming at all.

 

Larders beetles are conspicuous since they frequently travel in groups and don't attempt to conceal, unlike certain other pests that can infest your home. Here is all the information you needed to know about recognizing these sneaky insects and motivating them to relocate.

 

How Do I Identify Larder Beetles and What Are They?

Identifying the person you observed scurrying in your pantry is the first step in pest treatment. Knowing the type of insect you have allows you to choose the methods or supplies that will work best to deal with it.

 

The term "larder beetle" refers to a type of insect that is frequently seen in your pantry or cabinet, also known as your larder, where you keep food, particularly grains and meat. They are little, barely 14" to 13" long, and have an oval form. Take note of the brown band that surrounds the center of their black body. It is a larder beetle's key distinguishing feature.

 

Of course, pantry beetles have two jointed antennae and six legs, just as all insects. The stomach of the larder beetle is covered in tiny, closely packed hairs, and the brown band usually has black or yellow dots on it.

 

Larders beetle larvae are about 12" long, lack the distinctive beetle shape, and resemble sow bugs, save for the fact that their body bands are brown and black striped. Larder larvae have short, yellowish hairs on their bodies that resemble the stomach of the adult larder beetle.

 

Why are there black pantry bugs in my home?

The larvae of larder beetles are ravenous. When we refer to them as omnivores, we actually mean that they will consume any food. Grains, oats, cookies, bread, dry pet food, cured meats, tobacco, carpet fibers, cheese, fish, textiles, dried museum specimens, and the remains of other bugs are all examples of stored food. One reason they're in your pantry or garage is that they have easy access to food.

 

Larders beetles will thrive in your home if there are carcasses in your attic or walls from previous insect infestations like stink bugs, boxelder bugs, sow bugs, ants, or rodents like mice, moles, or bats. The larder beetle is aware of the dead insects in your attic even if you are unaware of them and will inform their pals.

 

Larder beetles are not only unhygienic, but they can also cause damage because they can burrow through wood and drywall to get to your food. To deposit their eggs in your tinned tuna or black beans, they may even bore into tin and lead.

 

Larders beetles frequently conceal themselves in cracks or other sheltered areas throughout the winter.

 

Even your garage or wall crevices could harbor them. They emerge in the spring in search of a location to lay their eggs. They will enter your home because there are dead bugs or other food sources there. Females produce about 100 eggs, which hatch in a matter of days. They eat regularly, mature in about six weeks.

 

Black Larders Beetle Warning Signs in Your Home

Other indications of a pantry beetle infestation, besides the actual beetles or their larvae, include:

• Holes punched through your pet food bags, cartons, or other food storage materials
• Skins from the beetles' molting; • Larvae dug into a melon, potato, onion, or other food source; • Spilled or dispersed food - they aren't exactly picky eaters

 

Techniques for Combating These Pests

To get rid of pantry beetles from your home, you must practice strict sanitation. It won't work to simply remove the beetle-containing things and clean your kitchen. To deal with a larder beetle infestation, follow these instructions.

• Everything in your pantry or cabinet needs to be removed.
• Discard any food that has larder bugs on it.
• Even if you don't see any evidence of the beetles, dispose of any opened food containers in your pantry. This includes cereal boxes, flour bags or canisters, pasta boxes that are just partially filled, etc.
• Check all cans of food for invasive species.
• Switch to glass or hard (BPA) plastic food storage containers so that larders beetles cannot get inside.
• Clean the floor of the pantry and all shelves with a vinegar or bleach solution.
• Completely vacuum all nooks and crannies
• Check the walls, baseboard trim, and any other possible entry points for cracks or holes made by beetles. To seal them and keep the beetles away, use a caulking gun.
• Discard empty pet food bags. Put the container in a tight-fitting, durable plastic bag.
• Look beneath stoves and other equipment for larders beetles' potential hiding places and food sources. Seal any holes and clean this area.
• Fill up any cracks around windows and doors where pests like pantry beetles could enter.
• To assist repel and kill any pantry beetles (or other bugs) who dare to reappear, line the edge of your pantry walls or cabinet backs with diatomaceous earth.

 

Get Assistance from Environmental Pest Management

Due of their persistence, larders beetles can be difficult to eradicate. To assuage your concerns, Environmental Pest Management has experience managing larder beetle infestations.

We have a wide range of tactics in our repertoire to make sure the pest leaves and stays gone. In order to keep your family and pets safe and still get rid of bugs and stop them from coming back, we only utilize the least invasive and safest treatments and processes.

 

Larder beetles are probably something you've seen before. It would definitely sound familiar if someone described a small, oval beetle with a dark body and a light line all around. In both home and business settings, pantry beetles are a frequent and common visitor. Their inclusion in dried, cured meats kept at room temperature before refrigeration gives them their name. These days, they are still present in food that has been stored in pantries, but they are also an unsightly nuisance in the house. However, Modern Pest is here to offer prevention advice and explain how we can assist.

 

Description

Larders beetles have a long, oval-shaped body and are typically 1/4 to 3/8 inches long.

Adults have a broad, yellow band running across their bodies and are dark brown to black in color. There are six dark spots on the band.

The tapering larvae of the larder beetle can grow to a length of half an inch. They have thin, stiff hair covering them.

 

What Was Their Origin?

Adult larders beetles spend the winter in safe locations like cracks and crevices. They are drawn to regions in homes and structures that have food supplies in the spring. The larder beetle's larvae and adults both inflict damage by eating and burrowing into solid objects to pupate.

 

Diet

Anywhere they can locate a reliable food source, larders beetles can thrive. They favor animal things made from animals, such as cheese, dry pet food, feathers, and hair. When an infestation is discovered inside a house, it was probably brought in by dried cat, dog, or bird food. Additionally, they consume dead animal stuff that may be found in house walls, such as cluster flies, boxelder bugs, or mice. Larder beetles are drawn to grease from frying.

 

Reproduction

The eggs are laid by adult females on any of their several eating sources or in fissures or cracks close to the food source. They can lay up to 800 eggs, which take around 12 days to hatch. The female larvae molt six times, compared to the male larval's five. The fully developed larva will look for a place to dig into and pupate.

 

How to Prevent a Pest Problem

• Ensure that all food products for humans and animals are stored in sealed glass, plastic, or metal containers.
• Look for the source if you discover a larders beetle infestation in a pantry or cabinet. Remove all food products and throw away contaminated goods. Before placing each item back on the freshly-cleaned shelf, inspect it.
• Vacuum and scrub the impacted shelves thoroughly.
• If it is impossible to identify the exact source of the infestation, use a general control strategy and vacuum any cracks and crevices where the beetles were discovered.
• If precious items are contaminated, they can be frozen for three to four days or heated sterilized at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

 

 

The Contemporary Fix

Larders beetles may be destroying your food and burrowing holes if you've noticed them in your home. Call Modern Pest at 1-888-290-9899 right now. Larder beetles are among the more than 50 typical household pests that our Homecare Green service guards against. Larder beetles are also treated in commercial settings by our Ecocare services.

 

Larder beetles: How do I get rid of them?

Steps You Can Take

Thorough cleaning and examination are necessary for controlling larders bugs. The goal is to identify the source of the infestation and get rid of everything that is infested. Among the control and prevention strategies are:

• Inspection: Look for animal trophies or fur that has been infected. Check garages and storage areas for animal or pet food that has been contaminated. Inspecting animal or bird nests in crawlspaces, wall voids, and attics is also a smart idea.
• Sanitation: Vacuum any bare shelves and throw away any contaminated packages you find in the pantry or kitchen cabinets.
• Food goods should be stored in airtight containers.

 

In order to escape the cold in the late summer and early fall, larder beetles infiltrate homes through unlocked doors or crevices in the walls. They spend the winter close to food sources, especially in kitchen cabinets.

The damage caused by larders beetles might increase when they number in the hundreds or thousands. Although they very rarely cause damage to the supporting structures of homes, contamination of food and animal products causes the most expensive harm.

When it's time for the larvae to pupate, they can burrow into anything is nearby, including: food, books, feathers, fur, insulation, and so forth.

Do They Pose a Risk?

Although larder beetles don't bite people or carry disease, their presence is filthy and irritating.

 

Fecal pellets are one of the most typical indications of larder beetle infestation.

• Items with holes.
• Skin shed by larvae with hair.

How to Get Rid of Larders Beetles: Larder Beetle Control

This website serves as an overview of Larder Beetle management. You can get control of Larder Beetles by using the recommended products and techniques. We promise complete control of the larder beetle population if you adhere to this advice and utilize the suggested products.

 

Have you seen any holes or other damage in the food, books, or furs you have in storage? They might have been created by Larder Beetles. Infestations of the larder beetle have become a severe problem for both homeowners and businesses.

 

Larder beetles are particularly problematic in the winter since they frequently overwinter in homes and are found close to pet food, clothing, furs, hides, and feathers. Larders Beetles, however, can also enter homes in the early spring to lay eggs there.

 

Despite the fact that larder beetles do not bite or sting people and do not spread diseases, their presence could contaminate food and animal goods (furs, hides, taxidermy mounts). When they are in their pupal stage, they can also contaminate numerous objects by boring within lead, stored food, and even timber.

 

Our guide below will assist if you want to get rid of larder beetles. Use our professional grade goods and experienced procedures to learn everything you need to know about what a Larder Beetle is, what attracts larder bugs, and how to kill larder beetles.

 

It is crucial to correctly identify and establish that the pest with which you are dealing is a Larder Beetle first. This will help you choose the best goods and pest treatment strategy while saving you time and money. Larders beetles are frequently mistaken for other pantry pests that are likewise inclined to invade commodities that are kept in storage. However, the Larders Beetle has a few distinguishing features, which are listed below:

• The length of an adult larder beetle is roughly one-third of an inch.
• The adult larder beetle's hue is brown, and its body's middle is marked with a light to yellowish spot.
• There are tiny yellow hairs all over the wings.
• Larvae of the larder beetle are about half an inch long.
• The larvae's bodies are equipped with two tiny pincers.
• The Larder Beetle larvae have hairs just like the adult.

Larders beetle larvae are brown in color and are widely distributed in dried fish, tobacco, pet food, preserved cheese, and other products.

 

Once you've established that you have larder beetles, you need to do an inspection to determine their location and what draws them in. You will be on the lookout for Larders Beetle activity during the inspection as well as contaminated goods.

Where to Look

Search in attics, basements, garages, kitchens, and storage spaces as the majority of Larder Beetle infestations start indoors. Look for food items that have been stored in the kitchen's pantries and other areas where pet food is kept. Look for furry clothes, rugs, carpets, animal trophies, animal mounts, and animal skins in attics, basements, and storage areas. Look about you for any suspected animal remains.

What to Watch Out For

Larders Beetles, larvae, and infested goods are what you're searching for. Inside of items like pet chow that have been preserved as food are larder beetles and their larvae. So look inside your refrigerated food items to determine whether any bugs are present. They also contaminate animal goods such mounts, skins, and garments made of fur. Proceed with treatment if you have located Larder Beetle activity and successfully identified the infested goods.

 

It's time to start treatment when you've verified Larder Beetle activity and the infected objects. Always read the product labels before using them, follow any application instructions found there, and keep yourself safe by using personal protective equipment.

You should first clean up any infested clothing, food, or other items they have gotten into or harmed before attempting to eradicate Larders Beetles and Larder Beetle larvae. You can then use pesticides after that is finished. In addition to placing Pro-Pest Pantry Moth and Beetle Traps to capture lingering Larder Beetles that managed to avoid the Supreme IT application, we advise applying Supreme IT Insecticide in the cracks and crevices of active areas.

Sanitation

You must first prepare the affected areas for therapy before employing any items. Food goods that have been tainted must be removed and placed in plastic bags. Any infected clothing or fabric-related materials must also be washed, dried, or dry cleaned.

Start by determining which things are contaminated with larder beetles. Furs, garments, animal mounts, animal hides, and animal skins may all fall under this category. Remove them if you can. Items that may be washed should be washed and dried on high heat. Check every shelf in your pantry to determine whether any of the food items you've stocked have Larders bugs living within. You'll have to get rid of them if they're infested. Don't forget to check the pet food, either.

We advise sweeping the pantry once all food has been removed from storage to remove any larvae and beetle grubs.