More than just a bothersome insect, house beetles are hazardous. Beetles in the home may cause contamination of meals, upholstery, and carpets, as well as being a real nuisance. It is important to know how to distinguish between house beetles and other insects.
Soil, food scraps, secondhand furniture, and even fly into your home through open windows are all ways beetles enter your home. As a result, knowing the beetle’s habits and habitat can help you avoid an infestation in your home. This guide to identifying tiny beetle and flying beetle species in your home is an identification aid.
If you have house beetles in your pantry, carpets, furniture, or linen, you’ll also get great advice on how to get out of them.
What are the Most Common House Beetles?
The most frequent beetles in the home are carpet beetles, furniture beetles, and powderpost beetles. The oval bodies of the six-legged insects are often visible. They may be found nesting in wooden furniture or surviving on dried foods, but you may find them in cotton and natural textiles.
What Are the Most Common Small Flying Beetles in the House?
Some beetle species may fly around your home and have wings. Two typical flying beetles are warehouse beetles and drugstore beetles, for example. Flying click beetles may sometimes enter your home via open doors or windows, despite their scarcity in the house.
Types of House Beetles
Homeowners suffer a lot of damage from House Beetles. You’ll know how to manage them if you know how to recognize them. It’s also important to understand what attracts the bugs.
Carpet Beetles (Anthrenus)
Brown or mottled brown lady beetles look like carpet beetles, which are tiny spherical insects. The insects have a rounded body, six legs, and two antennae and are typically 0.2 inches (5 mm) long. The varied carpet beetle, furniture carpet beetle, and black carpet beetle are the three most frequent sorts of carpet beetles found in homes.
A kind of tiny flying beetle known as carpet beetles. Inappropriate, destructive insects intrusion into houses. Carpet beetles in the home have the following identifying characteristics:
Varied carpet beetle (Anthrenus verbasci): 0.1″ (0.25 mm) patterned oval body with mottled black, brown, and yellowish patterns
The larva (bottom picture) of a varied carpet beetle
Furniture carpet beetle (Anthrenus flavipes): The body is rounded, with black and white dots on the wing covers and dark yellow to orange patterns. 1.5 mm to 3 mm in diameter.
The larva of Anthrenus flavipes (left) and the adult (right)
Black carpet beetle (Attagenus unicolor): A tiny black beetle with dark brown legs and a lustrous body. Measures 3 to 4.7 mm in diameter.
Carpet beetles and textiles in the home are common occurrences, and they’re usually harmless. When carpets and upholstery are damaged by laying eggs and larvae hatch, they suffer damage. Little white and brown worms that chew on cloth may cause a lot of damage. Shed skin, pepper-like droppings, and a musty odor are all indicators of carpet beetles.
House Beetle Identification
Little spherical flying insects with oval bodies, carpet beetles are easily recognized.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Using sticky traps is the most effective way to get rid of carpet beetles. These could be used to determine where the beetles came from. You can wash or dry clean infested textiles to kill carpet beetles. Carpet beetles will be killed in all stages by using hot steam to clean carpets and upholstery.
Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum)
The larvae of the common furniture beetle cause deterioration to wood and household items, and they are little dark brown beetles. Six legs and two segmented antennae characterize the little brown beetle. Furniture beetles range in size from 2.7 to 4.5 mm (0.11 to 0.18 inch).
Wood is damaged by furniture beetle larvae when they bore holes in it. Little white larvae, measuring 0.39 inch (1 mm) in size, create tiny holes in wood that resemble woodworm.
House Beetle Identification
The oval shape and dark brown, almost black color of the common furniture beetle are distinguishing features.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Reduce humidity indoors to get rid of and prevent furniture beetles. Burrowing larvae in wood, on the other hand, is difficult to kill.
Powderpost Beetles
Depending on the species, powderpost beetles may range in color. The horned powderpost beetle (Lichenophanes bicornis) is seen from left to right, with the European lyctus beetle (Lyctus linearis) and southern lyctus beetle (Lyctus planicollis). Little reddish-brown or brownish-black bugs tunnel into wood, weakening it and creating tiny holes. The pests are 0.12 to 0.25 inch (3 to 6 mm) long and are destructive. The thorax of the little shiny brown beetles is rounded and thin.
The grub-like larvae cause the most damage, as they do in most beetle-infested homes. The white insects hollow out wood, turning it into a floury powder. A powdery, sawdust-like substance beside the wood, as well as tiny holes in the wood, are all signs of powderpost beetle damage.
House Beetle Identification
The dark brown body of powderpost beetles is an elongated oval shape that distinguishes them from other beetles.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Treating wooden items to prevent powderpost beetles from burrowing into the wood is the best way to prevent them from causing damage. It’s also important to keep humidity levels as low as possible.
Larder Beetle (Dermestes lardarius)
Larder beetles are oval-shaped insects that feed on dried foodstuffs and are a household beetle pest. The wing covers of the little beetles are brownish to black, with a tan or yellowish band. In the light-colored band, there are also black patches. Larder beetles range in size from 0.33 to 0.37 inch (8 to 9.5 mm). Processed foods in your pantry are infested with larder beetles. They look in dark places like kitchen cabinets for foods such as cured meat, cheese, and pet food. Furs, feathers, insects, and dead animals may all be eaten by dark-colored beetles.
House Beetle Identification
Black and brown beetles with a beige-yellowish stripe across their backs are known as larder beetles.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Store food in air-tight containers to eliminate larder beetles. Also, these bothersome house beetles can be killed by freezing food for a week.
Flour Beetles
Flour beetles are small brown pantry bugs that may be found in flour and in kitchen cabinets, with a reddish-brown flattened, oval body, two short, clubbed antennae, and six legs. The rusty-brown insects range in size from 0.12 to 0.18 inches (3 to 5 mm).
Tribolium castaneum and Tribolium confusum are the two most common types of flour beetle. Flour beetles, especially flour beetles, can get inside dry grain products. Small white worms in grains, flour, pasta, dry legumes, and nuts are signs of flour beetles.
House Beetle Identification
The elongated rusty-brown bodies and short, stumpy segmented clubbed antennae of flour beetles are instantly identifiable.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Sealing infested produce in a plastic bag and tossing it in the trash outside is the best way to get rid of flour beetles. After that, it’s vital to thoroughly clean all of the cabinets where you suspect flour beetles may be hiding.
Plaster Beetle (Cartodere constricta)
In humid environments, plaster beetles may be found in the home. They have a light brown oval body with a tiny head and thorax. Moreover, the brown minute scavenger beetle has a grooved back with pits that run down the rows. Its segmented, clubbed antennae, as well as two of its six legs that are attached to the thorax, are additional identifying characteristics.
Mold and mildew are consumed by plaster beetles, which prefer humid settings. The little brown beetles’ ability to spread mold spores, which is why they are also known as fungus beetles, unfortunately makes them capable of contaminating food.
House Beetle Identification
Plaster beetles have pits and grooves along their backs and have an extended body in varied hues of brown. They are between 1.2 mm and 2 mm long, measured on the scale.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Reducing humidity and keeping loaded wood away from the home’s exterior are critical to preventing plaster beetles from invading your home.
Grain Beetles
Grain beetles have a long, flattened oval body with large eyes and two segmented antennae. Oryzaephilus surinamensis (top) and Oryzaephilus mercator (bottom) are close-up pictures of grain beetles. The six pointed projections on either side of the thorax are an identifying feature of grain beetles. The wing covers of brown grain beetles are yellowish as well.
From 0.07″ to 0.11″ (2 – 3 mm), the small brown beetles measure. The merchant grain beetle (Oryzaephilus mercator) and the sawtoothed grain beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis) are the two most common grain beetles. Between the two kinds of beetles, however, there are several differences. The sawtooth grain beetle is a non-flying insect, whereas the merchant grain beetle is a flying insect.
House Beetle Identification
Grain beetles have pointed projections on the thorax, a pale brown to dark brown color, and rows of fine yellowish hairs that are easily visible under a microscope.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Similar to killing all kinds of panty bugs, grain beetle eradication is also required. First and foremost, throw away any contaminated food. Cereals, pastas, chocolate, almonds, and cake mixes are the most common. After that, you should clean any areas where grain beetles were active.
Spider Beetle
Smooth spider beetles (Gibbium equinoctial) in close up pictures Due to their shiny reddish brown or chocolatey-brown bulbous body, spider beetles (Mezium Americanum) are a unique kind of little brown beetle. Furrier legs, antennae, and heads are also common characteristics of tiny beetles. Pantry bugs are difficult to see since they prefer damp, moist places and are most active at night.
Spider beetles range in size from 0.04 to 0.19 inches (1 to 5 mm). Cereals, barley, wheat, spices, seeds, and dried fruits are among the foods that they may infest. Because they feed on dead insects and droppings, getting rid of the annoying bugs is critical.
House Beetle Identification
Because of their humpbacked look and lustrous, crimson-brown color, spider beetles are simple to identify.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Eliminating the food sources for these house beetles is the most effective way to get rid of them. You should vacuum kitchen cabinets and clean all surfaces after discarding contaminated food.
Granary Weevils (Sitophilus granarius)
Granary weevils have a brown body with ridges and a long snout, and they are frequently found in houses. The flightless dark brown beetle is 0.12 to 0.25 inches (3 to 6 mm) in length. The long black snout of granary weevils is a distinctive of all weevils and serves as an identifying feature.
However, black beetles may be found as well. Granary weevils live in dried foods, as the name suggests. Packets of cereals, oats, rice, and wheat may be home to the reddish-brown or black beetle. The most prevalent indication of beetle presence is webbing dangling from the inside of packaging because they are so little.
Wheat or grain weevils are another name for granary weevils. Granary weevils have a similar appearance to rice and maize weevils (Sitophilus oryzae and Sitophilus zeamais). Rice weevils are smaller, with orange patterns on their reddish-brown bodies. One of the distinctions is that they’re smaller. maize weevils, on the other hand, are bigger than grain or rice weevils.
The rice weevil (top) and maize weevil (bottom) are shown in close-up photographs.
House Beetle Identification
The dark reddish-brown or black color, stretched oval body, and long snout distinguish granary weevils from other weevils.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
The same process can be used to exterminate granary, rice, and maize weevils in any pantry. Dry cereals, grains, and legumes should first be stored in air-tight and sealable containers. After that, any contaminated items must be destroyed or thrown away. Finally, before disinfecting all surfaces, vacuum the insides of cabinets.
Small Flying House Beetles
When flying into houses, house beetles may be a problem. The following are descriptions and photographs of common flying house beetles.
Warehouse Beetles (Trogoderma variabile)
The warehouse beetle is a little pantry beetle that can fly. It has light and dark brown patches on its oval body. The coffee bean-shaped beetle has a little brownish body. The bug is roughly 0.13 inch (3.2 mm) long and dark brown, reddish-brown, or blackish-brown in color.
A fuzzy grain of rice is the appearance of the destructive larva of the little flying beetle. Pantry pests such as warehouse beetles can be harmful. Seeds, corn, flour, oatmeal, spices, peas, grains, and fishmeal are among the foods that the larvae consume.
House Beetle Identification
The warehouse beetle has a speckled pattern on its wing covers and is a dark brown oval-shaped bug.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Discarding any infested food items is the first step in exterminating warehouse beetles, as with other pantry beetles. After that, it’s essential to clean the insides of your kitchen and sanitize and wipe down all surfaces.
Drugstore Beetle (Stegobium paniceum)
The drugstore beetle is a common sight in kitchen packets of dried meal items with a hard shell. A fuzzy reddish-brown body with grooved and pitted wing covers is seen in photographs of the little house beetle. The little bug also has yellowish antennae that are segmented. The average length of a drugstore beetle is 0.08 to 0.13 inches (2.25 to 3.5 mm).
Prescription drugs attract drugstore beetles. Yet, dried foodstuffs are also contaminated by small flying house beetles, making them bothersome pantry insects. In dried beans, grains, teas, and pet food, you may discover little white worm-like grubs.
Another frequent flying pantry bug is the drugstore beetle (Lasioderma serricorne), which looks a lot like a common cigarette beetle. The antennae of these insects look quite different.
Dried tobacco products and dry foodstuffs attract the tiny brown cigarette beetle.
House Beetle Identification
The fuzzy brown oval body and short segmented pale yellow antennae distinguish the drugstore beetle.
How to Get Rid of The House Beetles
Food source elimination is critical for the survival of flying house beetles. This suggests that dry foods must be kept in sealed containers, and pet treats should not be left out overnight.
Click Beetle (Elateridae)
Little brown beetles belonging to the Elateridae family include Denticollis linearis (as shown in the image). Because of the distinct clicking sound they make when they sense danger, click beetles are simple to detect. 0.5 to 1 inch (13 to 25 mm) long, these dark brown flying beetles Light attracts nocturnal flying bugs.
Click beetles can enter the home through open windows in the evening, despite the fact that they are relatively uncommon. In most cases, finding a beetle that makes clicking noises in your home is not required.