Bark beetle larvae: description, control methods and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Bark beetles are a family of beetles that prefer to eat wood as food. This beetle, as a result of its vital activity, can destroy not only trees, but also harm buildings and houses made of wood. If you find bark beetle larvae or an adult in your home or suburban area, it is extremely important to immediately take measures aimed at eliminating the parasite. How to get rid of bark beetle larvae in the house? You will learn about this by reading the article.

Existence of bark beetles

Today, there are about 750 varieties of bark beetles in the world. A special feature of these parasites is the fact that they prefer to live, breed and eat in wood. As for gastronomic preferences, bark beetles eat coniferous trees (cedar, pine, spruce) with particular zeal, thereby causing significant damage to the forest. However, the absence of spruceor fir trees in your backyard doesn't mean you won't run into these parasites, as certain types of bark beetles are just as happy to eat deciduous trees.

But the existence of these tree parasites is not so carefree. A large army of all kinds of enemies who perceive the beetles themselves and their larvae as a kind of delicacy does not allow pest populations to increase uncontrollably. Various insects and birds constantly hunt bark beetles and their larvae.

How long does a bark beetle larva live? Life expectancy in favorable conditions can be up to 7 years.

Types of bark beetles

What does a bark beetle and its larva look like? Among the wide variety of bark beetles deserve special attention:

1. Beetle typographer. The size of the parasite reaches 5 mm. Black body with brown hairs. The insect's favorite delicacy is coniferous trees, but it also will not miss young trees or stumps of cut trees on its way. The main threat to the life of trees is not adults, but larvae, which in a short time of their activity are able to turn a flowering tree into a lifeless formation.
2. Furniture grinder. A beetle that is small in size and brown in color. Like other species, the grinder does not cause much harm to wooden products, unlike the larvae, which, eating wooden products from the inside, cause significant damage to furniture. It is important to remember that the larvae of this woodworm can gnaw their moves not only in furniture,but also in floors or wooden windows.
3. The beetle is considered the most common variety of bark beetles. The favorite habitat is the taiga. The beetle can move a considerable distance. The slightly elongated body is densely strewn with hairs of a black or dark brown hue. The color is determined by the environment and the place of settlement. The larvae laid by the female, after a short time, damage the trees, breaking through a large number of different passages.
4. Sapwood. Big fan of oak trees. After 2 weeks, the eggs turn into a larva, which leads an active lifestyle for 20 days before turning into a pupa. The 12-day pupal stage is followed by the emergence of an adult.

The larva of the bark beetle has the shape of a sickle, bent towards the abdomen. Numerous callus-like pads assist the larva during movement. The body, devoid of legs and painted white, adjoins a brown head.

Beetle Danger

Due to their vital activity, beetles cause great damage to trees and entire forests. It is the tree that is the main goal of the bark beetle. During the mating season, males make a small tunnel in the tree, calling and attracting the attention of females with the help of special substances - pheromones. The fertilized female continues the work begun by the male, chewing through the wood for future offspring, and the male goes in search of a new female.

An important point to remember is that the beetles themselvesno significant damage to the tree. The main threat comes from the larvae, which suffer from excessive gluttony.

An insatiable appetite causes the bark beetle larvae to gnaw through labyrinths of tunnels through the wood, causing it to become unusable.

The larval stage can last for several years, during which time the damage done may be irreparable. Therefore, the timely detection of the bark beetle or its larvae is quite important.

Causes of tree pests

Most building materials made from wood are treated with special chemicals that make it impossible for the pest beetle to be active. However, not all manufacturers comply with these rules, as a result of which cheap and low-quality products can be the main reason for the appearance of a parasitic beetle in the house.

Do not forget that the main habitat of the bark beetle is likely to be the adjacent garden. Therefore, it is necessary to inspect trees in a timely manner in order to detect various holes, wood dust or yellow dust. If bark beetle larvae are found, how to get rid of them? This will be discussed further.

Fighting grub and beetle with wire

You can get rid of bark beetle larvae, which cause the main damage to trees and damage to human property, using various methods.

Today, there are many recommendations on how to fix this problem. Choosing one or the othermethod is determined by the location of the pest. If traces of the parasitic activity of the beetle were found on the trees, you must first carefully examine the house, since there is a high probability that the beetles from the garden have moved into the room. If the fears are confirmed, before treating the garden with chemicals, you need to eliminate the larvae in the house.

An effective method of pest control is the use of steel wire. To do this, a long wire of a suitable diameter is thrust into the tunnels that the larva has made in the tree. This is how the bark beetle spoils the wood. After cleaning the passages of the tree, it is treated with special solutions.

Using a special pest control solution

Another way to breed a bark beetle larva? An equally effective way is the use of a special solution. This procedure requires preliminary preparation in the form of removing the affected areas of the tree.

The next step is to prepare the solution. For this purpose, rosin is added to the melted paraffin. The resulting mixture must be brought to a boil, then add vegetable oil and leave on low heat for another 10 minutes. Many experts recommend adding a fungicide to this solution.

The cooled and infused mixture should be applied to the affected areas of the tree.

Bark beetle larva: how to fight in the house

Protective remedies such asAntizhuk and Antishashelin. By covering wooden products in the house with these substances, you will get rid of the wood parasite as soon as possible.

You can also use traditional folk methods of struggle, the effectiveness of which has been tested by generations. So, ordinary kerosene, diesel fuel or grease will help to quickly destroy the beetle.

In specialized stores you can buy modern insecticides that are convenient and harmless to humans, but detrimental to bark beetles.

Although, according to most experts, despite all their toxicity, modern remedies do not give a 100% guarantee of successful disposal of the beetle.

Temperature effects

An interesting fact is that the bark beetle larva perfectly tolerates negative temperatures up to 30 degrees below zero, so it can easily survive even harsh winters. In this regard, the use of high temperature has a completely opposite effect. Heating wood to +70 degrees for 20 minutes will create conditions under which the larva simply cannot exist. The bark beetle will be neutralized. This destructive effect is explained by the usual biochemical regularity. All insects are composed primarily of protein, which is intolerant and easily destroyed by high temperatures.

The complexity of this procedure lies in the fact that it is difficult to warm the whole house to such a temperature, so it would be preferable to use this option for fighting furniture.

Specific behavior

Most of the time, the bugs are inside the tree, building mazes and tunnels. They leave their habitat only when it is almost completely destroyed and is no longer of interest to the pest. Having chosen a new tree, the bark beetle gnaws through the mink, rushing deep into the tree, where its structure is especially tender and juicy.

It is important to note that each species of beetles gnaws through a certain structure of passages, which together form a characteristic pattern for this species. Many contouring specialists are able to determine what kind of pest lives in a tree, and accordingly, are able to choose the right method of control.

In fairness, it must be said that for all their perniciousness and destructiveness, bark beetles are considered forest orderlies. They settle in trees that are in poor condition, and their activities contribute to their replacement with young and he althy plants.