What black bugs are found in the house and how to get rid of them?

Insects very often start in houses, but, unfortunately, the tiny inhabitants are not so easy to spot right away. And if harmless flies and spiders do not cause tangible harm, then some individuals can be truly dangerous.

For example, black beetles are considered one of the most harmful insects, which, upon detection, must be immediately eliminated. Let's take a closer look at how dangerous these insects are, what species exist and how to deal with them.

Finding black beetles in the house is a very unpleasant fact in itself, but it is important to know that these insects can not only cause discomfort, but also cause quite tangible harm with serious consequences.

Black beetles, no matter where they start - in a house or apartment - can do harm in the following way.

• Some species of black beetles bite. Often, bites cause an allergic reaction, accompanied by itching, redness and rash, which is why a bitten person may need a medical consultation followed by medication.
• Since the temperature conditions are maintained in the living quarterscomfortable for the existence and reproduction of beetles, one should be afraid that they can lay larvae, which pose a more serious threat to health.
• Flour beetles, having settled in the kitchen, can spoil food stored in leaky packages. These are mainly loose cereals or flour. Through food, the larvae of beetles can enter the body and infect a person with any infectious diseases.
• Bark beetles can cause irreparable damage to your property, especially when it comes to wooden objects or a rustic country house. The fact is that insects feed on wood and are able to destroy and turn into dust absolutely any objects or even the frame of a living room.

The appearance of bugs in the house can go unnoticed for some time and it is best if annoying "neighbors" are discovered before any serious consequences occur. To avoid this, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with how insects can enter the living space and take appropriate measures in advance.

• Open windows, doors, and large cracks can be a loophole for domestic pests. The problem is solved by reconstructing cracks and equipping all open openings with fine mesh curtains.
• Beetles can enter the house through ventilation holes, which can also be protected with a net.
• Insects and their larvae can catch on a person's clothes and shoes, so it is necessary to keep the appearance of personal items, including outerwear, clean and tidy.
• Insects feed on bird droppings, therefore, if there is a dovecote on the roof of a house or a chicken enclosure not far from it, the appearance of beetles becomes inevitable, and from preventing their appearance, one should move on to more serious methods of struggle.

Before you start fighting insects, you need to determine what kind of black beetle lives in your house. Depending on this, the methods of exposure to beetles will differ in intensity and use of certain chemicals.

There are quite a few varieties of insects of this type, but only 3 of them represent a real danger to humans and their property - bark beetles, grinders and barbel. Let's consider in more detail the features of each of them, external characteristics and distinctive features.

Beetles, called grinders, belong to the category of coleopteran insects. This is because the body, under which the wings are hidden, has a rather rigid structure and resembles a carapace.

The size of individuals of this species can reach 1 cm, which allows them to be classified as small insects, which are rather difficult to notice on objects of a dark color, since the beetle itself is black or dark brown in color.

The insect has an elongated oblong shape, a slightly tilted head, a small proboscis and barely noticeable jaws, thanks to which it absorbs food and defends itself from a possible threat. It should be noted that grinders are vaguely similar to large cockroaches, which is why they are often confused.

The protective reflex of this insect is developed quite strongly and works at the level of instincts - it resorts to attack and defense only in extreme cases, but most often, when a danger arises, it prefers to pretend to be dead.

There are several subspecies of grinder beetles.

• Furniture grinders affect wooden furniture parts and other household items that contain wood. Frames of paintings, books, corresponding items of tableware and much more are affected.

• For bread grinders it is typical to live in that part of the house where food is stored. Most often, beetles prefer dry foods: cereals, dried vegetables and fruits, as well as fresh food of plant and animal origin. In addition, flower and herbal herbariums can become victims of grain grinders.

• House grinder, although it has such a name, it still prefers to dwell on the street, affecting mainly the trunks of conifers.

• Another subspecies, comb grinder, also lives in the local area, and exclusively deciduous trees become the objects of defeat of this insect.

The barbel beetle is considered one of the oldest insects, so it is impossible to list its varieties, since their number exceeds 15 thousand. For the same reason, it will not be possible to give a clear description of external signs, since they differ depending on the belonging of an individual to a particular subspecies.

For example, the length of the body can vary from 1 to 35 mm, and if it is difficult not to pay attention to a large individual, then the small ones can quietly live in the house for a very long time; some of them can fly, while others can jump. It is also worth noting separately the length of the whiskers, since they are many times larger than the body of the insect. Beetle larvae also differ in size - depending on the subspecies, they can reach a length of 3 centimeters. Against the background of other species of black beetles, longhorn beetles seem really huge.

Small beetles with long whiskers can be very dangerous, since they act very quickly and in a short time they can turn an entire wooden frame into dust. They are also dangerous for trees growing around the house, and for planting various crops in the country.

Consider the main characteristics and features of the barbel beetle.

• Individuals can have several color options. For example, the body of an insect can be black or brown, acquire a greenish and bluish tint.
• The body of the beetle is flat and elongated. The insect has a small head and long whiskers.
• If a beetle has wound up in a private wooden house, it will be quite easy to identify it, especially at night, in silence. It's all about the sounds that the larvae make when gnawing through the passages - they look like rustling and crunching.
• In summer, the beetle can inhabit the outside of the house, and its effect on the wooden façade will be very difficult to notice. But in the cold season, the insect will tend to get inside. They can very often be seen in the fall on the windowsill or next to the entrance group.
• During the breeding season, female barbel can be very dangerous and harmful. They are capable of laying 400 larvae at a time, hiding them in cracks in the wood. Therefore, if you notice that characteristic holes have appeared in the wooden parts and objects of your house, you should treat them with special means, preventing the maturation of the larvae. It should be borne in mind that when breeding, females try to climb as high as possible.
• In some cases, it is not possible to prevent contamination of the wood, since the affected logs can be used already in the construction of the house.
• The life span of one adult can be up to 15 years. During this time, the barbel beetle makes moves, the total length of which is more than 35 kilometers.

The bark beetle is not a separate species of black beetles - rather, it is a collective category for many subspecies, including both flying individuals and beetles without wings with a rigid body. The main feature that distinguishes bark beetles from simple pests is that they infect only old, dying trees, while not touching young and healthy plants. However, in the space of a wooden house, bark beetles are also dangerous.

The size of individuals of the bark beetle can reach 10 mm, the body is oblong, and the head is round. Bark beetles also have a powerful hard jaw, with the help of which they gnaw through passages in wood.

Consider the most famous types of bark beetles.

• Printer. It differs in that it has small villi on the shell. It prefers conifers and is harmless in itself, so you should not be afraid if it flew into the house. The real threat to wood is its larvae.
• Furniture grinder. It is characterized by the fact that it lives exclusively in furniture. Can also reside in wood flooring and window frames.
• Bark beetle. It is the most common species of the bark beetle group. The habitat of this individual is taiga forests, so it is least often found in the usual environment. The body of the beetle is brown in color, and the surface of the shell is covered with many villi.
• Sapwood. Prefers oak trees. Most often, the beetle larvae are active only in the first few weeks of life, later they form into pupae and cease to pose a threat for some time.

It is worth considering some of the characteristic features of bark beetles. For example, the fact that they live only inside the wood, without touching the upper layers.

Getting rid of black bugs in your home may not be as easy as you would like. Of course, you can resort to the help of professionals, but there are often cases of relapse when insects come back again.Therefore, it is better to study the features of pest control on your own.

Let's take a closer look at the recommendations for getting rid of bugs on your own.

• You can use liquid paraffin - this remedy is the simplest and most affordable of all possible options. Oil must be poured into the holes found in the wood, and then the passages must be closed by filling them with wax, or with the help of other materials.
• A mixture of turpentine and kerosene is also quite effective in the fight against tree pests. It is necessary to mix these liquids in a ratio of 3: 1, then fill the beetle moves with the resulting composition and close the holes. It is worth handling this mixture more carefully and refusing to use it in a house with stove heating.
• Mixed 1: 10 naphthalene and gasoline will get rid of the bugs in no time. The solution is applied with a brush and does not require plugging of the holes. When using this option, which contains a flammable liquid, precautions must be taken.
• Exposure to temperature can also be a way to combat parasites. Affected wood elements are heated to 60 degrees or cooled to -5, which leads to the death of insects. But it should be borne in mind that some types of bark beetles are resistant to low temperatures, so the effect of heating will be more effective.
• It is no secret that resin is an effective means of protecting wood from pests. It can also be used in the fight, mixing with additional substances, for example, with naphthalene and carbolic acid. The resulting composition must be filled with holes in the wood, while their clogging is not necessary in this case.
• Copper sulfate is an effective remedy against many insects. It is necessary to prepare a solution and spray over all the detected holes on the surface of the wood.
• You can also use specialized chemicals that contain cypermethrin or organophosphates. But it should be borne in mind that in the case of using chemicals, re-treatment may be necessary.
• Insect control is best done during the period when pupae turn into beetles - from late April to mid-June. It is then that the impact by various means will be most effective and will lead to the desired result.

Preventive measures by treating wood several times a year.

To avoid encountering the problem of the occurrence of beetles, you should take some precautions and periodically resort to prevention.

• Window and door frames can be treated with special mixtures with paraffin and turpentine, which prevent bugs from entering from the street.
• It is necessary to keep order in the kitchen, adhering to the rules for storing cereals and flour. You should also remove leftover food and crumbs from the table.
• If the damage to the wood began with furniture parts, but has not yet touched the frame of the house, it is recommended to get rid of the furniture. You can throw the affected items away from the house or burn them.
• When purchasing wood building materials, you need to make sure of their integrity and quality. In addition to surface inspection, expert opinions and certificates from suppliers can be requested.
• All wooden elements of the surrounding space should be regularly inspected, and dampness should be avoided by periodically heating the room at high temperatures.
• In addition to all of the above, you can also use antiseptic antiparasitic media

For information on how to get rid of a grinder beetle in a private house, see the next video.