Bark beetles are a family of beetles that prefer to consume wood as food. This beetle as a result of its life activity can destroy not only trees, but also harm buildings and houses made of wood. If larvae of a bark beetle or an adult are found in their home or on a suburban area, it is extremely important to immediately carry out activities aimed at eliminating the parasite. How to get rid of the bark beetle larva in the house? You will learn about this by reading the article.
The existence of bark beetles
Today in the world there are about 750 species of bark beetles. A special feature of these parasites is the fact that they prefer to live, reproduce and eat in wood. As for gastronomic preferences, bark beetles with special zeal eat conifers (cedar, pine, spruce), thereby causing significant damage to the forest. However, the absence of spruce or fir in the suburban area does not mean that you will not encounter these parasites, since certain species of bark beetles eat leafy trees with the same pleasure.
But the existence of these tree parasites is not so carefree. The numerous army, all kinds of enemies that perceive the beetles themselves and their larvae as a kind of delicacy, does not allow an uncontrolled increase in the pest population. Various insects and birds constantly hunt for bark beetles and their larvae.
How long does the bark beetle larva live? Life expectancy under favorable conditions can be up to 7 years.
Types of bark beetles
What does the bark beetle and its larva look like? Among the wide variety of bark beetles, special attention deserves:
- Beetle typographer . The size of the parasite reaches 5 mm. Black torso with brown hairs. Coniferous trees are a favorite treat of an insect, but it also will not miss young trees or stumps of felled trees on its way. The main threat to the life of trees is not adults, but larvae, which in a short time can turn a flowering tree into a lifeless formation.
- Furniture grinder . The bug is small in size and brown in color. Like other species, the grinder does not do much harm to wooden products, unlike larvae, which, when they eat wooden products from the inside, cause significant damage to furniture. It is important to remember that the larvae of this carpenter can gnaw their own moves not only in furniture, but also in floors or in wooden windows.
- Luboed is considered the most widespread species of bark beetles. Favorite habitat is taiga. The beetle can travel a considerable distance. The slightly elongated body is densely strewn with black or dark brown hairs. The color is determined by the environment and place of settlement. After a short time, the larvae deposited by the female harm trees by breaking through a large number of different passages.
- Sapwood . A great lover of oak species. After 2 weeks, the eggs turn into a larva, which leads an active lifestyle for 20 days before turning into a chrysalis. The stage of the pupa lasting 12 days is replaced by the stage of the appearance of an adult.
The larva of the bark beetle has the shape of a sickle, bent towards the abdomen. Many callus pads assist the larva during movement. A brown head is attached to a body devoid of legs and painted white.
Beetle danger
Due to their life activity, beetles cause enormous 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, invoking and attracting the attention of females with the help of special substances - pheromones. The fertilized female continues the work begun by the male, gnawing wood for future offspring, and the male sets off in search of a new female.
An important point to keep in mind is that the beetles themselves do not cause significant harm to the tree. The main threat comes from larvae that suffer from excessive gluttony.
Insatiable appetite leads to the fact that the larva of the bark beetle gnaws at the whole labyrinths of tunnels in the wood, as a result of which it becomes unusable.
The stage of the larva can last several years, and during this time the damage caused may be irreparable. Therefore, the timely detection of the bark beetle or its larvae is a rather significant point.
Causes of Wood Pest
Most building materials made of wood are treated with special chemicals that make active activity of the pest beetle impossible. However, not all manufacturers comply with these rules, as a result of which cheap and low-quality products may be the main cause of the appearance of a parasite 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 timely inspect the trees 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 later.
Fighting the larva and beetle using wire
You can get rid of bark beetle larvae, which cause major damage to trees and damage to human property, using various methods.
Today, there are many recommendations on how to fix this problem. The choice in favor of a particular method is determined by the location of the pest. If traces of the parasitic activity of the beetle were found on the trees, it is necessary first of all to carefully examine the house, since there is a high probability that the beetles from the garden moved to 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 killing pests is to use steel wire. To do this, a long wire of suitable diameter is shoved into the tunnels that the larva made in the tree. The bark beetle spoils the wood in this way. Having cleaned the moves of the tree, it is subjected to processing with special solutions.
The use of a special solution for pest control
Still how to remove the bark beetle larva? No less effective way is the use of a special solution. This procedure requires preliminary preparation in the form of removal of affected areas of the tree.
The next step is to prepare the solution. To this end, rosin is added to the melted paraffin. The resulting mixture must be brought to a boil, after which add vegetable oil and leave over low heat for another 10 minutes. Many experts recommend adding fungicide to such a 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
Well-proven in the fight against the destructive larvae of the bark beetle beetle are such protective agents as Antizhuk and Antishashelin. Having covered these substances with wooden products in the house, 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 solid oil will help to quickly destroy the beetle.
In specialized stores you can buy modern insecticides convenient and harmless to humans, but fatal to the bark beetle.
Although, according to most experts, despite all its toxicity, modern means do not give a 100% guarantee of successful disposal of a beetle.
Temperature effects
An interesting fact is that the bark beetle larva perfectly tolerates negative temperatures up to 30 degrees of frost, therefore, it even calmly survive through harsh winters. In this regard, the use of high temperature has the exact opposite effect. Heating the wood to +70 degrees for 20 minutes will create conditions under which the larva simply cannot exist. The bark beetle will be neutralized. This fatal effect is explained by the usual biochemical regularity. All insects consist mainly of protein, which does not tolerate and is easily destroyed by high temperatures.
The complexity of this procedure lies in the fact that it is difficult to warm up the whole house to such a temperature, so it would be preferable to use this option for furniture.
Behavior specifics
Most of the time, beetles 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 a mink, rushing deep into the tree, where its structure is especially delicate and juicy.
It is important to note that each species of beetles gnaws a certain structure of moves, which in total form a characteristic pattern for this species. Many specialists in the contours of the figure are able to establish what type of pest lives in the tree, and, accordingly, are able to choose the right method of control.
In fairness, it must be said that for all their destructiveness and destructiveness, bark beetles are considered to be orderlies in the forest. They settle in poorly maintained trees, and through their activities contribute to their replacement with young and healthy plants.