• Blog
  • Main website
  • Contact us
Ehrlich's deBugged Blog
  • Blog
  • Main website
  • Contact us
Home  /  Pest Control Tips  /  What Are Wood Boring Beetles?
Wood Boring Beetles
23 June 2014

What Are Wood Boring Beetles?

Written by Dr. Nancy Troyano
Pest Control Tips Leave a Comment

Wood Boring Beetles

Picture this: you’re sitting at the table, happily eating dinner, while mere feet below your chair, small worm-like creatures are tunneling through the wooden support structures of the floor that’s holding you up.

If you head down into the basement below and listen quietly, you may even hear the telltale “clicking” sound of the larvae as they excavate their galleries in the timbers they infest.  What are these wood destroying pests?  Isn’t wood destruction a job reserved for termites?

Everyone knows that termites destroy wood, but there are a variety of other wood destroying organisms that we need to be familiar with as well.  The pests we will focus on in this article (and referenced above) are the wood boring beetles.  Some additional organisms that destroy wood include fungi, ants, and carpenter bees, just to name a few.

There are well over 1000 different types of wood boring beetles found in North America, most of which infest trees.  These beetles cost the timber industry millions of dollars annually in lost wood product.  Among the different types of insects that bore into wood, the beetles by far outnumber all other insects in the variety of species that are considered wood borers.  Luckily, most wood boring beetles do not infest dead or dried wood.

When discussing wood boring beetles, it is important to remember that they are actually feeding on the wood they infest.  As you might imagine, wood is not the most nutritious food in the world, but these insects have adapted well to this difficult environment.  Specifically, the larvae are the life stage that do most of the damage to the wood, as they tunnel through and hungrily gobble it up.

It’s also important to know that all wood is not created equal.  Age, distance from the center of a log and moisture content are all factors that affect the attractiveness of a board to wood boring beetles.  Even within the same board, there may be a section that has higher nutritional content than others.

For species specific information, be sure to visit our Insect Pest Guides.

Follow Nancy Troyano on Google+

Dr. Nancy Troyano

Nancy Troyano, Training Manager / Entomologist at Rentokil North America, is responsible for leading and supporting the development and training of Rentokil technicians throughout North America. Nancy works closely with Technical Field Trainers and Line-of-Business Managers to develop and implement a comprehensive training program for new and existing technicians. Nancy joined Rentokil after receiving her PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 2009. Follow Nancy on Google+

Related Posts

  • German cockroach

    How do you get rid of German cockroaches in Florida?

    January 30, 2019
  • What’s the difference between rats and mice?

    January 18, 2019
  • Flying Termites Could Mean Serious Trouble

    January 12, 2019
  • European starlings

    Bird deterrents for your business

    November 12, 2018

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Need some advice?

Talk to one of our experts:

Give us a call

(888) 976-4649

Subscribe to the deBugged blog


Categories

  • Countries
  • Day in the Life
  • Debugged – the lighter side of pest control
  • General Pest Stories
  • Pest Control Tips
  • Pest Profile
  • Pests in the Headlines

Find us on Twitter

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

Find Us on LinkedIn

Ehrlich Pest Control

As Your Local Pest Control Experts, Ehrlich has been providing expert pest control services to homeowners and businesses since 1928. Ehrlich provides both residential and commercial pest control through a network of 40 plus community based offices.

Reading. PA 3,500+ employees

© 2018 Rentokil Initial plc and subject to the conditions in the Legal Statement.

  • Current News
  • Pestaurant
  • Noises in the Attic
  • Insect Stings
  • Top 10 House Pests
  • Pestfree365 - Yearly Protection
  • Pest Proofing
  • About Ehrlich
  • Our Brands
  • Company Information
  • Green Pest Control
  • Technical Expertise
  • Careers
  • Legal Statement
  • Cookie & Privacy Policy
PestNetOnline
PestID
  • www.ambius.com www.ambius.com
  • www.initial.com www.initial.com
  • www.rentokil-steritech.com www.rentokil-steritech.com
  • www.rentokil-initial.com www.rentokil-initial.com