Servicing All of Palm Beach & Broward Counties
Appearance:
Cigarette beetles are shiny and reddish-brown in color. They have a rounded, oval shape. This beetle looks very similar to a drugstore beetle, but there difference can be distinguished by its smooth wing covers that are missing the puncture marks found on a drugstore beetle
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Size:
Cigarette beetles are very small, they are about 1/10-inch in length.
Behavior:
Cigarette beetles are associated with processed foods of all kinds. Females can lay 30 to 40 eggs over a period of weeks in a stored tobacco or dried food product.
Habitat:
Cigarette beetles are often found infesting dried tobacco in warehouses but are not commonly found in actual cigarettes or cigars. They will infest common food products such as cereals, nuts, raisins, seeds and pet foods.
Control:
If you are a South Florida resident and you are suspicious that these beetles may be evolving in or around your home or business call Protective Pest Control 1-877-200-4333
Appearance:
The Drugstore beetle is brown to reddish-brown in color. It is cylindrical in shape and has longitudinal rows of fine hairs on its wing covers. Its head is not visible from above. The Drugstore beetle is similar in appearance to the cigarette beetle but has different antennae.
Size:
Range from 1/10 to 1/8-inch in length.
Behavior:
Females lay up to 75 eggs in the food or substrate. The larval period ranges from 4 to 20 weeks. Larvae tunnel through the substrate and when fully grown build a cocoon and pupate. The larvae are external feeders and are capable of damaging whole grains or seeds. Adults emerge in approximately 12 to 18 days and are able to actively crawl and fly.
Habitat:
The Drugstore beetle attacks such a wide variety of foods and material that one anonymous quote states it will "eat anything but cast iron." It gets its name from its habit of feeding on prescription drugs. The Drugstore beetle also feeds on flours, dry mixes, breads, cookies, chocolates, and spices.
Damage Caused:
The Drugstore beetle damages foods as well as non-food materials. Non-food materials include wool, leather, and museum specimens. It is also found in pigeon nests and is known to bore into books, wooden objects, and in some cases tin or aluminum foil and lead sheets. Larval feeding accounts for the greatest amount
Control:
If you are a South Florida resident and you are suspicious that these beetles may be evolving in or around your home or business call Protective Pest Control 1-877-200-4333
Appearance:
Red flour beetles are reddish-brown in color and have antennae that end in a three-segmented club. They are flat and elongated.
Size:
1/8-inch long.
Behavior:
Female beetles each lay 300 to 400 eggs in flour or other foods during a period of five to eight months. Within 5 to 12 days, these eggs hatch into slender larvae. The larval period varies from 22 to more than 100 days, and pupation takes about 8 days. Adults can live for 3 years or more.
Habitat:
Adult Red flour beetles are very active and can be found either on the surface or deep within the food material. They are scavengers and must rely on other insects to damage grain before they can feed on it. Because of their small size, they frequently invade storage containers. They breed in damaged grain, grain dust, high-moisture wheat kernels, flour, etc. They are prolific and quite damaging.
Damage Caused:
The Red and Confused flour beetles are known as "bran bugs" because they primarily attack milled grain products such as flour and cereals. Flour and other processed food products heavily infested by these beetles often develop a grayish tint and in some cases a disagreeable odor. These beetles often hitchhike into the home in infested flour and can multiply into large populations. Some survive on food accumulations in cabinet cracks and crevices.
Control:
If you are a South Florida resident and you are suspicious that these beetles may be evolving in or around your home or business call Protective Pest Control 1-877-200-4333
Appearance:
Sawtoothed grain beetles are reddish-brown in color. They are flattened and have six sawtooth-like projections on each side of the prothorax.
Size:
1/10-inch long.
Behavior:
The Sawtoothed grain beetle is a scavenger and can not fly. Adults and larvae are external feeders, feeding on finely divided food particles and not whole grains. Large populations of this beetle can develop quickly, forcing adult beetles to seek new food sources. They have been known to invade every package or food stored near an infested food product.
Sawtoothed grain beetle adults usually live about 6 to 10 months, with some living as long as 3 years. Females usually emerge in April and lay an average of 300 eggs. Egg laying begins about 5 days after emergence and continues up to 3 to 4 weeks. Eggs hatch in about 8 days, larvae mature in 37 days, and pupa about 67 days. They prefer cereal-based products.
Habitat:
The Sawtoothed grain beetle is common in stored-food products such as cereal, cornmeal, cornstarch, popcorn, rice, dried fruits, raisins, flour, pet foods, bran, macaroni, sugar, and bread. They are capable of chewing into unopened paper or cardboard boxes, through cellophane, plastic, and foil wrapped packages. Once inside, populations build up rapidly often spreading to other stored foods and into food debris accumulated in the cupboard corners.
Damage Caused:
Sawtoothed grain beetles contaminate more food than they consume, and usually are discovered leaving the infested foods to crawl about the house. Its varied food preferences make it one of the most commonly encountered stored product beetles.
Control:
If you are a South Florida resident and you are suspicious that these beetles may be evolving in or around your home or business call Protective Pest Control 1-877-200-4333
