How to Identify Furniture Beetles?

Adult beetles are 2.5-5 mm in length and dull reddish to dark brown. They have fine grooves running lengthways along the wing-cases and antennae shorter than legs, with three flattened segments at the tip of the antennae. The beetles head is hidden by the upper part of the beetle’s thorax (its mid-section), which is very strongly humped, like a monk’s cowl.

Furniture Beetles Removal

Furniture beetles attack seasoned sapwood, not live or fresh wood. Wood must be treated before use. They usually avoid heartwood. Furniture beetles can cause serious damage to structural timbers if left unchecked.

Infestations can be controlled by application of a residual insecticide which should be done by a licensed pest control technician.

How to Prevent Furniture Beetles from Invading

Inspect furniture or timber before you buy, Apply varnish, polyurethane, or paint, De-bark firewood and store it outside if possible, Ventilate attics and crawl spaces.

Habitat, Diet, and Life Cycle

Habitat

The furniture beetle’s habitat is typically on dry wood of deciduous and coniferous trees and prefers ivy. Other places of habitat include woodwork and furniture in houses, stores, and warehouses. Causes more damage in structural timber and joinery, for example in the attic, rather than in furniture.

Life Cycle

Four life-stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Speed of development depends on type of wood, temperature, and humidity. Larval development takes 3-5 years. The adults don’t feed. They emerge from the wood in early summer and live for 2-4 weeks during which the female lays 20-100 eggs that hatch in 3-5 weeks.

The larvae bore straight into the wood making a hole indiscernible to the naked eye. They are cream-coloured and C-shaped. They feed and grow within the wood producing a network of tunnels packed with bore dust. Full-grown larvae change into pupae and, after 6-8 weeks, into adult beetles.

As the adults exit the larval tunnels, they leave behind round exit holes 1.5-2 mm wide, and small piles of wood dust (frass) characteristic of woodworm damage.

Commonly Asked Questions

Why do I have furniture beetles?

Adult furniture beetles do not eat wood, but their larvae, often known as woodworm, will consume both seasoned hardwoods and softwoods that are at least 10 years old.

 Because of this, furniture beetles like to lay their eggs inside crevices in wood framing, flooring, and furniture to give the larvae that emerge an immediate food source.

 Commonly, these beetles – or rather their eggs and larvae – are brought into the home inadvertently, in already infested furniture.

 These beetles can also be attracted by damp structural beams commonly found in crawl spaces.

How worried should I be about furniture beetles?

Once furniture beetle eggs hatch, the larvae consume the surrounding wood and develop within the timber, before exiting as fully grown beetles.

 When eating, they drill deep into the wood, creating wood dust and when leaving, they make exit holes, all of which damages furniture, flooring, and wood frames.

A furniture beetle takes up to the three years to go through the four different life stages – egg, larva, pupa, and adult – so those larvae could be chewing up your furniture for some time.

For smaller pieces of infested wood that can fit in an oven, exposing the beetles to temperatures of at least 50°C for at least 30 minutes may kill them. Or you can try placing the wood in subzero temperatures for a long period.

However, it can be challenging to thoroughly eradicate a furniture beetle infestation, since it depends on properly identifying the insect, plus knowing the age, species, and moisture content of the infested wood.

 To successfully eliminate your furniture beetle problem and keep them from returning, you need a professional pest control service.

How can I prevent furniture beetles invading?

Inspect furniture or timber before you buy, Apply varnish, polyurethane, or paint, De-bark firewood and store it outside if possible, Ventilate attics and crawl spaces