Wood Destroying Insects - Spring Branch Exterminators

Other Wood Destroying Insects


Infested wood	Larval stage	Adult

Powder Post Beetles

Powder post beetles covers three kinds of beetles

1) Anobiid beetles : attack almost any kind of wood but seem to prefer old wood

2) Bostrichid beetles: prefer the sapwood of most hardwoods

3) Lyctid beetles: infest the sapwood of hardwoos, newly seasoned wood, (lumberyards, new hardwood floors, tool handles.)

Damage: small round holes with sawed or rounded edges. May be numerous, especially on sapwood portions. Holes are connected to tunnels filled with coarse to powdery sawdust. Sawdust may fall from holes if wood is jarred, or may be pushed out by adults when they emerge.

Old House Borer (Wood Borer)

Old house borers are in the large family of long horned beetles. Adults are elongated (1/2 to 1 inch long) and black. Gray hairs and markings on the thorax and wings. The larva is elongated (1 inch when mature) and slightly flattened.

Damage: large oval holes that connect to tunnels that deeply riddle coniferous sapwood. The tunnels are filled with fine loose powder that may fall from holes at the surface.

The adults emerge in the spring and summer to mate. The female can lay up to 150-500eggs on the wood and may hatch in one to two weeks. They will bore into the wood and start the process all over again.

The term old house borer may give the impression these insects are a pest of old structures. In fact most of the infestations are found in new structures.


Infested wood	Larval stage	Adult

If you find evidence of pest, or would like your property inspected, give us a call