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In this issue…
1. Household
Wood-boring Insects
2. Cluster and Face Flies
3. Q&A
4. Quick Facts
The larvae of wood-boring beetles feed on wood and wood products. The adults emerge from larval feeding chambers through round, oblong, or D-shaped exit holes. Some adults also bore holes into plaster, plastic, and soft metals.
There are three families of wood-boring beetles that invade and damage structural and decorative wood and furniture. These families include the powderpost beetles, deathwatch beetles, and false powderpost beetles.
Powderpost beetles leave a fine, dust-like powder, (a mixture of feces and food fragments), in their covered passages that occasionally falls out of exit holes into small piles on floors or other surfaces. This powder is characteristic of powderpost beetles and helps distinguish them from other typical wood-boring beetles. Apparently they attack hardwoods because these woods have pores into which they can lay eggs. Softwoods do not have such pores. They will attack woods that are very dry.
These beetles are most likely to attack wood paneling, molding, window/door frames, plywood, hardwood floors, bamboo articles, and furniture that are made of oak, ash, hickory, mahogany, and walnut. Often infestations occur if beetles or larvae are brought into a building in furniture or firewood. Sometimes the only sign of this infestation may be the tiny, round exit holes made by emerging adult beetles. When they emerge, the winged adult beetles spread to other wood surfaces where they place eggs onto unfinished surfaces or in cracks or other openings. They have a life cycle ranging from 3 months to over 1 year, depending on temperature, humidity, and the nutritional quality of the wood.
Deathwatch beetles are stored product pests. Adults communicate with each other and, most likely, locate mates by tapping their heads against wood, usually at night. These beetles are found primarily in soft woods, including girders, beams, foundation timbers, and some types of furniture. They typically are found in old wood and wood that is partially decayed.
Other wood boring beetles are sometimes known as false powderpost beetles. Larvae pack their colonnade with dust that has the consistency of coarse powder. This coarse texture is what distinguishes them from true powderpost beetles.
Wood-boring beetles are difficult to control once an infestation has begun. Prevention is the best management method. Sanitation is the most important aspect of prevention. Remove and destroy dead tree limbs around buildings or near any area where wood products are stored. Destroy scrap lumber and other wood products before they become infested. Materials used for construction of buildings and wood furniture should be thoroughly inspected before use to be certain that they do not contain wood-boring beetles. Protect wood from infestation by painting or varnishing to seal pores, cracks, and holes where eggs could be laid.
To keep from accidentally introducing woodborers, inspect furniture and other objects before bringing them into buildings. Fumigate objects that show signs of beetle infestation. When bringing in firewood, only bring in what will be burned that day. Also, inspect the building for signs of woodborer damage.
Remove and replace infested structural wood whenever possible to eliminate beetles. Destroy infested wood by burning or take it to a landfill area. Remove and have infested furniture fumigated. Extensive infestations within a building, or where inaccessible structural parts of a building are involved, may require whole-building fumigation by a professional pesticide applicator.
Cluster and face flies are found in homes, churches, hospitals, apartment complexes, commercial and public buildings and other structures. These large, slow-moving flies appear on warm, sunny days during late autumn, winter and early spring. They occur in large numbers, especially at windows and in rooms not often used. They make irritating, buzzing noises, spin around and move slowly. When crushed, they leave a greasy spot on upholstery, carpets and wood surfaces. Cluster flies may carry infectious bacteria on their bodies, but they do not bite humans nor feed on structures or furnishings.
Adult cluster flies resemble houseflies, but are slightly larger, about 5/16 inch long, narrower and gray. Unlike the housefly, they overlap their wings at the tips when they are at rest. Their thorax is without distinct stripes, contains many short, yellow-golden hairs, and the dark gray abdomen is hairy with light and dark patches of color.
Male face flies have large, compound eyes that nearly touch on top of the head. Female face flies have a silvery stripe around the eyes in contrast to the golden-like stripe of the housefly. The face fly has a slate-gray thorax.
Female cluster flies lay eggs one by one in soil cracks and crevices. The eggs hatch in three days and the larvae penetrate and develop in the bodies of earthworms. This larval stage lasts 13 to 22 days, and the pupal stage lasts 11 to 14. The entire life cycle is completed in 27 to 39 days. Populations worsen after wet summers.
Adult cluster flies move to protected places to hibernate in mid-August. Flies cluster on the warm sides of buildings in late summer during the day. As the sun goes down and temperatures cool, flies crawl into the building through cracks, especially under eaves, gaps in siding, etc. Large numbers may group together in attics, unused rooms, wall voids, basements, tree holes and other darkened sites. They are attracted to light, light-colored siding and structures on lawns and pastures inhabited by earthworms. They enter rooms through cracks in windowsills or baseboards, loose-fitting vinyl or aluminum siding, and other small openings. They become active whenever temperatures rise above 54 degrees F indoors from early autumn to mid-spring, especially around windows with sunlight.
Cluster flies do not breed in buildings but leave hibernation sites in the spring to return outdoors for reproduction activity, and often swarm onto windows on warm sunny days. They become a nuisance in the fall while seeking hibernating quarters, as well as becoming bothersome in the spring, trying to escape.
Face flies are serious pests of cattle and horses, annoying the faces of cattle and horses, where they lap exudation from the eyes, nostrils and mouth. The larval stage lasts three to ten days, while the entire life cycle requires 14 to 18 days.
Initiate control tactics in midsummer before flies enter buildings in large numbers. Keep in mind that control cannot be permanent until the openings through which these flies enter the home are closed. These flies are difficult to control after they have gained entrance into homes and other structures. They often hibernate in wall voids and other remote places. It is important to prevent fly entry by using caulking compound or other suitable material to fill all cracks and openings near windows, doors, electrical outlets, switchboxes, vents, etc., especially on the south side of the buildings, where these flies most commonly enter. For temporary indoor relief, dead, dying or sluggish flies can be picked up with a strong suction vacuum cleaner, or shop-vac.
For best results, contact a licensed pest control operator or applicator. They have availability of restricted pesticides and special equipment. Fly paper, sticky strips and bug zappers are of little if any value since flies do not fly around much in space. Sometimes, a professional fly control electro-cuter, placed within suspended ceilings of commercial buildings by pest control operators, are helpful.
Firebrats
are similar in appearance to silverfish. Adult firebrats are about one-half inch
long and are dull-gray in color.
They prefer
temperatures around 100 degrees F and are found in boiler rooms and bakeries,
around ovens, hot-water heaters and pipes. Firebrats follow pipelines from the
basement to rooms on lower floors, living in bookcases, closet shelves, behind
baseboards and behind window or door frames. A relative humidity of 70 percent
to 80 percent is favorable to firebrats because they do require some moisture.
Firebrats
are rarely found outdoors, while silverfish may be found outdoors.
They may dwell in homes all year long.
Firebrats
diets include cereals, moist wheat flour, starch in book bindings, and paper on
which there is glue or paste. They are hardy and can live without food for many
months.
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