DRUGSTORE BEETLE CONTROL | BUGSPRAY




Drugstore beetles are a small insect about 1/10th to 1/4 of an inch long and brown in color. Adults can fly and are attracted to light. They’re oval in shape and closely resemble a cigarette beetle. However, there are two differences which a trained eye will note: the antennae have a distinct three segmented club structure compared to the cigarette beetles serrated antenna and the wings of the drugstore beetle have deep grooves or pits where the cigarette beetle has none. Though both beetles will infest many of the same foods, drugstore beetles can and will eat from a much larger list of “food”. If you have drugstore beetles in your home, you will have to do several things to both remove the active infestation and stop their eggs from completing their life cycle which would effectively cause a re-infestation.

 

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DRUGSTORE BEETLE BIOLOGY

Drugstore beetles are found throughout most of the world. Though their name implies they may be a problem for pharmacies, homes are the most common structure they invade. Drugstore beetles hatch from eggs which are generally laid on food stuff their larva like to eat. Once hatched, the larva will start to eat and will do so for 3-5 months. It was once thought they mainly liked flour because they are such a common pest found in bread. However, careful research during the twentieth century taught us that drugstore beetles can live on just about anything found in the home. The list includes flour but also has anything meal based such as any common breakfast food as well as condiments, spices, coffee, any type of bean, rodenticide and other poison baits used for rodents, books, fabric, wood, furniture and wall paper. Their diet has been found to be so large that one entomologist was heard saying “they will eat anything except cast iron”.

 

THE LIFE CYCLE OF DRUGSTORE BEETLES

Once drugstore beetle eggs have fed enough to derive the nutrition they need to become adults, they’ll spin a cocoon and undergo metamorphosis. This will take 2-4 weeks and once complete the adult will emerge to mate and lay eggs. Since adults fly they will look for adequate food on which to lay eggs in case prime food stuff has been removed. It is for this reason alone that controlling drugstore beetles can be a tiresome task.

Most drugstore beetle life cycles take 6 months to complete but in warm climates like the south, three cycles can be completed in one year. In order to break the cycle once and for all, you will have to do three key things: 1) Remove or treat any contaminated food or other items where larva or adults have been found 2) Treat such areas to insure hatching larva are not able to survive by eating something other than the contaminated food stuff found and 3) Set out Pheromone traps to catch reproduction minded adults before they are able to mate and lay eggs in some other part of the home.

Also remember, seeing adults does NOT  mean you have activity that will continue indefinitely. Adult’s hatch from Pupae and since we can’t kill pupae, if you’re seeing adults throughout the home, this will continue until all the pupae “run out”. So assuming you’ve done a proper treatment, the treatment will prevent this activity from having success and continuing. But only when all pupae have hatched will you no longer see the adults.

Now you might wonder how long can this go on? This depends on many factors. In general, problems during the summer months will run their course in 2-3 months. Once fall and winter set in, it can take a good 4-8 months before all pupae hatch. This means you should continue to spray at least once a month as long as activity is present but again, realized the dead beetles you’re finding aren’t mating or laying eggs. True, they can be annoying, but eventually they will “run out” and you won’t see anymore. The only exception to this would be if there is some remote nest where they’re feeding and cycling you have not treted. In that case, a problem that lingers more than 8 months will require something more like wall dusting, attic treating, etc.

HOW TO TREAT DRUGSTORE BEETLES IN THE HOME

The first part of getting this pest under control is the need to identify the central food or item they’re eating. Most adults will emerge from cocoons which are located very close to where larva fed. If you are finding adults in the pantry then you most likely have some type of cereal, spice, flour, cookie, grain, bean or some other item with active larva and/or adults.

The best approach is to initially remove everything from the cabinets where activity has been noted. The good news in this case is that the infestation may be limited to just these items. As you remove boxes and containers, be sure to inspect them carefully for white grub like larva, adults and empty cocoons (empty cocoons is a sign of hatching adults).

Anything suspect should be thrown out; boxes which you don’t want to throw away can be stored in a plastic bag to see if adults emerge. In 2-3 weeks after being bagged, if you find adults in the bag, you’ll know its contaminated and should be discarded.

BEST DRUGSTORE BEETLE SPRAY FOR THE MAIN NEST

If the problem is isolated to the kitchen or pantry, use FS MP AEROSOL. This fast working oil based aerosol will quickly kill all activity (including eggs and pupae) and penetrate all cracks and crevices where eggs might lodge and adults might use to roost. One thorough application will knock out all stages and can solve the problem when the main nest site is known and the activity has been limited to a small area.

This following “short video” (less than 60 seconds) shows why FS MP is the best aerosol for the job because its oil based. Water based products can’t kill eggs or pupae and why they require multiple applications. With FS MP, if you treat all areas properly you can kill all of them with one application.

One can will cover the average kitchen and pantry 2-3 times so it should be enough to solve most small problems. Plan on doing one thorough treatment but if more adults come back within 2 weeks, treat again. And if you have them throughout the home, you’ll be better served using the next aerosol option listed below.

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BEST LIQUID SPRAY FOR DRUGSTORE BEETLES

If drugstore beetles are being found throughout the home, there is a good chance they’re taking advantage of something else other than traditional “food”. When this happens, you’ll need to broaden your treatment zone to include furniture, fabric, carpet, books or other inanimate objects.

For this task, you’ll need a good adulticide and growth regulator. Working together, these two actives can solve persistent problems and are especially helpful when the problem is active in many areas of the home.

Labeled for treating open areas like furniture, carpeting, baseboards and more, BITHOR is odorless and treatments will last 30+ days providing good residual. Overall it will be more cost effective to use when treating many rooms or the entire home.

The following short video (less than 60 seconds) explains why Bithor is safe for use in the home and yet still so effective.

Bithor combines a quick killing active that gets drugstore beetles active. This active breaks down within a few days and then the second active takes over and does the bulk of the work. The second active is stealthy meaning pests can’t detect it. They’ll readily move over it not knowing its even there. Like the Alpine aerosol, this mode of action ensures all beetles are affected and killed, even where they’re nesting.

Use our MINI MISTER for making the application with Bithor or a good PUMP SPRAYER. Our Mini Mister video below shows why its so good for the job.

 

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The best way to apply Bithor is with our Mini Mister. The following “short video” shows why its so helpful for use in the home for treating baseboards, furniture and other sensitive areas without making a mess.

As the video above shows, the Mini Mister lets you do the application easily, without making a mess.

Plan on adding .5 oz of Bithor to the 12 oz tank for every 250 sq/ft of carpet/baseboard you plan on treating.

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You can also use a good PUMP SPRAYER to apply the Bithor and this one will give you a nice wide fan pattern for wide and uniform coverage.

Plan on adding 1.5 per gallon of water for every 750 sq/ft of carpet/baseboard you plan on spraying.

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When treating, be sure to cover furniture, bedding, carpets and just about anyplace these beetles have been seen or found. Bithor is unique in that its both odorless and non-staining. It too is encapsulated so you will only have to apply it every 2 months once the problem is under control but use it monthly when first treating.

ADD GENTROL IGR TO BITHOR

For extra protection, add GENTROL EC to the tank mix. This material is what we call a juvenile growth hormone. It won’t kill active adults affect pupae. But it will effectively stump larvae from growing into adults. And since one application can last 3-6 months, it can help prevent having to retreat with the Bithor every 1-2 months when Bithor is used by itself.

Gentrol is also very much like Alpine in that it won’t be noticed by foraging beetles. And it trans-locates. So if you spray the baseboards in one room with a mixture of Bithor and Gentrol, the Gentrol will effectively move up the wall and cover a much larger area thus ensuring some beetles will cross over it.

Add 1 oz of Gentrol per gallon of mixed Bithor (and yes, the two should be mixed together, in the same sprayer, and applied at the same time). You don’t have to keep adding Gentrol every two weeks like you might with the Bithor but using it that frequently is okay if you want to keep applying it. But in general, one application of the Gentrol will last 2 months.

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DRUGSTORE BEETLE TRAPS

Now that you’ve removed contaminated food and/or treated inanimate objects on which the larva or eggs might be hiding, you need to complete the treatment process by installing traps.  DRUGSTORE BEETLE TRAPS rely on strong pheromones to attract adults to the protected cavern which contains a sticky glue. Once they enter, the glue will capture and hold foraging adults. This is important; by capturing adults you will prevent them from mating and laying eggs. This first trap will target nothing but adults and will be active for up to 4 months. After then, discard if all activity has ceased; replace them if there is reason to suspect there might be a recurring problem.

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Now if you’ve seen a lot of foraging young, get the combo model known as the XLURE TRAP. This trap combines a pheromone and a food lure so it will attract all stages. Traps should be placed in all rooms where activity has been noticed and replaced every 4 months in homes with ongoing problems.

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Though kitchen, pantry and cabinets may be the main areas one thinks of for trap placement, be sure to inspect any window in the home. Remember, drugstore beetles are attracted to light and will tend to accumulate on window sills. If this is happening, locate traps by these windows.

Next, be sure to inspect the traps once a week to insure they don’t fill up and stop catching beetles. And if they do fill, change them out immediately. Keeping a fresh set up of traps is imperative if you want to catch all potential reproducing adults and end the cycle.

Drugstore beetles are a pest which can be tough to control because they fly. If you’ve found some in your home, you’ll have to find the main food supply and remove or treat it using the PT-Microcare and/or Bithor. If you have adults flying around the home every day, use some Microcare to fog air spaces insuring flying adults will not be able to relocate and start a new population.

Lastly, be sure to set out drugstore beetle traps in all rooms with activity so reproducing adults can be intercepted and captured before they start laying eggs on books, fabric or furniture in an attempt to get colonized in new parts of the home.




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