We have been battling with drugstore beetles for few months already. We have brought in exterminators but these are mainly located in our wooden hardwood floors (as we have gaps in the hardwood floor). He thinks they could be some kind of wood worm? We are losing our mind. Please help us.
So for sure, you could have either. Drugstore beetles actually look a lot like Powder Post Beetles. And if they’re coming from the gaps in your hardwood flooring, then it’s more likely they’re a wood destroying beetle.
There would be some clear evidence to confirm and maybe the pest service didn’t provide any details on why they thought it could be them but here’s a few things you can watch for that could be a clear indication that they’re some kind of wood eater.
The first is if you are finding or seeing any “powder” in the gaps or any tiny “holes” on the top side of the flooring. Powder Post beetle larvae actually feed on wood and then pupate to become beetles like you see in the pictures below. When the “leave” the wood they feed on, they’ll chew their way out which produces a talc like powder that’s easy to notice.
They’re also attracted to light and so once they come out into the open, they’ll typically fly to lights when they’re on in the evening or certain windows during the day. Most end up dying but if you’re finding either dead beetles around lights or windows, that’s a sign it’s them.
To treat for any wood boring beetle, you’ll need special agents designed to penetrate wood so it can reach all feeding stages. And if the flooring is treated, this could be challenging.
But if you have consistent small gaps like the ones you can see in the picture below, then treating would be easy.
So for a limited amount of holes, say 5-10 and a small amount of flooring, say 10′ x 10′, a can of FS MP could work. First, its oil based. This means it can kill all stages of insects. And this formulation can penetrate wood a bit so it may reach populations that are in the wood right now. Second, its convenient. So for small areas, ideal. But if you have to treat the entire level of your home or want to treat under all your baseboards, consider getting the Power Injector and our Concentrate detailed below. It will produce a far superior formulation to apply AND cost a fraction of the cost making it worth using if you will need more than 2 cans of FS MP.
Most all aerosols and even liquids are water based. Water based products won’t penetrate and so it they won’t work. And if you have wood beetles, then you’ll need all the help you can get.
Now if you look at the picture to the left and below, you can see the wood beetles are similar. And in general, DRUGSTORE BEETLES will be most likely found in pantries, cabinets and other areas where food or something is stored – not coming from hardwood floors.
But WOOD BORERS thrive in hardwood floors and after the larvae get their fill, they’ll pupate and emerge resulting in what you’re seeing.
Plus wood borers would be thriving in the sub flooring located under the hardwoods and once they come out from there, have found it easier to crawl out from the gaps in your flooring.
Regardless of which you have, the FS MP could work if the issue is limited and not too deep.
But if you have a large area to treat, like a whole level in the home, then you will be much better served to use our POWER INJECTOR along with our MAXXTHOR EC and BASE OIL.
The main reason is that the Base Oil mixture will penetrate 5-10 times further compared to FS MP. This could be all the difference between killing some compared to killing all of them.
Remember, if they are coming from the sub-flooring under the wood floors, you’ll need all the help Maxxthor and Base Oil will offer.
On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the “least”, FS MP will penetrate wood at about a 1-2 level. Conversely, Maxxthor and Base Oil will penetrate at a 6-8 level and if applied with the Power Injector, from an 8-10 level which is second to none.
Now if you have plenty of gaps to treat, you could use a thin pain brush and effectively “paint” the gaps with the Maxxthor/Base Oil and let it soak in. Base oil will soak in rapidly and this method would insure enough leaks down and around the flooring as well as moving through the planks.
To learn more about wood boring beetles, visit this page:
To learn more about the Power Injector, visit this page:
To learn more about Maxxthor, visit here:
To learn more about Base Oil, visit here:
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