Drugstore Beetles: Facts, Infestation and How to Get Rid of it

The drugstore beetles are scientifically known as Stegobium paniceum or bread beetles, which is a tiny brown beetle which is always found feeding on a wide variety of dried plant products, it is also known as a scarce weevil because it is not commonly seen around our surrounding.

This beetle is unique in a sense of which it is more common in the warm climatic environment. It is the only member of the monotypic gene weevils. In this article, the facts about this beetle and how to get rid of it will be unraveled.

 

Break Down:

Through this breakdown, you’ll have a glance at every detail we’ll point out in this article.

Fact about drugstore beetle.

Drugstore beetle larva.

Drugstore beetle size.

Is drugstore beetle harmful?

Drugstore beetle pheromone trap.

Do drugstore beetle fly.

How to get rid of the drugstore beetle.

 

Read also: How Do I Treat a Pest Infestation in My Hotel Room?

 

Fact about Drugstore Beetles

These beetles are classified as a nuisance because of its destructive nature, however, the attack food products like cereal, bread, cookies, chocolates, sweets, seeds, grains, pet foods, spices, red pepper, flour. In a place where these items are not found, they prefer to feed on non-food items like wood, paper, books, and artifacts.

 

Drugstore Beetle Appearance

This bug has three segmented clubs antennae, for the adult beetles, they can grow up to 3.5 mm in length with grooves which are parallel to the elytra. They have similar appearance with cigarette beetle, however, they are cylindrical and reddish-brown in color.

 

Drugstore Beetles Life Cycle and Larvae

This beetle is one of the pests that survive in a warm or temperate region, however, they are not easily killed using heat, unlike the bed bugs. The life cycle of these beetles starts from laying of eggs, larval, pupal before the adult stages, in a conducive environment these beetles can reproduce up to four generations.

Furthermore, the female beetle can reproduce a total of 80 times before passing away, the number of eggs laid ranges from 25 to 114 eggs, all hatching within a week and 2 days, in most cases, the time in which the larvae grows can be influenced by the amount of moisture in air or changes in temperature.

Drugstore Beetles Size

These beetles appear to be small beetles, their length varies from 2.25 mm to 3.5 mm converting this to inches, they are 1/10 to 1/8 inches in length.

 

Picture of Drugstore Beetle

Here’s a picture of a drugstore beetle;

 

Drugstore Beetle Identification

As we mentioned earlier, these bugs are reddish-brown in color, having a parallel line on its wing, moreover, most people still mistook this beetle for the cigarette beetles. The key feature you use to identify this beetle from the cigarette beetle is the parallel line on its wing area, the cigarette beetle doesn’t have this line.

They are other terms used for size identification, it might seem a bit complicated but, both the drugstore and cigarette beetles have the same size, and they also look alike. Another way of identifying these beetles is by their mode of infestation, the drugstore beetle leaves pinhead holes in infested materials, they also infest items like books and artwork.

 

Drugstore Beetle Infestation

Apart from the drugstore beetle infestation, what will make any pest or insect infest your surroundings is the availability of their searched food or conducive environment. This could result from you keeping your home, store or workplace both indoor and outdoor untidy, not disposing of waste properly, and not carrying out regular cleaning.

When these beetles infest your home, they are in search of foods and a place to build a habitat or lay eggs. This pest feed on several items both food product, other insects and writing materials, the food products they feed on are birdseed, pet foods, cereals, and grains.

Are Drugstore Beetles Harmful?

Is drugstore beetle harmful? Responding to this question, this pest doesn’t pose a serious threat to human and animal lives, however, they can be harmful financially, in a situation where this pest infests and destroys a good number of food products like cereal, bread, cookies, chocolates, sweets, seeds, grains, pet foods, spices, red pepper, flour. This is a huge loss and it will take time to separate the infested items for the good ones.

When the female drugstore beetle lays eggs and it’s at the larval stage, this is when the infest more, destroy more food products, grains, and so on. However, this pest can be very harmful in museums if not exterminated and prevented, they pose a serious threat to artifacts.

According to the name, this pest also feeds on drugs mainly tablets, in a case where this pest is infesting your pharmacy or drug store you’re liable to run into serious loss if not exterminated.

They are classified into omnivorous because they won’t spare vegetables and animal products once they come across them. They can pierce wood when searching for food, it not advised to store food items in a wooden container in places of serious infestation, glass or plastic containers will be better.

 

Do Drugstore Beetles Fly?

The answer to this question is Yes, this pest is classified among flying beetles when hunting and searching for habitat, they fly and perch on the food they like feeding on. However, they also fly to lay their eggs, when infesting your home, they fly in through windows and openings.

 

Drugstore Beetles How to Get Rid

These beetles found worldwide, however, it important you know how to get rid of them, they can cause serious damage in homes, stores, or workplaces. Here’s how to get rid of this pest.

 

How to Get Rid Of Drugstore Beetles

Carry-out Thorough Inspection: Once you suspect the sign of these beetles in your home, the first you need to do is to carry-out serious inspection, doing this will enable you to discover their hideout, the rate of infestation and their entrance.

However, all these items, cereal, bread, cookies, chocolates, sweets, seeds, grains, pet foods, spices, red pepper, flour, and artifacts need to be checked.

Some people may ask why so? It necessary because these are possible places in which the female adult beetle is reliable to lay eggs because there’s abundant food for the larvae to feed on.

Regular Clean: Cleaning your home, store, and workplace will draw your attention to problems like cracks and crevices, however, fixing this will keep these beetles out.

Storage: It is a good idea you know the materials you use for storing your items, as we mentioned earlier, these beetle can pierce through a wood. Storing food products, books, or artifacts in cupboards won’t prevent them from getting to it.

However, storing your items in glass and plastic will keep them safe and these beetles can’t survive without food for long.

Aerosols Insecticide: This insecticide is a very strong pest control agent though it is dangerous to open foods and food products yet it is the best for getting get of this pest. When applying it to infested areas ensure you cover all food items that can be contaminated.

 

Drugstore Beetles Pheromone Trap

For research purposes, the use of pheromone traps is preferable, however, using this technique, you’ll be able to capture this beetle using the sex pheromone trap to catch the male drugstore beetle. Just place the traps to discovered infested areas and watch the play go on.

However, in cases of serious infestation ensure to contact any pest control expert near you for proper extermination and control.

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