Wood Destroying Pests

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In New England, our homes are threatened by several types of wood destroying insects, including: Bark Beetles, Powderpost Beetles, Termites, and Carpenter Ants. These wood-destroying insects often go undetected, causing extensive damage to your home before evidence of their presence is known. Each type requires a unique treatment approach. If you suspect your home is infested with a wood-destroying insect, call us today to schedule a Free Home Inspection. To learn more about any of these particular pests, click on the profiles available for each type.

Adult bark beetles are generally 1/64 – 3/8 inch in length. Their coloring ranges from brown, reddish-brown to black. They have short antennas and long cylindrical bodies.

What is the Bark Beetle’s Diet?

Bark beetles consume tree bark.

What is the Bark Beetle’s Reproductive Cycle?

Male and female bark beetles bore tunnels through bark, and the female bark beetle lays eggs in the side niches along the gallery. The larvae will then tunnel their way towards the surface, packing their tunnels tightly with frass. As they molt, the tunnel size increases. They will pupate near the surface, and then the adult bark beetle will emerge.

Where do Bark Beetles Live?

Bark beetles are often brought into structures with unseasoned firewood. They emerge through exit holes and are drawn toward light. Bark beetles can create problems for log cabins and park shelters when the bark is left on the logs. They most commonly infest bark-covered wood.

Powderpost beetles encompass members of the three beetle families: Lyctidae, Anobiidae, and Bostrichidae. Lyctid beetles are reddish-brown to black in color, and about 1/32 to 1/8 inches long. The head is readily visible from above, unlike the other two. Anobiid beetles are reddish-brown to brownish-black and range from 1/16 to 1/8 inches. The Bostrichid beetles is reddish-brown to dark brown or black and 1/32 to 3/8 inches in length.

What is the Powderpost Beetle’s Diet?

Powderpost beetles feed mainly on the starch content of wood. They are usually either hardwood or softwood (also known as conifer) feeders. When larvae feed inside of wood, very fine excrement will flow from the wood’s exit holes at even the smallest movement.

What is the Powderpost Beetle Reproductive Cycle?

When powderpost beetle eggs are laid, they are dropped in pores, cracks, crevices, tunnels, or in old holes in wood. The small larva hatches and nestles in the wood. It digs to the surface and pupates as it continues feeding and growing to maturity. The adult exits the pupa and continues the passageway to the wood’s exterior. The length of the life cycle of powderpost beetles is influenced by the wood’s nutritive content and by environmental conditions.

Where do Powderpost Beetles Live?

Powderpost beetles attack seasoned hardwood and are often discovered in stored lumber, rafters, joists, finished wood, and furniture products. They usually enter lumber while it is being stored and cured, then later emerge as the finished product. Powderpost beetles get their name due to the fine, flour-like residue the larvae leave behind when they bore holes in wood materials. They can also be identified by the small, round holes through which the adult beetles emerge.

There are three castes of termites. The reproductives, which are most commonly seen, are about 3/8 inch long. Their wings are brownish-grey with a few hairs. Their body is dark brown to almost black. The soldiers are wingless with white bodies, a yellowish-brown head, and large dark mandibles (jaws). The workers look similar to the soldiers, but without mandibles.

What is the Termite Diet?

The worker termite prefers feeding on fungus-infected wood, but will readily feed on undamaged wood.

What is the Termite Reproductive Cycle?

The female reproductive termite may only produce a few eggs her first year, but once maturity is reached, she will produce approximately 5,000 – 10,000 eggs each year. On average, the eggs take 50 – 56 days to hatch. After hatching, the termite goes through several molts.

Where do Termites Live?

The average termite colony consists of 60,000 – 250,000 termites and is located in the ground. They can enter structures through cracks as small as 1/16 inch. The workers will feed on wood, then return to the colony to feed the immature workers, reproductives, and soldiers. A colony of 60,000 could eat 5 grams of wood each day.

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Wood Destroying Pests

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