Origin:
This is a native insect in the Southeast U.S.
Biology:
This beetle may be locally common in the southeast U.S. from Texas to Florida, and is often a serious pest in crawl space timbers. It will infest both seasoned and unseasoned lumber. Adults emerge in the spring, mate, and die within a few weeks after this. Females lay around 50 eggs, 3 or 4 at a time, into pores, cracks, or holes in the wood, and these beetles will commonly re-infest the same wood they emerged from.
Identification:
Adult beetles may be nearly 1/4 inch long and are solid brown to reddish brown. The upper body is covered with a short pubescence of yellowish hairs. As with other Anobiid beetles the head projects from below the prothorax, hiding it from view from above.
Characteristicts Important to Control:
Control of most beetles that infest structural wood begins with using clean, un-infested wood so the insects are not built in. For beetles that can re-infest the wood they emerge from elimination usually relies on fumigation, although heating or freezing of smaller objects may be effective. Removal and replacement of the infested wood is also effective where it is practical. Control of wood moisture will also help a great deal in the prevention of this species. The application of a borate insecticide where allowed by the product labeling will also serve to prevent beetles from entering the wood, and possibly kill larvae inside if penetration of the material is deep enough.
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