Beetle grinder. Fighting and prevention

Once these beetles were called watchmakers of death. Very poetic and eerie moniker for such a small insect. It's all about the sound produced by the grinder. On this ground, even superstition arose. The measured ticking bug that beetles emit really resembles the clock. Especially frightening it sounds at night, in complete silence. The owners of the house often woke up and with horror heard such ticks from the piano or the cabinet. It was believed that it portends the imminent death of one of the members of the family.

But the truth looks a little different than in popular beliefs. Though not so mystically. A strange ticking sound is just a kind of serenade that the bug beetle sings during the breeding season. Its purpose is similar to the meaning of nightingale trills at night and consists of attracting an individual of the opposite sex. The sound itself is produced by the grinder with the help of a shield on the chest. The beetle hits them against the walls of the gnawed path, which causes a similar noise. And he is able to do this for quite a long time: up to sixty times without a break.

Appearance

Beetles-grinders look like tiny, absolutely insignificant insects. Their size is barely capable of exceeding three millimeters in length. It is not easy without special means, not only to see the details of the structure of the bug, but even just to notice its presence in the house. If you consider the grinder through a magnifying glass or microscope, you can see that his whole body is covered with silky thin hairs. The shape and general structure of the beetle formed as a result of the conditions in which it lived. First and foremost, this is a wide, massive front part of the body, in science called the pronotum, which has grown together with the head and shows a single whole with it. In appearance, it most closely resembles a hood. This feature is one of the distinctive features of the grinder. Another such sign can be called deep grooves on the elytra. There are ten in total. The beetle grinder does not have a bright color, like some other representatives of a detachment of insects. On the contrary, its color is brownish-brown, and chitin is matte, unattractive.

Place and habitat

Beetle grinder is distributed almost everywhere, except, perhaps, areas with permafrost. This species coexists with us for thousands of years, so it can be found anywhere in the world where people live. It should be noted that in earlier times the furniture beetle was the most common inhabitant of the human dwelling, along with insects such as crickets behind the stove. Climatic conditions in no way affect its spread, because the bug lives not in the street, but in houses, and even in the thickness of the tree.

Lifestyle pest

Beetles of this species are very timid and lead a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle. They are extremely difficult to see and catch, if only because at any risk the grinders pretend to be dead. They press all the paws, lower their heads and remain motionless, becoming even more nondescript. In this form, they can easily be taken for sor, and not for a living being. Therefore, the presence of such insects in the house is usually noticed by tiny holes in the furniture. In some cases, the owners are not at all aware of the disaster that befell them. Until the attempt to brush off the dust from some wooden surface will not make the last crumble dry right before our eyes. Beetles live in colonies and damage limited areas of the tree, but very much. Then populate neighboring areas. There are cases when a beetle grinder after furniture switched to the floor or ceiling beams.

Methods of struggle

Most often people do not suspect that they themselves are bringing a pest to the new house together with old furniture. Therefore it is very important to carefully examine it before moving and disinfect if necessary. Holes in the tree can be darkened or light. The first says that grinders, most likely, were lost. The second is a sign that pests have only recently emerged from furniture, which means that their life cycle continues. Almost never the bug-grinder does not settle in fresh wood. Must pass at least four years from the time of purchase of furniture, so that it is chosen by the grinder.

One of the effective ways to combat beetles is to freeze. Even a slight decrease in temperature affects the activity of the beetle, with a stronger one - the larvae fall into a long hibernation. And further lowering of temperatures leads to the death of the pest.

Details of the house, such as foundation pillars and beams, are recommended to be burned and covered with resin before construction. But this method, despite its effectiveness, is gradually disappearing into the past. All new tools for the processing of wooden parts are on sale. As a rule, they are of chemical origin. Also it is necessary to monitor the absence of debris under the floor when laying and always leave holes for ventilation.

If the furniture is not severely damaged yet, you can use poisonous preparations. You can use Prima-71 aerosol, naphthalene in gasoline, vaseline oil or any other persistent insecticide. This is a thorough, patience-requiring work: it is necessary to treat every hole in the tree with a syringe. In extreme cases, you can densely smudge the same surface with a brush, capturing and uninfected areas. The procedure should be repeated several times with interruptions in two or three days. Then all the treated holes are closed with any lubricant.