Barbel beetle: methods of combating a dangerous pest

The barbel beetle is a well-known wood pest that is often planted in houses built from natural timber or logs. Small holes in wooden elements, as well as fine wood dust, will testify to his appearance in the dwelling. Additional facts indicating the coming of the barbel will be creaking and crunching, which will be heard in complete silence, for example, at night. And if in time you do not take steps to eliminate this pest, the structure of the house will begin to weaken and the structure may completely collapse.

Characteristic

The longhorn beetle, a lumberjack, is widespread throughout the world, and their densest clusters are found in places where the largest number of forage plants of tree species is present. In Russia, there are representatives of 583 species of these pests, in the United States - 1.2 thousand species, in Ukraine - about 280 species.

On a note! In general, the total number of this family does not have a final indicator, only an approximate figure is known - about 26 thousand species.

Most barbel beetles have a similar description. Their body is of medium size, and long antennae are located on the head. The color of the integument will depend on the species. In these parasites, sexual dimorphism is pronounced - the antennae of the females are much shorter, the abdomen is more rounded, and the males are distinguished by an elongated upper jaw. In addition, females and males of the same species can have a different color. Regardless of the sex, on the posterior margin of the prothorax, these beetles have a so-called rib, which insects make characteristic sounds when they rub against the surface of the mesothorax. But there are also such types of barbel bugs, whose representatives reproduce the creak of the hips of the hind legs when they rub against each other.

The largest representatives of the barbel beetle family deserve special attention:

• lumberjack-titanium - the length of his body can reach very impressive sizes and there are specimens reaching 16.7 cm in length;
• the Brazilian lumberjack, a large-toothed, is another giant in the world of insects, its body length is about 16.9 cm, but mandibles occupy a significant part of the length;
• black beetle barbel - the length of its body varies from 15 to 40 mm and with a large concentration of representatives of this genus can cause serious harm to coniferous trees;
• Ussuri relic barbel - it is considered the largest beetle in Russia and its body size is about 11 cm in length.

Depending on the species, barbel beetles differ in body structure, coloration of the integument, as well as elytra sculpture. Some have spines, pronotum tubercles and outgrowths.

On a note! By the way, it is precisely such features that make these insects a favorite object for entomologists.

Larvae

Barbel beetles for masonry choose cracks and small holes in the wood or gnaw them out on their own. Larvae emerging from eggs have a body length of not more than 3 cm and a white or light yellow color. The body shape is slightly flattened, the prothorax is well developed and the head is slightly pulled into it, at the end of which powerful dark jaws are located.

In the struggle for life, the larva of the barbel beetle is very enviable.

On a note! If the surrounding conditions become unfavorable, for example, the wood in which they live, dries up and becomes malnourished, then even there they are able to live 40-45 years. And as a result, they turn into dwarf beetles!

Under normal conditions, the larva turns into a chrysalis and only after - into a bug.

Food

What does the barbel beetle eat? The basis of the diet of adults is pestles and stamens of flowers, as well as young bark. Larvae feed on the wood in which the period of their development passes. Moreover, it can be both deciduous and coniferous trees.

In wooden houses, barbel barrels are most often planted, they are also Hylotrupes bajulus. The sizes of representatives of this genus range from 8 to 20 cm. The color can be brown, dirty gray or black. Favorite places of their habitat, which automatically become sources of food, will be:

• partitions of wooden beams;
• wood upholstery;
• floor boards;
• ceiling rafters;
• window frames;
• attic beams.

With its impressive size for a man, the beetle beetle is not dangerous. It can only harm wooden buildings.

Methods of struggle

Ideally, wood from a barbel beetle should be protected at the stage of building a house. Most often, fumigation is carried out using phosphine gas. They can handle both large buildings and its individual parts.

But if prevention was not carried out and when examining the log house and all the wooden elements of the house, traces of the presence of the barbel beetle were revealed, then it is necessary to respond as soon as possible. First of all, establish how seriously the wood is damaged. To do this, take a screwdriver and try to pierce part of the element with it. If the tool comes in softly, then this part of the structure will have to be replaced.

Here you can use both contact and intestinal preparations.

Important! Remember that contact tools are the most common option, but at the same time they can harm the processor itself!

So, with the advent of barbel beetles in the house, the sequence of events will be as follows:

• the handler puts on glasses and gloves and with the help of a hard brush cleans all the wooden structural elements;
• wood dust that has appeared must be removed with a vacuum cleaner, the heat insulator must be removed from the room, and the containers with water covered with a film;
• dilute the insecticide according to the instructions and pour the working solution into a backpack or household spray (depending on the area of ​​the infected surfaces);
• evenly irrigate wooden elements with an insecticide, paying special attention to crevices and openings;
• close the room for three hours, after which it is good to ventilate.

At the same time, open surfaces can be additionally treated with warmed drying oil or repainted.

Important! If you need the original texture of the material, then coloring and processing with drying oil will not work!

Among the agents that penetrate well into wood and have a prolonged effect, we can distinguish: Empire 20, Antizhuk, and Antishashelin.

After you managed to get rid of the barbel beetle, it is advisable to get rid of the wood surface. In this case, it is recommended to use antiseptics, such as "Biosecurity League" and "Neomid 440." Using a syringe, they fill the holes, and then clog with putty. As a result, wooden elements will get a perfectly flat surface without cracks and chips and will become uninteresting for a barbel pest.