January 13, 2025, 4:31 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
Larder beetles can find their way from the garden into the home through an open window. There, they decimate the supplies and cause trouble. It is difficult to get rid of the insects. In most cases, however, you don’t need to call an exterminator. myHOMEBOOK reveals effective methods that really help to control larder beetles.
As a scavenger, the larder beetle plays an important role in the ecosystem. Eliminating carcasses, therefore, “cleans up” nature. However, if the insect gets into people’s homes, it becomes a nuisance. The voracious beetle will raid the contents of the pantry, garbage can, or closet. However, they are not dangerous: larder beetles do not transmit diseases that are dangerous to humans, nor do they bite or sting.
Overview
How Can You Recognize Larder Beetles?
There are many different species of larder beetle around the world, each with its own distinct characteristics and forms. While the larvae can grow from one to 17 millimeters long and have tuft-like bristles on their backs, the beetles are between 1.5 millimeters and one centimeter long and can fly.
The larvae are very shy and like to hide in cracks or behind skirting boards. Some specimens also have so-called arrow hairs, which have pointed ends that protect them from predators and can trigger allergies. The adult animals are usually brown or black, often spotted.
What Helps Against Larder Beetles in the Home?
The larder beetle is also an unwelcome guest within your home. When identifying and controlling this pest, the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) recommends vacuuming a lot, especially behind skirting boards. Vacuum cleaner bags should then be frozen or at least disposed of outside. Infested clothing and other materials should be regularly frozen for seven days at -18 degrees or washed at 60 degrees. Insecticides are rarely effective and should only be used in individual cases after consultation with a specialist. However, with various measures and household remedies, you can do without the chemical club and ensure that the pest does not occur in the first place:
- Seal cracks: Larvae feel particularly at home in niches and gaps that are difficult to access. If you seal these areas properly with silicone, they can neither get in nor out.
- Dispose of food: If you find traces of infestation on food, you should freeze it for several days and then dispose of it.
- Keep clothes clean: Make sure your closet is clean. Animal hair attracts insects. Infested textiles should be washed at 60 degrees or frozen at -18 degrees for seven days.
- Insect screens: A fly screen in front of the windows protects against larder beetles and all other pesky insects.
Why Larder Beetles Are So Stubborn to Get Rid of
However, controlling larder beetles can prove to be more challenging than expected: “As the larvae and pupae are usually very hidden in cracks and corners, they often cannot be completely removed,” explains Juliane Fischer from the Federal Environment Agency. “Therefore, the control process can be lengthy, and individual adult beetles can appear again and again until the reproduction cycle is interrupted and no more new beetles hatch,” says the vet.
How Do Larder Beetles Get into the Home?
Adult larder beetles are attracted to light sources. They are lured into homes by these and fly through open windows, for example. “The larvae can enter the household through infested textiles or food,” explains Fischer. To prevent them from flying in from outside: “A mosquito net can help,” says the veterinary surgeon.
Larder beetles feed on hair, feathers, or other dry animal substances. Feathers are, of course, also available if there is a dead bird in the chimney or a marten has hidden its prey in the attic. Food and feed made of edible material that has been stored unattended for too long can also attract them.
What Do Bacon Beetles Feed On?
Larder beetles feed on organic material, preferably of animal origin and dry. According to the Federal Environment Agency, this includes furs, cereal products, dried meat, dried dairy products or tobacco, as well as textiles made from animal wool. Cannibalism can also occur. In nature, bacon beetle larvae are also scavengers (only completely dried carrion) and take care of the complete disposal of animal carcasses. Only the larvae of the beetles are particularly voracious.
Note: Larder beetles cause damage to homes and apartments. They are also known as material, hygiene, or storage pests. In the wild, however, they perform an important task of “natural waste disposal.”
How to Recognize Larder Beetle Infestation
“In severe infestations, the larvae can cause damage to textiles of animal origin,” warns Fischer. Larger species (Dermestes spec.) can bore into books or wooden boards to pupate, but they will not eat this material. Instead, they damage the material. Their eggs are usually found in hidden corners. You can contact the LAVES for precise identification. In very serious cases, pest control can be carried out by a pest controller.
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Are Larder Beetles Dangerous to Humans?
Don’t worry: larder beetles pose no direct danger to humans. They do not transmit any dangerous diseases. However, allergy sufferers should be careful because the larvae’s arrow hairs can trigger allergies. “They also pose a hygiene problem if food is infested,” says Fischer. If you have any health complaints, you should definitely consult a doctor.