No one wants to share their home with small pests that infest the food or damage your belongings. In this guide you will learn how to identify and get rid of small black bugs in the apartment.
Little black beetles in the apartment – short portrait
When insects appear in the house, there is great horror. Peaceful coexistence is not an option because numerous small black beetles in the home become pests that attack textiles, carpets, fur, furniture or house plants. You want to get rid of the uninvited guests as quickly as possible. The right approach depends closely on which type of beetle is making your life miserable. Below is an overview of the key features that will help you accurately identify bugs in your home.
Fur beetle (Attagenus smirnovi):The dark to black fur beetle not only destroys furry and woolly material, but is itself covered with furry pubic hair. The actual pest is not the adult beetles, but their larvae. A female fur beetle lays up to 50 eggs near potential food sources for breeding. Within a short time, the eggs transform into 15 mm long, golden-yellow, hairy larvae that eat fur, feathers, carpets and woolen textiles. You can find out more about itin this article.
Carpet beetle (Anthrenus scrophulariae):Black is just the base colorCarpet beetle, the material pestcan creatively spice up its appearance with different colored scales. A red band is often seen along the seam of the elytra. The upper wings are decorated with three light transverse bands. Some carpet beetles have chosen yellow markings that contrast nicely with the black background.
Dickmaulrüssler (Otiorhynchus):From the weevil family, it is primarily the black-mouthed weevil that boldly ventures into people's homes. The black beetle ignores food, textiles, wood and carpets. But the beetle invasion does not end well for your carefully cared for houseplants. If you don't catch the nocturnal black weevil in the act, you'll recognize its presence by inlet-shaped chewing damage on the edges of the leaves.
How can you control fur and carpet beetles?
It is almost always the larvae that cause the damage, and the adult beetles are merely vectors of the pest. They lay their eggs in products or objects and the larvae have immediate food available. The fight should therefore focus on them. To combat small black beetles in your home that attack textiles, you can do the following:
Wash infected clothing at 60 degrees:Beetle eggs and larvae consist primarily of proteins. They “explode” when they come into contact with a high temperature. So what should you do? Wash all affected clothing as hot as possible - ideally at 60 degrees.
Freeze infected clothing at -20 degrees:Some items of clothing should not be washed in hot water or they will break. Another option is to fold the clothes and freeze them. Sometimes a few days in the freezer is enough. Sometimes it's better to leave clothes in the freezer for a week or even two weeks.
Hang damaged textiles in the sun for a day:Hang clothes, rugs or carpeting in the sun for a whole day. This helps against beetle eggs or larvae. Then dab the textiles back outside so that as many beetles as possible fall out.
How can you get rid of black weevils?
Black weevils only go out in the dark because they are afraid of the light. So to deal with them you just need to wait for them to appear, armed with a flashlight in hand. If they feel discovered, they will play dead. Then you should just collect them and let them out. Alternatively, there are special insecticides that you can add to the water when watering the plants.
Beetle control failed? Call in an expert!Eliminating beetles is one thing, but eliminating eggs and larvae is quite another. They have to know exactly where they are and work very precisely. It is therefore better to have the beetles removed by a professional.
Other species of beetles that might live in your home
Small brown beetles in the apartment – These are the most common species you can find!
Brotkäfer (Stegobium paniceum): Bread beetles are small and difficult to see with the naked eye. It makes sense to examine them closely with a magnifying glass. The entire body is covered with double hair. The coarse, upright hairs stand out and make the tiny beetle look hairy. Adult baker beetles and their larvae attack all types of foods, including flour, coffee, cocoa, cereal, cookies, legumes, spices and chocolate. Leather, paper and books are also on her menu, hence her second name – bookworm.
Fighting bread beetles: Where do the insects come from, how do you get rid of them and prevent them?You can find out here!
Kornkäfer (Sitophilus granarius): The most fearsome cereal pest in Europe, the grain beetle, does not hesitate to invade homes. Its trademark is the extended trunk as an extension of its head. At the end of the proboscis there is a powerful mouthpiece with which the beetle eats the grains. The longitudinal rows on the abdomen are characteristic. The larvae are 2 mm small, white and soft and eat the grains from the inside.
Parquet beetle (Lyctus linearis):The parquet beetle has a remarkably slender, rod-shaped shape. As with all spiny wood beetles, its head is clearly visible and is not hidden under a pronotum. Its larvae are creamy white, curved and grow up to 6 mm long.
Also read:Parquet beetles in the apartment: This is how you can successfully identify and combat the pest!
TheSwift runner (Trechus quadristriatus)is a small, elongated beetle that often visits homes. Discover everything about the brown beetle and its way of lifein this article.
And here we have an article aboutthe most common vermin in the home, whitish in colorare.
