Longhorned beetle: methods of combating a dangerous pest


Longhorned beetles are a fairly serious threat to wood, as it is part of their diet. Scientists know about more than 17 thousand representatives of this family. The most common is the black barbel. They are also called wood-boring beetles.

These insects damage plants that grow outside, as well as the wood from which houses and other buildings are made, as well as other wooden structures. They can turn wooden houses into dust, which you should not turn a blind eye to. At the first sign of the appearance of this pest, you should take care of how to get rid of it.

Longhorned beetle: description

The longhorned beetle grows up to 10-20 mm in length. It has a flat body and long mustache. The body may have a black or brown tint, with a blue or green tint. The larvae of this beetle are considered the most dangerous.

The female lays eggs in a tree, gnawing a hole with her powerful jaws. At one time, the female is capable of laying up to 400 eggs, which indicates a serious danger to wooden plantations. At the same time, she climbs the tree as high as possible. Due to this, the places where eggs are laid are difficult to detect. In the same way, they lay eggs in the ceilings under the roof, as well as in building structures.

After about a couple of weeks, larvae emerge from the eggs and begin to damage the wood. Larvae can stay in a tree from 5 to 17 years, or even longer. During this period, they are able to make passages in a tree up to 40 km long. In one day, the larva moves 15-30 mm forward, while increasing in weight by 2 times. The larvae are dangerous because they are practically undetectable because they do not appear on the surface. They will appear after they develop into an adult woodcutter beetle. For this reason, larvae can be seen when the tree is completely rotten and easily destroyed.

Widespread and very dangerous: Longhorned beetle.

House beetle

The house beetle is a serious destroyer of construction timber (sapwood of all common coniferous species), despite the fact that preventive chemical protection for load-bearing and fastening structural elements is mandatory.

Longhorned beetle larvae in the house: load-bearing wooden structures are completely destroyed and pose a danger to life UD life. Photo: Dr. Kursten

Our long-term experience indicates that it can cause complete destruction in rafters.

But pointless eradication measures are often carried out when the infestation is so severe that the roof must be replaced anyway, or even if there is no bark beetle, but only traces of wood wasps, which pose no real threat.

New infestations of previously uninfested wood over 60 years old are, at least statistically, very rare and therefore less likely. This means that subsequent preventive wood protection measures can be neglected. But it still doesn’t rule out infection.

longhorned beetle Photo: Rüpke

Therefore, the problem is born out of a few isolated cases. Since the male brownie woodworm allocates a place for laying eggs to the female, the criteria after which this happens are of a more complex nature. Oviposition is known mainly in fresh cracks in wood. After strong wood humidity fluctuations, such (new) cracks would also be possible in older wood.

This would be a condition that does not preclude infection. Researches (Körting, in 1961) it is necessary to equalize the relationship of increasing age, along with the ongoing loss in the quality and quantity of wooden ingredients in the sapwood layer and the behavior of the larva, this lack of food is compensated by a larger meal, producing even greater destruction. A lesion in old wood can still cause great damage over time.

An untouched old wooden structure covered with “age-old dust” does not provide any opportunity for the longhorned beetle to lay eggs. The presence of his worst enemies (virtually all insectivorous animals) is not an invitation to the fertilizing male. The egg laying would have a poor chance of survival.

However, repair work on older wooden structures with large transverse discharges to refresh can lead to fresh cut points and, when the wood is damp, to the laying of eggs in cracks, which can form - even if the necessary wooden maintenance materials are available in small quantities - it is still a very good new gate for invasion and defeat. Fresh repair wood increases this possibility of damage.

oval hole 5-10 mm. Photo: Rüpke And it looks like the ceiling beams were destroyed underneath, there was just an oval hole. Photo: Rüpke

How to recognize a longhorn beetle infestation?

More than 100 years of pine logs in the Russian colony of Aleksandrovka in Potsdam. Photo: Dr. Kursten

The picture shows a more than 100-year-old round pine tree in the Russian settlement of Aleksandrovka in Potsdam. At the top right you will recognize 2 small holes. Including (only!) light gray weathered wood sapwood is destroyed!

The beetle larvae, which lays eggs in wooden cracks, need from 3 to 6, and sometimes even up to 12 years, to hatch into an adult insect (imago).

After a long time of devouring the wood by the larva and the next transformation into a pupa (metamorphosis, the transformation of the larva into a beetle), adult beetles of the longhorned beetle now leave the wood through characteristic oval holes with a Längsdurchmesser of 5 to 10 mm to reproduce.

Also an indicator of a previous infestation in the house: a woodpecker pecks at an infested area to show the section of the head of the rafters, only the core is not tasty enough. Photo: Rüpke After the formation of cracks on the surface of the wood already infected with vermulmte, the area comes to light. With further processing of the bearings, the remaining cross-section can be determined. Photo: Rüpke

Until this point, you can (especially in the summer months), only characteristic gnawing noises (for example, when you scratch the nails of the large and Mittelfinger edges together) see and hear sometimes superficial tumors (for example, varicose veins under the skin of a tree).

varicose veins from woodworms

varicose veins on a log

Such as varicose veins, paper remains a thin protective layer of wood on the surface. Bottom picture: the wooden surface touched, it shows the damage that has already taken place in the forest. Photo: Rüpke
Barbel has unfortunately closed this attic conversion. A follow-up investigation now would probably be best before purchasing. Photo: Rüpke Feeding tools at home longhorned beetle larvae produce typical wooden brands of checking and feeding the place, since the larva moves in food well to the sides. Photo: Rüpke

If they tear the affected strips or nail them with an ax in the edge, they easily break through the entire surface and come across a tangle of passages stuffed with dusty wood flour (see the picture at the very top) with typical Riffelmarken on the walls of the adit. (see picture above right)

longhorned beetle photo

Longhorned beetle larvae Photo: Venka
The larvae's mouths are made of the hardest materials nature has to offer: chitin (black in color). The tool's feed design mirrors the pulsating marks in the Wolverine image (above) again. Photo: Venka The anus, in the picture in the upper left quarter, is the hallmark of a great car brand, but you can also look at other lumberjacks for this. Next, the drum shape is followed by the shape of excreted feces. Photo: Venka

Since an individual larva destroys a large amount of wood during its many-year life, it is also not easy to first find a specimen of the wood pest in case of severe destruction. If you are lucky, the adult insects that slip out of the cradle of the pupae encounter one long flight period (from June to August), now the beetles have to do nothing else but fertilize themselves and produce up to 300 new eggs, from which the larvae hatch in 2-3 weeks to burrow immediately into a tree.

Knowledge and Media GmbH Cymorek Enter the film longhorned beetle -. Development cycle" Current status: "Getting values ​​Training materials are presented at the technical information of the Hannover Library. "

How can you prevent infection?

A modern residential building in wooden frame structures can only be protected by choice of type and constructive training. Photo: Dr. Kursten

Since the loads of timber with protective measures had to be minimized for hygienic and environmental reasons, German Institute for Standardization 68 800 has required the benefits of structural timber protection since May 1996. Security measures should only be carried out in accordance with the relevant threat classes. The threat to wooden structures from fungal attack (threat class 2) is seen in modern residential buildings using the wooden frame construction method, as a rule, only at the thresholds of the base area.

It is possible to exclude the threat due to insects if the wooden structure is “wrapped” inaccessibly to it or the wood (is also truly accessible for regular inspection. In addition (to “preventive” reliability) or always as an alternative to chemical protection, it is possible to use wood species with a colored core (with a maximum 10% participation of disease), which are not attacked by either longhorned beetles or bark beetles. The additional costs are justified if thought out and ordered in a timely manner.

Safe wood does not need protection. Not (unnecessary) protection as prescribed can be vertragswirdig and cause compensation for damage. Only in the event of a truly possible threat to the load-bearing and fastening wooden parts does the building law prescribe related preventive measures to protection. Of this, all non-load-bearing wooden parts (eg dressing, etc.) remain unberühert, here each wood protection must be negotiated separately. After determinations, all constructively possible protection measures must be used (before chemical protection) first and an appropriate selection of tree species must be added. Only if this is not possible, “chemical weapons of prevention can or should be returned” in the preventive chemical protection of wood, if we are talking about load-bearing and fastening wooden parts. In practice, more inexpensive and simple design solutions are often overlooked in the absence of Wiisen about it and are grabbed equally to the chemical club. But also this poisonous treatment is often carried out only very insufficiently. I n predominantly used spruce wood penetrates the protection means, among other things, due to the short Tränkzeiten already only a few mm and the interfaces that arrive only later on the construction site and drying cracks that still occur remain unprotected.

What do you need to protect your home from egg laying?

First of all, on the right type of wood. This Coniferous wood (eg pine, spruce, larch, Douglas fir) provides him with enough food in the sapwood. Deciduous ones are excluded for longhorned beetles, shashel and other woodworms, due to the presence of specific toxins. Choosing the “right wood” as well as finding sexual partners (about Sexualpharomone) also involves a specially developed olfactory sensory technique.

Fresh Kiengeruch for sapwood
and the smallest cracks, that's what's important. Photos: Rüpke

“The main difference in the chemical composition of coniferous and hardwood, which can be influenced by odor, is that softwood contains abundant amounts of essential oils and resins from the materials of hardwood, but they are absent and in its place waxes or wax mixtures of fats are characteristic ., the different composition of carbohydrates is likely to taste perceived by animals at best, and the greater content of certain organic acids in hardwoods appears to affect animals on the smell of paths of very minor importance. ") But the question of Eiplazierung protected from predators is important. "And the place for very joyful Hylotrupes females lay eggs only in columns, such as drying wood cracks of a certain width. For artificial columns with parallel walls, a width of 0.3-0.6 mm is almost exclusively chosen. Rough smooth surfaces are clearly preferable, but not the start of laying depends on the specific wood surface texture from “. b) a) and b) Qu (general PDF file) Becker, i.e. physiological studies on egg laying from the house of the longhorned beetle, 1943, State Institute for Materials Testing in Berlin-Dahlem

Post-treatment of cracks and interfaces is rarely done in practice, which - but only with cracks - would only be acceptable with a sufficiently low distribution of retardants.

Only there, and only in fresh, unprotected interfaces and cracks in the wide sapwood (the origin of coordinates is in the wooden älterm is possible!) The females are indicated at the end of their execution by pheromones from the male there, by their eggs. (Fig. 2)

Bus Core old plan New oviposition cracks can be found hereBus Core
Figure 1: Construction wood against frost wood (spruce, pine) in cross section (brain section) with wood, red = chemical wood protectionFigure 2: Same wood for formwork with unprotected drying cracks that need treatmentFigure 3: Constructing color-resistant wood wood core with max. 10% sapwood (pine, larch, Douglas fir) No chemical wood protection required)

Preservative inclusion for approximately 6 hours is guaranteed. Dip-painting experience has shown effective maintenance in sufficient distribution. (Fig. 1) In order to develop a successful attack on a possible successful Eilarvenentwicklung about not nachgeschützte new drying flanks of the crack, the sapwood was reduced to the mininmum. To ensure that the risk of cracking is greater, here, to minimize the risks of greater transverse Schittenkopf, dried lumber can also be ripped poor and (also) be used as construction timber or laminated veneer lumber. This previously dried wood is not technically considered to be at risk to the home. Most likely, they can no longer smell the barbel. There remains little risk for subsequent fresh interfaces and cracks.

There have also been reports of vague, incomplete or contradictory data, which often leads to disputes among specialists. Which is supported on the one hand by Rraxiserkundungen (Aicher, Radivic, Volland, 2000) and on the other hand by completely contradictory laboratory tests (Hertel 2010).

The study was carried out over a long period in verbautem buildings of untreated wood laminated in operation of classes 1 and 2) 1 found significant infestations fixed) second On the other hand, the larvae of longhorned beetles used in laminated wood developed experimentally are not only magnificent, they ate through surprisingly easily (provided , impermeable to date) adhesive joint and migrated on a large scale board layer board) third Shoemaker from Materials (MPA) Berlin/Brandenburg talked about an attempt to study the development of (artificially inserted?) woodworm larvae especially in technically dried wood. They flourished, even in part even better than non-technically dried wood. At the 26th Wood Protection Conference (formerly DGfH Wood Protection Conference) Hertel reported new results on the susceptibility of wood to various pre-treatments against the longhorned beetle, it was also about odor targeting and laboratory tests on the susceptibility of dried wood.

Scientific research for a unique and holistic awareness of these contradictions, such research on technically dried wood and Befallsmöfgichkeit Commons BY furniture shawl beetle, is known to us today, not by chance.

Is it because the Rätels permission is too easy?

Recently, the wheel has again erffunden previously remained unnoticed, and research since the 1940s has received increasing attention. It was at that time that the question of wood extractive substances (fragrances) evaporates when the wood is heated on its surface from 0. These aromas for the longhorned beetle are crucial for its decision where eggs are laid. If these are odorous substances, this wood is not selected by woodworms for laying eggs. This is how it can be disguised or masking scents with misleading, so make sure it is unknowable.

This larvae egg effect may be a simple clue to why previously technically getrockenetes wood was not attacked by woodworms, but artificially used for many stakeholders in the wood itself can still perform well. It can just be really difficult.

There is a legal requirement to reduce the use of biocides as much as possible. Along the way, nothing should be simplified. The contradictions in the statements are related to the exchange relationship. All determinants are to be studied, because designers and contractors want to eliminate possible defects.

Carpenters should use it as an advertisement for themselves when they visit your old clients for more than one year and prevent the appearance of cracks, thereby nachzuschützen new cracks.

What to do if you find traces of woodworm in your house?

Left: tracks in the discarded Nagsel betray Anwensenheit from predatory insects. right: If the area has previously been swept by a strong Nagselauswurf under the rafters is an indicator of infection. But these are not larvae, but oak predators of insects that adjust them to their feeding programs. This indicates their (abundant) presence as a worthwhile prey item. In these cases, the fracture of the femoral neck is mainly ... Photo: Rüpke

First: don't panic! In many cases, these are traces (residual damage) of a previous infection, especially if you look at the light, the exit holes are already gray and covered with dust and vibrations have appeared on the wooden structure, which led to Nagselausrieseln.

If fresh debris is thrown out on exposed wood components excursion façade holes in the months of May-July, it may also be due to serious wasps or mason bees. These insects are not woodborers. In old burrows cleared of debris to lay eggs and raise brood. (See also: Lignatec 14/2001, p.13).

But the exit holes are not alone in the color to recognize the fresh ones, because where the control does not require falling light, a distorted view.

In the unbefallenem of a tree about a tree, the age becomes increasingly decreasing. The probability of possible infection is derivative.
One of the reasons is that, through evaporation, the intensity of the aroma (essential Oelle and resinous substances) of the wood decreases. Eventually, a wood pest appears at home to lay unattractive eggs. If the infestation is living, then the age of the tree does not matter, because it really must still be attractive enough to lay eggs. The reason for the amazing involvement of seniors is cutting wood, are new and/or installing new, recently incense wood renovations. Both of them can make this old wooden structure for laying eggs attrraktiv again, which explains the infestation situations also of old beams.
This is a very fresh, bright Nagsel in a well open space under the roof. Pollutants of predatory insects that correct the homes of longhorned larvae burrows. Photo: Rüpke

But if you hear the noise mentioned above, or even see beetles flying around, it's time for a wood expert to determine whether a control is necessary. (Mnemonic: without any evidence against infestation) control, for example, is not required if the remaining intact wood is no longer viable enough (consult an engineer!).

All doubtful cases must be confirmed by experts to protect the wood, so that the client is protected from unnecessary costs. The expert must be free from commercial interests.

Of course, infestation in a house is always a large area to take in and therefore the investigation of the area extends to the entire wooden structure, ceiling beams.

Those rafters had to be replaced! In fact, he was left with the fight against woodworms, since it costs a lot of money to carry it in the attic. 12 cm of deviation and deformation of the roof structure, and again an even “more complex” construction project had consequences. Photo: Rüpke

With proper control by a chemical specialized company or on your own, as a rule, remove all contaminated vermulmte wood to a healthy section (bebeilen), and then remove all free particles from the surface with a wire brush. Without this, no effective impregnation would be possible. Depending on the wood preservative, there is enough moisture to produce with water. These surfactants (detergents) are useful as water additives. Glycol-based wood preservatives are not required.

He must think at the very beginning whether there are still sections on all the rich - otherwise, a new roof is necessary in any case. Anything else would be unnecessary expenses...

For beams that are accessible only from one side of the impregnation well, pressure grouting or other appropriate special treatment is possible.

In attics, it is necessary to include tiles on at least three sides to fit like rafters.

While the most effective method of destruction is thermal hot air in an awning (only in summer it makes sense) and microwave destruction, the client must be informed about the possibility of re-infestation. After consideration then it may be that only "preventative" chemical control measures are needed. The procedure then uniformly and always creates a larger area of ​​the entire roof area.

Fumigation today is usually out of the question for reasons of economy for residential buildings, but does not provide guarantees.

Prevention. Many and varied.
The first and most effective prevention occurs from the material itself, because wood is a breeding ground for the larvae. Exceeding the planned could cover losses of the substance in a possible attack, a reserve for stability. The smart thing to do is to choose the same domestic wood species that are resistant to woodworm.
  • Hazard class 1 (danger of wood-destroying insects) for sectioned wood, thus already prevention. Older wood structures prove this.
  • The use of color heartwoods einstieligen (whole root), for example, as rafters, in combination with an increase in size (eg pine) improves further prevention.
  • But it was the use of pine, larch, Douglas fir core (up to 10% sapwood allowed) that could prevent full strength.
  • Although nowhere near the market, the use of crack-free dry-worked timber such as construction timber (KVH) has a preventive effect.
  • However, if saving spruce or splintreiches in general, softwood lumber is installed only with the required devices (stability) - which is standard - a preservative treatment against insects in hazard class 1 is required. The guarantee is only when (and actual) conditions of hazard class 0 are not necessary, since this chemical wood protection is intended. (The risk remains with the planner and executors - but the hassle and cost are, of course, borne by the client alone).

However, environmental influences influence infection conditions:

  • Roofing training (heat accumulation of wooden formwork with cardboard, slate or metal covers, the rate of development is significantly in favor of contamination),
  • Leave the wooden structure at all luftumspült points, neither on the wall or (the moisture reserve in the wood from the masonry - Strings gives way to purlins and rafters),
  • Prevention of moisture supply in summer, for example, do not dry any amount of laundry in the attic, AERATORS only under (increases the moisture content in the attic)
  • Attic hatches are close during the summer flight season (from June to August) (prevents the penetration of insects infected from neighboring cultivations)
  • To work to combat Longhorn deposits in the surrounding neighborhood (Cavalier inefficiency of neighboring houses in a village or area, to the detriment of the community)
  • Planning education for architects, civil engineers and building owners and of course social institutions (house and land associations, building departments)

Woodborer from hot climates...

An attack on a piece of beech furniture and then an attack on an Eichenholzdielung led us to the face of a "Longhorn lookalike" or "Longhorn hardwood", namely the shawl furniture beetle, Hesperophanes cinereus (Willer). Its origin is hot in areas such as North Africa, Western Asia, the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Hesperophanes cinereus requires a warm climate and always has clean dry insect wood on about a 2-6 year cycle. The furniture was about 3 years old and came from an office supplies wholesaler who had a "worldwide" supply. Eichendielung was built in just 2 years, the country of origin was France.

Hesperophanes cinereus wood borer
Visit from a distant land under our microscope.,The culprit of the harmful image to the right, for one night, is called Hesperophanes cinereus wood borer species. Photo: Rüpke

The piece of furniture is made of beech infested (with a moisture content of 8%) with shawarma, Hesperophanes cinereus. Infestation traces are similar to those of wood borer. Country of origin: probably the Balkans. Photo: Rüpke

The wood borer was introduced into Australia in 2004

The appearance of Capricorn House
e in the city of Perth in Australia,

Qu: European Chashel (ECB) Program

The woodworms reached Perth, Western Australia in January 2004. It was probably introduced there by the sea with contaminated wood packaging. A globalized world economy with a little more control over trade has made this possible.

The house of the longhorned beetle spread immediately after its appearance in local pine plantations (on dead wood) and built on wood. Sapwood in Western Australia, like the common sawn pine (Pinus spp.) and Oregon/Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga spp.) has its first goal.

What is surprising to us is the prevention and control program of the Australian government, which was launched in 2004/05. In addition to the general collection of longhorned beetles spreading in pine forests, extensive and festgestelltem woodworm infestations in the building are checked; all neighboring buildings can be included within a radius of 2 km with precaution. In addition, there are questions to attack all free telephone consultation and reporting abilities.

At the request of the Department of Entomology, Department of Agriculture, the city of Perth WA made woodworm infestations available in the building holzfragen.de 2005 and 2006 images.

Government agencies are responsible for building public education works and preparing extensive administrative measures first, all for the spread of woodworm in development.

Although such measures are rejected as too expensive in "poor" Germany, you can see an example of the approach of the governments of Australia, whose citizens of clean ways eat like a watchmaker's beetle plague.

Tracking Longhorn larvae with sniffer dogs - a worldwide, unique attempt in Australia

Since 2004, the house beetle has been introduced into Australia. 2009 Longhorn beetle infestation in buildings and pine plantations and everyday reality requires at least effective control and prevention.

The Australian Minister of Agriculture and Food in 2008 was aware of media attention, the first in the world, to want to use sniffer dogs to control - track larvae in pine plantations and wooden buildings.

The Department of Agriculture and Food has two first handlers specially developed with their Labrador dogs named Jed and Lara to support the Australian Government's already significant efforts to contain and fight, perhaps even more effectively.

woodworm bloodhound Jed in training.

Photo: Australian Department of Agriculture and Food

This is important because after the first appearance of the European wood borer in Perth, more than 60,000 properties and surrounding 300,000 hectares of pine plantations were there today to test for infection

Instead of consuming Absuchens on a trunk or tree, an Ausschlupflöchern is built, maybe with the help of sniffer dogs, infestations in the forest are detected faster, and this is up to 3 years earlier than would otherwise have been recognized by the first generation due to the Ausschlupflöcher for the first time. In this way, the possible fight is much earlier, and thus curb further infection.

It will be seen how search dogs have proven it in practice. Whether it succeeds, this method can guarantee secure detection of attacks. This is all the more interesting since attack detection in practice often turns out to be quite uncertain and Oracle technical detection (for example, when feeding noise analysis) is very expensive.

Comments: ) Class 1 1 according to EN 1995-1-1 = humidity at 20 ° C and a relative humidity of only a few weeks a year greater than 65%. Class 2 according to EN 1995-1-1 = humidity at 20°C and a relative humidity of only a few weeks a year greater than 85%. ) 2 Aicher, Radivic, Volland, “Infection probability on Longhorn on glued” Otto Graf Instituit, University of Stuttgart 2000 ) 3 Csymorek. P "to Befallbarkeit rays laminated timber houses barbel, toxic values ​​(L.)" Holzzentralblatt, DRW-Verlag

Causes and signs of appearance in the house

Often, after cutting down an area, the wood is stored in this place for a long time. Longhorned beetles waste no time and flock to trees that are no longer able to protect themselves from pests. As a result, they lay eggs in the wood, thereby infecting it. Longhorned beetles appear in the house as a result of using already infested wooden structures.

Therefore, improper storage of felled trees leads to the appearance of these pests, especially if high humidity contributes to this.

The trees cut down are used to build houses, make furniture and other purposes. Over time, larvae emerge from the eggs and begin to make passages in the wood, because of this certain sounds may be heard, similar to rustling or ticking. If these sounds are made during the daytime, this means that the pests are behind the bark. At night, sounds are heard from the activity of the larvae, which are located in the thickness of wooden structures.

You can find out that a tree is infected:

  • By the presence of winding passages on the surface of the wood.
  • Based on the presence of brown or yellow powder.
  • By the appearance of liquid with a sour, pungent odor from the passages of the larvae.
  • By how easily the bark is separated from tree trunks.
  • By the presence of caterpillars (larvae) in wooden structures.

Longhorned beetle in one of the forest districts of the Oryol region

Features of insect development

The beetle year begins in the second decade of June and continues until August. Adults are active on hot days, with the peak of summer occurring during the midday and afternoon. Despite their small size, beetles make short flights. The lifespan of a female is 25 days, during which time she manages to lay up to 400 eggs. After mating, she looks for a place to lay eggs. The female is attracted to the odors emitted by the resin of conifers. Most often they choose Scots pine, white fir, Norway spruce, and European cedar. Oval elongated eggs (2 mm) are laid in crevices in the bark to a depth of 20-30 mm.

Larval development

The embryo stage lasts 1-3 weeks, the maturation of eggs depends on the ambient temperature. The young larva begins to make its way along the fibers of the tree. They are oval in shape, located in the sapwood, the core remains intact. The bitches get by. There remains a thin section between the stroke and the surface of the wood, which collapses when pressed.

The larva is white, fleshy, grows up to 25 mm. The head capsule is recessed into the chest. The jaws are strong and brown in color. The head has short antennae and three vertical eyes. There are reddish spots on the pronotum. The thoracic legs are short and end in sharp claws. The abdomen has fine light hairs. Motor calluses are convex, leathery, and have a longitudinal groove.

The larvae develop in 3-4 years; there is a delay of up to 8 years. Before pupation, they gnaw a hole for the imago to emerge. The cradle for the doll is lined with shavings. The pupal phase occurs in May. After 2-3 weeks, the imago appears and flies away.

Information. The unique property of black barbel larvae is the ability to digest proteins and microorganisms in the intestines without the help.

How to get rid of longhorned beetle using chemicals

If longhorned beetles are found in the house, you need to immediately take measures to destroy them. In order for wood to last as long as possible, it must be processed before building a house. As a rule, they use a fumigation method based on phosphine gas. If the tree has not been treated, then beetles will definitely appear. Then you will have to do a series of actions.

For example:

  • First of all, it is necessary to check the extent of damage to the wood. To do this, take a screwdriver and use it to pierce the wooden structures. If the tool easily fits into the wood, then it is better to replace such structures.
  • Those structures that the beetle has not yet reached must be treated with special liquids. Before this, wooden structures are cleaned with a wire brush, after which all dust and sawdust must be removed with a vacuum cleaner. After this, the surfaces are treated with an insecticide. Before this, everyone living in the home is evacuated and the windows and doors are tightly closed.
  • In cases of severe infection, syringing is carried out. To do this, holes are drilled in the wood with a thin drill, in increments of 3 cm, and an insecticidal solution is injected into them using a syringe.

There are many products available on the chemical control market to kill all types of insects. In such cases, it is better to choose liquids, since they can penetrate the wood structure and destroy the larvae there.

What types of insecticides are there:

  • Contact action . Insects and their larvae die upon contact with the chemical. These products are rarely used, since working with them can cause poisoning.
  • Intestinal action . If it enters the intestines of an insect or larva, the substance leads to death. Based on such components, baits are made, which include an insecticide and an aromatic substance to attract insects.
  • Fumigants . They emit gases that are toxic to insects.

You can use the following against longhorned beetles:

  • Empire-20.
  • Tree healer.
  • Antibug.
  • Antishashelin.

Rules for the use of insecticides

When using insecticides, you must adhere to a number of rules. For example:

  • Residual agents are applied to surfaces using spray guns. These substances are practically safe for people and pets, so you can return to the room within a few hours after treatment.
  • To treat hard-to-reach places, a different method is used. To do this, holes are drilled and a toxic substance is supplied through a thin tube to the problem area. After this, the hole is filled with wax or paraffin. After some time, the wood will be saturated with the product and the larvae will die. This treatment requires leaving the premises for several days.
  • If the walls are made of thick logs, then it is better to use a product such as Lignofix I-Profi. A hole is drilled in each beam, every 5 cm from top to bottom or vice versa. The distance between the rows is up to 1 m. Then a syringe is taken and insecticide is applied to each hole. After some time, when the product is absorbed into the wood, the operation should be carried out a couple more times. After completion of the procedure, the holes are sealed with sealant.
  • When buying a remedy for longhorned beetles, you need to make sure that the product will help, since it is intended specifically for such purposes.

The main types of wood-boring beetles and the harm they cause

In a private house, be it wooden or stone, you can often find a variety of insects. Therefore, in order not to let the situation get worse, you need to know the enemy by sight.

Bark beetle

Bark beetles are the collective name for about 750 species of beetles. In the wild, they serve as forest orderlies, ridding it of old and diseased trees. And in wooden houses, these half-centimeter beetles eat everything they can reach. The most common of them are the pine beetle, furniture grinder, typograph beetle and sapwood.

But the odorous wood borer, although similar in name to a household pest, is actually not one of them. This moth also eats wood, but only on living fruit trees, so luring it into the house is unrealistic.

These brown or black bugs enter the home along with contaminated building materials. Each species prefers certain types of wood, but “in the absence of fish” everything is used.

Grinder beetle

Black and brown beetles reach 1 cm in length and move mainly at night. They are very shy and hide from people, but their presence in the house is revealed by a characteristic ticking sound.

In the old days, grinders were called “death clocks,” because a few years after the sound appeared, the house collapsed, often burying all the inhabitants under its walls.

There are bread, brownie, comb and furniture grinders. They affect furniture, books, food, spices, herbariums, coniferous and deciduous trees.

Longhorn beetle

The black beetle with a green or blue tint can be distinguished by its characteristic mustache, which is almost three times longer than the body. The beetle itself reaches 3.5 cm in length, and its larvae can live up to 15 years, making kilometer-long passages in wood. They try to settle in attics or under the roof; females lay up to 400 eggs at a time. They appear in the house with raw material even at the construction stage. There have been cases when a colony of longhorned beetles rendered a house uninhabitable before the rightful owners moved into it.

Regardless of the species, the beetles themselves are not dangerous to the home - it is the woodworm larvae that eat the wood, and the adult individuals only increase their numbers.

The development of all woodworms follows the same pattern, only the duration of the maturation periods differs:

  1. The female lays eggs in holes or crevices in wood.
  2. The eggs hatch into larvae that feed on wood, making passages in it.
  3. After two weeks, the larvae move to the surface of the tree and pupate.
  4. After three weeks, the pupa turns into an adult beetle and flies out for further reproduction.

Although the main peak of reproduction for all wood-boring beetles occurs in the summer, in heated, frost-free houses they are able to breed throughout the year. In this case, a colony of beetles will take three years to turn the supporting structures into dust.

Clipper is an effective remedy for barbels

This control agent is designed specifically to kill longhorned beetles. The active substance, entering the body of the pest or larva, leads to metabolic disorders and causes paralysis, and then the pest dies. If a beetle lands on a surface treated with Clipper, it will die immediately.

It is important to know! It is recommended to treat wooden structures with Clipper every year. In this case, you must adhere to the norms and rules described in the instructions for use.

"Clipper" as the most effective means of combating longhorned beetles

In order to destroy such a type of parasite as the longhorned beetle, a special tool called “Clipper” was developed. This substance poisons the body of beetles and affects their reproductive system in such a way that they are unable to lay eggs and reproduce. Refers to contact substances.

Once the substance enters the body of a newly born beetle, it disrupts all its metabolic processes, paralyzes and leads to the death of the insect. A barbel that sits on a surface treated with the substance dies immediately.

This product attracts people because it is inexpensive, effective and safe for the human body. But it is worth noting that the substance still belongs to pesticides, so it must be used strictly according to the instructions.

Longhorned beetle: danger to humans, photo, how to get rid of it

The drug "Clipper" kills beetles on direct contact

Folk methods of struggle

Based on folk recipes, it is possible to prepare effective means of combating woodcutter beetles. For example:

  • Take a 2.5% solution of sodium fluoride (250 g) and dilute it in 10 liters of water. Wooden structures are treated using a spray bottle, using 200 ml of product per 1 square meter.
  • The product is prepared from identical parts of resin, black carbolic acid and naphthalene. The product is applied to the wood using a brush.
  • It is permissible to treat wooden furniture with hot drying oil, but this method will deprive it of its attractiveness.
  • Kerosene and turpentine are mixed in a ratio of 1:3. The tree is treated with Vaseline, and the prepared liquid is poured into the beetle passages. After this, the entrances are sealed with paraffin.

Who is the barbel

There are more than 20,000 species of this insect in the world. There are both very small individuals and quite large pests. The relic woodcutter looks like this: it is black in color, reaches a length of up to 30 mm, and has long mustaches divided into segments. The male and female woodcutter beetles in the photo differ in color, body shape and antennae length.

The pest feeds on wood. This beetle can cause great damage to shrubs, trees and wooden buildings. The longhorned insect gradually destroys the wood, reducing its density. Pest activity is carried out mainly by larvae, which can live and develop in wood for 5-10 years. After this, the insect emerges to the surface as an adult.

A fully formed woodcutter beetle, the longhorned beetle, feeds on pollen, pine needles and tree bark.

Wood processing by professionals

It is often difficult to cope with the task on your own, at home. In this case, you can invite professionals who:

  • The wood will be treated using fumigation.
  • Microwave disinfestation will be carried out.

Each method has both advantages and disadvantages.

Fumigation

This is a method of treating wood with poisonous gases. Nowadays, this method is not often used, since the gas does not have high permeability and it is not possible to destroy the larvae inside the wood.

There is a similar method when drugs, in the form of tablets, decompose when exposed to air. As a result, phosphine gas is released. In one day, the product destroys all beetles and larvae, as well as eggs. The tablets decompose within 2 days.

Advantages of this method:

  • Possibility of 100% destruction of all pests.
  • The warranty covers 10 years.
  • It is possible to cover a large area in a short period of time.

The disadvantage of the method is the high toxicity of the substance.

Microwave disinsection

Eggs and larvae die at temperatures of +55 degrees and above. If they are exposed to microwave installations that emit microwave waves, then the eggs and larvae begin to heat up, which is why they die. Microwave waves do not cause any harm to wood.

Advantages of the method:

  • Microwave devices are safe for both people and pets.
  • The method allows you to quickly and effectively get rid of pests.
  • The method works in all weather conditions.

The only drawback is the nature of the work, since you have to look for places where woodcutter beetle larvae spoil the wood. Therefore, specialists use a special device - a stethoscope. Using this device, they listen to the house meter by meter and determine where the larvae are.

Professional processing

Some processing methods are best left to professionals:

  • Fumigation;
  • Microwave disinsection.

Each method has its pros and cons.

Fumigation

Treatment of surfaces with chemicals in the form of gases or aerosols (hot, cold or dry fog). Fogging agents are now rarely used. They do not have such high permeability as gas; it is almost impossible to destroy the larvae inside the tree in this way.

Experts use fumigation using gases with phosphides (Phostoxin and Mactoxin). They are produced in tablet form. They decompose when exposed to air and release poisonous phosphine gas. Within a day, the substance can destroy all beetles, larvae and eggs. It will take about 2 days for the gas to decompose.

Advantage of fumigation:

  • 100% destruction of all parasites;
  • long-term effect after treatment (10 years);
  • the ability to process a large area in a short time.

The disadvantage of the method is the high toxicity of the substances.

Learn about the rules and methods of first aid for a tick bite, as well as further treatment.

How to remove flies from an apartment? Effective methods of dealing with annoying insects are described on this page.

Go to the address https://parazitam-stop.com/nasekomye/klopy/effektivnye-sredstva.html and read about the reasons for the appearance of bedbugs in the apartment and how to destroy them.

Microwave disinsection

If the larvae and eggs are exposed to temperatures exceeding +55°C, they die. Special microwave installations have been created for this purpose. Microwave radiation is directed onto a specific surface, causing the molecules to vibrate and heat up. As a result of this effect, the parasites die. However, such radiation does not harm wood.

Advantages of the method:

  • no need to evacuate people from home;
  • you can quickly get rid of longhorned beetles;
  • effective in all weather conditions;

The negative factor is that the work is painstaking. It is necessary to detect all the places where the parasite lives, this requires some experience. Specialists have special equipment for this – a stethoscope. They bug the house around the perimeter, each nest is treated with a radiator.

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