Reddish brown to black; about 1/8 to 1/4 inch; elongated and slender. Females bore into wood and create tunnels for laying eggs; infest both softwoods and hardwoods, but cause most damage in hardwoods. Usually new wood, less than ten years old. Eggs are laid inside tunnels; larvae complete their development usually in about one year, but have been known to take up to five. Often found in oak firewood, and in furniture.

Powder Post Beetle
Familyi Lyctidae

Adults are small, slender and flattened, reddish brown to black; from 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch; short antennae; larvae are usually less than 1/4 long, cream colored and slightly C-shaped. Attack the sapwood of hardwoods, especially oak, hickory and ash; create small round holes which appear in hardwood floors, furniture, molding and fixtures. Diet is starch, sugar and protein in the sapwood of hardwoods; prefer moisture content of between 10 and 20 percent. Life cycle averages one year, with the majority of time spent in the destructive larval stage; females lay an average of 20 to 50 eggs. Most common and widespread of the wood-boring beetles in the U.S.; pinhole openings in wood are a sign of infestation.

Old House Borer
Hylotrupes bajulus

Adults are black to brownish-black, about 5/8 to 1 inch long; slightly flattened; wing covers are usually completely black, but may have distinct white markings. Larval stage feeds on seasoned timber for two to ten years before becoming an adult beetle; adult emerges from infested wood, leaving 1/4 inch oval exit hole, and mates, living only 10 to 15 days. Larval stage feeds on wood with moisture content of between 10 and 20 percent; prefers softwoods. Life cycle averages 3 to 5 years, but can take as long as 12 years, depending on environmental and nutritional conditions, with the majority of time spent in the destructive larval stage. Contrary to its name, it occurs mostly in houses less than ten years old.

Anobiid Powderpost Beetle
Family Anobiidae

Dark brown to blackish-brown about 1/8 to 1/4 inch; range in shape from slender and elongated to oval. Larvae live in and create tunnels in hardwoods and softwoods, usually more than 10 years old; create small, round holes of 1/16 to 1/8 inch diameter, which appear especially in structural timbers. Larvae feed on both hardwoods and softwoods. Life cycle averages two to three years, with the majority of time spent in the destructive larval stage; females lay about 50 eggs. The potential for damage is greatest in the early period of infestation, when the number of exit holes in the wood is low.

Flour Beetle
Order Coleoptera

Flattened, oblong and reddish-brown; about 1/7 inch long; larvae are 1/4 inch long and are white to yellow. Infest stored grain and grain products; small size enables them to work themselves into many sealed containers. Feed on a variety of foods, but most commonly flour and cereal products. Females lay an average of 300 to 400 eggs; life cycle usually takes about seven weeks, but may last up to three months; four or five generations per year. Attracted to light, but quickly run for cover when disturbed; adults may live as long as three years; impart a disagreeable odor and taste to the flour they infest.

Carpet Beetle
Order Coleoptera

Small rounded, gray to blackish, with a varied pattern of whitish and orange scales on the back; shape resembles the lady bug; about 1/5 inch long. Adults often inhabit flowerbeds; can enter the home when cut flowers are brought in; outside, feeds on pollen and nectar. In homes, larvae will eat carpet and woolen fabric; will also attack woolens and other animal products. Female lays 30 to 100 eggs, which hatch in 10 to 18 days; larval stage lasts 60-325 days; adults live 20 to 60 days. All damage is done by the larvae; contact with carpet beetles can cause dermatitis in humans.