Nobody likes to share their apartment with small beetles. Bread beetles, carpet beetles and the like contaminate food or destroy your belongings. The right control strategy depends on the type of beetle you are dealing with. This guide explains how to identify beetles in your home and how to get rid of them using home remedies.

Vine weevils are particularly dangerous for plants

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Beetles determine species overview
  3. Brown Beetle Short Portrait
  4. Black Beetle Short Portrait
  5. What to do?
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • Small brown beetles in the apartment are mostly bread beetles, grain beetles or parquet beetles.
    • Common black mini beetles at home are fur beetles, carpet beetles or vine weevils.
    • Effective household remedies are heat from 60° Celsius, cold from -18° Celsius, flower pot trap, thorough cleaning with hot vinegar water, vacuum cleaner and disposal. Biological agents against beetles are diatomaceous earth and nematodes.

    Identify beetles in the apartment - types at a glance

    As its name suggests, the bread beetle loves to eat bread

    When small bugs appear in the apartment, the horror is great. A peaceful coexistence is not an option, because numerous mini beetles are making themselves unpopular as storage pests. Other beetle species target textiles, carpets, fur, furniture or indoor plants. There is a great wish that the uninvited guests pull the leash as quickly as possible. The correct procedure is closely linked to the question of which species of beetle is making life difficult for you. The following table summarizes important characteristics that you can use to accurately identify beetles in the home:

    bread beetle grain weevil parquet beetle fur beetle carpet beetle vine weevil
    color brown to reddish brown yellow-brown to dark brown reddish brown to dark brown dark to black black, white-red spots black
    size/length 2-3mm 3-5mm 3-5mm 2.5-5.5mm 4-5mm 8-10mm
    body shape roundish-oval elongated with proboscis pin-shaped, narrow oblong-oval oval to round oval with proboscis
    special feature densely hairy, furry not airworthy striped elytra haired white pronotum covers round elytra
    pest species storage pest storage pest wood pest material pest material pest plant pest
    botanical name Stegobium paniceum Sitophilus granarius Lyctus linearis Attagenus smirnovi Anthrenus scrophulariae Otiorhynchus
    common name bookworm Rice weevil, corn weevil borer beetle bacon beetle Figwort beetle white weevil

    For all the beetles mentioned, the all-clear can be given with regard to a possible health hazard for humans and pets. Accidental consumption of storage pests or direct contact with material pests usually goes unnoticed by those affected (allergy sufferers excluded). The bread beetle and its fellow beetles are not poisonous.

    Small brown bugs in the apartment - short portrait

    The table above names common small brown bugs that make homes in the home. Did the above qualities put you on the right track? Then please consult the following short portraits and pictures with in-depth information:

    bread beetle (Stegobium paniceum)

    Bread beetles are tiny and difficult to spot with the naked eye. A closer look with a magnifying glass is advantageous. The entire body is doubly hairy. Rough, erect hairs rise above close-fitting hair, giving the mini beetle a furry appearance. As generalists among the house beetles, adult bread beetles and their larvae contaminate food of all kinds, such as flour, coffee, cocoa, muesli, rusks, biscuits, legumes, herbs and chocolate. Leather, paper and books are also on the menu, which is where the middle name bookworm comes from.

    Grain weevil (Sitophilus granarius)

    The grain weevil eats grains

    As the most feared grain pest in Europe, the grain weevil has no scruples about invading homes. The trademark is a long trunk as a head extension. At the end of the snout is a powerful mouthpart, which the beetle uses to eat grain kernels. A pattern of longitudinal rows on the abdomen is characteristic. Its larvae are 2 mm small, white and soft and eat kernels from the inside out.

    Parquet beetle (Lyctus linearis)

    The parquet beetle likes to feast on wood

    The parquet beetle reveals a strikingly slender, rod-shaped form. As with all powderwood beetles, its head is clearly visible and not hidden under a pronotum. Striking are the last two segments of its antennae, which are greatly enlarged as typical antennae lobes. Parquet beetle larvae are creamy white, curved and up to 6 mm long.

    digression

    Ladybug-like bugs - who is that?

    In autumn, hordes of ladybird-like beetles gather on house facades, window frames and balcony railings. These are Asian ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis), also known as harlequin beetles, which look confusingly similar to native ladybirds. On sunny October days in Indian summer, gigantic mass gatherings can be observed more and more frequently, putting concerned apartment owners on the alert. There is no cause for concern, because Asian ladybugs are not poisonous or harmful to health, they are just looking for winter quarters in cracks in walls or rafters. With fly screens you can prevent harlequin beetles from accidentally crawling into the apartment through the open window.

    Little black bugs in the apartment - short portrait

    The properties in the table above provide first indications. The following short portraits clear away any remaining doubts about the true identity of the black mini beetles in the apartment.

    Fur beetle (Attagenus smirnovi)

    The dark to black fur beetle not only destroys fur and woolly materials, but is itself covered with furry hair. The actual pests are not the adult beetles, but their larvae. A female fur beetle lays up to 50 eggs near potential food sources for the brood. Within a short time, the eggs turn into 15 mm long, golden-yellow, hairy larvae that eat fur, feathers, carpets and woolen textiles.

    Carpet beetle (Anthrenus scrophulariae)

    Black is only the basic color of the carpet beetle. The material pest spices up its look creatively with differently colored scales. A red band can often be seen along the wing cover seam. The wing covers are decorated with three light transverse bands. Some carpet beetles have opted for yellow markings that contrast beautifully with the black background.

    Vine weevil (Otiorhynchus)

    From the family of weevils, the vine weevil dares to boldly invade human dwellings. The black beetle ignores food, textiles, wood and carpets. However, the beetle invasion does not end well for your lovingly tended indoor plants. Unless you catch the nocturnal vine weevil in the act, you will recognize its presence by indentation-like feeding damage along the leaf margins.

    tips

    The ability to fly is not a reliable identifier when trying to identify brown or black beetles. In fact, flying bugs in the apartment can also be cockroaches. Black-brown cockroach bodies look confusingly similar to a real beetle.

    Bugs in the apartment - what to do?

    The means you use to combat beetle infestation in the home depends on whether it is stored product pests, material pests or plant pests. In no case is it necessary to resort to chemical weapons. The following table summarizes proven household remedies against the beetle rabble:

    storage pests means/measure material pests means/measure plant pests means/measure
    destroy infested food into the garbage can wash textiles in the washing machine at 60° Flower Pot Trap Place the pot with wood shavings upside down
    Heat (60° Celsius) 30 minutes in the oven heat 60 minutes in the sauna nematodes Furrow trap with threadworms
    cold 24 hours in the freezer cold 2 days in the freezer collect Shake plants, collect bugs
    cleaning soak up kieselguhr spread biological agent
    disinfect Wipe out cupboards with hot water oxygen deprivation pack airtight

    Please don't just fight the symptoms in the form of contaminated food and damaged materials. Beetles in the apartment are extremely keen to reproduce and spread again in no time at all. Therefore, please start looking for the source of the cause. In the case of storage pests, this can be freely accessible food. Material pests often get into the apartment via used, second-hand goods. Most beetles can fly and use tilted windows without insect screens as entry points.

    The video below demonstrates the simple and non-toxic methods you can use to get rid of bread beetles in your home:

    youtube

    frequently asked Questions

    We have small brown bugs in the apartment - what to do?

    If there are many small brown beetles in the apartment, you are very likely dealing with a bread beetle infestation. The tiny pests prey on most foods and do not disdain paper or leather. Thoroughly inspect all supplies and the bookcase. Infested food can be disinfected in the oven at 60° Celsius or in the freezer. We recommend disposal in the dustbin. Then clean the entire apartment, look for the source of the problem and eliminate it.

    What are those little brown beetles with long feelers in the apartment?

    Small brown beetles with antennae in the apartment are probably longhorn beetles

    Without direct visual inspection, it is difficult to accurately identify the beetles. Common beetle species with brown color and long antennae are the dreaded longhorn beetles, especially the house longhorn (Hylotrupes bajulus). With a length of up to 28 millimeters, this beetle certainly cannot be described as tiny. The second candidate does not come from the Beetle family, but looks confusingly similar to a Beetle. It is the German cockroach (Blattella germanica), also known as the cockroach, whose antennae are longer than the entire insect body.

    How can you prevent beetle infestations in your home?

    The best way to prevent storage pests, such as bread beetles and grain weevils, is to store food in sealed containers. Immediately fill loose food into Tupperware containers, such as flour, sugar, muesli or coffee. You can keep material pests away by washing textiles before mothballing and then storing them in airtight garment bags.

    tips

    Small brown bugs in bed are a completely different caliber than small brown bugs in the apartment. Bed bugs are 5-7 mm small, flat-oval and extremely biting. Red, itchy wheals in the morning are a first indication of the dreaded vermin in the apartment. In this special case, you are at a loss with home remedies. A certified exterminator solves the problem.

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Animals in the garden