The Ladybird Beetle

The ladybird beetle, more commonly called a ladybug, is known as a gardeners friend. Ladybirds are popular among children, who can easily identify the ladybird by it’s recognizable red color and black spots.

Ladybirds are considered “garden-friendly” because they are a natural enemy to aphids, who will destroy garden plants. A ladybird can potentially eat up to a million aphids in it’s lifetime, and the ladybird larvae have a tremendous appetite for aphids as well.

Ladybird beetles are generally held in affection, and are not considered deadly or dangerous. Because of the way they live and feed, they are more of a help than than a threat to humans or your plants or trees.

Read more about beetles such as the ladybird at Beetle Identification

What are Bark Beetles?

Bark Beetles are a destructive beetle species that burrow into the inner bark of a tree and feed on the wood there. They typically will enter the tree in higher areas through the branches. You can sometimes tell that bark beetles have infested a tree if the branches in the higher canopy start to die, but the lower part of the tree looks healthy. Another sign of an infestation is burrow holes in the tree, or tree frass (which is the dust created as a beetle burrows into the tree.)

Treating bark beetle infestations can be tricky… you may need to destroy the tree if it is densely infested, or perhaps just infested branches can be removed. Another treatment option is to spray areas of the tree that haven’t been infested yet to discourage beetles from further harming the tree.

You can read more about bark beetles at beetle identfication.

Carpet Beetles — The Silent Invader

Carpet beetles are occasionally found inside your home, as they like to lay their eggs inside where it’s warm. Although their name implies that they will infest your carpet, the reality is that they may infest any cloth material, such as furniture or curtains.

Baby carpet beetles will consume fabrics and cloth after hatching, then they will mate and lay new eggs as they grow into adulthood.

You can discourage carpet beetles from infesting your home by vacuuming your floors often, and applying a safe-for-indoors insect spray.

You can read more about carpet beetles at Beetle Identification.

Are there Tobacco Beetles in your Humidor?

Tobacco beetles are not dangerous to humans, but they can be deadly to your cigar collection! These reddish brown beetles love to eat processed tobacco, and they have a real talent in breaking into your humidor or other storage areas to get at their favorite food.

Female tobacco beetles usually lay hundreds of eggs at a time, so tobacco beetles are typically found in large groups.

You can’t really treat a tobacco beetle infestation with chemicals or pesticides, as this type of treatment will ruin your cigars. The best thing to do is to keep your humidor nice and clean (use ammonia… tobacco beetles hate it!), and always discard any cigars that have obviously been infested.

You can read more about tobacco beetles at Beetle Identification.

What’s up with the Asian Longhorned Beetle?

Asian longhorned beetles hail from eastern Asia, and the can grow up to an inch and a half long. They’re very easy to identify visually, because they have a very recognizable pattern on their wings.

Asian longhorned beetles are considered dangerous to trees in the US…. they will lay eggs inside of the tree, and the larvae will dig deeply into the tree to feast on it’s wood. These beetles will infest the entire tree and then move on to kill other trees later.

There isn’t really any way to contain or treat this beetle infestation other than destroying the infested tree. For this reason, Asian longhorned beetles are a real threat to natural wildlife areas, because they have no natural predators or enemies here in the US… they aren’t such a problem in Asia because their population is more controlled by predators in their native land.

You can read more about the Asian longhorned beetle at Beetle Identification.