Small, Brown, Hardshell Bugs!

Have you ever found small, brown, slow-moving bugs crawling around your house that appear to have a hard-shell? If you look closely the hard cover appears to be split down the back.

These are beetles, probably one of several "stored product" beetles that infest dry foods and natural fabrics. If the beetles appear black, or mottled with red/gray/black, instead of brown they are probably one of the dermestid (Dermestidae) carpet beetles but the brown ones are likely one of the anobiid (Anobiidae) beetles, for example the cigarette or drugstore beetles.

If the brown/black beetle has a tan stripe across the back it is probably the larder beetle, another one of the dermestid beetles.

These beetles belong to a very large and diverse group of specialist scavengers that feed on dead plant and animal products. They evolved as nature's master "recyclers" that help breakdown and decompose dead plant and animal tissue. If you think about it from the beetle's point of view a piece of wool cloth or animal carrion or a dog biscuit or a cache of seeds is just another dead animal or plant, and something good to eat.

The larvae of these beetles do most of the "recycling" work whereas the adults are simply there to ensure the next generation. Depending on species, larvae can survive on a wide range or natural plant and animal matter, from cereal stored in cupboard to the wool rug in the den. In more natural situations they would feast on dead plant material or animal carcasses.

When you find the beetles indoors it usually means there's an infestation somewhere in the house. The beetles are harmless but obviously if the infestation is large damage can be done to your stored food or natural fabrics.

See the pages cited above for ways to detect and manage infestations of stored product beetles. Once the infestation is found and cleaned up you can treat the surrounding area with one of the new botanical insecticides like EcoPCO AR-X to eliminate any stragglers that may have been missed.