Addison's 3-in-1 Powderpost Beetle Extermination

You want…

• to quickly eliminate the powderpost beetle infestation in your home and stop the damage to your wood flooring and wooden furniture...

• an affordable, professional, honest and warrantied powderpost beetle exterminator...

• An environmentally conscious treatment that is safe for the whole family, including your pets.

Here’s what to expect:

• Answers to all of your questions

• A no-obligation quote over the phone in seconds

• Flexible scheduling with 24/7 same-day service throughout the GTA.

• No hidden service fees or follow up costs.

Addison has...

• Decades of experience

• A trusted track record

• All-inclusive warranty

• Comprehensive customer service

• Rigorously trained technicians

• Tried and tested extermination methods

• The safest, most effective insecticides

Step 1: Powderpost Beetle Heat Treatment

Category:

• Physical

Equipment:

• Handheld heat treatment gun.

Method:

• Direct heat applied locally to areas of powderpost beetle concentration.

• Harbourage sites are located and exterminated

• Applied to all infested material to eliminate eggs and live bugs immediately

Strengths:

• Heat kills powderpost beetle eggs, larvae and adults.

• No damage to furniture, flooring, baseboard or trim.

• Instantly kills all bugs and eggs treated.

• Mediates the risk of pesticide resistance.

Weakness

• No residual protection.

• Only kills the bugs and eggs that are visible and accessible to technicians.

• Not sufficient without other complementary extermination techniques.

Step 2: Powderpost Beetle Powder Treatment

Category:

• Physical + Chemical

Equipment:

• Power duster

Method:

• A fine silica dust insecticide is injected into all crevices and wall cavities through electrical sockets and gaps underneath baseboards.

• Injected into any wall void or drain where powderpost beetles are particularly active.

Strengths:

• Cuts up the powderpost beetle abdomen.

• Coats the insides of the wall cavities to create a protective powder barrier around your home.

• No powderpost beetle can spread to or from attached houses, adjacent apartments or condo units.

• Essential lasting protection.

• Fully approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, safe and non-toxic for humans and animals of all shapes and sizes.

Weakness

• Only suitable for crack and crevice treatment.

Step 3: Powderpost Beetle Spray Treatment

Category:

• Chemical + Residual

Equipment:

• Precision surface sprayer

Method:

• A mist of borate spray is applied to areas of powderpost beetle concentration.

• Borate formulation penetrates deep beneath wood surfaces killing larvae and adults boring into wood structure

Strengths:

• Kills powderpost beetles on contact and remains active as a within the wood to continue to kill powderpost beetles as they hatch.

• Keeps your home and furniture protected for up to 6 months.

• Fully approved by Ontario Ministry of Environment, safe and non-toxic for humans and animals of all shapes and sizes.

Weakness

•  If used improperly, may promote pesticide resistance

Beware of Discount Pest Control

These companies use low quality or low concentration surface sprays with only 10 to 14 days of protection.

• The tip off is when companies offer to do a “follow-up spray” two weeks after the first treatment. While this may seem extra thorough, powderpost beetles can remain beneath the surface off wood for up to 5 years

• You may not be aware of the extent of the damage since the powderpost beetles are only discovered once they emerge as adults

• An effective powderpost beetle treatment must employ a deep penetrating borate spray to eliminate the larvae beneath the surface of the wood.

• Powderpost beetles can remain in a larval state for up to 5 years and may not emerge to be exposed to a surface spray until they have done irreparable damage to furniture and flooring.

• These budget services can breed pesticide resistance in the powderpost beetles in your home, making future treatments increasingly challenging.

• Using high quality, long residual, deep penetrating borate insecticides, varied extermination methods, and thorough single applications is the key to our success at Addison

Beware of Misclassification

• Because of anatomical similarities powderpost beetles are easily mistaken for various grain beetles and weevils such as

  • cigarette beetles

  • merchant grain beetles

  • sawtoothed beetles

  • drugstore beetles

• Whereas powderpost beetles are active in wood furniture and flooring, grain beetles are sighted in pantries, food storage and kitchen areas

• It is important to differentiate powderpost beetles from other wood boring insects such as carpenter ants or termiites

• Consult a pest control professional for proper identification

Powderpost beetles refers to over 70 species of woodboring beetles. The 2 most common species of powderpost beetles in the Toronto area are lyctids and anobiids.

If you suspect you have a powderpost beetle infestation, clear and complete information is the first step to getting rid of them. Here are a few facts, myths, and tips that will help you to make a well informed decision about what to do next.

How to Identify Powderpost Beetles

The most common of powderpost beetle species in the Toronto area are lyctids and anobiids.

What do powderpost beetles look like?

Adults

• Length: 2mm-7mm

• Shape: narrow elongated body

• Colour: reddish brown to black

• Texture: dimpled elytra with fine yellow setae

• Features: head is oriented downward with a hooded protrusion just behind head

• Antennae: Long beaded, 11 segments

• Wings: Winged and capable of flight

• BEWARE of misclassification as

  • drugstore beetle

  • cigarette beetle

  • other weevils or grain beetles

Larvae

• Length: 5-8mm

• Shape: c-shaped

• Colour: yellowish-white, translucent

• Texture: grub-like and shiny

• Mouthparts: chewing mouthparts to bore though wood, mouthparts strengthen as the larvae age through successive moults

• Wings: none

• Development: can remain in destructive larval stage for up to 5 years

Foraging Behaviour

• Anobiids can digest the cellulose in the plant cell wall of hard and soft woods.

  • Anobiids leave behind a gritty frass.

  • Commonly infest joists, strapping, structural timbre, furniture, flooring, molding, window and door frames

  • Require higher moisture content in wood, up to 30%

• Lyctids cannot digest cellulose and feed on the starch, protein and sugar

  • only infest hardwoods such as oak, ash, walnut, hickory, poplar, cherry.

  • Lyctids leave behind a powdery frass the texture of flour or talc.

  • Commonly infest furniture, flooring, molding, window and door frames

  • Require lower moisture content in wood, as low as 10%

• Larvae are averse to light, will tunnel deep beneath the surface of woods boring extensive tunnel galleries

• Larvae are not be visible on the surface of woods.

• Feed most at 24ºC

• Feeding ceases below 10ºC and above 32ºC

• Require a relatively high humidity of at least 13% in wood

• Much less likely to penetrate varnished, waxed, painted or lacquered wood surfaces.

• Adults are capable of flight, active at night, attracted to light

Life Cycle and Reproduction

• Egg to Adult 9-12 month in most circumstances or as little as 6-7 months when temperature, food availability and humidity are optimal

• Eggs are shiny and pale yellow oval about 1mm

• Deposit up to 120 eggs per batch

• 20-60 eggs per batch are viable

• Female produces only one brood in her lifetime

• Adults females only live for 6 weeks and males for 2-3 weeks

• Females lay eggs in small gaps and crevices in unfinished wood surfaces

• Eggs laid in spring hatch in 6-8 days, longer at temperatures of 15ºC or less

• Larvae will establish a pupal cell close to the wood surface

• pupate for 12-30 days

• Adults emerge from the surface of the wood leaving 2-3mm exit holes known as “shot holes”

• Adults are short-lived

  • females live for 6 weeks

  • males live for 2-3 weeks

How do I know if I have an powderpost beetle infestation?

• Powderpost beetles are a woodboring beetle common throughout North America

• Larvae can remain active beneath the surface of wood furniture and flooring for years before any sign of the infestation is evident on the surface

• Adults bore a 2-3mm exit hole as they emerge from pupation, these are known as “shot holes”

• Larvae deposit frass around woods that they are consuming. Some species leave a powdery frass the texture of flour while others leave frass with gritty texture.

• If exit holes and frass are fresh and unworn it is likely there is an ongoing powderpost beetle infestation in your home

Where do I look for a powderpost beetle infestation?

• Require relatively high levels of starch and moisture in wood

• As woods age the starch content decreases making infestation by some species of powderpost beetles less likely

• Some common places for powderpost beetles to infest include

  • Damp crawl spaces

  • Garages, sheds

  • Wood flooring and subfloors

  • Wood Molding, baseboards, trim and door jambs

  • Woods around water heaters and furnaces

  • Any woods in areas with excess condensation or leaks

• Adult powderpost beetles emerge only at night time to mate and lay their eggs

• Adults are capable of flight and drawn to lights, may be found dead on windowsills and ledges

How did powderpost beetles get into my home?

• Powderpost beetles are almost always brought into the home on woods that have been infested in lumberyards or storage facilities

• Lumber, furniture and flooring should be closely inspected before entering the home

• Any wood at risk of powderpost beetle infestation should be kiln dried and insecticide treated before being brought into the home

What do powderpost beetles eat?

• feed on the starch, protein and sugar in hard and softwoods

• some species of powderpost beetles are capable of digesting the cellulose in the plant cell wall of wood

• powderpost beetles require a relatively high level of humidity in wood 13% to 30%

• As wood ages, the starch content reduces

• Powderpost beetle females will test the feeding viability of wood surfaces before depositing eggs

• Wood surfaces that are painted, waxed, varnished or lacquered are less vulnerable to infestation

How serious is an powderpost beetle infestation?

• Very destructive woodboring insect

• since the destructive larval stage can last up to 5 years, they can do irreparable damage to wood furniture or beams before any evidence is visible

• Anobiids can digest softwoods such as pine and plywood making structural elements of the home vulnerable to attack

• Powderpost beetles are a rather slow moving species

• Many options exist to discourage and slow down reinfestation

• Usually remain within a restricted area of the home

Can I Eliminate a powderpost beetle infestation on my own?

• Powderpost beetle infestations can be mediated on your own

• Females will not deposit eggs on wood surfaces that are well varnished, lacquered, painted or waxed

• Plugging exit holes and revarnishing wood surfaces can reduce the risk of new generations of powderpost beetles reinfesting wood items

• Freezing smaller wood items at -18ºC for at least up to 7 days hours will kill all larvae, adults and eggs

• Heating items at 60ºC for at least 24 hours will kill all larvae, adults and eggs

• Reducing moisture to below 10% in wooden items will slow larval feeding eventually kill all powderpost beetles

• Reduce moisture by installing a moisture barrier or a dehumidifier in damp basements and crawl spaces

• Sometimes removing the infested flooring or furniture is enough to get rid of a powderpost beetle infestation

How do I prevent an powderpost beetle infestation?

• Inspection of all lumber and furniture before entering home

• Ensure that documentation of kiln firing and insecticide treatment of at risk wooden ites is provided before bringing into home

• Regularly testing wood moisture levels in damp areas and taking appropriate steps to reduce ambient humidity can mediate risk of powderpost beetle infestation
  

How can Addison help eliminate an powderpost beetle infestation?

• Our goal: remove an infestation as quickly as possible and keep your home pest free for good

• Combine three pest-control techniques applied on a single appointment on a single day

• Guarantee the effectiveness of the treatment to eradicate the infestation completely

• No pest control method is perfect

• A comprehensive three-part treatment, including a deep penetrating borate spray

• Each method compensates for the shortcomings of the others

• Yields quick and dependable results to eliminate powderpost beetles

• Every treatment accompanied by preventative and monitoring measures

• Ongoing protection against future infestations

• Prevention includes:

  • thorough inspection

  • Entry point sealing

  • Identifying and eliminating infested material sources

  • Sticky traps and other monitoring techniques.

Do powderpost beetle bite humans?

• No, powderpost beetles feed exclusively on hard and soft woods

We’re proud of our 4.9/5 rating on Google! Here’s what one of our happy customers says about Addison Pest Control

Dusty was fantastic! She was very professional and thorough. I would definitely use Addison again (though I don’t think I’ll need to as they are very effective) and would also highly recommended. Thanks again, Dusty!
Steven B.
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