Deathwatch Beetle Control: How to Get Rid of Deathwatch Beetles

This page is a general DIY guide to getting rid of deathwatch beetles from your property using the products and methods suggested by our professional pest control specialist. Follow this guide and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control of deathwatch beetles.

Homeowners might have heard a light tapping or ticking sound coming from within the walls or rafters of their homes during quiet summer nights. One of the pests most associated with this night activity is the deathwatch beetle, also called the anobiid beetle. These destructive pests were associated with the name of individuals watching the dead and dying, often referring to the deathwatch beetle mating call as an omen to approaching death.

While this is a myth, the sound alarms homeowners with old wooden beams in their homes or structures. The larvae stage of this wood-boring beetle does most of the damage to the wood with its vigorous feeding activities, causing structures to become weakened.

Unfortunately, larvae are not normally seen, and their activities go unnoticed because they can take from 4 to 12 years to complete their growth and then move toward the surface of the wood in their pupae stage. The adult deathwatch beetle then tunnels out in spring or early summer, leaving behind a round exit hole. For this reason, you will need to quickly implement the following recommended products and tips at the first sign of the deathwatch beetle activity.

Identification

Before proceeding with treatment, you must be sure the wood-infesting pest is a deathwatch beetle. Careless identification can lead you to use the wrong or ineffective insecticides, wasting your time and finances. Here are some identifying features of deathwatch beetles to know what they look like:

• Deathwatch beetles are medium-sized wood-boring beetles ranging from 1 to 9 mm long.
• In adult form, they have a cylindrical body with dark brown or red coloration and yellow scales on the wings. The head is not easily visible from above as it is hidden below the thorax.
• Eggs are white, slightly pointed, and may be laid in clusters within dark wooden crevices and tunnels left behind by previous larvae.
• Larvae are not normally seen as they spend their entire lives in the tunnels within wood. They are creamy white and curved in a C-shape with six legs.

Use the image and description above to help you properly identify deathwatch beetles on your property and structures. If unsure, contact us with either a photo or sample of the pest in a sealable plastic container by phone, email, or in person at one of our store locations. This way, we can properly identify your pest and recommend a professional treatment control plan for the pest you are encountering.

Inspection

Once you have confirmed deathwatch beetles on your property or home, you can proceed with inspection. During this phase, you determine the areas where deathwatch beetles are most active to learn where to apply the insecticide and remove the conditions allowing the pest to thrive.

Where to Look

Deathwatch beetles prefer to feed on soft, decaying, or moist wood, including girders, beams, foundation timbers, wooden furniture, and hardwood floors, normally seen in old buildings or homes. Outdoors can be seen in dead wood, old trees, and older wooden structures on your property.

What to Look For

Like termites, deathwatch beetle larvae consume the wood they inhabit until they mature into winged adults. Unlike termites, their damages are evident on the surface of the infested wood, but only after deathwatch beetles are no longer active.

Once the deathwatch beetle matures, it carves out small 2 to 3-mm holes that are about 0.1 inch in diameter on the surface of the damaged wood to take flight and search for a mate. However, every year, the deathwatch beetle returns to the same structure or wooden objects previously infested to lay its eggs.

If there are numerous holes, this may indicate a larger infestation.

Treatment

When beginning any form of pest control, you will need to wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling and applying pesticides.

Control of deathwatch beetles involves applying a non-repellent insecticide as an injection treatment and treating the surfaces of exposed wood with a residual insecticide. If infestations are extensive, you may need to replace severely damaged wood and eliminate the conditions causing it to become soft and moist.

However, it can take several years for deathwatch beetles and their larvae to be fully controlled, as they can live in wood for up to 13 years. These pests do not always emerge to contact the insecticide being used, so applications are best made in May against deathwatch beetle eggs and larvae.

Step 1: Insecticide Injection

Fuse Foam is ready-to-use termiticide and insecticide foam that uses two non-repellent active ingredients, fipronil 0.005% and 0.025% imidacloprid, for direct injection into labeled structures to treat wood-destroying insects like deathwatch beetles. When sprayed, this aerosol product expands to a ratio of 30:1 to treat deathwatch beetles in hard-to-reach areas, and as a non-repellent, it goes undetected by pests without pushing them further into the wood.

While Fuse Foam is efficient on its own, you may need to drill holes to access deathwatch beetle harborages. Be sure to wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, before handling or applying Fuse Foam.

Shake the Fuse Foam can, insert the actuator straw or hose, and spray the tip into the crevices, cracks, wall voids, or holes. Slowly press the trigger for about 5 seconds to allow the foam enough time to expand and dispense. After applying this product, hold the injector tip in place for approximately 8 seconds after releasing the trigger.

Wait until 30 days have passed after the last application before treating previously infested areas.

Do not apply this product in the open, on exposed surfaces, or in areas accessible to children. Do not apply this product, by any application method, to certain types of wood, including linden, basswood, or other Tilia species.

Step 2: Apply Residual Insecticide

Once all infested holes and voids have been treated, you will apply a residual insecticide to eliminate emerging deathwatch beetles. Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide is a 98% disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (inorganic borate salt) based insecticide, termiticide, and fungicide product that penetrates bare wood. Once applied, this product remains in the wood, eliminating the need for continuous reapplications and providing preventative and residual control of deathwatch beetles.

For a remedial treatment of deathwatch beetles, make 2 applications of Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide at a 10% liquid solution. To do this, use 5 gallons of liquid solution per 1,000 sq. ft. of wood surface area. 

Mix the product in a bucket with a paddle mixer to use Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide. Pour the required hot water into the bucket, then add the measured amount of Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide. Once everything has been added to the bucket, connect the paddle mixer with the power drill and stir until it has the consistency of water. Next, pour the finished solution into your handheld sprayer tank.

Spray on a low-pressure setting until the raw or bare wood is wet but not to the point of run-off. Wait until 48 hours have passed before applying paint, staining, or ceiling with a water-resistant product.

Apply the Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide only to bare wood or plywood where an intact water-repellent barrier, such as paint, stain, or sealer, is not present. Remove any previous finishes or water repellents before applying the Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide. Surfaces must be free of dirt and other contaminants.

Prevention

Once deathwatch beetles have been removed from your yard or structure, you must keep up with regular preventative practices since their larvae can take up to 13 years before they emerge from wooden surfaces. Listed below are some preventative practices you can follow to reduce deathwatch beetle presence within your yard or home:

• Keep moisture levels down in your structure since deathwatch beetle on wood with certain amounts of moisture. You can reduce these moisture levels by circulating your home with a fan or central AC system or installing a dehumidifier.
• Inspect the wood around and inside your home and replace it as needed to avoid deathwatch beetle larvae. In addition, firewood stored outside your home will need to have the bark removed before being brought inside to reduce the spread of these pests. Completely remove any fallen wooden debris and discarded construction wood from your property.
• Seal all wooden surfaces, cracks, and crevices around your home or inside the wood with caulk. Larger voids will need to be filled with copper mesh to prevent deathwatch beetles and other pests from entering the interior framework of your home.
• Since most damages occur beneath the surface of your home, it would be beneficial to replace previously infested wood with new lumber and treat these bare or raw wooden surfaces with Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide. Use the 10% liquid solution for a preventative treatment of deathwatch beetles. Apply 5 gallons of Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide liquid solution per 1,000 sq. ft. 

Key Takeaways

What are Deathwatch Beetles?

• Deathwatch beetles are a type of wood-boring beetle that infests soft or moist-ridden wooden parts of structures, floors, and trees. Their ability to burrow within these surfaces and not emerge until 13 years old makes them a difficult pest to control.

How to Get Rid of Deathwatch Beetles

• To get rid of deathwatch beetles, you will want to use a non-repellent foaming insecticide such as Fuse Foam to any present cracks, crevices, wall voids, or holes to eliminate present pests. Next, you will apply a residual insecticide like Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide to control and repel emerging deathwatch beetles.

Preventing Deathwatch Beetle Reinfestation

• Prevent deathwatch beetles from revisiting your property by continually replacing decaying or soft wooden structures within your home, removing soft and moist trees, controlling the moisture levels within the house, and making a preventative treatment with Tim-Bor Professional Insecticide on bare wooden surfaces.