Grinders: who can live inside our furniture and walls (8 photos)

The brown elongated body and dark head bear little resemblance to distinctive features. Thousands of insect species look the same!





Why do you think the beetle needs such a powerful head? There is a direct connection between this fact and the mysterious ticking of the chair.

I came home after a hard day at work, all nervous and angry. I had a fight with my wife, who was no less tired. I checked the children’s homework and spent a long time trying to figure things out. And finally, you sat down on your favorite creaky wooden chair, brewed a cup of strong tea and can allow yourself to sit in silence for at least a little while. But it doesn't work! The chair is ticking!

The lyrical hero from the opening paragraph has problems. And now I’m not talking about a stuck life, but about a chair. It has been colonized by furniture grinders! But do not rush to scold a man for inattention. A bug infestation can only be detected if you know where to look.



What neat work with a drill! So spot on!

Firstly, they are tiny - from 2 to 4 millimeters in length. And secondly, absolutely unremarkable. The brown elongated body and dark head bear little resemblance to distinctive features. Thousands of insect species look the same! Even if he saw a bug, he simply mistook it for a bug that accidentally flew into the apartment through an open window.





The problem is aggravated by the fact that furniture grinder beetles have a body shape that is characteristic of all beetles, even completely harmless ones.

It is unrealistic to suspect a malicious saboteur in an adult grinder. He does not eat, lives no more than a month, avoids bright light and generally tries to move only at dusk. His whole life revolves solely around reproduction. Once in the apartment, the beetle quickly laid small eggs in a crack in the chair and calmly passed away into another world. It took him a couple of hours to do everything.



Previously, the ominous ticking found in the house was called the “death clock.” People could not understand what was causing the strange clicking sounds inside the furniture, reducing it to a mystical experience.

After 3 weeks, larvae no more than a millimeter long hatched from the eggs. But with strong sharp mandibles. The larvae immediately gnawed into the furniture and made microscopic, almost imperceptible passages in it. Thanks to advanced microflora, beetle children digest dead processed wood, in which there is not even a hint of anything edible left.



Larva at work.

It took them 3-4 years to reach a length of 7 millimeters. During this time, they gnawed branched passages in the chair, which is why it began to creak. And when the larvae pupated and turned into adult beetles, a sound similar to the quiet ticking of a clock appeared. It is the male grinders who hit their heads against the walls of the tunnels - attracting the attention of the females. The ladies will definitely hear the signal and come running to mate. After which they will lay eggs right inside the secret labyrinth.



Even inside the chair there is life in full swing!

Over 2-3 generations, the chair will turn into a dilapidated structure made of dust, excrement and discarded skins. By the time it falls apart, the bugs have already colonized all the wood in the house. And if the house itself is wooden, then you will have to fight for its safety with all tenacity. In a few years, the bug will turn into dust everything its mandibles can reach!



I found this photo on an English forum where a person was asking what these dots were. Good luck to him in his fight against insects!

Could this situation have been prevented? Yes, and without unnecessary difficulties. You just need to keep the humidity level low at home and periodically inspect the furniture for small holes. Grinders live only in humid climates, because they get water exclusively from wood.



Such small bugs, but so many problems!

And such a story can happen in almost any corner of the planet! Each of us can lose our favorite chair, because grinders are synanthropic beetles that have spread throughout the planet along with humans!