Question
Hi! I was wondering if you could help me. I have been finding very tiny brown beetles in my home, most noticeably on the upper hallway area. They seem to be attracted to light. They are sooo tiny they look smaller than a grain of rice when still but look bigger when they open their wings. I don't know if they are a biscuit beetle, a grain beetle or a wood worm beetle. I had a pest control say they looked like a grain beetle but they said they were harmless and didn't do any treatment. They didn't even offer an explanation for why they were on the upper landing and no where in my kitchen cupboards. I'm concerned they will migrate there and infest my food stuffs. Does it seem likely they are coming from the loft area? I did have a rat infestation last year and bait was placed down and the pest control company(same one who came about the beetles) was certain all the rats had gone but some of the bait is still up there. Do you think the beetles are feeding on the uneaten bait? Will they feed on anything? I'm really concerned because I've read stuff about biscuit beetles even eating fabric and books! I'm going crazy because my family don't seem to notice them but me. How harmful would it be to to release a fumigation in the loft area? As one other pest company said they would be willing to do this but at a costly price and they will not come for a couple of weeks. What can I do in the meantime? Are there any natural remedies for deterring the beetles from my main house? How affective are Bay Leaves? Thank-you so much for reading this, I really appreciate it!

Answer
Iisa,

If you post a picture I'd have a better idea of your beetle. It is likely one of the "stored product" beetles such as the drugstore beetle, cigarette beetle, carpet beetle or larder beetle. All can be pests in homes, all feed on stored foods and certain fabrics (see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/cigarette_drugstore_beetle.html and http://www.livingwithbugs.com/carpet_beetle.html for pictures). They could be coming from the area where the rats nested since these nests often contain nuts and other dry foods. I don't recommend fumigation as this is expensive and may not work very well in this case. A better option is to inspect the area and remove any nest material and foodstuff then if necessary treat with a dust insecticide (see http://www.livingwithbugs.com/use_dust.html for ideas but I'm not sure what is available in the UK).

BTW, bay leaves are not effective.

Jack DeAngelis