Click beetles lay their eggs in the soil, and once hatched, the larvae will eat the roots of nearby plants. Over time this can damage or even kill your plants. Thankfully, these unique insects are, for the most part, just a pest and nothing to be overly concerned about.
On hot nights they may enter houses, but are not pests there. Click beetle larvae, called wireworms, are usually saprophagous, living on dead organisms, but some species are serious agricultural pests, and others are active predators of other insect larvae.
Click beetles are occasional invaders that generally come inside homes by accident or to escape from cold weather. Using vacuums to remove them and sealing up the cracks, gaps, and holes they use to enter homes are the best ways to reduce click beetle problems.
Like other beetles, click beetles start out as eggs, hatch into wormlike larvae, pupate, then become adult beetles.
Generally, click beetles do not harm people and pose no health risks. On very rare occasions they may bite if you're holding one and handling it roughly. But they don't drink blood, so they don't set out to bite.
Even though both Junebugs and click beetles have harder exoskeletons than German roaches. Junebugs are also a more golden-brown color than German cockroaches, with more rounded bodies. On the other hand, click beetles have narrower, more segmented bodies than German roaches, and are darker in color.
While eyed click beetles certainly attract attention and can be a little unnerving to many people — don't squish them.
Vinegar is an effective beetle deterrent that helps keep beetles away. Pesticide applications: Using a residual pesticide spray to treat the infested areas is another effective way to ensure that beetle populations are kept under control.
Key Takeaways. Beetles are a common household pest that can be found throughout the US. They eat plants, small insects, and fibers from textiles and wood. Beetles cause an estimated $460 million in annual crop damage and can destroy clothing, your garden, or certain building materials.
It takes about 3 to 4 years for the wireworm or click beetle to complete its life cycle.
Light: Beetles are attracted to light, especially white light. This is why you often see them flying around at night.
Click beetle larva feed on plants and vegetables like potatoes or corn, so gardens will attract them. Click beetles are not indoor pests however they are attracted to lights near doors and may come inside by mistake. If found inside, a vacuum makes a great tool to remove them.
Click beetles, when touched, fall dramatically on their backs and play dead. In order to right themselves after imminent threats pass, click beetles hook special spines into notches on their abdomens. Releasing the spines produces a clicking sound, propelling the beetles into the air, sometimes several inches.
Beetles are in your house because they are attracted to areas providing food, shelter, and warmth. That means that if you have food particles on the floor or countertops, beetles will be drawn to them.
The Natural Scents That Bugs Can't Stand. Peppermint and eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass, and tea tree oil and neem are natural scents that bugs cannot stand. Peppermint and eucalyptus have strong aromatic properties that repel bugs due to their high levels of menthol and cineole.
Create a fly and wasp repellent.
Upstairs Downstairs Cleaning says that you can use full-strength Pine-Sol as an insecticide or a 4:1 Pine-Sol to water solution spray for staving off wasps and other stinging insects—just steer clear of honeybees!
Garlic. Use it for food — and pest control! Garlic's pungent scent deters insects such as mosquitoes, aphids, beetles, mites, and more.
Sealing or caulking all cracks and crevices around your foundation and around windows, doors and other entryways will discourage click beetles from entering your home.
Crickets: The chirping sounds they make
Crickets are the true minstrels of the night, producing sound through a process called stridulation.
Native to desert habitats in Southern California, the diabolical ironclad beetle has an exoskeleton that's one of the toughest, most crush-resistant structures known to exist in the animal kingdom.
What Eats Click Beetles? Rodents such as moles and shrews can prey on click beetles. Insectivorous birds can also pick them up and feed on them. Other insects, spiders, and mantises also prey on this beetle.
The simple answer is yes. Cockroaches are highly adaptable creatures that can travel in a variety of ways, including hitching rides on people, clothes, luggage, and more.
The antenna of a beetle ranges toward the shorter size and doesn't move much. A cockroach has long antennae, often the same length as their body, that are constantly moving and twitching to look for food and water.