Dermestid beetle infestation!

[bugmankeith]

Outside our house we are finding dermestid and larder beetles, wild ones. We have a few bits of cat kibble drop under our back steps outside, so they might be eating that, but somehow the beetles are getting into my house. Well, my roach tank had some tiny moths infest it, and now I look on the bottom of the cage, and the substrate smells horrible and is moving. Hundreds of hairy beetle larvae and black beetles are running all around my tank! All my wood decor has been bored into like someone took tiny chainsaws to them! I have no idea how a beetle got into my covered tank, but I now have hundreds of beetles and larvae. Now im going to have to get rid of everything (except the roaches) and buy all new decor and wood chips which around here is over $50. The beetle larvae are so fat, they love cat kibble,white bread,apples, and lettuce apparently and I mist each day so they get water too.

If I was in the museum buisiness i'd be in luck.

 

[Nanotrev]

I take no prisoners when I find those guys. It's the main reason I stopped ordering from Fluker Farms, because every time I'd get a shipment those would be in it. Eventually I began putting the crickets in the fridge for a bit and then dumping them into a shallow fish tank so I could weed out and kill the beetle larvae. Honestly, I'd be spraying the area outside where you think they are though some people would gawk at this notion. (No offense to those who would.)

I spray in my house for bugs as well, thus killing cricket escapees and other unwanted pests. The best advice I have is to find out what they're eating outside and remove it. Often, an animal can die next to the house, undetected. This will create a favorable feeding and breeding ground for the beetles and eventually they'll move in if there's enough to go around. If you're certain it's the kibble take measures to stop it from continuing to fall into their grasp. I sometimes overreact about pests, but I rule my inverts with an iron fist and nothing will stop them from enjoying pest-free living while they're living with me... not to mention I just really hate those beetles.

I wish there were a predator that ate them... heeey... would isopods eat their larvae? I've heard they can attack scorplings so why not yummy beetle larvae?

 

[bugmankeith]

I'm going to let them go in a more natural area, we get alot of hit animals so these beetles are useful for cleaning that up. Do they fly?

 

[Travis K]

Can you post pics of yours?

I currently have Dermestes lardarius in with my dubia and hisser cultures and they make the tanks rather pleasant by cleaning up dead roaches. They honestly make my maintenance really low. There are also not a whole lot of them. I typically only see roaches on the food and the beetles/larva in the fras at low population levels.

http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Dermestes+lardarius&search=Search
Are yours like these^?

Cheers,

 

[bugmankeith]

The larvae like that but the adults are pure black, no brown on them.

 

[Nanotrev]

The larvae like that but the adults are pure black, no brown on them.

Your ID is definitely spot on, and yes they can fly pretty well. It seems they're influenced almost like lady bugs are. They climb to a high point and fly off.