Behavior

Like its name suggests, the cigarette beetle likes tobacco. Stored tobacco, dry dog food and paprika are its favorite foods, but it also likes beans, biscuits, chickpeas, cigars, cigarettes, cocoa beans, coffee beans, cottonseed, dates, various dried fruit and vegetables – banana, cabbage, raisins – flour, dried flowers, ginger, grain, herbs, peanuts, pepper, rice, yeast, seeds, spices, furniture stuffing, bookbinder’s paste, books, not to mention insecticides containing pyrethrum. The cigarette beetle is an omnivore, too – it also will eat dried fish, fish meal, meat meal, leather, silk and dried insects. Adults fly in late afternoon and on overcast days when lighting is subdued.

Treatment:

Inspect the above-mentioned items for cigarette beetles or other pests, keep your kitchen and other areas clean, store items in Tupperware-type containers or sealed glass jars in a dry place, and rotate products, using your older goods first. If you think your cigarette beetle problem is escalating, call Clark Pest Control. Our highly trained technicians have the expert knowledge to solve your pest problem quickly.

Latin name: Lasioderma serricorne