Pest Control

Learn About Beetles and Get Rid of Them in your Home

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How to prevent and get rid of a ground beetle infestation in your home.

What Is a Ground Beetle?

Ground beetles are a large family of beetles that has almost 40,000 species over the world… and 2,000 of those live in North America! These beetles can look different when it comes to color, shape, and size, but most are black and have ridged wing covers. They have three body segments: A small head with large eyes on either side and antennae, a mid-body part, and the abdomen with ridged wing covers. Here is what some of these beetles look like:

Ground beetle diagram.

Some beetles have fused wing covers, which means they cannot fly. What they lack in flying skills, they make up for in running. For their proportions, some ground beetles are the fastest animals on Earth. Some species of ground beetles can also secrete noxious or caustic gasses when they feel threatened!

Ground beetles are attracted to dark, humid areas in your garden and home. You can find them living and nesting under the bark of a tree, in piles of leaves and mulch, and by water sources.

Is a Ground Beetle a Pest?

Why ground beetles are considered pests.

Ground beetles do not cause harm to humans, and usually stay away from indoor areas. Although they can bite or pinch when on the defensive, they generally don’t do so and don’t cause structural damage to a home. The only downside to a ground beetle in your home is the noxious gas some can produce if feeling threatened. If left in your garden, they will prey on smaller pests like slugs, worms, and other beetles. Since ground beetles don’t climb, they can stay within your garden and eat these other pests without harm to your plants. Ground beetles become a pest when they move indoors in large numbers, especially if they are a type that produces a foul odor or acid.

Why do I Have Ground Beetles?

​​​​​​​How to prevent or get rid of ground beetles.

Ground beetles are attracted to the light inside of a home, and can come into a house through cracks in windows and doors. You may have ground beetles coming into your home from surrounding garden mulch. One good thing to note is most species do not reproduce indoors, so if you do have ground beetles in your home, it is easy to get rid of the population as they will not nest indoors. Ground beetles also come inside when food in your yard has become scarce and they’re searching for their next meal.

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How Can I Get Rid of Ground Beetles?

When it comes to getting rid of ground beetles, you can’t do much for those already inside of your home besides removing them. However, you can prevent more from coming into your home in the future. Ground beetles tend to move into homes that have open areas for them to squeeze into. You can prevent ground beetles from coming into your home by sealing up cracks in your doors and windows. It’s also a good idea to move mulch, rocks, logs, and other moist environments that are ripe for ground beetle habitats away from your home. Cut your grass and any large weeds surrounding your home. Ground beetles are attracted to white lights, so you can change your white outdoor lighting to yellow lighting to get rid of these pests.

If you have a home warranty that covers pest control, you can open a service request and have a specialist come out to visit your home and get rid of your ground beetle infestation, and provide a preventative spray that will deter the beetles from coming into your home.

Home Warranties and Ground Beetle Infestations

If you have a home warranty plan with Landmark that covers pest control, your ground beetle infestation can be taken care of with a quick call. All you will have to pay is $60-$100, the price of your plan’s service call fee, to have a pest control specialist come to your home and perform preventative and direct pest control for ground beetles. When you look at normal pest control, this is a service that costs homeowners routinely around $300 a spray, so you’ll be saving at least $200 when you use your home warranty plan for pest control and maintenance.

For more information on Landmark’s home warranty plans that cover pest control go here, and to learn more about other pests Landmark covers, go to www.landmarkhw.com/resources/pest-control.

Pest Control Articles

Learn more about common household pests that could be living in your house! Then help control them with pest control services provided through Landmark Home Warranty.

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