Dear all,

We recently found some black beetles in our apartment . I'd never seen this type of beetle before and so we called an exterminator to come and check the place out. The lab result was that they are bread beetles. Our rental company wants us to pay for the exterminator to come back and spray to get rid of them, but I was told that "Baygon" will work for this.

Baygon is obviously a lot cheaper for us than getting the exterminator back (150CHF for the inspection and the same to spray...), but I don't really like using insecticides unnecessarily and so I don't want to try it if it won't work...

So. Has anyone had bread beetles and successfully gotten rid of them using Baygon? Or another commercially available insecticide?

Thank you!

Is this them?


The first rule of control is 'identification'
Without posting exactly what the beetle is, nobody can help you.

Next step of control is "knowing the lifecylce", and where you plant to target the control measure.


BAYGON
Is only a trade name for a group of chemicals...... each with different active ingredients.
These are usually synthetic pyrethroids, whereas a qualified exterminator is most likely going to have far superior chemistry, and know how and where to best place it to cause them miminum impact on yourself and your family.



To me, it sounds like these 'bread beetles' have moved from "cereal based products" (rice, grains, museli, pasta, etc.) that you have stored.

I would first pull these out and see if you can find traces of the beetles there.

Any trace........ throw it ALL away.


Look behind the fridge and dishwashing machine if possible. Focus on the kitchen where the foodstuffs are stored.


If you want to just use a 'surface spray' while you are at it...... insects like cockroaches tend to track around the edges, so laying down a quick spray along the corners may help a bit...... but not likely.


Again,
we need to know exactly what it is.
Then what stage in the life cycle to target.
Next, is if you even HAVE access to the chemistry you require.

Take all your flour, bread and biscuits and put them in Tupperware and either eat them or throw them away - outside the apartment! Sometimes you can see the larvae, tiny white caterpillars crawling in biscuits and flour products. Put them outside your home!

Next get a steam cleaner, and steam clean all the insides of your food cupboards, and make sure you steam clean all the holes at both sides, where the pegs holding the shelves fit. They live in these holes, and you will find "nest" material here. (Actually old cocoon material)

From Landi you can buy "insect attractive" sticky cardboard, (Lebensmittel Mottenfalle http://issuu.com/landi/docs/haushalt...owFlipBtn=true ) which you put inside the cupboards, any male adult beetles or moths will fly to the cardboard and get stuck, preventing them from mating in your packet of flour.

I have noticed that many infestations start with bringing Asian packet foods into the kitchen. Put these into Tupperware to limit any infestation.

There are so sticky traps, which one adheres to a 'tablet' (eg toxic absulut in Migros, Coop or Landi). Which attracts the male moths and die all the time from moths because the females produce no offspring alone anymore. So it will take longer to be determined moth-free, but then you need not use such extreme measures.