Tobacco beetles: appearance, damage & control - Plantura

Its name alone reveals what the tobacco beetle likes to eat. We show you how to keep and fight the little beetle away from your tobacco plants.

The Tobacco Beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) is one of the most significant pests in tobacco production and also a dreaded storage pest in foods such as flour, raisins, coffee beans, spices and many other products. But the tobacco beetle (as its name suggests) prefers to attack tobacco products.

Tobacco beetle: origin and profile

The tobacco beetle belongs to the family of the scavenger beetle (Ptinidae). This beetle not only causes problems outdoors, but, as already mentioned, it is also a storage pest and can therefore spoil our appetite. Basically, the tobacco beetle has a pantropical distribution. This means that the beetle originally comes from tropical and subtropical areas, where tobacco is also at home. However, due to global trade, it is already spread all over the world. Fortunately, here in Central Europe, the beetle cannot survive outdoors in winter.

Tobacco beetle: appearance and characteristics

Tobacco beetles are between 2 and 3 mm long, red to brown in color and have a spherical, round head. Small hairs can be seen on the wings on the back, the antennae are serrated. When disturbed or frightened, the beetles will happily tuck in their legs and head and curl up motionless. The beetles are also able to fly and are particularly active at dusk. In contrast to the adult animals, the larvae are white in color and also hairy - they look similar to Engerlingen.

How quickly the tobacco beetle develops and how long it lives depends heavily on the ambient temperature and how much food is available. Therefore, the length of the life cycle varies - on average, the development takes about 40 days up to 90 days. At temperatures of 37 °C, development only takes 26 days, but at 20 °C it takes 120 days before the little beetles can fully develop.

A female can lay up to 100 eggs in the tobacco plants, the larvae then hatch after about a week. These live through at least four larval stages, sometimes even six within ten weeks. The larvae then pupate and rest for up to three weeks. The beetles then hatch from the pupae and development begins again.

The tobacco beetle and its offspring basically feed on tobacco products, but nuts, dried fruit, spices and many other stored foods are also on their menu. Ingredients such as nicotine or bitter substances do not bother this pest and can be used by the tobacco beetle. Adult specimens no longer eat, they only drink more. Adult animals are therefore not the damaging stage.

Recognizing tobacco beetle infestation: The harmful picture

The tobacco beetle not only approaches the tobacco plants, but it can even destroy cigars. On the tobacco plants one can find signs of feeding on the leaves, which originate from the larvae.

To be sure if you are dealing with a tobacco beetle, you can use special pheromone traps. Such traps are provided with female sex attractants and therefore only attract male tobacco beetles. The trap then contains an adhesive surface to which the beetles stick and from which they can no longer free themselves. With the help of such a pheromone trap, an infestation can be detected and reproduction can ultimately be hindered, since the males are attracted to the trap. UV light traps can also be used to attract the tobacco beetle.

In the case of an infestation with the tobacco beetle, not only is the tobacco in the cigars eaten away, but the beetles and their larvae also eat up the packaging. In addition to the round feeding holes and the feeding tunnels, they also leave faeces in the tobacco products and thus contaminate them. Unfortunately, as soon as cigars or other foods are infested by tobacco beetles and contaminated by their droppings, these products can no longer be used, let alone eaten. If the wrapper of cigars has been chewed through, they no longer draw and are therefore useless.

Prevent and control tobacco beetles

If large companies are infested with tobacco beetles, the products are usually gassed with nitrogen and hydrogen or treated with high pressure and carbon dioxide. Since the tobacco beetle needs high temperatures for its development and survival, it is also very important to store tobacco products at low temperatures. So make sure you store it in a dry and cool place and keep your cupboards clean.

But what should you do if your cigars have been nibbled on by tobacco beetles? First, you should check all cigars for the small holes that tobacco beetles nibble on. Any infected cigar must be destroyed immediately. To prevent further infestation with the beetle, it is best to place your cigars in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for about a week. Then take the cigars out of the freezer again and let them thaw again in this bag.

In the household, the use of insecticides in the fight against the tobacco beetle is usually not necessary, because you can get rid of these pests with a few simple methods. If the tobacco beetle has established itself in your pantry, it is particularly important to track down all infested food. So check every jar and package in your kitchen for an infestation. Also, use this quest to do a deep cleaning and remove any food debris you can find. In principle, you can kill all stages of the tobacco beetle by freezing, but you can use the leftover droppings in This does not remove the food from the food - and an insect infestation is certainly not necessarily appetizing.

You can take the following preventive measures against the tobacco beetle:

• Maintain cleanliness in storage rooms and closets
• Ensure cool and dry storage
• Pheromone traps can be used for control

Tobacco beetle control tips:

• Clean infested area
• Inspect food closely and trace the source of the infestation
• Treat food that may have been affected by freezing

Fight tobacco beetles naturally

A natural control method is the use of beneficial insects against the tobacco beetle during cultivation. The tobacco beetle is eaten by ground beetles (Carabidae), black beetles (Tenebrionidae), spotted beetles (Cleridae) or chalcid wasps (Chalcidoidea) eaten or parasitized. However, the use of such parasitoids is of little importance, since ultimately it cannot prevent contamination with tobacco beetles.