Subject: Beetle or Roach?!
Geographic location of the bug: Stratford, NJ (south NJ)
Date: 07/21/2019
Time: 11:14 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello!
My wife and I just moved into a house and immediately saw a single, dying roach. We saw other, similar looking bugs but our exterminator has told us (through email) that they are ground beetles. I don’t entirely trust him, as his company supposedly will come back “for free if needed.” What do you think? I sent three different bugs on different occasions that I’ve seen. Thanks in advanced!
How you want your letter signed: Tom W
Dear Tom,
This is a Click Beetle in the family Elateridae, but we do not know the species, and it poses no threat to your home or its residents. Many Click Beetles accidentally enter the home when they are attracted to lights.
Thanks Daniel! Really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me. Have a great day!
Best,
Tom Wexler
Tom W,
Having relocated to Midwest from your area, I’m finding these in new location as well. I researched as you did. My first stop after pest control was to 4-H and agriculture extensions, I was sent to Iowa State University Ag Extension.That’s where I found information on Click Beetles.
Mine look similar to yours so I will explain what I found from Wikipedia:
“Some click beetles are large and colorful, but most are under two centimeters long and brown or black, without markings. The adults are typically nocturnal and phytophagous, but only some are of economic importance. On hot nights they may enter houses, but are not pests there. Click beetle larvae, called wireworms, are usually saprophagous, living on dead organisms, but some species are serious agricultural pests, and others are active predators of other insect larvae.”
There’s no known predators or pest control management I could find as you I first thought of cockroaches, ugh! I thought I left all those potential East Coast insects when I moved Midwest rural.
Good luck! I put down Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth around baseboards and entry ways as an attempt to get rid of them.