If you've found a large, mottled beetle with antennae longer than its body on the siding, deck or screen door of your Oradell home, there's a good chance it's a pine sawyer beetle. They're big and a little intimidating, and people often worry they're eating the house. The good news is that they aren't. Pine sawyers breed in dead and dying conifers, not in the dry wood of a finished home. Below, we'll cover how to identify them, why they turn up around houses, whether they're harmful and what to do about them. If you're not sure what you've found, our pest inspection services can help you identify it.
What Pine Sawyer Beetles Are
Pine sawyers are longhorned beetles, a family of wood-boring beetles known for their long antennae. Several sawyer species live in the Northeast, including the whitespotted sawyer.
- Size. Large, often around an inch long, sometimes more.
- Color. Mottled gray, brown or black. The whitespotted sawyer has a small white spot where the wing covers meet, just behind the head.
- Antennae. Very long. On males, they can be twice the length of the body or more.
Females lay eggs in the bark of pines, spruces, firs and other conifers that are dead, dying, recently fallen or freshly cut. The larvae feed under the bark and then bore deeper into the wood. In a quiet place, you can sometimes hear them chewing inside logs. When they finish developing, adults chew their way out through round exit holes. Adults are most often seen in late spring and summer, when they fly in search of mates and new places to lay eggs.
Why They Show Up On Your Home
- Firewood. Conifer logs cut from dead or storm-damaged trees can hold larvae that emerge as adults months later, sometimes right next to your house.
- Nearby conifers. Pines and spruces that are dying, damaged or recently cut down nearby give sawyers a place to breed.
- Fresh logs and lumber. Beetles can occasionally emerge from recently cut, unseasoned logs used in landscaping or construction.
- Lights. Adults that fly at night may land on lit walls, doors and windows.
Pine Sawyer Or Asian Longhorned Beetle?
A big black beetle with white spots and long antennae can also be an Asian longhorned beetle, an invasive species that kills healthy hardwood trees and should be reported. Pine sawyers are native. Key differences: the whitespotted sawyer is duller and often bronze-tinted, has a white spot just behind the head where the wing covers meet and is linked to conifers. The Asian longhorned beetle is glossy black with bold white spots and black-and-white banded antennae, and it attacks maples and other hardwoods. Our guide on signs of Asian longhorned beetle walks through the comparison in more detail.
Are Pine Sawyer Beetles Harmful?
To your home, no. Pine sawyers need moist wood from recently dead or cut trees. They don't infest dry, seasoned framing, floors, trim or furniture. A beetle that emerges from firewood or a fresh log indoors won't start a new infestation inside your house.
To people, they're mostly a startle. Large sawyers have strong jaws and can pinch if you pick one up, but they aren't venomous and don't go looking for people. To trees, they mostly use wood that's already dying. They can play a part in spreading pine wilt, a disease of some pines, which is one more reason to remove dead and dying pines from your property.
What To Do About Them
- Move the beetle outside. Use a jar or a piece of paper to carry it out rather than handling it bare-handed.
- Check your firewood. Look for round exit holes, coarse sawdust and loose bark on conifer logs.
- Store firewood away from the house. Keep it off the ground and away from walls, and bring in only what you'll burn right away.
- Use wood locally. Buy firewood close to where you'll burn it, and don't move logs long distances.
- Deal with dead conifers. Have an arborist remove dead or dying pines and spruces near your home.
- Reduce bright outdoor lighting. Fewer bright lights near entrances means fewer night-flying insects landing there.
When To Call A Professional
If you're finding beetles, holes or powdery dust in the wood inside your home, a different insect may be at work, such as powderpost beetles, carpenter ants or termites. That's when it's time to call. Our NJ DEP-licensed technicians can inspect your firewood, deck and the wood inside your home, identify the insect and recommend a plan using Integrated Pest Management and EPA-registered, eco-safe products. Tree removal and pine disease questions are best handled by a certified arborist.
A pine sawyer on your siding looks dramatic, but it's usually just passing through. Keeping firewood away from the house is one of the simplest ways to keep these big beetles from turning up at your Oradell home.