Creature Feature: Cigarette Beetle

The cigarette beetle is a common stored product pest that has a history of being associated with humans dating back to Egyptian tombs. Although a tropical insect, it has a worldwide distribution. Not to be confused with the drugstore beetle, the cigarette beetle has serrated antennae and smooth wing covers. The drugstore beetle's antennae end in three segmented clubs and their wing covers have pitted rows. The cigarette beetle belongs to the anabid family, which also contains wood boring beetles. Anabid beetles have yeasts in their digestive tracts that help them consume and survive on foods with poor nutritional quality. The cigarette beetle is the most serious pest of stored tobacco, but it also feeds on a wide range of plant and animal based stored products. It can bore through plastic and cardboard, even into wood, although the latter will always be associated with a stored product. Use pheromone traps to detect cigarette beetles when they first appear and to monitor where their population is highest to help pinpoint infestations. Heavily infested items should be discarded. Small quantities of uninfested items can be frozen at 25 degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or heated in an oven at 190 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour to make sure they are not infested. Large quantities in commercial settings are often fumigated. After cleaning up any spilled product, treat cracks and crevices in the infested area with an insect growth regulator and or an insecticide that kills on contact to prevent reinfestation. Some featured products include the following. Exlure RTU multi-species stored product beetle trap, a multi-pheromone beetle trap that is highly attractive to over 30 stored product beetles, including the cigarette and drugstore Gentrol IGR, which is specifically for roaches, pests, and other treatments, and PTPI, which is a contact insecticide specifically labeled for cigarette beetles. Want to learn more? Be sure to check out our online pro training course, Stored Product Pests, Identification and Management with Pheromones.