Beetle Mania

greenie8 · #1 (**permalink**) 09-07-2009, 12:11 AM

Help!! I have a beetle on the loose in my lounge, I thought it was a cricket when it appeared first. It makes quite a loud cricket like sound, it will come out in the day but is mainly a night time type, here's the strangeness it seems to hibernate and has been trolling around my skirting boards for nearly 4 years now. I have installed pest controllers electronic types and they work well on all other pests, don't have any effect on our little friend, it's only been seen once, so can't give you a photo or great discription, dark and quite large. WHAT IS IT ANYONE?11

Acutipuerilis · #2 (**permalink**) 09-07-2009, 08:02 PM

This sounds truly bizarre. I wonder if it could be an escaped hissing cockroach (someone's pet), or something of that ilk? To my knowledge there are no UK beetles that make a cricket-like sound. Can you estimate accurately how big it is? Also, where are you? We'll need more to go on here, I think, but surviving four years and hibernating are interesting features...

Wild-Woman · #3 (**permalink**) 09-07-2009, 08:09 PM

I wonder if this could be a Death watch beetle.

Hope this link is exceptable.

Death watch beetle - Xestobium rufovillosum - ARKive

greenie8 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 09:35 AM

Thank you very much for getting back to me, I live in southern England.This creey crawley never seems to run out into the open, it just skoots around my skirting, also I've never heard it in the upstairs rooms or the kitchen. It was only seen once about 3am on the ceiling of my lounge.A hissing cockroach oooh that sounds awful, well thankfully it seems to be on it's own, and it isn't heard from after the autumn until spring but it is very strange. Now my pest control units are supposed to work on cockroaches, I've gotten rid of all the ants and spiders etc but oddly also it's not working on my unwanted house guest. What could you suggest to lure it out, trap it, the noise is very annoying, I often wonder if it could be a stowaway from abroad, it is warming up in the south and we have insects here now surviving because of that.X GREENIE.

greenie8 · #5 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 09:39 AM

Thank you very much for this link, I'm going to look for tell tale signs around the lounge, this is because it never heard in any other rooms in the house, it's been around 4 yrs now so it think it is high time it moved out on it's own, !! X GREENIE.

Acutipuerilis · #6 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 08:54 PM

Any idea what it's been eating? Most of the larger cockroaches will eat anything that's decaying nicely, but the hissing ones are very fond of fruit - try an overripe banana to tempt it into the open. Catching it may be a challenge, though, especially if it can climb walls so well (another cockroach trick). If it is, there's really nothing to be alarmed at. Their only crime (that I know of) is that they spread diseases about by running around everywhere when there's an infestation in places with poor hygiene, but one in your home won't cause a problem. They're actually fascinating things - if that's what you've got, I'm jealous!

Oh, and what size, as accurately as you can guess? It's hard to be precise, but most people overestimate dramatically, which makes life very awkward - if in doubt, cut out bits of paper a different sizes, and see what looks right.

greenie8 · #7 (**permalink**) 11-07-2009, 11:11 PM

Ripe banana eh, gonna try it. Yes I've often wondered what it eats too because I've never heard it in the kitchen only the lounge, there's no food lying about there and I have lino floors which are hoovered a lot we are all asthmatic in our house. Only food is cat biscuits food water in an understairs den for our two cats could it be nibbling on these, still there not decaying, the plot thickens.One other strange fact when it is making it's very loud cricket like sound which is a lot if I bang on the furniture to scare it off it seems to respond to this enthusiastically to this clicking loudly back hmm very friendly!! On the plus side it doesn't bite and hasn't got any little mates, on one last note would this kind of roach hibernate?Bye for now GREENIE X.

Action_Man · #8 (**permalink**) 12-07-2009, 10:05 AM

I dont the life expectancy of all the various Beetles, but four years seems to be a long time, i would guess there`s more than one around ...

greenie8 · #9 (**permalink**) 13-07-2009, 09:55 AM

Hi, thanks for getting back, well I'm just guessing it's a beetle, but no there seems to be only one making one cricket like sound, it has a pattern in time and movements when it appears in the lounge no our little friend to date is a loner. Do you know of any beetle / bug that can live for years, hibernates, and makes a cricket sound I'm at a loss?