Say Goodbye to Larder Beetles: Proven Pest Control Tips

Need to get rid of larder beetles? Larder beetles are not a welcome site in your kitchen or pantry. This bug, also known as a pantry beetle (starting as a larvae and transforming to a hard-shelled pest), is attracted to food and more.

Thanks to an accidental discovery, I know how to get rid of larder beetles. Today, I’m spilling the beans on how to eliminate these guys. Stay tuned as I not only share how to get rid of these pantry pests, but you’ll learn how to identify them, what are the signs of an infestation, and the times of year that they can be found in your kitchen and pantry.

Read more about my accidental discovery on getting rid of larder beetles and if larder beetles are dangerous to humans.

Table of Contents

• Signs of Larder Beetles
  • Larder Beetle Infestations
• How to Get Rid of Larder Beetles
  • Surprising Sources of Food for Pantry Beetles
• How to Prevent Larder Beetles From Getting Into Your Home
• Larder Beetles in Bedroom
• Larder Beetle Spray and Other Pantry Pest Control Products
• Larder Beetle Traps
• Get Rid of Larder Beetles Naturally
  • Essential Oils to Repel Larder Beetles
  • Does Cedar Repel Larder Beetles?
• Final Thoughts: Banishing Larder Beetles for Good

Signs of Larder Beetles

According to Environmental Management, the signs that you have a larder beetle infestation are:

• Holes bored into your boxes, bags of pet food, or other food storage containers
• Larvae burrowed into a melon, potatoes, onions, or another food source
• Skins from when the beetles molt
• Beetle feces (aka frass, droppings, poop) – no current photos
• Holes in wood beams and other structural objects
• Larder beetles take shelter outside in the bark of trees and crevices of buildings as well as coming into homes

Larder Beetle Infestations

Worth noting, is that there have been reports of structural problems having occurred in poultry and mink operations that have undisturbed, protein rich food sources. It’s hard to believe that this little beetle could cause so much damage. University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Infestation on a wide-scale, such as a production building, might only be controlled by commercial pesticides. There are much more kinder and natural methods for larder beetle control in home environments.

How to Get Rid of Larder Beetles

I am aggressive about keeping household pests under control. One year, the neighbor had a cockroach problem connected with bringing dog food in the house. When I learned about that, I started putting out cockroach traps to be proactive.

Roach traps can be used for larder beetles to rid your home of the larder beetle pest. Change the traps once a year and place in corners that seems to accumulate crumbs that attract pantry beetles. 

One day, I accidentally bumped an old cockroach trap, and a slew of dead pantry bugs tumbled out! I had never heard of using a cockroach trap for larder beetles. Certainly, I had seen special larder beetle traps for sale, but here I was doing double-duty, getting both pests!

I feel pretty lucky to have discovered roach traps for larder beetle control! To be fair, I will still mention other pantry bug treatments. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Horticulture Dept. gives a few more tips in killing pantry bugs:

• clean up the food source
• spray baseboard and electrical plates and other access points with any indoor ant spray (kills on contact)
• Larvae and adults migrate away from food sources, so treating food source alone is not enough
• Use dust or powder insecticides when treating foam insulation (liquid solvents may breakdown the foam)
• Insect bombs are not effective because they don’t penetrate walls
• Sonic devices do not work on larder beetles
• Heating objects to 130°F for two to three hours, or placing objects in a deep freeze at 0°F for 24 hrs, will kill larder beetle adults and larvae in objects or pet food. 

Surprising Sources of Food for Pantry Beetles

Larder beetles can find food not only in your pantry, but other surprising sources:

• Pantry beetle pupae – yes, they cannibalize their own species
• Dry dog food, especially high-protein dog food
• Preserved animal specimens (like a mounted deer head trophy)
• Furs, hides, leather, and feathers
• Food hidden by rodents
• Carcasses of dead insects (such as the boxelder bugs that get into homes in late summer and fall)
• Bird nests near the home, or abandoned nests; abandoned bee and wasp hives (or specimens brought into the home), beeswax
• Trapped birds or mice that have died in your house
• Cheese and other bait food left on mouse traps
• Tobacco (have found no reason why this product is sectioned out)
• Human dead skins cells, sloughed off in bedding along with blood, sweat, and other human byproducts and dirty laundry
• Flies enter into windows in old houses or light fixtures where they are trapped, die, and accumulate
• Dried grains
• Wool that has high-protein stains such as sweat or blood, fish oil, etc.
• Garbage cans or tampon containers containing waste from female menstrual cycles
• Anything the “cat drug in” – or surprises your dog found and decided to bring inside your home
• Trash

Sources: University of Minnesota Extension, University of Wisconsin Extension, Universtiy of Wisconsin Horticulture, and author.

How to Prevent Larder Beetles From Getting Into Your Home

Reducing the presence of larder beetles in your home will mean taking their food source away.

• Seal up all pet food.
• Sweep and vacuum floors regularly.
• Clean behind stove, refrigerators and appliances where food debris, especially protein debris, will fall.
• Wash thoroughly any clothing or equipment involved in meat processing, don’t allow either to dry with meat particles on.
• Seal around windows and other entry points (such as into wall voids) into your home to prevent other insects from entering, dying, and becoming future larder beetle food source.
• Check other parts of your home, such as your attic, that may be letting birds in, where they become trapped and eventually die.
• Dispose of furs, hides, and feathers that attract larder beetles, even a kid’s play feather boa (see below about cedar products ineffectiveness on larder beetles).
• Wipe or clean off fly swatters or electric bug zappers that can build up dead bug remains.
• Wash bedding on a regular schedule to remove human dead skin cells.
• Control humidity: Larder beetles prefer humid environments, so running a dehumidifier in damp basements or storage areas can deter them.

All of these actions make sense. To prevent larder bugs in your home, you have to think like larder bugs. As in all insect infestations, but particularly pantry larvae and pantry beetles, unkept homes, such as in hoarding situations that result in unsanitary conditions can equate to more bug problems than the average home or apartment.

Larder Beetles in Bedroom

I know you’re thinking “gross!” It always surprises me to see a larder beetle in the bedroom. I might be making the bed and uncover one, or find one on the floor or in the hallway. If you’re worried if larder beetles are dangerous to pets and humans, read my article on that topic.

As mentioned earlier, pantry beetles are attracted to human dead skins cells, sloughed off in bedding along with blood, sweat, and other human byproducts and don’t forget dirty laundry! If you have a trash can in your bedroom, and have any waste in there that has been in contact with bodily fluids, count that as another source.

Accessories like shoes made of leather, leather belts, and fur accessories, such as hats, scarves, and trim also attract larder beetles. Any feathers that happen to be be part of your fashion clothing are another lard beetle magnet.

Strangely enough, I don’t find them in my pantry. I treat larder beetles in the bedroom the same way as the rest of the house: cockroach traps. They are really effective.

I have not located any dedicated larder pantry beetle traps. The Pro-Pest brand advertises “pantry moths and beetles.” I don’t if people are actually using them for pantry beetles, the comments are limited regarding pantry beetles.

Larder Beetle Spray and Other Pantry Pest Control Products

Cockroach traps aren’t your only defense against larder beetles, pantry bugs, and pantry moths. I just recommended cockroach traps because why put two traps out when one will do?

 There are larder beetle traps and moth traps especially made for their pest control. I would suspect that they are the same ingredients as the cockroach traps.

Some people ask about larder beetle spray, but the only products I could find on Amazon is Reefer-Galler SLA Cedar Scented Spray Kills Clothes Moths Carpet Beetles and Eggs and Larvae and Dr Killigan’s Six Feet Under non toxic insect killer spray.

So now you have all my secrets for getting rid of larder beetle. Remember, keep your pantry and kitchen clean, swept and periodically vacuum shelves. Don’t forget the other rooms of the house, too! Also, consider investing in food storage containers so you don’t give easy access to pantry larder beetles.

Larder Beetle Traps

Larder beetles can be exterminated just by stepping on them or vacuuming them up. Of course, you don’t know how extensive the problem is. According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “when the larder beetles have exhausted the food source they will disappear…if the food source appear to be within a wall, letting the problem run its course is likely the best solution.”

So… do nothing or remove the food source.

Your other choice is to put out a pantry beetle trap (pantry bug trap). As far as I know, there is only one on the market, and that is the Pro-Pest Pantry Moth & Beetle Trap.

Get Rid of Larder Beetles Naturally

According to Vet Explains Pets, “One popular method is to use diatomaceous earth, a natural powder that can be sprinkled around areas where larder beetles are present. Diatomaceous earth works by dehydrating the beetles and can be an effective way to eliminate them without using harmful chemicals.”

Essential Oils to Repel Larder Beetles

If you’re not interested in killing them, then maybe you just want to steer them away from your kitchen and pantry. In that case, essential oils can discourage larder beetles from entry, just like they do for pantry moths.

• Use a natural scent to repel them, such as by placing bay leaves on pantry shelves
• Use a botanical, plant-based repellent
• Use a few drops of diluted essential oil in water: peppermint, citronella, eucalyptus, rosemary, clove, lemon, lavender, thyme, or tea tree will work
• sticky traps or double-sided sticky tape – could be pantry moth traps or sticky mouse traps; it’s not the pheromone that works on larder beetles, just the fact that beetles can accidentally get stuck to it

Check out Pantry Passion’s Guide to Peppermint Oil to Repel Pests

Just a couple of side notes. Some people or pets might be sensitive to the essential oils. You will have to pick your family or pet family over the larder beetle. It’s not a bad idea to continue on with the sticky tape, even after it seems there are no more signs of beetles. The tape can give you a quick visual of new pantry beetles in the area.

Vinegar works as a repellent with pantry moth and pantry moth larvae, I can not clearly say that it is a weapon against pantry beetles, but you can try! Just leave out a small dish of vinegar or apple cider vinegar in your pantry or kitchen area.

Does Cedar Repel Larder Beetles?

I have found nothing to support that cedar products can repel larder beetles. According to Sleep Bloom, cedar does not repel carpet beetles. Since larder beetles are a type of carpet beetle, it appears to apply here as well.

Cedar wood and cedar oil contain natural compounds—like thujaplicins and cedrol—that are known to deter various insects, including beetles, moths, and ants. You may have minimal results, but if you have a pantry moth problem in addition, go for the cedar.

Be aware that cedar’s effectiveness fades over time. Best practice is always us a multi pest control approach.

Final Thoughts: Banishing Larder Beetles for Good

Tackling a larder beetle infestation might feel overwhelming, but it’s entirely manageable with the right approach. These protein-craving pests are less about aggression and more about opportunity—they’re drawn to accessible food, warmth, and hidden nooks. By sealing food properly, keeping areas clean and dry, and inspecting often, you can turn your home from a beetle buffet into a no-go zone.

And if the little intruders keep coming back? Don’t hesitate to escalate to professional pest control. Quick action not only protects your pantry but also prevents long-term issues with larvae, contamination, and discomfort. Larder beetles may fly, but with vigilance and a few smart strategies, they won’t stick around for long.