What is a Death Watch Beetle? Signs, Risks, and What to Do

This week we’re looking at the Death Watch Beetle, often located in historic buildings like stately homes where they’ve likely made their home for many years, often from the inception of the building as Death Watch Beetle were often already in the timbers used in the construction.

The Death Watch Beetle is a wood boring beetle whose grubs eat hardwood structural timbers. These grubs can live up to ten years inside timber (although they don’t like softwood) after which they emerge as beetles.

The Death Watch Beetle is around 7mm in length and bears a mottled brown / grey outer shell. They can fit through a much smaller hole of around half their size.

Death Watch Beetle causes severe structural damage to hardwood timbers usually where some form of decay is present.

Interesting fact about the Death Watch Beetle

Adult Death Watch Beetles’ mating call is produced by beating their heads against the wood and resulting in a fast tapping sound.

The adults rarely fly and their natural predator is the spider. Death Watch Beetle infestations are declining, and this is thought to be because old buildings are treated as they are restored, or the buildings are demolished altogether.

For centuries, people believed a small beetle’s ticking sound foretold death in the house. Today, we know the truth — but the damage it causes is still very real.

So if you hear a faint ticking sound coming from wooden beams at night, you might not be imagining things — it could be a death watch beetle signaling to a mate from inside your timber.

Death watch beetle infestations are far less common than woodworm — but far more serious. Because they target hardwood structural timbers, correct identification and professional treatment are critical.

How to treat Death Watch Beetle

Treating a death watch beetle infestation requires more than a quick surface spray — these beetles live deep inside hardwood timber and often indicate an underlying moisture problem.

Chemical fumigation treatment can be used to treat an infestation. Specialist advice can achieve a more environmentally friendly solution such as regulating moisture levels with a view to killing off the beetle.

However, in situations where improvement to the environment can’t be achieved, chemical intervention is more likely.

Book a Professional Death Watch Beetle Survey

If you suspect death watch beetle activity, the most important next step is a professional timber survey. Because these infestations develop deep inside hardwood beams and are often linked to hidden moisture or decay, surface checks alone are rarely enough to assess the true extent of the problem

Our specialist death watch beetle surveys across Herefordshire and Worcestershire are designed to give you clear answers — not guesswork

During a death watch beetle survey, we:

• Inspect affected and surrounding timbers

• Identify the insect species correctly

• Check for active vs historic infestation

• Assess structural risk

• Test timber moisture levels

• Look for fungal decay that may be encouraging activity

• Provide a written findings report and treatment recommendations

This allows you to understand exactly what is happening, how serious it is, and what — if anything — needs to be done next.

Early identification often means more targeted treatment, lower repair costs, and less disruption to your property.

If you’ve noticed exit holes in hardwood beams, crumbling timber, or unexplained bore dust, don’t wait for the damage to spread. Book a professional death watch beetle survey today and get a definitive assessment from a qualified timber specialist. Call us on 01981 540088 or email us at contact@pgmpestcontrol.co.uk

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