The Distinctive Pest You Might See After Giving Your Home A Fresh Coat Of Paint

Whether you live in a tiny apartment or a mansion, pests don't discriminate — they're an inescapable fact of life. There are pests that lurk in laundry rooms, pests that damage decks, and even pests on houseplants. When you take the endless adaptability of these critters into account, it's perhaps not so surprising that there are even pests that are attracted to paint. You might see one specific insect, the banded alder borer, after giving your house a fresh coat of paint.

Banded alder borers are shiny, inch-long beetles with black and white stripes and antennae that are even longer than their bodies. They are often found gravitating toward drying paint. Scientists believe that the paint contains a chemical that mimics a pheromone that attracts the beetles to each other, according to Cornell University. In other words, these beetles might show up at your freshly-painted home because it smells (to them) like their own species. However, there's no concrete scientific research on what exactly causes this phenomenon; the insects have just been found to gravitate towards painted homes. Here's everything to know about these pests and what to do if you see them.

Banded alder borers live along the western U.S. from Alaska to southern California. They're native to the area and emerge as adults from dead tree branches, including alder and ash trees, in the spring. They are often mistaken for the Asian longhorn beetle because both insects are black and white, but while the Asian longhorn beetle is an invasive garden pest that can damage your trees, banded alder borers do not cause damage. In fact, they're not typically considered true "pests" because they don't cause any trouble for humans. As they live and feed on already-dead wood, they help the decomposing process along, which makes them beneficial to the environment.

You can tell Asian longhorn beetles and banded alder borers apart by looking at their heads. On an Asian longhorn beetle, the segment behind the head is all black. On a banded alder borer, that segment is white with a black spot. Asian longhorn beetles also have more of a dotted color pattern, while banded alder borers have stripes.

The only time you're likely to see more than one banded alder borer at a time is when you've just painted your house. Even then, they won't damage your house or the paint, so there's no need to take any special steps to prevent or get rid of them. They will go away on their own eventually, and no other insects are believed to be attracted to drying paint.