They're pretty common and extend as far North as Derby (IMHE), if not further. The awkward species, the one that will lay in dry timber not just green, is only found in Kent and Essex. Now those would worry me, but I know mine just aren't interested in laying in anything felled more than a year ago.
I find them in oak sapwood. 1/4" oval tunnels, and enough damage in one layer to make the whole bark come off in a sheet. However they barely touch the heartwood - too much tannin. Oddly they also like to burrow _below_ the cambium, which I'd have thought was the tastiest part. I've had some bark split off where there's "two storey beetle housing" - longhorns below and other smaller borers following the cambium layer.
I might hold you to that - if I remember and am still around.
Yes, multiple occupancy isn't limited to humans ...
After I hit send I realised that I DID see a longhorn, about twenty years ago, in Warwickshire. A lovely creature. An adolscent son who was with my (hence the dating) was impressed.
Fairly. I've never seen one in our house, wherethe doors are more often than not open and the garden is well populated with them. The house is more of a menagerie than a human dwelling, come to think of it.
If your bathroom is on the first floor, like ours, I'd say there was less chance of finding a black beetle in it than in the kitchen.
But I insist that they're no problem. Get a bit of paper and see if you can get it to walk onto it - or do the glass over card thing. Then let it go out of the window.
Look, knowledge is power. The more you learn about things the sooner you'll lose your fear. If you have children encourage them to look at the beetles before you throw them out. The beetles, I mean.
Or the children ...
Black beetles are no problem in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, diningroom, sitting room,workshop, garage, shed, loft, nursery, wetroom - I can't think of any other.
They usually keep their feet on the ground - but that might be vertical ground of course ...
They really are no problem. Why not get a magnifying glass and see how beautiful they are - if you can get one to stay still for long enough.
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