There are a large number of Anobiid beetles that attack seasoned wood. These beetles range in size from less than 1/16-inch to over 5/16-inch long. They have highly variable body forms but they almost all have a “bell-shaped” first body segment (pronotum) that hides the head when viewed from above.
The furniture beetle is 3/16- to 1/4-inch long, cylindrical, and red-brown to dark brown in color. They have a series of pits in rows that run lengthwise on the wing covers. These pits can be seen through the fine yellow hairs that cover the body. The larvae are gray-white and 1/4-inch long.
The adult Deathwatch beetle is a little longer than 1/4-inch and is gray-brown with yellow, scalelike hairs on the back of the body. These insects do not have the row of pits on the elytra. Deathwatch larvae are 7/16-inch long when mature.
Most powder post beetles enter your homes through flooring, paneling or furniture. They like to stay in finished wood products or lumber. Throw away any lumber in improper storage spaces, especially those which have been dried. Any wood with beetle exit holes should be thrown away too, because powder post beetles will surely come back and breed in them again. Prevention is a very important part of getting rid of powder post beetles, because the most serious types of pest infestations from powder post beetles come from using old lumber from piles of wood or from barns, and adding it to a part of the house or to panel a room.
Powder post beetles love to reproduce on unfinished wood, and they will most likely lay their eggs on bare wood. Wood only becomes safe from powder post beetles when it's painted, so paint all wooden furniture and lumber in your house and make it a point to finish them completely. Do not leave a surface unfinished because when you miss a spot, it's exposed, making it attractive to powder post beetles.
If you see a powder post beetle inside finished furniture, it means that you didn't clean the furniture well enough before painting it. The pest was already there even before the wood finishing was applied. Clean the furniture before applying the finishing substance, because the pests will definitely reinfest the whole article. They will create new exit holes as they lay new eggs.