Houses less than 10 years old are primarily attacked contrary to the name of old house borer. Full grown larvae can be heard boring in the wood, making a rhythmic ticking or rasping sound much like the sound of a mouse gnawing. In log houses, this sound may be heard from a distance of five to ten feet, day and night, at infrequent intervals. Wing covers are marked with whitish spots that form two irregular bands or spots near the middle. Pupae are flesh-colored and about the size of the beetle.
Eggs are white to grayish-white.
The biology of the beetle's life cycle is greatly influenced by temperature, relative humidity and protein content of the wood. In Virginia, larvae require two to ten years to become fully grown and their feeding can cause extensive damage to infested wood. The adult stage is short, lasting eight to sixteen days, the egg stage about two weeks, the larval stage several years and the pupal stage two weeks. Under ideal conditions in many southern states, adults may appear after three to five years, sometimes remaining in larval tunnels for as long as 10 months before emergence. Adults emerge June, July and August with females attracted to dry, seasoned wood where eggs are laid reinfesting additional softwood.