 The figeater beetle is native to moister areas of the American southwest, where its natural diet includes fruit from cacti and sap from desert trees.Their range has expanded considerably since the 1960s with the increasing availability of home gardens, compost piles, and organic mulch.The larvae eat decomposing organic matter, such as that found in compost piles, manure piles, and organic mulch, and occasionally plant roots, such as the roots of grass in lawns.