The name “carpet beetles” already tells you everything you want to know about this pest. The carpet beetles are characterized by infesting an item you walk on daily, often in your bare feet. What you may not know is that they are not only walking on the carpet, but they are also eating it, laying eggs on it, and causing permanent damage. Many homeowners are not aware of what carpet beetles are; if you are one of these people, you might find yourself worried and desperate to make sure you do not have any in your home ever again.
Luckily, you found this article! We invite you to keep reading to learn how to get rid of carpet beetles. However, before we go through that, you must first understand what they are and where they come from exactly.
What Are Carpet Beetles?
Carpet beetles are, as their name implies, a type of insect that usually infest carpets. Like moths, this pest also feeds on many other objects made of wool, fur, felt, silk, feathers, skins, and leather; these materials contain keratin. It is a fibrous animal protein that the larvae can digest without a problem. There are many species of carpet beetle, but they all are practically the same size. You can recognize them by different colors, but the most common beetles are the black carpet beetle, the varied carpet beetle, and the buffalo carpet beetle.
How Can You Know If You Have A Carpet Beetle Infestation?
First, you must know that carpet beetles hide in dark and secluded places in your home. One common misconception is to confuse them with bed bugs since they feed on almost the same materials. However, the main difference is that carpet beetles do not bite you. If you are allergic to them, the bristly hairs of carpet beetles might irritate your skin at the moment of the contact. It can also cause a rash and marks that could look like bites on your skin. As we said above, carpet beetles can eat through fabrics, such as bedsheets, linens, clothing, drapes, and carpets, so you can easily find them walking over these items.
Where Do Carpet Beetles Come From
Even though carpet beetles are attracted to eating fabric, adult beetles look for flower nectar. You are more likely to find these adult beetles on the flowers of your garden than in the fabrics of your home. However, some beetles tend to fly into homes while moving from flower to flower, so you can also find them trying to get into your house through open windows or ventilation. Carpet beetle infestation happens more often during summer since these beetles are more active in warm weather. Like we said above, carpet beetles like to lay their eggs in dark and secluded areas in your home, so you can find them looking for food in these preferred spaces before laying their eggs over your carpet. That said, the fact that many infestations start in attics, basements, or other dark and other secluded areas makes more sense.
How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles?
Check the Areas Where They Might Be
As an adult, these nasty culprits are not exactly ¼ inch long and are either dark or a mix of tan, white, and dark. They can generally gather around windows and doorways, so check these areas if you suspect an invasion. Even though they are annoying, adult carpet beetles are harmless; only in the larva stage are they a danger to the fabrics of your home. The tiny worm-like hatchlings prefer darker regions like storage rooms and behind baseboards and are hard to spot with the naked eye.
Identify A Carpet Beetle Infestation
Many homeowners do not know how to identify when the carpet beetle infestation is out of control. However, it is as simple as seeing the damage they have caused, such as bare stains in carpets, holes in packaged clothing, and wormholes in books. Like we said above, summer and warm weather are the stages where carpet beetles are more active and are more likely to infest your home, so if you were looking for an excuse to clean, this is the perfect excuse.
If your clothes were damaged by carpet beetles, you can clean them by simply doing the laundry. However, other furs, leather, and wool items might require professional cleaning.
Once you already detected the presence of carpet beetles, you can get rid of them without hiring an expensive exterminator.
Carpet Beetle Extermination
If you plan on doing a DIY carpet beetle extermination, some products can help make the process easier and faster. We bring you this list of products to attack these destructive insects and get rid of them for good!
Insecticides for Carpet Beetles
You can stop the process of infestation of active larvae by purchasing an insecticide to treat your carpet or upholstery. The insecticide you buy must contain at least one of the following ingredients:
- Deltamethrin.
- Bifenthrin.
- Cyfluthrin.
Before applying it over the carpet, test it on a fabric item you do not care about to make sure the product does not stain. Lastly, remember to read the warns of the product as many manufacturers warn against its use around children, people with respiratory diseases, and all kinds of pets. Nobody should stay around during the extermination process.
Boric Acid for Carpet Beetles
Boric acid could be a dangerous option for people; it acts as a poison on insect metabolism. However, it can also be hazardous to humans if ingested or inhaled in large quantities.
Fogging for Carpet Beetles
After the active carpet beetles are eradicated, there is also a chance that some of them will lay eggs in your home, and the whole infestation process may start over again in the future. To avoid this, you can use a flying insect fogger to eradicate all adult beetles effectively. Additionally, you can also purchase and store a flying insect spray to attack any beetle that comes into your home.
Now you are ready to kill all those carpet beetles that are running all your belongings. However, remember that if you are not sure about making all these by yourself, the best move is to call experts to assist you right away.
If you’re looking for the right team to handle the issue for you, Synergy² is here to help. We provide trusted services throughout the area, so contact us for the best pest control services around.
Feel free to read more about us and decide if Synergy² is the right company for you. We have over 270 Five-Star Google reviews for pest control service in the Jackson metro area (Jackson/Madison/Brandon/Ridgeland). Check out our newest location reviews for pest control service in Jackson, MS here at Synergy² Jackson Pest Control!