This article will give you the lowdown on how to get rid of carpet beetles. You’ll probably notice if you have carpet beetles in your home as they’re hard to miss. However, you might not know how to remove them. It’s important you act fast otherwise they can damage textiles and furniture, cause irritation and rashes on the skin, and cause other pests like roaches to infest your property.
In this article, we will take you through what carpet beetles are, why you get them, and how to get rid of them easily with four different steps.
What Are Carpet Beetles?
As the name suggests, carpet beetles are tiny little bugs that are attracted to natural fibers and live in places in the home such as carpets. This is where to look if you suspect you might have an infestation.
Carpet beetles can be found either as larvae or adults. The larvae are usually 4-8 millimeters in length, and the adults are between 2-5 millimeters. The larvae are oval, caterpillar-like bugs, and the adults are more round with antennae. They have 6 legs, and their bodies are hard.
Carpet beetles can come in a range of different colors when they’re adults. The most common are black, white and red, but they can be brown-toned or all black as well. Whatever color they are, they all cause the same type of damage to furnishings and textiles.
Why Do You Get Carpet Beetles?
There’s not one specific thing that causes carpet beetles. They can very easily find their way into your house through all sorts of entrances. This can include things like shopping, animal fur, and soft furnishings and fabrics which already have an infestation.
If you don’t clean your carpets regularly, they become the perfect breeding ground for mold and pests. Because they thrive off of dead skin cells, hair, and insects, it’s easier for them to breed on unclean surfaces. Infestations can get worse if you don’t clean well.
So, now you know what they are and why you have them, we will tell you how to get rid of carpet beetles.
How Can I Get Rid Of Carpet Beetles?
Luckily, getting rid of carpet beetles isn’t too hard providing you follow these key steps.
1. Vacuuming
First, you need to vacuum the infested area. This will pick up any beetles that are easily accessible on the surface, as well as any dead skin and hair which they are eating to survive.
2. Steam Cleaning
Next, steam cleaning is a great way to get rid of carpet beetles. Use a good-quality steam cleaner to clean the infested area more deeply than with a vacuum. You can buy steam cleaners from home stores or Amazon, or they can be temporarily hired.
Steam cleaning will produce heat and moisture to kill beetles and larvae that the vacuum couldn’t pick up.
3. Insecticide
Third, using an insecticide meant for indoor use will kill the pest fully and get rid of any carpet beetles you may have missed. Boric acid is one of the most common and cheap indoor insecticides you can get which is ideal for a range of pests.
Don’t use an outdoor product for this. These are too harsh and could damage your carpets and other furnishings.
4. Professional Cleaning
Finally, if the other three steps don’t work, bringing in a professional cleaner or pest control is your best option. You might have a particularly bad infestation. In that case, knowing how to get rid of carpet beetles might be too hard.
Calling in the professionals can be expensive but their treatments are usually a lot more powerful and effective. If the infestation keeps coming back, definitely consider a professional pest control service to get rid of the carpet beetles for good.
How Can I Prevent Carpet Beetles?
Maybe you’ve already got rid of your carpet beetles, or are just worried about a future infestation? In which case, you’ll want to know how to prevent them from coming into your home.
Cleaning
Vacuuming and cleaning your carpets regularly is the best way to prevent any pest infestations. Additionally, using an indoor insecticide from time to time during this cleaning process is also a good idea if you’ve had carpet beetles before.
Secure Your House And Storage
Other steps you can take include putting mothballs in your storage areas and using an outdoor insecticide around entrances to your house to stop beetles from coming in. You might want to store clothes and linen in sealable plastic storage containers that are easily cleaned. This will mean the pests are less likely to get into your storage and damage your clothing.
Also, making sure the perimeter of your house is secure is also a good idea because carpet beetles will get in through any gaps in the building they can find.
Change Furnishings
Finally, if you’ve had bad infestations, you can change things in your home to stop the beetles from coming back. For example, avoid buying soft furnishings and textiles in natural fibers. Carpet beetles don’t like synthetic material, so stick to this.
Conclusion
Knowing how to get rid of carpet beetles is very useful as they can happen to anyone for very little reason. This article has given you four easy steps to take if you’ve got an infestation. We’ve also told you how you can prevent these pests from infesting your home in the future, so you can avoid having to remove them ever again!
