Need to Know – Carpet Beetles

Consider this piece as kinda a FAQ on carpet beetles. Us folks at Vulcan Termite and Pest Control, Inc. think, as always, by exporting a little knowledge your way, we all benefit. You can use our services on the issue of carpet beetles. We’re more than glad to help. But in this case, if you want to DIY, that’s just ducky with us.

Tell Me About Carpet Beetles

It’s kind of a catch-all term used to describe those types of bugs that love to eat your clothes. Fabrics like wool, silk, bristles, feathers, fur and even hair. They’re part of a variety of species such as the varied carpet beetle, the black carpet beetle, common carpet beetles and the occasional clothes moth.

Spotting Them

Since there are a couple of different species, here’s the breakdown:

  • All of them are capable of flight. Like moths, they love light from bulbs and such. Candles, too.
  • They’re about one-eighth of an inch long.
  • Look for a pattern on their oval-shaped bodies. The colors you’ll see are yellow, brown, black and white which are on their backs.
  • A black carpet beetle when it matures has brown legs and a washed-out black color overall.

Before you start to blast them to purgatory, try to find their hives. You’ll know you’ve discovered a colony when you gander on adults or larvae. Likewise cast skins are a tell-tale sign.

They’ll generally hide in furniture stuffing, the bristles of old paint brushes, air ducts and behind baseboards. But there are more places:

  • Fresh cut flowers
  • Clothes closets
  • Stored foods and cereals
  • Dog food
  • In and under upholstered furniture
  • Attics
  • Piano felts
  • Woolens

Exterminate!

Running a clean ship is the best line of defense. However, if you find an infestation, here’s a list of products you can use. Always follow directions to a “T”:

  • Drione Dust
  • Suspend SC
  • Gentrol IGR Concentrate

Lastly, vacuum the house like a crazy nut. You’ll want to do this before any application of insecticide dust, spray or birth control products similar to Gentrol. Once you treat the place, suck things-up again. As a matter of fact, make vacuuming a regular habit. Every couple of days. Tag rugs, carpets, furniture and curtains.

A tip: After giving the rugs and carpets a once-over, toss the bag — outdoors — ASAP.

Sure, dust and liquid insecticides will kill the mobile ones. But these treatments won’t do a thing for the orphaned eggs left behind right away.

A first blast will rid you of most of the living critters. Eggs will hatch. If you’ve done the whole shebang correctly, as the larvae hatches, the babies will croak-off eventually. That’s why regularly taking out the ol’ Hoover or Electrolux will make your dreams of elimination come true. As we said up-top, you can ring us on the phone and we’ll handle the dirty work. But frankly, you can take control of this yourself.

Original Source: https://www.vulcantermite.com/garden-pest-control/need-to-know-carpet-beetles

Image Source: www.flickr.com/photos/joaocoelho/3426777543