You may have encountered your first carpet beetles if you notice an army of slow-moving, spherical, black bugs within your home. These small bugs may appear innocuous, but they may cause significant damage. (Want to hear something genuinely disgusting? Carpet beetles get their name from their fondness for chewing carpet and laying eggs on it. Yuck.)
"On hot spring days, adult carpet beetles can readily go inside through open windows or doors," says Michael Bentley, a board-certified entomologist and the National Pest Management Association's director of training and education. Once inside, they can lay eggs that hatch into larvae that destroy natural fibre clothes, carpets, and other goods.
Carpet beetle bites are generally not dangerous for humans but are harmful to animal-based fabric products such as wool, feathers, felt, fur, silk, leather, etc. They also may attack natural hair brushes with natural fibres, hair, and other such items.
Make sure these uninvited visitors leave and don't take up permanent residence in your home now that spring has arrived. What you need to know about carpet beetles is listed below.
Symptoms of carpet beetle infestation
If you don't fully clean and sterilize your flooring and furniture, carpet beetles can grow in your home.
"The most visible indicator of a diverse carpet beetle infestation, aside from the presence of the bug itself, is damage to materials around your home." The light-coloured shed skins may also be found in infested materials left behind by larvae maturing into adults," Bentley explains.
Here's a scary thought: the presence of adult carpet beetles in the house nearly always signifies that larvae have been laid.
"You'll notice the adults climbing up a wall or at the baseboards in a bedroom or around furniture," Price explains.
How do you get rid of carpet bugs in your home?
Vacuuming and steam cleaning, particularly around carpet edges, along baseboards, behind furniture and stored things, and inside closets, will help.
Other precautions include washing or spraying surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner or vinegar, sealing crevices and gaps around doors and windows, and storing dried foods like pasta or flour in sealed containers. Place infected things in the washing machine and dryer to destroy the larvae due to the high temperature.
"Remove any food spills or trash from pantries and other food storage areas that could attract hungry beetles. Bentley recommends storing dried products in airtight containers.
Price claims that lights attract adults; therefore, he suggests shutting off lights when you're not in the room at night and employing motion-sensor exterior lights.
"While some homes may attempt to eradicate this insect through DIY methods, partnering with a pest control professional is the best approach to remove an infestation completely," adds Bentley.
