Carpet Beetles 101: What Every Terre Haute Homeowner Needs To Know

As their name suggests, carpet beetles are known for living in, and feeding on, carpets, but that’s not the only place you’ll find them. These small insects range in size from 2 to 5 millimetres depending on the species. Most are black to reddish-brown with distinctive white, yellow, or red scale patterns. Their larvae are cream-colored with golden hair and are around four millimetres long. These larvae are often found in carpets but they can also be found in kitchen cupboards and clothes storage areas. Carpet beetles can eat almost any type of animal product including leather, wool, silk, feathers, hair, dried meat, and dead insects. They can also feed on dried plant material, cereals, grains, nuts, and birdseed.

Carpet Beetles In Your Home

There are several ways carpet beetles enter Terra Haute homes. Many are attracted to flowers so it is important to check cut flowers and remove beetles before bringing them inside your home. In the spring especially, carpet beetles are likely to fly into your home through open windows and doors. Larvae can wander from their nest into your attic or other areas in your home. Occasionally carpet beetles are brought into homes by homeowners themselves, either on wool material or carpets or even in stored products like dry dog food. It’s not uncommon to find a carpet beetle or two in your Terre Haute home, but if you are regularly seeing large numbers of beetles or larvae, it is time to find the source of the infestation and institute control measures.

Tips For Preventing Carpet Beetles

As with most pests, a primary deterrent to infestation is removing access to their food source. This is tricky with carpet beetles because of the sheer variety of things they can eat. The best place to start is good sanitation. Make sure to be dusting and vacuuming regularly and keep clothes washed or dry cleaned. Store clothes in plastic containers and steam clean furniture. Install screens on all windows and doors and keep them in good condition. As distasteful as it sounds, carpet beetles are drawn to animal carcasses. If birds or other animals have died in your chimney or inside your walls they could be attracting an army of carpet beetles. Practicing effective pest management, in general, can lessen your chances of having a carpet beetle infestation.

How To Manage Carpet Beetle Infestations

If you find yourself with a carpet beetle infestation, there are several strategies you can use to eliminate these pests.

• Find infested material and clean - or if possible - destroy items.
• Use extreme cold (less than -20? for three hours) or heat (over 105? for four hours).
• If the entire structure is infested, fumigation can be the most economic and efficient solution
• If all else fails, contact the professionals at Action Pest Control for carpet beetle control.

Help Is Here - Call Action Pest Control

The trained technicians at Action Pest Control are standing by with a comprehensive range of pest control services. We have multiple plans to choose from, so call today to get your free estimate and see which option is right for you. Our proactive pest management approach includes the all-inclusive Premier pest control program which covers 40 household pests including ants, roaches, termites, spiders, mice, stinging insects, and more. All of our programs are based on effective pest-management solutions provided at your convenience. Find out why we are trusted by 23,000 happy customers. Call us today to get started and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Terre Haute.