So you’ve noticed that there are bare patches in your natural fibre rugs, carpets, or runners. Perhaps you’ve noticed damage to your leather lounge, jacket, or hide throw. Worse, you’ve noticed dying beetles on or near doors or windows inside your home. You could have carpet beetle needing treatment.
What is carpet beetle?
Carpet beetles are found throughout Australia and can handle lower humidity than clothes moths so are also found in the drier inland areas.
Carpet beetles can be a year round problem as the larvae take 9 months to develop into an adult, or 9 months of eating, with the adults appearing in Spring and early Summer.
The most common species is the Variegated Carpet Beetle. The eggs are .5 to one mm making them difficult to see. The larval stage lasts 9-months meaning they molt multiple times. The larvae are dark and hairy, making them look like hairy beetles. It is the larvae that damage carpets and rugs etc. Adults range in size up to half a centimetre and have a brown/black variegated pattern and are pollen eaters.
The larvae eat all manner of animal material, including wool, fur, silk, felt, feathers and leather. They do not eat synthetic materials unless it’s dirty with their food stuffs.
Outdoors, carpet beetles are frequently found on flowers, tree bark and leaves, in the lawn where we then bring them inside.
Carpet beetles can be a year round problem as the larvae take 9 months to develop into an adult, or 9 months of eating, with the adults appearing in Spring and early Summer.
The most common species is the Variegated Carpet Beetle. The eggs are .5 to one mm making them difficult to see. The larval stage lasts 9-months meaning they molt multiple times. The larvae are dark and hairy, making them look like hairy beetles. It is the larvae that damage carpets and rugs etc. Adults range in size up to half a centimetre and have a brown/black variegated pattern and are pollen eaters.
The larvae eat all manner of animal material, including wool, fur, silk, felt, feathers and leather. They do not eat synthetic materials unless it’s dirty with their food stuffs.
Outdoors, carpet beetles are frequently found on flowers, tree bark and leaves, in the lawn where we then bring them inside.
Why you need to treat carpet beetle
 | This seemingly harmless little bug can cause major damage to your carpet, upholstery and clothing and is more common that people realise. Carpet beetles themselves are relatively harmless unless you have an allergy to them. Adult carpet beetle will lay eggs on woollen fabric so their larvae have a food source. The larvae are the ones that cause all the damage. Larvae prefer dark, undisturbed places so normally are found under beds and furniture, corners and crevices along skirting boards etc. Normally the damage is not discovered until a spring clean or maybe when moving house. |
How do you treat carpet beetle?
Prevention is always easier than the cure. So the first thing is to prevent carpet beetles from coming into your home. You can deter carpet beetles by ensuring that you have properly fitting and maintained window and door screens. You can also make a habit of checking and cleaning any wood, flowers, leather items, rugs, and woollen items that you bring into your home. An external general pest spray is a handy barrier that prevents carpet beetle from crawling into your home.
Then next step is to ensure that you regularly clean your home, especially under/behind furniture, around crevices and skirting boards, and any cupboards or sets of drawers. Regular cleaning will remove any carpet beetle at any stage of their lifecycle. Regular internal general pest sprays are also a good way to treat carpet beetle before they take hold.
Finally, if you do notice damage done by carpet beetles, you will need to treat them to stop and infestation taking hold. While heat treatments can be effective against carpet beetle, an insecticide is a more effective treatment against all stages of carpet beetle.
No matter if you want to prevent or treat carpet beetle, MD Pest Control is here to help and can provide a tailored solution for your needs. Contact us now or book online.
Then next step is to ensure that you regularly clean your home, especially under/behind furniture, around crevices and skirting boards, and any cupboards or sets of drawers. Regular cleaning will remove any carpet beetle at any stage of their lifecycle. Regular internal general pest sprays are also a good way to treat carpet beetle before they take hold.
Finally, if you do notice damage done by carpet beetles, you will need to treat them to stop and infestation taking hold. While heat treatments can be effective against carpet beetle, an insecticide is a more effective treatment against all stages of carpet beetle.
No matter if you want to prevent or treat carpet beetle, MD Pest Control is here to help and can provide a tailored solution for your needs. Contact us now or book online.
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