How to tell if you have carpet beetles

How to tell if you have carpet beetles

Since humans have come down from the trees and found lodgings in caves, then huts and now homes, we’ve had to put up with insects making their way into the areas we live and places we sleep, eat and play. 

Many insects like mosquitoes or cockroaches are pretty easy to spot. Others are a little more sneaky. Carpet beetles could easily be added to the sneaky list as many people will find holes in clothes or fabric and automatically assume moths have eaten away at their favourite shirt or pair of pants. This isn’t always the case. Sometimes, carpet beetles are to blame. 

 

What are Carpet Beetles?

As you’ve probably guessed, carpet beetles will infest carpets, rugs and any other items made from natural materials like wool, fur, felt, leather, silk or feathers. They are small oval-shaped beetles and are brown with a speckled or mottled appearance. 

carpet beetle larvaeIt’s mostly the carpet beetle larvae that do most of the damage to rugs and carpets so if you’re finding holes in clothing or damage on your rugs, blankets or carpet, it’s possible you may have a carpet beetle infestation. 

Carpet beetle larvae are very small – anywhere between 3mm to 6mm and brown in colour and densely covered in small hairs. Carpet beetles will feed on the keratin within a natural product, which is why fabrics like polyester and nylon are usually left alone (unless they’re a cotton blend).

 

 

What are some telltale signs you might have Carpet Beetles?

Below we go through some of the things you need to look out for if you think you might have a carpet beetle issue. 

You find adult beetles

As we’ve mentioned, it's the larvae that do all the damage to carpets, rugs and clothing in your home. Adult carpet beetles actually feed on pollen so once they’ve made their way into your home to lay their eggs, they will be trying to make their way outside. Often people will find adults on window sills either dead or trying to escape. 

If you find an adult carpet beetle on or near your windows, there’s a very good chance they’ve laid eggs somewhere in your home. 

Small holes or areas of materials have been eaten

Carpet beetle larvae like to eat. But they don’t like to do it in plain view. They’re more likely to be munching away on your favourite rug in the dark or early hours of the morning. If you think you might have carpet beetles, grab a torch and look in dark corners or under heavy furniture to see if there are any signs or actual beetles. 

Carpet Beetles poop – you can look for it

As you can appreciate, since larvae spend much of their time eating, they also poop a lot. Their fecal pellets look like little grains of sand and are typically brown or black in colour. 

If you’re seeing any of the following signs in your home or have found carpet beetles and want the help of a professional exterminator to help you get rid of them, call Abolish Termite & Pest Management today on 1300 057 067

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