Carpet beetles are pests that just cannot be ignored. They can do considerable damage to your belongings and pose a threat to your family’s health.
As their name suggests, these creatures thrive in fibrous materials such as carpets, upholstery, blankets and fur. Because of the serious damage they can cause, it is vital to come up with an effective control measure to remove them from the home.
Carpet beetles range from 1.7-3 mm in length. The most common species found in Australian homes are the varied carpet beetle, the furniture beetle, the black carpet beetle, and the Australian carpet beetle, which is native to the country.
These insects can reproduce fast, but they have quite a unique life cycle. The larvae turn into adults in a matter of about six months, feeding on the food available near the nest.
They live for around 9-12 months. Of the life stages in this insect’s life, the larval stage is the most damaging to homes. This is the time that they feed on items such as carpets and upholstery fabrics. They also feed on dead skins of animals, pet hair, wool, fur and other clothing fibres.
Identifying Carpet Beetles
It is not always easy to know if carpet beetles are living in the house until you find some evidence of their existence. You may find some brownish skin shed by the insect or you may find damaged items.
They tend to focus damage on one part of the fabric. This is different from the damage caused by clothes moths, which like to live in the same environment as carpet beetles. Moths tend to bore holes in different parts of the fabric.
Pest Control and Management of Carpet Beetles
Carpet beetle control and management can be very challenging because they can be feeding in a hidden place. Effective control and management includes measures to clean the home to make it unattractive to pests such as them.
Regular vacuum cleaning of carpets can reduce their number in the home. Thorough pest inspection will also help a great deal in assessing the extent of the damage and infestation.
The inspection also aims to find any hiding places of the pest and identify other pests that may be co-mingling with carpet beetles. After inspection, a suitable pest solution will then be developed, based on the situation.
The pest management solution may call for chemical treatment, which should only be handled by pest specialists like Bob Gunn Termite Solutions. Call us today in Brisbane for more information on how to deal with carpet beetles.