Beetles

Carpet beetles, as the name implies, are a type of beetle that can often be found in and around carpets inside homes and other buildings. They are very small, typically measuring between 1 and 4mm in length, and they have an oval shape. In terms of color, they have spotted backs with tones of grey, yellow, brown, and white. Carpet beetle larvae are around 1 to 2mm in length, with narrow heads and wider sections of body at the rear. They have brown stripes running along their bodies, with three tufts of bristles at the back.

A female carpet beetle will lay approximately 40 eggs over the course of its life. Each egg needs between 10 and 20 days of incubation time before hatching, and the larvae develop over the course of 7-10 months, which is the majority of the carpet beetles’ life cycle. Each year usually has one new generation of carpet beetles, and once they reach the adult stage, carpet beetles can live for anywhere from two weeks to two months.

As the name implies, carpet beetles can often be found in carpets and rugs. This is because they naturally feed on fabrics like wool, silk, fur, and cotton. In the past, it was common for carpets to be made from wool, which is a popular food source among carpet beetles. Modern carpets, however, are often made of synthetic fabrics which are less appealing to these insects. However, they can feed on any other source of fabric around the average home or building, like feathers, leather book bindings, stuffed animals, and cotton sheets. When they enter the adult stage of their lives, they can feed on pollen and are able to fly, which makes it easier for them to get into homes and buildings to reproduce. They may enter via open doors or windows.

It can be very important to control carpet beetles. They won't bite, but they do release fibers that can cause irritation and inflammation in the skin. The first step of dealing with them is to contact a trusted pest control service and get an inspector to visit your home and find out the nature of your infestation problem. A pest control operative will be able to first identify a carpet beetle problem and then investigate the affected home or building to learn more.

Typically, any infested items will need to be either removed or treated with high heat in order to call the insects and eggs inside. Affected carpets, rugs, and clothes may also need thorough cleaning and brushing to kill the beetles and remove the dead bodies and eggs.

A residual insecticide may also need to be used in cracks, crevices, and other hard-to-access areas where the beetles might be hiding, and it's common for pest control experts to apply insecticides all around the infestation area to completely eradicate the problem.

Over-the-counter pest treatments are not recommended for carpet beetles, because they usually won't be strong enough to eradicate the beetle population entirely. Instead, these products might simply repel the bugs, causing them to separate and scatter around the home, infesting other areas and becoming even more difficult to get rid of. The best course of action is to therefore consider residential and commercial pest control.

How to get rid of carpet beetles?

The best course of action if you have carpet beetles infestation is to contact a pest control company. Pest control experts will be able to assess the problem and deal with it. They might use insecticides or heat treatments on affected carpets and fabrics to kill the bugs and then clean the affected areas to remove eggs and bodies.

What causes carpet beetles?

Your home might be more likely to attract carpet beetles if you have lots of fabrics inside, like carpeted floors, wool rugs, and so on. Opening doors and windows and leaving them open will also make it more likely for these bugs to enter, and they can be blown in via ventilation systems too. They may be attracted by food smells or dirty clothes, so it's important to watch clothes regularly and clear up any food spillages quickly.

Are carpet beetles harmful?

Yes, carpet beetles can be harmful. Many people worry about carpet beetles bites, but these beetles don't actually bite humans. The real danger comes from their larvae, which have little fibers on their bodies that can be released into the air and come into contact with human skin, causing itching and irritation. They may also cause respiratory problems and eye irritations too.

Adult flour beetles are red-brown, slender, and about 1/8-inch long. Both species (red and confused) look very similar but can be distinguished by looking at the antennae. The confused flour beetle’s antennae gradually enlarge toward the tip, ending in a four-segmented club. The red flour beetle’s antennae become club-like very quickly and the club has three segments.

Over the span of the beetle’s lifetime, consisting of two to three years, females produce roughly 300 to 500 eggs. They lay two to three of these clear, white, sticky eggs daily in cracks, in bags, or through the mesh of flour bags. The eggs hatch in 12 days and the larvae undergo 5 – 12 moults, completing development in about 30 days. The life cycle, egg to egg, can be completed in 49 to 90 days.

Confused and red flour beetles are major pests when it comes to flour. They cannot feed on whole grains but are found abundantly in grain dust, flour, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, snuff, spices, rodent baits and drugs.

Infested flour or other stored products should be identified and discarded. The cupboards, cabinets, closets, shelves and pantry where the infestation is located should be well vacuumed to eliminate spilled flour and other food dust. Storage areas and sites of infestation should be treated with liquid or dust formulations as a supplement to the elimination of the source of the infestation